Men's Basketball

Davion Mintz Asks the Question, “Oscar to the Rafters in Rupp?”

Published

4 years ago

April 4, 2022

Photos by Chet White | UK Athletics

In just one season, Oscar Tshiebwe has left a lasting impression on the Big Blue Nation and the Kentucky basketball record books, but is it enough to put his jersey in the rafters?

Let’s have this talk 👀 … Oscar to the rafters in Rupp ?— Davion Mintz (@deemintz1) April 4, 2022

There are 38 players with their jerseys hanging in the Rupp Arena rafters, let’s compare “Big O” to the other 38 and see where he adds up after one season.

Stats

In terms of games, with only 34, Tshiebwe would have played the least amount of any player to have their jersey retired. The same could be said for his career totals as they are low in comparison after playing only one season. However, in terms of averages, Tshiebwe holds up with the best of them.

In rebounding, which is Oscar’s expertise, he ranks second all-time with 15.2 rebounds per game, only behind Dan Issel’s 16.1. Pointwise, he would rank 11th with 17.4 points per game, ahead of names like Jack Givens, Kenny Walker, Tony Delk, and others.

While averaging a double-double, Tshiebwe raked in 28 of them, which is a Kentucky single-season record and places him top-10 all-time in Kentucky basketball history.

The total career totals may not be up to par, but the averages are and one has to consider the fact that in the current landscape, high-level college players don’t stay three or four years anymore.

Check out the statistical comparison spreadsheet here.

Accolades

As of writing this article, Tshiebwe has won five of the six Player of the Year awards, with the John R. Wooden Award set to be announced on April 5th. Currently, the frontrunner for the Wooden award, if Tshiebwe were to win, he would become the ONLY Kentucky Wildcat to be unanimous Player of the Year.

In his flurry of awards, Tshiebwe became the 21st Consensus First Team All-American in Kentucky basketball history. Of the twenty previous players, fifteen of them have their jerseys retired, with the five exclusions all being in the last 25 years: Ron Mercer (1997), John Wall (2010), Anthony Davis (2012), Willie Cauley-Stein (2015), and Tyler Ulis (2016).

In just one season, Tshiebwe has filled his trophy cabinets full and created a track record that puts himself not just in the elite of Kentucky basketball history, but college basketball history.

Impact

Oscar Tshiebwe has had as much impact on and off the court of any Kentucky player in recent memory.

On the court, Tshiebwe’s impact is shown with some historic numbers. For the below examples we are only looking at his career at Kentucky.

In win shares per 40 minutes, a statistic that divvies credit individually for a team’s success, Tshiebewe recorded a .297 this past season. This ranked second in the NCAA and would put him only behind Nikola Jokić in the NBA Another impact stat, plus-minus, he recorded a 13.3, putting him 5th in NCAA. (Basketball-Reference)

*_{Win Shares is a player statistic that attempts to divvy up credit for team success to the individuals on the team.}
**_{Plus-Minus, a.k.a. +/-, simply keeps track of the net changes in the score when a given player is either on or off the court.}

While both of these statistical categories have only started recently being recorded in the last 15 years, they are some of the best ways to quantify a player’s impact on the court, and the numbers show that Tshiebwe’s impact cannot be understated.

Off the court, Tshiebwe has been a tremendous ambassador for the program and someone that people in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond can look up to.

One such example is one that he had with Beaumont Middle School, a school in Lexington with sixteen students from Tshiebwe’s home country of Africa. During his visits to the school, Tshiebwe was able connections to with the students, and they were shown that they can be successful in America. See the story here.

It is a tough decision, but the sport has changed and successful players rarely stay three or four years anymore and he has the averages and accolades to compare to any player in program history. With that said, if Tshiebwe were to return to Kentucky for a second season and put up similar numbers, I think at that point it’s a no-brainer.

What do you think? Who are some other recent players you think should have their jersey retired?

Men's Basketball

National Reporter Matt Norlander Chooses Kentucky as Landing Spot for Star Forward Milan Momcilovic

Published

1 day ago

May 28, 2026

Kai McClelland

Photo via Imagn Images

The Milan Momcilovic sweepstakes is underway, with multiple teams involved in the No. 2 overall transfer player’s recruitment. It is believed that Kentucky and Louisville are the top candidates after his decision to pull out from the 2026 NBA Draft on Wednesday, May 27.

Along with the in-state rivals, Arizona and St. John’s are both very well still in the mix, but the Red Storm are slowly falling out of contention after landing Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou.

What an absolute BOMB from Shams.

For the wondering Kentucky fans, this basically has the Milan Momcilovic sweepstakes now between in-state rivals Kentucky and Louisville.

I fully expect the Wildcats to have the edge in this recruitment. Would be very surprised if the… https://t.co/xyWATR3UwE— Kai McClelland (@fourwal1) May 28, 2026

On May 28, national reporter Matt Norlander cleared the air on CBS Sports’ Eye On College Basketball podcast, stating that he believes Kentucky will land Momcilovic by the end of the weekend or Monday.

“My prediction right now is that Milan Momcilovic will go to Kentucky,” Norlander said. “My understanding is that decision is going to come in the next one, two, three days, four days max.”

He would go on to talk about the other top programs involved, stating why he thinks they will be working in an uphill battle in this bidding war.

“My forecast is that it’s Kentucky, but you know, we’ll see if Louisville can get in there,” he continued. “Arizona I don’t think has the money to contend, like I think Kentucky and Louisville just have more money to play with.”

For the worried members of the Big Blue Nation, this is certainly good news to be put out by one of the most trusted college basketball reporters at the national level.

Going by this report and Adam Zagoria’s from NYT Sports, it shouldn’t be long until a commitment decision for Momcilovic is announced publicly.

Per @AdamZagoria, Milan Momcilovic will announce where he will play his senior year of college basketball by the end of this weekend.— Kai McClelland (@fourwal1) May 28, 2026

Men's Basketball

BREAKING: No. 2 Ranked Transfer Milan Momcilovic Removes Name From 2026 NBA Draft

Published

2 days ago

May 27, 2026

Kai McClelland

Kamil Krzaczynski | Imagn Images

Milan Momcilovic has officially removed his named from the 2026 NBA Draft and will return to college for his senior season.

Kentucky leads in his recruitment, followed closely by St. John’s, Louisville and Arizona. A backdoor to Iowa State is also still open.

The No. 2 ranked transfer would be a huge addition to Kentucky’s 2026-27 roster if he committed, averaging 16.9 points per game on 50.6/48.7/87.8 shooting splits last year. Funny enough, in the current world of college athletics that we live in, Momcilovic was responsible for eliminating the Wildcats from the NCAA Tournament, dropping 20 points in the Round of 32.

He would go on to lose to Tennessee in the Sweet 16 with Iowa State, so at least we know that there’s some inner-hatred for a long-standing rival if he ends up a Wildcat.

He made the most three-point shots in Division I basketball and is a versatile 6-foot-8 wing, which would fit perfectly into Mark Pope’s offensive system. He completed workouts with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves during the draft process.

Now, the bidding war for the top dog begins, with some of the most prestigious programs in the sport placing their bets on the star forward.

Men's Basketball

BREAKING: Malachi Moreno Set to Return to Kentucky for Sophomore Season

Published

5 days ago

May 24, 2026

Kai McClelland

Tristan Pharis | KY Insider

One of the biggest pieces of the 2026-27 roster has officially made a decision. Malachi Moreno, the Georgetown, Kentucky native, will forgo the 2026 NBA Draft and return to the Wildcats for his sophomore season!

BBN, I’m home. Job’s isn’t finished.💙 pic.twitter.com/OvR7cSMZUw— Malachi Moreno (@malachimoreno24) May 25, 2026

As time went on, Moreno proved through personal workouts and in-gym drills that he could play the game of basketball at the next level, eventually drawing interest from teams slated with the first 20 picks of the draft. The 7-foot big had eyes on him from teams such as the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

Ultimately, the former state champion and his camp felt that the deal offered from Mark Pope and his staff was just too sweet, with the idea of developing even further and potentially becoming a lottery pick in next year’s draft making logical sense for both sides.

In his freshman season, Moreno averaged 7.8 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game and 1.5 blocks per game, all on 58.2% shooting. As many assume, this was just a trial for what he can become on the court.

Videos circulated on social media of Moreno hitting jump shots from deep range, visibly looking stronger and more confident in his decision making. Although he decided to not participate in the NBA Combine, a strong indicator for his return to college, it would’ve certainly been interesting to see what type of statline he could’ve produced against the league’s future stars.

Nonetheless, Moreno is back in the blue and white for one more go at No. 9 with Pope and his new teammates. This time, he won’t be predicted as the third best center on team, or plagued with the freshman tendencies – he’ll be ready to start at the five from the moment he arrives in Lexington.

No. 24 is back.