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?

BB Recruiting

James Madison Transfer Justin McBride to Visit Kentucky on Tuesday

Published

22 hours ago

April 17, 2026

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky will host James Madison transfer James McBride for a visit on Tuesday, after communicating with Mark Pope and the staff via Zoom video call.

James Madison Athletics

While much of the attention in the transfer portal goes to the top targets, you need to build a full roster. Still with starting spots to be claimed, Kentucky also looking at depth pieces. The most recent, James Madison transfer Justin McBride.

After talking to the staff this week via Zoom video call, McBride is scheduled to take a visit to Lexington on Tuesday.

A three-star transfer, ranked 201st overall according to 247Sports, McBride is being recruited by multiple power conference teams including Baylor and Cal, as well as SEC foes Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

Out of high school, McBride was a four-star recruit, ranked in the top 150 nationally.

“He is a versatile player who has that IT factor about him. You can tell by the passion he plays with that there is a huge chip on his shoulder,” 247Sports asked program director Vonzell Thomas said as he evaluated McBride out of high school. “What I like about his game is his will to win. He does whatever it takes to win and not every kid has that mentality.”

From Texas, McBride committed to Oklahoma State over the likes of Kansas and Arkansas, where he played alongside former Wildcat Bandon Garrison. There, he appeared in just 24 games, averaging just over five minutes per game.

Seeking a larger role, McBride entered the transfer portal and dropped to the mid-major level, committing to Nevada. With the Wolfpack he nearly tripled both his minutes and production, averaging 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in just under 20 minutes per game. His most recent stop, James Madison this past season, McBride had a breakout year, averaging 15.3 points and 5.6 rebounds on 40 percent shooting from deep.

Entering his senior season, the 6-7, 240 pound McBride is eyeing a jump back to the power conference level, prioritizing fit at his next stop.

Will that be Kentucky?

McBride has good size and athleticism, and has an inside-out style of game. Meaning he can work his away around the paint, but can also space the floor with his shooting, grading fairly well as a catch and shoot guy. Overall, he ranks in the 97th percentile in scoring volume. That said, there is come consistency to be lacked on the defensive side.

BB Recruiting

Multiple Transfers Meet With Kentucky on Wednesday

Published

1 week ago

April 8, 2026

Tristan Pharis

The transfer portal is active, and Zoom stock is going up as college coaches are video chatting around the clock to build their rosters, including Kentucky.

On Wednesday, Mark Pope and the Kentucky staff added three more names to the Zoom list.

Alex Wilkins (Guard, Furman), 4⭐️, 46th-ranked transfer

Class: Sophomore
Physicals: 6-5, 175 lbs
Last season averages: 17.8 PPG, 4.7 APG, 46% FG, 32.8% 3P

An underrated prospect coming out of high school, Wilkins splashed on the scene this year at Furman. As a freshman, he led his team to the NCAA Tournament, averaging 17.8 points and 4.7 assists and earning second team All-SoCon honors.

There were few players as critical to their team’s success as Wilkins, leading the SoCon in possession usage (34.4%) and shot usage (31.7%). That does lend some explanation to his poor shooting splits and turnover concerns (3.8 turnovers per game).

A quick, wirey guard, Wilkins is a capable scorer at all three levels, and can create for his teammates. However, he needs to add some muscle for power conference competition, and needs to have more consistent effort on the defensive end.

A freshman, those are both correctable things.

Isaac Celiscar (Forward, Yale), 4⭐️, 84th-ranked transfer

Class: Junior
Physicals: 6-6, 210 lbs
Last season averages: 13.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, 57.3% FG, 40.7% 3P

Isaac Celiscar is one of the most efficient, versatile players in the transfer portal.

The first takeaway, averaging 13.2 point per game with 57.3 percent shooting, he is extremely efficient on limited opportunities. Shooting nearly 41 percent from deep, he is a threat from deep as well. That efficiency carries over to his passing, as he averages more than three assists per game, on just 1.3 turnovers per game.

Celiscar grades out as a glue-guy with great offensive skills and good feel for the game, but he does have limitations in terms of his athleticism and shot creation.

Jalen Cox (Guard, Colgate), 3⭐️ , 149th-ranked transfer

Class: Senior
Physicals: 6-3, 180 lbs
Last season averages: 17.9 PPG, 5.3 APG, 5.0 RPG, 52.1% FG, 36.5% 3P

Jalen Cox is the lowest ranked player Kentucky has reached out to, but the Wildcats need depth and Cox is a experienced guard with proven production.

Averaging 17.9 points and 5.3 assists (2.0+ assist-to-turnover ratio) per game on 52 percent shooting from the field, Cox is a versatile and efficient offensive player. He has also multiple conference All-Defense selections too, making him a two way player.

The biggest concern with Cox is his athletic ceiling and how that translates to power conference competition. However an experienced two way player is a great rotation piece.

BB Recruiting

Top Five Transfer Paulius Murauskas Moves Up Call, Talks With Kentucky on Wednesday

Published

1 week ago

April 8, 2026

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky met with Saint Mary's transfer Paulius Muruaskas, one of the top forwards in the transfer portal, on Wednesday and is looking to schedule a visit for him to come to Lexington.

Saint Mary's Athletics

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats are as busy as anyone in the transfer portal. On Wednesday, they met with their biggest fish of this transfer portal cycle so far, Paulius Murauskas.

Originally scheduled for Thursday, the Wildcats met with Murauskas via Zoom video call on Wednesday, per source.

Currently ranked 4th overall in 247Sports transfer rankings, the top-ranked forward, Murauskas is the prototypical modern basketball player. Good size at 6-foot-8, 235 pounds, with the ability to create for himself and others, has a good handle, and overall good feel for the game.

Murauskas started his collegiate career at Arizona after some professional experience in Lithuania. Playing just five minutes per game with the Wildcats as a freshman, Murauskas transferred to Saint Mary’s, where he has flourished and earned All-Conference honors the last two seasons.

This past season, Murauskas averaged 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds, on 48.2 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from deep. As for his weaknesses, he is not super athletic, and he does need to be more consistent with his shot.

Originally thought to follow former Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett to Arizona State, Murauskas is exploring all options. Following the Zoom, Kentucky is trying to get him on campus for a visit in the near future.