Men's Basketball

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

Published

2 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

Kentucky to Host Multiple Top Transfers This Weekend

Published

20 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Tristan Pharis

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats are hosting multiple top transfers this weekend for visits, looking to add to their roster.

With the deadline for players to enter the portal coming up on May 1st, Kentucky nearly has all their options on the table. Now two weeks since taking the job, Mark Pope has expressed interest in nearly two dozen names and has been keying in on some top names in the portal.

As of writing this article, top 25 transfer Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), is currently on a visit to Lexington, with three more players set to visit this weekend. There’s a good chance that some of those visits turn into commitments.

Let’s take a look at those names.

Deivon Smith – Guard, Utah

Physicals: 6’0, 173 lbs
Stats: 13.3 PPG, 7.1 APG, 6.3 RPG, 46.% FG, 40.8% 3P
Ranking: 10th (Evan Miya), 38rd (247Sports)

Kentucky has had just three players record a triple-double in program history. Deivon Smith recorded five triple-doubles this past season alone, the second-most all-time for a single season in NCAA history.

While undersized, he is one of the best all-around guards in the country, as his numbers show. It’s still early, but Kentucky getting the first visit is significant. St. John’s and Texas Tech have also been mentioned here.

Andrej Stojaković – Guard, Stanford

Physicals: 6’7, 190 lbs
Stats: 7.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 40.9% FG, 32.7% 3P
Ranking: 183rd (Evan Miya), 51st (247Sports)

Stojakovic is the son of former NBA All-Star, Peja Stojakovic. A familiar name for Kentucky fans from his high school recruitment. Stojakovic is a terrific shooter, and a top-25 recruit in the 2023 class.

On Thursday, Stojakovic cut his list to just three schools: California, UNC, and Kentucky. As a West Coast product, California was a school that showed interest when he was in high school, and so did Mark Pope when he was at BYU. Pope has made Stojakovic a priority, he could seal the deal this weekend.

Aidan Mahaney – Guard, Saint Mary’s

Physicals: 6-3, 180 lbs
Stats: 13.9 PPG, 2.6 APG, 38.6% FG, 35.5% 3P
Ranking: 96th (Evan Miya), 14th (247Sports)

One of the best guards in the portal. As a lead guard for Saint Mary’s, he displayed a good sense of playing under control, setting himself up and others. That said, his numbers were rather inefficient as the primary scoring option for the Gaels and shooting more than half of his shots from three. There are concerns about his playing against bigger guards.

Mahaney visited UConn Thursday and it looks to be a race between Creighton, Virginia, UConn, and Kentucky.

Andrew Carr – Forward, Wake Forest

Physicals: 6-11, 230 lbs
Stats: 13.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 52.6% FG, 37.1% 3P
Ranking: 33rd (Evan Miya), Not Listed (247Sports)

A near 7-footer who is efficient and can stretch the floor, shooting over 37 percent from three, is a player that Mark Pope would love to add to his roster. That describes Andrew Carr who has played two years at each Delaware and Wake Forest and is looking to go elsewhere for his last season of eligibility.

Carr is coming off a visit to Texas Tech and will visit Villanova after he visits Lexington this weekend.

Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Hiring Top Assistant Coach Alvin Brooks III from Baylor

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Tristan Pharis

Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky may not have been able to pull Scott Drew away from Baylor, but they were able to pull Alvin Brooks III, one of the best assistant coaches in the country. First reported by CBS Sports on Wednesday morning, Brooks has accepted an associate head coach position at Kentucky, the same role in which he had at Baylor.

NEWS: Top Baylor assistant Alvin Brooks III is leaving the Bears to join Mark Pope's staff at Kentucky, sources tell @CBSSports. He spent the past eight years under Scott Drew and will be associate HC @ UK. Brooks is highly respected in the profession. It's a major coup for Pope.— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 24, 2024

Brooks comes to Kentucky with a great reputation as a recruiter, helping Baylor bring in some elite talent over the last couple of seasons, most notably, McDonald’s All-Americans VJ Edgecombe (2024), Ja’Kobe Walter (2023), and Keyonte George (2022).

Just 44 years old, Brooks has two decades of coaching experience. Before his time at Baylor he also had stops at Kansas State (2012-16), Sam Houston State (2010-12), Bradley (2007-10), Midland (2006-07), and Arkansas-Fort Smith (2004-06).

Brooks spoke with Kentucky Insider earlier this month about Kentucky’s hire of Mark Pope, as someone who competed against him at BYU. He spoke highly of the hire, specifically of his Xs and Os, and saw “no negatives”.

Interestingly, he will not be the first Alvin Brooks to be a part of the Kentucky Basketball program as his father was the Director of Operations from 2007-09 under Billy Gillispie. Brooks joins an assembled staff of Cody Fueger, Jason Hart, and Mark Fox, leaving just one assistant spot remaining which likely won’t come soon.

That said, the concern with Pope was his recruiting ability. With Hart and now Brooks, he has addressed that concern and has added two of the best recruiters in the country.

BB Recruiting

Transfer Amari Williams Commits to Kentucky

Published

5 days ago

April 21, 2024

Tristan Pharis

Drexel transfer Amari Williams has committed to play for the Kentucky Wildcats. Becomes first transfer commitment under Mark Pope.

Graphic via ClutchPoints

Amari Williams has made his decision. He has committed to the Wildcats, first reported by Joe Tipton of On3.

Williams’ decision comes after visiting Lexington this past weekend. On all accounts and given his commitment, all things went well, even taking a visit to Keeneland with new head coach Mark Pope.

Originally from Nottingham, England, Williams has played the last four years at Drexel. He has career averages of 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks.

From his sophomore season forward, Williams has been named to the All-Coastal Athletic Association Team three times and has won three straight CAA Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

The 6-foot-10, 265-pound forward is a physical big. On the offensive end, he scores most of his points at the rim, many of which come in transition or off offensive rebounds, but he is also comfortable extending to the elbow. He is a better passer than one would expect as well, with an 18% assist rate.

As his Defensive Player of the Year awards suggest, Williams makes his biggest impact on the defensive side of the ball. With a 7-foot-5 wingspan, he blocks plenty of shots (8.5% block rate) and alters many more. His physical size and length help him rebound the ball well.

Both were areas Kentucky lacked in last season.

If you’re an analytical guy, Williams has been a top-20 player in player efficiency ratings the previous two seasons, with a 28.5 PER each season.

For reference, Kentucky’s most efficient players last season, Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves, both had a PER of 23.6.

Evan Miya, one of the best analytics gurus in college hoops, has Williams ranked 14th overall in DBPR for next season, which measures the defensive value a player brings to his team when he is on the court. So Kentucky just landed one of the best defensive transfers in America.

With his commitment, Williams becomes Kentucky’s first transfer under Mark Pope and just the second commitment overall, joining Collin Chandler, a 4-star recruit of the 2022 class returning from a mission trip this summer.

It’s worth noting that he played alongside fellow Kentucky target and Utah State transfer Great Osobor in England. Could the two join forces in Lexington as Kentucky’s frontcourt?

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