Men's Basketball

Oscar Tshiebwe “Not Opposed” to Returning to Kentucky Next Season

Published

3 months ago

March 15, 2023

Just prior to his freshman year of high school, Oscar Tshiebwe made the move to the United States from his home country of the Congo, in pursuit of a basketball career. Yet, there was a problem, he wasn’t very good at basketball.

“When I tell you he was not good at basketball when he got here, he was not good at basketball,” Jay Cinco, Tshiebwe’s grassroots coach, said in an interview with The Athletic. “Always had the motor, but not much else.”

That motor is what has helped develop Tshiebwe into the player he is today, the reigning consensus National Player of the Year and someone who has set program and national records. However, Tshiebwe wants to be remembered for more than the accolades and impressive stats. “My trophies, nobody will probably remember those,” he said last summer. “A trophy for the school is going to be talked about forever.”

Tshiebwe’s quest for a championship is a primary reason that he returned for a second season at Kentucky, but if he is not able to accomplish that this season, could he return for a third year and team up with 2023’s impressive recruiting class?

It’s not likely, especially given the depth of the frontcourt – Onyenso, Bradshaw, & Collins – but Tshiebwe’s agent, Nate Conley, says it’s not out of the realm of possibility. “I’ll be honest, he’s not opposed to it,” Conley says. “He wants to do what’s right for him and his career and his life, and there is that option to come back, so you never know. I think a lot of people would be surprised, but I would tell you Oscar is very open-minded.”

Whether or not he wins a national title, and whether or not he returns for another season, Tshiebwe will still be remembered amongst the greats in Kentucky lore. While his video-game like performances is one reason for that, I would argue it’s not the biggest, that would be his heart and passion for the state of Kentucky.

“I feel like I’m home. I even told my mom, I said, ‘listen, I’m not leaving Kentucky,’” Tshiebwe said last summer. “I’m gonna live in Kentucky. I love farms. I’m going to live in Kentucky one day, on a farm. Because this place, people love me a lot, and I love them.”

That love can be seen with any fan interaction, ranging from children to the those remember the days of Adolph Rupp, creating lasting memories for thousands in the Big Blue Nation. While many great players have donned the Kentucky blue and white, few have been as personable.

BB Recruiting

Kentucky Basketball Has Received a “Silent Commitment”, Per Report

Published

2 hours ago

June 6, 2023

Chris Beasmore

Overtime Elite/© Jenna Watson/IndyStar (IMAGN)

For the first two months of the offseason, Kentucky basketball waited in hopes of getting Oscar Tshiebwe to return, but it’s getting into crunch time and Kentucky must start finalizing their roster before they play in the GLBL Jam this Summer.

As of right now Kentucky only has seven scholarship players on their roster, including five freshmen and two sophomores. With that being said, two players from the class of 2023 are expecting to have official visits this week. One that includes Joey Hart, who many people are expecting to be committing this week to Kentucky, even Matt Jones of KSR tweeted about a commitment coming soon.

Hearing from three different sources today Kentucky Basketball has a “silent” commitment from a Class of 2023 player that will be announced next week

Not a top ranked guy but good depth and a shooter.

Let the guessing as to the name begin— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) June 4, 2023

Although Jones never said who it was in that tweet, he later revealed it to be Joey Hart on Monday’s Kentucky Sports Radio show. Hart, a three-star shooting guard from the class of 2023, had an excellent end to his high school season – especially with his 3P shooting – and recently decommitted from UCF as he started to receive interest from more prestigious programs such as Kentucky, Indiana, and Texas among others.

With that said, there is one other player that KY Insider has been told is “Kentucky’s to lose”.

Meet Jordan Burks, a 6-foot-9 forward who is also in the class of 2023, ranked as a three-star recruit. Playing at Overtime Elite, similar to Kentucky freshman Rob Dillingham, Burks was the league’s leading scorer. Following Kermit Davis’ firing from Ole Miss, Burks reopened his recruitment and is coming off a visit to Kentucky the last few days.

In a statement last week, John Calipari said “We’ve prepared for all scenarios”. The addition of Hart and Burks will certainly be good for depth, but the Wildcats still need to return Reeves and find one more high-impact player such as Arthur Kaluma.

BB Recruiting

Louisville Commit Says “Nobody Worried” About DJ Wagner and Kentucky

Published

3 days ago

June 3, 2023

Phoenix Stevens

UK Athletics

The Kentucky-Louisville rivalry is one of the best in all of college basketball, however, it has been largely one-sided in the John Calipari era. Since becoming the Wildcats’ head coach in 2009, Kentucky has a 12-3 record against Louisville, including winning four of the last five.

With the hire of Kenny Payne, the Cardinals are hoping to get back on the right track and will enter next season with a roster talented enough to make it to the NCAA Tournmanent. With that said, the Cardinals did finish 4-28 last season.

Louisville commit Trentyn Flowers went live on Instagram on Friday to answer questions from the Cardinal fanbase. When asked who would guard DJ Wagner when Louisville played Kentucky, Flowers gave an interesting answer, “Y’all funny. Ain’t nobody worried about him, bro.”

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With Flowers and Wagner both being top-rated recruits this is not the first time they have matched up with one another. At the John Wall Invitational back in December, Flowers and Wagner put it all on the line against each other. However, Wagner would outperform Flowers, putting up 22 points to Flowers’ 19 points.

Then more recently, back in February, Wagner’s Camden (NJ) played against Flowers’ Combine Academy (NC) in an exhibition game. The Camden Panthers ended up beating the Combine Academy Goats by 23 points, 80-57.

Wagner will look to get the upper hand on Flowers once again this December, as Kentucky plays Louisville. There is no doubt that he will have some extra motivation.

Men's Basketball

Source: Antonio Reeves To Meet With Staff On Monday To Discuss Future Plans

Published

3 days ago

June 3, 2023

Wyatt Huff

Antonio Reeves announced he was withdrawing from the NBA Draft on Wednesday, but his intentions on whether or not to return to Kentucky were up in the air. Now, that remains the case, but a source told KY Insider on Friday that Reeves will be meeting with John Calipari on Monday to discuss his future plans.

NEWS: Antonio Reeves will meet with Coach Cal on Monday to decide his future plans, per source.— Wyatt Huff (@Wildcat_wave) June 2, 2023

Reeves has been contemplating a return to Kentucky, as both NIL and his role are major factors in his decision. There have also been multiple reports of a number of schools tampering with Reeves, even though he is not in the transfer portal, which in itself is interesting. That list of schools includes Illinois, Indiana, Memphis, Michigan, and Oklahoma.

A big decision for the basketball program, Reeves would be a much-needed shooting threat and veteran presence added to the current young team coming in. Kentucky’s No. 1 recruiting class needs veteran complementary pieces, and a star from last season’s team would certainly help.

Regarding a timetable for an announcement, one could assume that it should come soon after his meeting with the staff early next week.