On Wednesday, Oscar Tshiebwe announced a return to Kentucky on SportsCenter. Making for the first time in the Calipari era that the team’s best player has returned, giving the Big Blue Nation good reason to be excited next season.
On Friday, the unanimous Player of the Year held a press conference to talk about his decision and
Let’s take a look at what he had to say.
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What sort of feedback did you get from NBA people?
“The feedback I got from the NBA was like, ‘Oscar if you can expand your game from outside, make one or two three-pointers per game, attack the rim, make your passes, get better dribbling, you’ll be good and in good position next year.”
On if John Calipari will let him shoot threes, Tshiebwe said, “He told me he will let me shoot threes as long as I keep making them”. He also noted that he has already begun working on his outside shot in workouts and pickup games.
Tshiebwe doesn’t believe the challenge is too great to add a perimeter game to his already elite inside game, saying, “I don’t think it’s going to be bad, because I’m still going to do exactly what I do, but sometimes just go out there [perimter], especially when coaches play two bigs.”
Joining the team in early 2021, Tshiebwe worked out for 8 months straight and became the National Player of the Year. Tshiebwe believes by starting to put in the work now, his game can be on a”different level” come November.
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Now that people know what you’re capable of, what are the expectations for you coming back?
Prior to the season, Tshiebwe set a lofty goal of averaging 20+ rebounds per game. People didn’t take it too seriously, not knowing what to expect from the West Virginia transfer.
While he didn’t average 20, Tshiebwe averaged 15.2 rebounds per game, becoming just the second player to do so since 1980 en route to becoming the unanimous Player of the Year.
Now knowing what “Big O” is capable of, expectations will be high, but he is not worried saying by adding new facets to his game, “I’m going to surprise a lot of people. Be like, wow, Oscar is just a good basketball player.”
As the National Player of the Year, Tshiebwe will have a target on his back for opposing teams, but he embraces it and says, “I like when I am target”.
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Kentucky is not Losing to Saint Peter’s again
Upon his return, Tshiebwe said he told his teammates, “Let’s Go Beat Saint Peter’s, we cannot let Saint Peter’s beat us again.”
Even noting that the loss gave him some motivation for a return saying, “I said this was most disrespectful thing, I cannot end my college career losing to Saint Peter’s. So I say I gotta come back… we gotta run it back.”
Interestingly Tshiebwe talked about some of the players not being ready for the NCAA Tournament, “Some of my teammates were not ready, but I was ready” and with a 30-point and 16-rebound performance against Saint Peter’s that was very noticeable.
Tshiebwe ensures that will not be the case again, “I tell coach, ‘If I see somebody not ready, I’m gonna take your place. I’m just gonna sub him.’ I’ll be the coach for a minute’”.
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Do you feel confident that your NIL situation will get worked out?
Tshiebwe has never been shy about sharing his goal of using basketball to help provide for his family, with his student visa status causing limitations to his NIL earning potential, many thought that would push him to the NBA.
While nothing has been made official or been announced NIL wise, Tshiebwe did say he was confident, saying, “I feel confident. I’m a man of God, I trust what God is telling me. I know it is kind of tricky being an international student, but I believe it’s going to work out. God is going to open a way for me.”
When asked about the reported $2 million Tshiebwe said, “I don’t know about that, but that’s good money right there,” causing the whole room to laugh.
Tshiebwe talked about wanting to make an impact and help other international players be able to benefit from NIL, which is why he met with Kentucky senator, Mitch McConnell.
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On his decision to return
With his return, there is an assumption that the NIL situation has been worked out. However, Tshiebwe said that he didn’t make a decision based on NIL as it is a “distraction” but made his decision on what he heard from God.
On Friday, John Calipari said in a radio interview, “there were people in his [Tshiebwe] ear trying to get him to leave until the very end, up until he sat in that chair [on SportsCenter],” and even discussed that at one point, Tshiebwe recorded two videos for both a return and a departure to the NBA.
In this press conference, Thsiebwe echoed the same sentiment, saying, “there was like 50 and 50. People wanted me to leave. People wanted me to stay… ‘So who’s speaking the truth?’ I did not know. But I hear the voice of God and that was a true voice.
On his teammates testing the waters? (Keion Brooks Jr and Shaedon Sharpe)
Tshiebwe called Shaedon a “bucket” and said that he wants him back because it could be a “different level” of basketball.
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With that said, he understands that Brooks and Sharpe both have to receive the feedback and make the decisions themselves, but notes, “either way, we’re good.”
Tshiebwe has work to do off the court
On the court, Tshiebwe is one of the most dominant players in college basketball. Off the court, he is a tremendous ambassador for Jesus Christ. “Inspire people, bring people to Jesus, teach people about God”, Tshiebwe said of what God wants him to do.
Tshiebwe understands the impact he has on the community and wants to use that “not just for basketball but to go to places to teach people about God.”
Fan interaction while he was making his decision
Tshiebwe has gotten accustomed to the craziness of Kentucky fans within the state but was shocked as he traveled around the country to accept awards, and received a similar reaction.
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“I was in California, I thought like when I land in California I would be at peace, people don’t know me. As soon as I land in the airport everybody says ‘Oscar’ everywhere. I said wow’,” Tshiebwe said.
Tshiebwe has already become an all-time fan favorite in just one season, and with a second season, he could possibly cement his name in the Rupp Arena rafters.
“People are very excited and I am very excited to run it back this season.”
Tshiebwe repeated several times that next season is not about fun nor himself, “I win national Player of the Year, now it’s time to get the trophy [NCAA Championship] to put somewhere in the school”, even saying he is willing to travel with Calipari to help recruit.
While Mark Pope has been focusing on bringing in proven players from the transfer portal, he did say he would be going after McDonald’s All-Americans, aka “Burger Boys”. On Tuesday morning, he got his first one at Kentucky, in Oklahoma State transfer Brandon Garrison, who announced his commitment on social media.
A four-star in the 2023 recruiting class, Garrison elected to stay home and play for Oklahoma State over Kansas, Texas, and Houston. In his freshman season, he started 29 of 32 games and averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks last season. While he was inconsistent, he never stopped working.
“Just 19 years old, he, um… he’s special,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said of Garrison, choked up after a 20-point breakout game against Baylor back in January. “He just shows up and does his job.”
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“He’s still just scratching the surface of what he can be. He really doesn’t know how good he can be yet, which is probably a good thing, because he doesn’t have a corrupted mind. He’s not in a rush to go somewhere. That’s a big part of the reason he’s been able to get better.”
Even Baylor coach Scott Drew loved what he saw from Garrison. “I loved him out of high school. I saw him play a lot. Loved his motor, loved his intangibles and character,” Drew said.
When Boyton was fired after the season, Garrison entered the transfer portal and a familiar name reached out, new Kentucky associate head coach Alvin Brooks, who was the lead recruiter for Garrison at Baylor. With that connection, he was able to recruit Garrison to Lexington.
Garrison will join a formidable frontcourt of Amari Williams and Andrew Carr, who are more experienced. However, Garrison brings strengths of his own and has NBA upside. One of his biggest strengths is his willingness to learn.
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“His No. 1 thing, he wanted to learn. I was always impressed with his desire to learn and how well he adapted to the things he was learning,” Garrison’s mentor and high school Tommy Griffin said of him.
Scouting Report
Per 247Sports:
“Garrison is not going to wow you with scoring numbers or too many loud dunks. He’s not even overly vocal. But he’s very smart, in all the right spots on both ends of the floor, and should be able to fit right into offensive structure and defensive schemes from day one in college.
He has soft hands, good use of his left, passes well, is poised looking for cutters, and a reliable decision-maker (better than a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in EYBL). He’s not a shot creator or much of a floor-spacer at this point (although he does have touch to develop), and could better utilize his size and frame inside by getting deeper seals and a higher release point in the lane. But he also doesn’t try to do things he can’t and projects as someone who should be able to play out of dribble handoffs and short rolls at the next level.
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Defensively, it’s not that he is exceptionally mobile, but that he understands coverages and can even utilize his length to show some deceptive switchability, as he did in FIBA play. He shows glimpses of rebounding in traffic, but could do so on a more consistent basis. Physically, he’s very coordinated for his size, gets off his feet fairly well, runs hard, and covers the court with long fluid strides. Overall, you just know what you’re going to get from him, and the overlap of his size and two-way reliability is what makes him such a high-floor prospect.
Believe it or not, it has only been a little over two weeks since Mark Pope took over as the Kentucky Basketball head coach. In that span, A LOT has happened. Pope has filled four of his five assistant staff positions and is nearly halfway done with his roster, adding six players, including four from the transfer portal.
“I’m really excited about where we are today,” Pope started in his Monday morning interview with Kentucky Sports Radio, when asked about how the roster is coming together. “This is really artistic. It is puzzle pieces. With every new piece, it kinda changes the picture. Where you have to readjust what you’re looking for in the next piece.”
How many pieces is Pope looking at? Nearly 30. “On our big board right now, we’re actually working with 29 guys that we’ve really, really zeroed in on,” Pope said. A broad list, I know, but also options. All 29 names are in a color-coded tier on a “giant whiteboard”, which has a broken wheel he joked, in his office. The staff also shares Google docs of targets, which he has politely asked the Big Blue Nation not to hack into.
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Aidan Mahaney, who is coming off a weekend visit to Kentucky, and Great Osobor and Koby Brea, who are both currently visiting Kentucky, are certainly three of those players. After these visits and their coinciding decisions, Pope suggests the staff may take a brief pause to analyze the roster before proceeding further.
“I need to take a little pause right now and just see how our pieces are fitting together,” Pope said. Don’t be worried, they will go “lightspeed” again, but compares it to a “surgical pause”. With the transfer portal deadline coming on May 1st, it is a perfect time to look at all their options.
The next deadline to look toward is the May 29th NBA Draft deadline. Pope says he leaving some room open as Kentucky is talking to “a bunch of guys” that are going through the draft process before making a final decision. Two confirmed guys in that category are Jaxson Robinson, who played for Pope at BYU, and Jaylen Wells an uber-athlete from Washington State.
That said, Pope is not in the business of waiting until the last minute and being vulnerable to a last-minute decision. “We’re not going to leave too much space because there are really talented players that fit us now,” he said.
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As it stands, Kentucky is in a really good position with its roster. Some really solid pieces have been added over the last week, especially defensively. Now, it’s about getting a couple of “dudes”, some offensive firepower, and then a bench. Pope and Co. sound prepared to tackle that.
After finalizing all but one member of the staff last week, including the official announcements of top recruiters Alvin Brooks and Jason Hart, the Kentucky Wildcats have received their third commitment in as many days.
“BOOM!” Kentucky assistant Cody Fueger tweeted out on Sunday afternoon. Just hours later, Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr announced his commitment to Kentucky.
Carr began his college career at Delaware, where his father and uncle both played. After two seasons, he elected to transfer to Wake Forest, where started in all 68 games. This past season, Carr was the star big man of a Demon Deacon team that won 20+ games for just the second time over the last decade.
This past season, Carr averaged career-highs in points at 13.5 per game, and rebounds at 6.8 per game. Doing so on 53% shooting from the field and 37% from deep. Per KenPom, he played primarily at the 4 spot and occasionally logged minutes at the 5, so he can play alongside Amari Williams as a stretch big. It is worth noting that Kentucky is also hosting Utah State transfer big Great Osobor for a three-day visit, alongside his family.
While Carr is experienced, his NCAA Tournament experience is limited. Playing just one tournament game, a 20-point loss to a 2-seeded Villanova team in 2022.
Men's Basketball6 days ago
