(Photo by Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
(Photo by Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
Kentucky has achieved the maximum chance of transferring basketball to the market during the 2021-22 season.
West Virginia center and former five-star prospect Oscar Tshiebwe has committed to Kentucky, choosing the Wildcats over the offers and interest of Illinois, Miami (FL) and the state of Carolina of the North, among others.
After being left out for the rest of the 2020-21 season, the newest Wildcat will have three years of eligibility from 2021-22.
Tshiebwe, a 6-foot-9, 260-pound center native of Congo, averaged 8.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in ten games as a runner-up before entering the transfer portal last week. The five-star former outfielder, who has an impressive 7-foot, five-foot spread, led West Virginia in scoring and rebounding with 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game as a freshman, respectively. It was a first-year campaign that earned him the honors of the second team and first team of all the Big 12, along with the honors of the All-Big 12 preseason team that entered the current season. CBS Sports ranked the former WVU center as the No. 15 player in college basketball before the 2020-21 season.
Prior to his move to Morgantown, Tshiebwe was ranked as a five-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals.com, which ranked the center as No. 23 and No. 26 in the 2019 class, respectively. ESPN listed him as a four-star potential and number 48 in the general recruitment of his class.
He was also named McDonald’s All-American in 2019, a game in which he finished with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes.
In the legendary All-American Game, Tshiebwe told KSR that he loved UK coach John Calipari and what the Kentucky basketball program had to offer.
“It was a tough decision because I like Kentucky and I love coach Calipari,” Tshiebwe said. “But I ended up in West Virginia because it was a school I used to think about (grow up). I like the way I play, I like the coach and the program. That’s why I ended up going there. “
And if he hadn’t signed with the Mountaineers, he would have headed to Lexington.
“Coach Calipari was telling me,‘ I want to train you! Come play for me! I will train you and help you become a great player. I will help you achieve your dreams. … Kentucky was second. “
It may not have been right away, but Tshiebwe found his way to Lexington two years later as a transfer.
Check out the highlights of Wildcat:
Welcome home, Mr. Tshiebwe.