Oscar Tshiebwe (UK Athletics Photo)
If you wanted a great look at why West Virginia transfer Oscar Tshiebwe could be such a key part of John Calipari’s team next year you hopefully got to see him recently on BBN Tonight with WLEX-TV sportscaster Anna Maria Tarullo. Maybe it helped that Tarullo knew Tshiebwe since she recently came to WLEX after being sports director at a Charlestown, W.V., TV station.
Tshiebwe had a scholarship offer from Kentucky coming out of high school when he picked West Virginia. However, he made it clear to Tarullo that once he decided to transfer he knew where he wanted to go.
“I wanted to talk to coach Cal. That’s the place I wanted to go. When I heard that Coach contacted me, I said, ‘Yes!’ The first thing I asked him was, ‘Do you still have a scholarship for me?'” Tshiebwe said. “Coach said, ‘We have your scholarship. Come on, son.’ I was like, ‘Yes!'”
Tshiebwe was a five-star recruit and will give Calipari a physical low post presence who values rebounding and scoring inside. He’s the type of post presence Calipari likes and has not had the last few years.
“I’ll be so happy to step on the court in Rupp Arena,” Tshiebwe told Tarullo. “That’s my dream place, playing basketball. I’ll be so happy and I can’t wait to show these people what I can do to help this team.”
After last year’s 9-16 mark, Kentucky will be happy to see what he can do to help the team as well. He practiced with the team the second semester and coach John Calipari noted several times how much he helped the team in practice.
“You’ve got to be the example to everybody. You’ve got to be the hardest worker,” Tshiebwe said. “Just because you deserve something doesn’t mean they’re going to give it to you. Sometimes you need to go get it. You need to go snatch it from somebody’s hands.”
