Cason Wallace provides his first impressions of Oscar Tshiebwe since landing at Kentucky

Kentucky’s five-star freshman Cason Wallace was one of the most celebrated prospects in America coming out of high school. According to the On3 Consensus Rankings for the 2022 cycle, he was rated as the No. 7 overall player in the nation. One quick look at his highlight tape and it’s easy to see why he was so highly thought of. Since he’s the new guy on campus, Wallace has been getting used to his new teammates in Lexington, like big man Oscar Tshiebwe. The highly touted freshman recently spoke with reporters about his first impressions of Kentucky’s superstar center.

“It’s actually pretty funny because he always comes into the locker room thinking of something different. I know every time I see him I’ll get a laugh in,” Wallace said. He even beat Tshiebwe on a rebound in practice and he had to let the Congolese center know about it. “I actually got a rebound on him and talked trash the whole week,” the combo guard said.

As a senior at Richardson High School (Richardson, Texas)–Wallace averaged 19.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. His former high school head coach, Kevin Lawson, thinks his scoring numbers would have been even better if Wallace wasn’t forced to sit out in the fourth quarter of several blowout victories. Simply put, he was one of the most complete guards in the country in his recruiting class and that’s a big reason why he was named a McDonald’s All-American. Big things are expected from him this season for the Wildcats and a number of media outlets have already projected him in the Kentucky starting lineup for the 2022-2023 college basketball season.

Oscar Tshiebwe returned to Kentucky after taking a trip home to the Democratic Republic of Congo

Tshiebwe had a dominant junior season after transferring to Lexington from West Virginia. He finished with averages of 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds. With those numbers, Tshiebwe ended the season with 28 double-doubles. As expected, he cleaned up in the hardware and accolades department, reeling in six national Player of the Year awards. Tshiebwe was the first player in Kentucky and SEC history to be named Consensus Player of the Year. His efforts helped Kentucky earn a No. 2 seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament before they suffered an upset loss to Saint Peter’s.

Tshiebwe explored the idea of entering the 2022 NBA Draft but ultimately decided to return to UK for his senior season. He’s the first Wooden Award winner to return to college since Tyler Hansbrough did it for North Carolina in 2008.

With Tshiebwe back in the U.S., the Wildcats began their offseason workouts in late June. The team will be preparing for their foreign trip to the Bahamas in August.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater also contributed to this article.