KSR Today: Final Four, Oscar Tshiebwe and JUCO targets?
The college basketball season comes down to one final weekend, as the Final Four is set to tip off in New Orleans this evening. No. 1 seed Kansas will take on No. 2 seed Villanova to open the night at 6:09 p.m. ET, followed by No. 2 Duke vs. No. 8 UNC at 8:49 p.m. ET.
It will be the start of the final weekend of games for Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s historic career, with a maximum of two games remaining before his retirement.
KSR’s thoughts on the matter? We’re counting down the minutes for his welcomed departure. You can read the complete roundtable here.
On this day 10 years ago… No. 8
Speaking of New Orleans and Final Fours, Kentucky earned its eighth national championship in program history ten years ago to the day.
Oscar Tshiebwe wins AP, USBWA Player of the Year awards
The trophy case continues to get absurdly packed for Kentucky star center Oscar Tshiebwe, who took home two more National Player of the Year awards on Friday.
It started with Associated Press Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year honors, earning 46 of the 60 possible first-place votes to become just the second Wildcat in program history to win the award, joining Anthony Davis back in 2012.
“It is amazing to join somebody like Anthony Davis,” Tshiebwe said in the press release. “And that gives me confidence and gives me more help for my future, too, for what I’m trying to do and what I’m trying to accomplish. I’m just putting God first because God knows what I need, and he has great plans for me.”
Just minutes later, Tshiebwe won the Oscar Robertson Trophy as the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Player of the Year. It marked the fourth NPOY award out of the six most recognized, with just the Naismith and Wooden Award remaining.
Here is the long list of honors and awards Tshiebwe has earned in his first season at Kentucky:
- USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy
- Associated Press Player of the Year
- NABC National Player of the Year
- NABC Pete Newell Big Man of the Year
- NCAA Consensus All-America First Team
- Wooden Award All-America Team
- USBWA First-Team All-America
- NABC First-Team All-America
- Associated Press First-Team All-America
- Sporting News First-Team All-America
- Wooden Award All-America Team
- NABC All-District 20 First Team
- Southeastern Conference Player of the Year (coaches/media)
- All-SEC First Team (coaches/media)
- All-SEC Defensive Team (coaches)
- USBWA District IV Player of the Year
- USBWA All-District IV team
- CBS Sports National Player of the Year
- USA Today National Player of the Year
- USA Today First-Team All-American
- The Athletic’s National Player of the Year
- Sports Illustrated First-Team All-American
- The Field of 68 National Player of the Year
- The Field of 68 First-Team All-America
- College Hoops Today National Player of the Year
- USA Today SEC Player of the Year
- USA Today First-Team All-SEC unanimous selection
2022 GEICO Nationals championship
A national high school champion will be crowned Saturday, with the title game of the 2022 GEICO Nationals set to tip-off at noon EST on ESPN.
No. 3 Montverde (FL) and No. 4 Link Academy (MO) will battle for the boy’s national title in Ft. Myers, FL, a matchup of two loaded rosters with elite talent. Montverde took down in-state rival No. 2 IMG Academy (FL) 62-57 in the semifinals on Friday after two failed attempts earlier in the season. Link then defeated a short-handed No. 8 Prolific Prep (CA) squad by a final score of 60-53 to advance to the title game.
Duke signee Dariq Whitehead finished with a team-high 21 points on 8-16 shooting and 3-8 from three for Montverde, followed by Malik Reneau with 10, Texas signee Dillon Mitchell with eight points and 13 rebounds and Kentucky target KJ Evans with eight points and 10 rebounds. IMG was led by Keyonte George with 21 points, followed by Jett Howard with 12 and Jarace Walker with 11.
As for Link, Arkansas signee Jordan Walsh led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds, followed by Trey Green with 13 and Julian Phillips with 11. Tre White (25) and Jordan Pope (18) led the way for Prolific in the loss.
Montverde is pushing for its sixth national title and second in a row, while Link is in its first official year as a certified program.
Class of 2022
- No. 3 Dariq Whitehead (Montverde Academy) – Duke
- No. 7 Dillon Mitchell (Montverde Academy) – Texas
- No. 12 Jordan Walsh (Link Academy) – Arkansas
- No. 16 Julian Phillips (Link Academy) – Uncommitted
- No. 21 Jalen Hood-Schifino (Montverde Academy) – Indiana
- No. 29 Malik Reneau (Montverde Academy) – Uncommitted
- No. 32 Skyy Clark (Montverde Academy) – Uncommitted
- No. 34 Tarris Reed (Link Academy) – Michigan
Class of 2023
- No. 2 Kwame Evans Jr. (Montverde Academy) – Uncommitted
- No. 10 Omaha Biliew (Link Prep) – Uncommitted
- No. 48 Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (Montverde Academy) – Purdue
Class of 2024
- Derik Queen (Montverde Academy) – Uncommitted
Kentucky in the running for the JUCO NPOY?
Is Kentucky making a push for one of the top JUCO players in the nation? It’s uncertain just how much mutual contact has been made, but WIldcats have made the final cut for Sean East, the 2022 NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.
East, a 6-foot-3 point guard out of John A. Logan College, will choose between Kentucky, BYU, Clemson, Missouri, Oregon and South Florida in the coming weeks. He announced his final list on Friday.
East averaged 20.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists this season while shooting 53% from the field, 41% from three and 89% from the free-throw line. The lefty standout scored 20-plus points in 13 games and hit the 30-point mark six times, including a 43-point outing at the 2022 NJCAA DI Men’s Basketball Championship tournament. He earned NJCAA First Team All-America honors at the conclusion of his standout season.
Could he be taking his talents to Lexington?
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