Mike White praises Oscar Tshiebwe: "To me, he was unbelievable"
Forget the rebounds and mile-long autograph lines that Oscar Tshiebwe consistently produces. The best part about having him wear blue and white might be hearing postgame press conferences where opposing rivals are forced to bend the knee and crown Tshiebwe as the jewel of college basketball. We’ve already heard it from some of the best coaches in the nation. Florida’s Mike White just had to join in on the fun.
Oscar Tshiebwe makes teams change their whole plan
Potentially the most fun part about watching Tshiebwe play this season is that he is the de-facto number one option that opposing teams have to focus on. And it still doesn’t even matter. Tshiebwe has been able to impose his dominance and work ethic all season long, regardless of who’s in front of him. This has done wonders not only for his numbers overall, but his impact on the mentality of other teams he goes against.
“They were fantastic. We are harping on defending the glass. If we don’t defend the glass, we don’t have any chance,” Florida Coach Mike White said after the game. “We showed some of the missed hits in the first half and some of the opportunities where we could have guards help out our front core guys while Oscar [Tshiebwe]’s up there playing volleyball. To me, he was unbelievable.“
Unbelievable is turning into the ordinary these days in Lexington. Oscar Tshiebwe finished Saturday’s win over Florida with a game-high 27 points and 19 rebounds on only 18 shots. For others, that’s a career night that is almost impossible to recreate. For Tshiebwe, it’s just another day on the court.
Tshiebwe’s presence doesn’t only help himself either. Being such a huge part of what Kentucky is trying to do, coach’s are forced to focus on him and create defensive schemes to combat his strengths. Not only does this usually not work anyway, this just allows everyone else on the floor to get better looks. This Kentucky team is built so perfectly that if you focus on Tshiebwe, it’s almost a certainty that someone else is going to bury your squad.
The Wildcats don’t often need that though. Tshiebwe is reaching numbers almost never seen before regardless of whatever a team might do to try and contain him.
Oscar Tshiebwe is bringing back the home court advantage
It’s admittedly been a rough few years for the patrons of Rupp Arena. It all started to hit after the Evansville loss back in 2019 (sorry to bring that up). Kentucky’s team was really good that year and was hitting their stride before the season got shut down, we all remember that. That being said though, Rupp still didn’t feel the same that year until well into the beginning of 2020. The 2020-2021 season should deservedly be hit with an asterisks. Playing in front of empty arenas with no fans was near torture to these players.
2022 though? Rupp Arena is back to being one of the best spots in college basketball. It’s not all because of Tshiebwe, but he’s been a significant driving force into this. Kentucky is back to being a top-5 program and a national title contender. Fans in this state know basketball. If Kentucky has good basketball, they will respond accordingly, which we’ve seen become evident as the season has progressed. It’s not just those in the BBN that are noticing, the rest of college basketball understands what is happening in Lexington again.
“This is a tough place to play, and it was electric in here. That volume can drain you a little bit, and it got really loud. And Kentucky’s really good,” Mike White said in his postgame presser. “I mean, this is a team that’s got a chance to win the whole thing, in my opinion. They were fantastic. We are harping on defending the glass. If we don’t defend the glass, we don’t have any chance.”
Oscar Tshiebwe has already shown enough as a person to deserve every single bit of love he’s getting from the BBN, but he just refuses to stop putting smiles on people’s faces.
The NPOY debate is becoming clear
In another edition of ‘Things everyone in Kentucky saw before the rest of the country,’ the national media is now fully aboard the Oscar Tshiebwe National Player of the Year campaign.
What we’re watching occur in Lexington is purely immaculate. Oscar Tshiebwe is one of the best players and overall people in college basketball. He’s using his platform for the ultimate good and just radiating positivity wherever he goes. It just makes it that much better when we see him go out and absolutely dominate whatever competition is thrown in front of him.
“It’s everything because it’s extra possessions, extra time to the game, and more opportunities to score the ball. Usually when he gets it, he’s right around the rim, so it’s just like a shot putter – a volleyball tap,” Colin Castleton said about the fellow big man after the game. “He just puts it back up and he does a good job at that. He’s probably the best rebounder I’ve ever played against. That’s his skillset, and that’s what he’s good at.”
You’re not alone, Castleton. Oscar Tshiebwe may be the best we’ve ever seen too.
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