Oscar Tshiebwe is playing like the best player in the country

Oscar-Tshiebwe-IMG_4608 — Photo by Aaron Perkins for Kentucky Sports Radio

Kentucky is off to a 2-1 start to begin the 2021-22 college basketball season, and junior big Oscar Tshiebwe is the main reason why. The former top-25 recruit out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is doing some big things.

The West Virginia transfer leads the Wildcats in scoring (18.3), rebounds (18.7), blocks (2.7), and minutes (30.3). Tshiebwe is making a major impact and is changing the way some in the Big Blue Nation look at box scores.

However, the junior is also making a big splash nationally. The former McDonald’s All-American has been one of the best players in the country, according to KenPom.

The famous opponent and tempo-adjusted website provides a ton of data with everything you could ever want to look at when it comes to basketball statistics. However, Ken Pomeroy has also come up with a numerical system to rate the top players in college basketball.

Oscar Tshiebwe is firmly in the national player of the year discussion.

After three games, Tshiebwe sits tied with sophomore big Hunter Dickinson of Michigan. Gonzaga big Drew Timme is No. 4 overall after the big performance against Texas over the weekend, and Ohio State forward EJ Liddell currently leads the pack.

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Throwing in Purdue 7-footer Zach Edey, and this season looks like the year of the big man in college hoops. Everyone knows how good Paolo Banchero could be, and it seems like a year where a good big is needed to contend. Luckily, Kentucky has one of the better ones in college basketball.

Houston guard Marcus Sasser is the top-rated perimeter player as the junior is fresh off a big performance in the Cougars’ home beatdown of Virginia. Meanwhile, Florida big Colin Castleton is off to a hot start and will provide the Wildcats a challenge later in the year.

The Duke loss was disappointing, but a star might have just been born in Madison Square Garden that night. Oscar Tshiebwe appears to be an absolute force in the paint, and the transfer could carry the Wildcats a long way this season.