Oscar Tshiebwe is Ready for Saint Peter's Revenge Tour

Kentucky’s early NCAA Tournament exit played a role in Oscar Tshiebwe‘s decision to return to UK. One might say Saint Peter intervened on more than one occasion.

This morning John Calipari recalled the moment Oscar told the Kentucky head basketball coach he was coming back for one more year.

“He said, I asked God, why did I win every award and do all that I did, and not be a lottery pick? And he said, the answer I got back was because you have unfinished business,” Calipari told Dan Issel and Mike Pratt.

If Saint Peter did not intercede on Calipari’s behalf, the Saint Peter’s basketball team provided enough motivation for Tshiebwe to run it back. His teammates’ reaction to the news manifested some laughs.

“They were happy,” said Tshiebwe. “They say, ‘Now, let’s go beat Saint Peter’s. We cannot let them beat us again.’ I told them man, it was the most disrespectful thing. I cannot end my college career getting beat by Saint Peter’s.”

The Wildcats ended the regular season ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll en route to a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Even though this John Calipari basketball team was more experienced than most, they still lacked postseason experience. The lessons Oscar learned in the opening round loss to Saint Peter’s will fuel him throughout the 2022-23 basketball season.

“This was my first March Madness. I was so excited. I told them, ‘Let’s go to work.’ But some of my teammates were not ready. I was ready, but they were not ready. Now this year is here, I gotta get with it. I told Coach, ‘Coach, if I see somebody not ready, I’m going to take your place. Put that person in — I’ll be the coach for a minute.’ I gotta choose who’s ready to play so we can win,” he laughed.

“This was the best motivation for me so I can just stay focused and I know what March Madness is like. You cannot take anything for granted, no matter who you’re against, any team can beat you, any team. It is better motivation for me to stay focused, working hard and get better.”

Saint Peter’s may end up giving this Kentucky basketball team exactly what it needs for an exciting resurgence in 2022-23. The last time the Cats were upset in the postseason by a small school, Kentucky invited Robert Morris to Rupp Arena the following season. A game against the Peacocks in Lexington might be just what the BBN needs to exorcize some demons.