Tshiebwe to miss Blue-White Game; Toppin and Ware temporarily out too

DrewFranklinKSR

Earlier today, Oscar Tshiebwe was named SEC Preseason Player of the Year by voters down at SEC Basketball Media Day in Birmingham, Alabama, in addition to preseason All-SEC First Team recognition with teammate Sahvir Wheeler. Kentucky’s two All-SEC first-teamers were scheduled to speak at SEC Basketball Media Day this morning, but Tshiebwe was a late scratch from the lineup as he recovers from his preseason knee procedure back in Lexington. Lance Ware took Tshiebewe’s place beside Wheeler and John Calipari in Birmingham.

When Calipari made his appearance on the SEC Tipoff ’23 main stage, his comments included an update on Tshiebwe’s recovery as the team prepares for the upcoming season.

“Oscar had a procedure that, you know, he’s walking around, is not swelled already,” Calipari said of Kentucky’s reigning National Player of the Year. “But he’s not human. He’s a little different than the rest of us.”

Though different, Calipari confirmed Tshiebwe will not participate in the upcoming Blue-White game in Pikeville, and beyond that, the timetable and Tshiebwe’s availability for the first exhibition game are still unknown.

“To be honest, I can’t tell you,” Calipari said of Tshiebwe’s return date. “Because when I saw him yesterday, I just busted out laughing like, ‘you know, you’re supposed to be swelled, you’re supposed to be on crutches for a week.’

“He’s walking around, showing, ‘look, I’m fine and I’ve got no swelling,’ and so I just don’t know. You know me well enough; I’ll keep him out longer than he probably should. But he’s pretty resilient.”

Toppin and Ware out too

Turns out, Tshiebwe isn’t Kentucky’s only absence in its frontcourt. The Wildcats are also practicing without Jacob Toppin, who was first scheduled to be Tshiebwe’s fill-in at Media Day, and Lance Ware, leaving Calipari with seven available players.

“Yesterday we had seven practice,” Calipari said. “We had managers, walk-ons, and a coach on the floor with us, so it’s hard to get better that way. But sometimes that stuff happens.”

Toppin’s undisclosed injury occurred in yesterday’s practice. “Nothing crazy,” Calipari explained, briefly.

“Lance had a muscle pull. He had been out.”

At Big Blue Madness, Calipari told the crowd he expected Ware to miss four or five days. He has not said if Ware or Toppin will miss the Blue-White game or any extended time.

Tshiebwe on crutches at Big Blue Madness following procedure

On October 11, Calipari first announced Tshiebwe’s preseason knee complications with a tweet.

“I have good news and bad news,” Calipari warned Big Blue Nation. “Good news is Oscar had an unbelievable performance at Pro Day and the scouts loved what they saw. He came back to develop his game and become a more complete player and that’s exactly what he displayed Sunday night. They loved it.

“Bad news is I kept him out of practice Sat. with knee stuff. He refused to sit out Pro Day and balled out. I made him sit out Mon. and get examined as a precaution. He’s going to have a minor 15-minute procedure to clean some things up.”

Tshiebwe was on crutches and completely inactive from basketball at Big Blue Madness last Friday (Oct. 14). He could only hobble up to the stage for his player introduction.