Oscar Tshiebwe

Oscar Tshiebwe (born 27 November 1999) is a Congolese college basketball player for the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He previously played for the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Oscar Tshiebwe
Tshiebwe with West Virginia in 2020
No. 34 – Kentucky Wildcats
PositionCenter
LeagueSoutheastern Conference
Personal information
Born (1999-11-27) 27 November 1999
Lubumbashi, DR Congo
NationalityCongolese
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school
College
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Tshiebwe grew up in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. He played soccer as a child but was encouraged to start basketball because he was tall.[1] Tshiebwe trained by running on hills and on a mountain near his hometown.[2] He attended a basketball camp led by Congolese National Basketball Association (NBA) player Bismack Biyombo, who helped advance his career.[3] Tshiebwe did not start playing basketball until May 2014.[1]

High school career

Tshiebwe moved to the United States in November 2015,[4] before his freshman year of high school, attending Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Virginia.[2] Entering his junior year, he transferred to Kennedy Catholic High School in Hermitage, Pennsylvania.[5] As a junior, Tshiebwe averaged 21.1 points per game and led his team to a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 1A title.[6] He earned Class 1A All-State first team honors.[7] In his senior season, Tshiebwe averaged 23.4 points, 18 rebounds, and five blocks per game, leading Kennedy Catholic to a 24–3 record and the PIAA Class 6A championship.[8][9] He was a Class 6A All-State first team pick and was named Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year.[8][10] He averaged 21.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game playing for ITPS Wildcats Select on the adidas Gauntlet. Tshiebwe played in the McDonald's All-American Game and Nike Hoop Summit.[11][12]

Recruiting

He was considered a five-star recruit by Rivals and 247Sports and a four-star recruit by ESPN.[13][14][15] On October 20, 2018, he committed to play college basketball for West Virginia.[16]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Oscar Tshiebwe
C		 Lubumbashi, DR Congo Kennedy Catholic (PA) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (100 kg) Oct 20, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 88
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 26  247Sports: 22  ESPN: 46
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "West Virginia 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  • "2019 West Virginia Mountaineers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 5, 2019.

    College career

    West Virginia

    In his second college game, Tshiebwe had a double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds at Pittsburgh. As a result, he was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.[17] Tshiebwe had 19 points and 18 rebounds against Wichita State in the Cancun Challenge championship game, leading his team to victory and earning MVP honors. He was again named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on December 2, 2019.[18] At the conclusion of the regular season, Tshiebwe was named to the Second Team All-Big 12 and the All-Newcomer Team.[19] Tshiewe averaged 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game as a freshman while shooting 55% from the field.[20]

    As a sophomore, he averaged 8.5 points and 7.8 rebounds through 10 games before leaving West Virginia for personal reasons.[21]

    Kentucky

    On January 14, 2021, Tshiebwe transferred to Kentucky.

    Career statistics
    Legend
      GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
     FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
     RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
     BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

    College
    Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
    2019–20 West Virginia 313123.2.552–.7089.3.4.71.011.2
    2020–21 West Virginia 101019.9.523–.6077.8.7.4.48.5
    Career 414122.4.545–.6928.9.4.7.910.6

    Personal life

    After Tshiebwe began attending Kennedy Catholic High School, Jeff Kollar and his wife, who live near the school, became his legal guardians.[2] Kollar and his wife were previously guardians of brothers Mohamed and Sagaba Konate, who both played basketball for Kennedy Catholic. Sagaba Konate also played college basketball for West Virginia.[5]

    References
    1. Hunter, Greg (24 December 2018). "WVU fans get a taste of Tshiebwe". WV News. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    2. White, Mike (1 August 2018). "Oscar Tshiebwe, Kennedy Catholic forward, is turning heads on the recruiting trail". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    3. Squadron, Alex (6 May 2019). "Bigger than basketball: How Bismack Biyombo is creating change in the Congo". Slam. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    4. Everett, Brad (25 April 2018). "Kennedy Catholic junior Oscar Tshiebwe reaching elite status". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    5. White, Mike (22 December 2017). "Kennedy Catholic basketball team is talented — and controversial". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    6. "Meet the District 10 Boys Basketball All-Stars". Erie Times-News. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    7. Groller, Keith (1 May 2018). "Becahi's Ryan Young, Moravian Academy's Jordan Holmqvist earn first-team honors". The Morning Call. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    8. "KC's Tshiebwe named Gatorade Pa. Player of the Year". The Herald. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    9. "Meet the District 10 Boys Basketball All-Stars". Erie Times-News. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    10. Groller, Keith (14 May 2019). "All-state boys basketball: Becahi's Justin Paz, Moravian Academy's Jordan Holmqvist earn first-team honors". The Morning Call. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    11. Smith, Brad (26 March 2019). "Oscar Tshiebwe, McDonald's All-American". Mountaineer Sports. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    12. Brown, Tim (13 April 2019). "Top 11 plays from the 2019 Nike Hoop Summit". The Oregonian. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    13. "Oscar Tshiebwe, Kennedy Catholic, Center (BK)". 247Sports. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    14. "Oscar Tshiebwe, 2019 Center". Rivals. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    15. "Oscar Tshiebwe". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    16. Wells, Adam (20 October 2018). "5-Star Center Oscar Tshiebwe Commits to West Virginia over Kentucky". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
    17. "Doolittle and Tshiebwe Collect Weekly Awards". Big 12 Conference. November 18, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
    18. "Dotson & Tshiebwe Collect Men's Basketball Awards". Big 12 Conference. December 2, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
    19. "Men's Basketball All-Big 12 Awards Announced" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
    20. Campbell, Zach (March 10, 2020). "In Freshman Season, Oscar Tshiebwe Dazzles". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
    21. Boone, Kyle (January 2, 2021). "West Virginia big man Oscar Tshiebwe leaves team for personal reasons, Bob Huggins says he won't return". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
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