Oscar Tshiebwe, transferred from men’s basketball to West Virginia, has committed to Kentucky, he announced Sunday night.
“I am grateful for the time I spent in West Virginia and the lessons I learned. I spent a lot of time praying to God to help me make the best decision for my future, ”wrote Tshiebwe on Twitter. “I am excited for this new chapter of my life. I will continue my career at the University of Kentucky #BBN”
I am grateful for the time I spent in West Virginia and the lessons I learned. I spent a lot of time praying to God to help me make the best decision for my future. I am excited for this new chapter of my life. I will continue my career at the University of Kentucky #BBN pic.twitter.com/rm08UwtDBI
– Big O (@ Oscartshiebwe34) January 11, 2021
Tshiebwe chose the Wildcats over Miami, NC State and Illinois. He will train with the team this season and will be fit for the 2021-22 campaign.
West Virginia announced on New Year’s Day that Tshiebwe was moving away from the program and the great productive man entered the transfer portal a few days later. Tshiebwe received interest from a long list of programs after his transfer, but conducted Zoom meetings on Thursday and Friday with the four schools mentioned.
Miami was considered a favorite right after Tshiebwe’s announcement because he was in Florida working out, sources told ESPN, but Kentucky recovered the ground after Tshiebwe spoke to Wildcats head coach John Calipari and then got a call from Zoom with the team on Friday night.
Tshiebwe entered the NBA draft last summer before withdrawing his name, and sources told ESPN that he could test the waters of the draft again this spring. However, after being projected as a run-off choice in ESPN’s 2021 mock draft last summer, it dropped from the top 100 prospects after the first few weeks of this season.
A 1.80 m big man from Congo, Tshiebwe was one of the country’s best freshmen last season, averaging 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds. He was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team entering this season, but he fought for most of the first half of the season. He averaged 8.5 points and 7.8 rebounds before transferring, and his minutes dropped to less than 20 per game.
Tshiebwe was a former recruit in the top 50 in the 2019 class.
Kentucky has a number of potential NBA recruiting possibilities on this season’s list, although it is unclear which ones will become professionals and which will return to Lexington. Either way, Tshiebwe is expected to help replace Olivier Sarr, a former Wake Forest transfer who is expected to leave after this season.