Will Oscar Tshiebwe return to Kentucky? Numerous factors could make up his mind.
Oscar Tshiebwe’s high school basketball coach, Rick Mancino, said this week that he expects the Kentucky big man to enter his name in this year’s NBA Draft. But that doesn’t mean Tshiebwe will never again play for UK.
“I don’t know how he can honestly not come back” if he’s not assured of being a first-round pick, Mancino said. “I think he loves it there. And I think it would only be positive to go back (to Kentucky). . . .
“If they call and say you’re 100 percent getting picked somewhere (in the first round), then hit the road. How do you tell a kid to pass up that?”
Mancino, who coached Tshiebwe for Kennedy Catholic High School in Hermitage, Pa., said he gave the UK big man this advice when they spoke recently.
UK Coach John Calipari also sees Tshiebwe’s decision on turning pro or playing for Kentucky next season dependent on being a first-round pick in the June 23 NBA Draft, said Mancino, who added that the money Tshiebwe can make from potential name, image and likeness deals is also a factor.
“If you’re not guaranteed (being a first-round pick) and NIL works out well, why wouldn’t you stay and improve your game?” Mancino said.
Being a second-round pick or going undrafted could mean playing in the G League.
“Now, you’re chasing a few dollars compared to what you could be making,” Mancino said he told Tshiebwe. “And I said, your name kind of goes away. You’re not going to have people wanting to sponsor you and do those things if you’re in the G League.
“It is what it is if you’re not Tim Tebow,” Mancino added with a laugh. Tebow, the former Florida quarterback, remained in the public eye as he struggled to make it in the NFL and then in Major League Baseball.
Mock NBA drafts updated in the last few days had Tshiebwe being picked early in the second round.
Bleacher Report’s update Tuesday had Tshiebwe as the third player taken in the second round. NBADraft.net had him as the sixth player picked in the second round.
Both mock drafts had two UK players taken in the first round: Shaedon Sharpe and TyTy Washington.
“There are Tshiebwe skeptics,” Bleacher Report posted with its updated mock draft. “But all it takes is one team to see value in adding a specialist to bring energy, physicality and offensive rebounding.”
The Herald-Leader was told that it works in Tshiebwe’s favor that the NBA views rebounding as a skill that translates from college to the pros more reliably than, say, shooting and ball handling. Tshiebwe’s improvement as a college player — which includes this past season for Kentucky — is also a plus in his draft profile.
But Tshiebwe has not yet shown that he fits the NBA prototype of a big man as rim protector and as a good enough perimeter shooter to force opponents to stretch defenses away from the basket, the Herald-Leader was told.
The pre-draft process would give Tshiebwe another chance to improve his profile.
The annual NBA Combine is scheduled for May 16-22 in Chicago.
The NBA deadline for a college player with remaining eligibility to enter the draft is April 24.
The NCAA deadline for a player to withdraw from this year’s NBA Draft and remain eligible to play college basketball is June 1.
Mancino expressed surprise that Tshiebwe could not be a first-round pick coming off a season in which he was named Division I’s player of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He’s also a finalist for other national Player of the Year awards.
“What’s up with these NBA people?” Mancino said with a laugh.
Actually, it happened last year when Luka Garza of Iowa won the Naismith Award as player of the year and then was taken with the 52nd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. That was one spot after UK wing Brandon Boston.
Two other examples of Naismith Award winners not being first-rounders are Jalen Brunson of Villanova (33rd pick in 2018) and Frank Mason III of Kansas (34th pick in 2017).
There are also precedents for a national player of the year returning to play another college season. Most recently, Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina did so after being named player of the year for the 2007-08 season. He was the 13th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.
The Associated Press named Shaquille O’Neal of LSU its national player of the year for 1990-91. He played for LSU the following season and was the first pick in the 1992 NBA Draft.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 2:04 PM.
