Kentucky will be an option for West Virginia basketball transfer Oscar Tshiebwe
Former West Virginia center Oscar Tshiebwe has entered the NCAA’s Transfer Portal, and Kentucky is expected to be an option in the process that will follow.
The Herald-Leader has learned that UK was among the first schools to reach out to Tshiebwe, a former Wildcats recruiting target who took an official visit to Lexington during his initial recruiting process. The 6-foot-9, 260-pound player from Congo ultimately chose West Virginia and averaged 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game as a freshman last season, shooting 55.2 percent from the field. He played in 10 games this season before it was announced a few days ago that he would be leaving West Virginia’s program.
National recruiting expert Andrew Slater tweeted Tuesday night that Tshiebwe is planning to cut his college options to six or seven schools and go through video conferences with the coaches at each of those programs. He plans to enroll at his next school during the second semester.
Tshiebwe would not be able to play for his new school this season, but he should be eligible to play at the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
Tshiebwe was the No. 23 overall recruit in the 2019 class, according to the 247Sports rankings. He played his high school ball for Kennedy Catholic (Pa.) and strongly considered UK before choosing West Virginia, a school that started recruiting him in his earliest days in the United States. He also took official visits to Baylor and Illinois.
“He is a tough, physical specimen. He plays with endless energy,” former national analyst Evan Daniels told the Herald-Leader toward the end of Tshiebwe’s recruitment. “He competes. He’s a terrific rebounder. He’s an athlete. I’ll be honest with you, I think Oscar plays as hard as any player I’ve ever evaluated. He’s a great rebounder. He’s a tough kid who contests shots. He’s active, he rim-runs, and he power dunks everything. There’s a lot of value in a guy like him.”
Miami is among the schools expected to be a factor for Tshiebwe’s commitment, and 247Sports reported over the weekend that he was in the south Florida area, though he is not permitted to go on any sanctioned recruiting trips due to the NCAA’s ongoing dead period.
Kentucky is still looking for some more frontcourt help for next season’s team.
Olivier Sarr is expected to begin his professional career after this season, and freshman Isaiah Jackson is now being projected as a first-round NBA Draft pick. The Wildcats have already signed top-10 recruit Daimion Collins — a highly athletic, 6-9 power forward — and freshman power forward Lance Ware is expected to be back next season, as is sophomore forward Jacob Toppin.
As of now, the only known frontcourt recruiting target on UK’s radar for the 2021 class is Efton Reid, a near-7-footer from Virginia who has not yet narrowed his list of schools. 247Sports ranks Reid as the No. 26 recruit in the class.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 6:37 PM.
