Thank You, Big O

After months of anticipation, Oscar Tshiebwe is officially declared for the NBA Draft.

Despite unexpected end-of-year results, he still gave us two of the most incredible seasons by an individual to ever put on a Kentucky jersey. His final resume is simply incredible.

As a Junior…

Unanimous National Player of the Year (Sporting News, Associated Press, United States Basketball Writer’s Association, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award)
First player in program history to win all six NCAA-recognized awards
First player in SEC history to win all six in the same season
Unanimous All-America First-Team honoree by the AP, Sporting News, USBWA, and NABC
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award winner for the nation’s best center
NABC’s Pete Newell Big Man of the Year
SEC Player of the Year
First-Team All-SEC by both the league’s coaches and media
Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist
All-SEC Defensive Team, as selected by the league’s coaches
Led the country in rebounding (15.1), offensive rebounds per game (5.3), and defensive rebounding percentage (34.6%); also ranked second in offensive rebounding percentage (19.4%)
Snared 515 rebounds on the season, topping any other Division I collegiate player – The mark ranks as the third-most in program history, and he is one of just three players to tally 500 or more
Became a 1,000-point collegiate scorer in the final game of the season
Set a UK single-season record with 28 double-doubles
Was the first player to average at least 15 points and at least 15 rebounds per game since Drake’s Lewis Lloyd and Alcorn State’s Larry Smith did so in 1979-80
First major-conference player to average 15-15 since UCLA’s Bill Walton in 1972-73
First UK player to tally those numbers since Bob Burrow in 1954-55
Finished the season as the only major-conference player averaging at least 1.6 blocks and 1.6 steals per game
Corralled 10 or more rebounds in all but two games
Finished the season with program records of 21 straight double-figure rebounding efforts and 16 straight double-doubles
One of only two players (Anthony Davis being the other, in 1978-79) in program history to lead the team in points per game (17.4), rebounds per game (15.1), steals per game (1.8), blocks per game (1.6), and field-goal percentage (60.6%) with a minimum of 130 attempts
Set a Rupp Arena record with 28 rebounds against Western Kentucky
Had more rebounds than the Hilltoppers’ entire team
Is tied for the sixth-most rebounds in UK history and the most for a Wildcat in a regulation-length game in more than 52 years
His rebounds were the most in Division I basketball except when Kendall Gray from Delaware State had 30 in 2015
Finished the season responsible for 37.8% of the team’s total rebounds. If you take away team rebounds that number jumped to 41.2%
Had 80 rebounds through the first five games of the season, which was the most by an SEC player in any five-game span since 2016
Was the first UK player with six games of at least 20 points and at least 15 rebounds since Jim Andrews in 1972-73
Became the first player in program history to tally at least 30 points and snare at least 15 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game against Saint Peter’s
Also played in a career-high 43 minutes
Had 27 points and 14 rebounds at Florida
Scored 30 points and had 18 rebounds at Arkansas, becoming the first UK player to achieve those numbers on the road against an SEC foe since Dan Issel in 1970
Had 17 points, 16 boards, and three blocks in the come-from-behind win at home vs. LSU
Scored 21 points and added 14 rebounds at home vs. Alabama
Tallied 27 points and 19 rebounds at home against Florida
Produced 17 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks at Kansas
Had 21 points and 22 rebounds in the overtime win over Mississippi State
Logged 30 points and 13 rebounds at Vanderbilt
Scored 29 points and contributed 17 rebounds vs. Georgia
Posted 13 points and 20 rebounds in the SEC opener vs. Missouri
Had 14 points and the record-breaking 28 boards against Western Kentucky and combined for 48 boards in a two-game stretch
Had three straight games of 20 or more points against Central Michigan, Southern and at Notre Dame
Logged 24 points and 16 boards with three blocks vs. Mount St. Mary’s
Had 14 points and 20 boards in his UK home opener vs. Robert Morris
Scored 17 points and had 20 rebounds in the Champions Classic against Duke
The rebounds were the most in the history of the event and the most ever in a UK debut

As a Senior…

Was a unanimous second-team All-America selection by the Associated Press, USBWA, NABC, and The Sporting News
Became just the ninth player in program history to earn unanimous All-America accolades in two seasons, a recognition that wasn’t accomplished since Kenny Walker in 1985, ‘86
First-Team All-Southeastern Conference selection by both the league’s coaches and media
With 952 career rebounds at Kentucky, he is sixth all-time in program history
The 952 boards are the most through two seasons in UK allure
Had 20 double-doubles as a senior and finished his career tied for second in career double-doubles (48)
Became the 61st player in program history to top 1,000 career points and ranks 48th with 1,117 scored as a Wildcat
Only Bill Spivey (1,213) scored more points in two seasons than Tshiebwe
Ranks in a tie for 15th for the most career rebounds (1,317) in a college career since 1985-86
With 437 rebounds, he set a UK single-season record for total rebounds as a senior
Led the nation in rebounds per game (13.7) for the second-consecutive year
He averaged 12.3 rebounds per game for the entirety of his career, becoming just the third player since 1996-97 to average at least 12.0 rebounds per game for a career
Had seven 20-point, 15-rebound games
Amassed eight games of at least 20 rebounds in his UK career, all UK players combined since 1970-71 tallied seven other 20-rebound games
Had two 20-20 games and three as a UK player
Set a UK NCAA Tournament record with 25 rebounds against Providence, bettering a record that had stood since 1956
It was the most for any player in the NCAA Tournament since 1977
Averaged a team-high 16.5 points per game
Logged 23 double-figure scoring efforts and 25 double-figure rebounding games
Ranked second on the team in blocks per game (1.0) and steals per game (1.6)
Scored 25 points and added 18 rebounds against Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament
Had 21 points and 20 rebounds on Senior Night against Vanderbilt
Logged 22 points and 17 boards in a win over Auburn at home
Scored 25 points on 12 of 13 (92.3%) from the field at Florida
It was the best single-game field-goal percentage with that many attempts in program history
Had a career-high 37 points and 24 rebounds in a home victory over Georgia
He was the first UK player to have a 35-point, 20-rebound game since 1976 and it was just the fifth such game in Kentucky history
Logged 28 points and 12 boards in a win over Yale
Scored 20 points and hauled in 15 boards at Gonzaga
Began the season with 22 points and 18 rebounds in the Champions Classic vs. Michigan State

Oscar finishes his career 6th on UK’s Career Rebounding List with 952 rebounds in 66 total games played at Kentucky — just under 100 boards shy of Dan Issel’s all-time record 1,078 rebounds in 83 games.

Oscar goes down as a Wildcat Legend and should certainly be the first Cal-Era player to have his jersey immortalized in the rafters.

From the entire Big Blue Nation…

Thank You, Big O!