Are you in love with Oscar yet?
If not, you will be. Oscar Tshiebwe is tall, talented and an engaging conversationalist, especially when he is talking with his hands. He has large hands. And he uses those large hands to grab basketballs. Three “real” games into this Kentucky basketball season, the 6-foot-9 center from the Democratic Republic of the Congo believes every basketball belongs to him.
In fact, Oscar has grabbed 56 rebounds, for a ridiculous average of 18.7 per game. (It’s OK to call him Oscar, everybody does, including Oscar.) Oscar grabbed 20 rebounds in UK’s loss to Duke, then 20 more in its win over Robert Morris. Not that we should be surprised. Oscar set his preseason goal at 20 rebounds per game. “He’s a man of his word,” quipped Robert Morris Coach Andrew Toole last Friday.
In the Wildcats’ 80-55 win over Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday night, Oscar was “held” to 16 rebounds in 33 minutes. No problem. “I’ll just have to get 24 rebounds next game,” he said not as a boast, mind you, but with a smile. Oscar has a great smile.
Can Oscar possibly keep up such a remarkable pace?
“He will try,” said John Calipari, the Kentucky coach.
Oscar is not a machine, however. He made that clear Tuesday night with a Tweet that said, “I AM NOT A MACHINE, I AM OSCAR.” The tweet included a graphic with a pair of pictures. The picture in front featured Oscar celebrating. The picture in back showed a caricature of Oscar’s face, one-half human, one-half cyborg.
Machines repeat the same task over and over again. That applies to Oscar’s work on the glass, claiming rebound after rebound. Last week, Calipari said those “3” cards at Rupp Arena for three-pointers should be replaced by “R” cards for Oscar’s rebounds. By Tuesday night, it had been done.
Ah, but also Tuesday night, Oscar added something new to his repertoire: A jump shot. We had heard about it. Calipari had told us about it. Teammate Sahvir Wheeler, who seems to own a special connection with Oscar, informed us Monday he had urged his friend to break out his jumper in a real-live game.
So Oscar did. He went 11-of-14 from the floor. Three of those made field goals were mid-range jump shots. These were not awkward, hope-and-a-prayer jump shots, but confident, rhythmic, in-balance jump shots in which the transfer from West Virginia appeared to know exactly what he was doing.
“I have been telling Oscar for a while, ‘You can make that shot,’” said Keion Brooks, UK’s junior forward. “I’ve seen Oscar hit that shot so many times. We have a drill in practice where we shoot for five minutes. Oscar has the highest number every single day, shooting that same exact shot.”
According to Calipari, Oscar made 87 shots in that practice drill. Among Cal’s former Cats, only Kyle Wiltjer made more. Wiltjer made 89.
So what does it do for a team when its center, who goes after each and every rebound, can post up on the block, but also make perimeter shots?
Oscar said, “The team we are going to play next, they’re going to say, ‘OK, what can we do to stop Oscar from shooting? What can you do to stop Oscar from going to the rim?’ Now they’re going to leave my teammates open, poof, we’ve got a three-pointer.”
“It opens up driving lanes for the guards,” said freshman TyTy Washington, who happens to be a guard.
A final note here: We would refer to Oscar as the “Big O” but those of us of a certain age know Oscar Robertson was the “Big O.” The first and only. For the youngsters in the audience, Robertson starred for the University of Cincinnati, then from 1960-74 the NBA’s Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. Google him. The “Big O” was one of the all-time greats.
Oscar wants to be great, too. “I want to do great things,” he said last week. “I said that when I came here.”
So far, Oscar has been a great watch. His motor. His expanding game. His smile. He’s only getting better.