Oscar Tshiebwe shares why he returned for 2022-23 season

The return of Oscar Tshiebwe to the Kentucky basketball program changed the outlook of their upcoming season. Rather than attempting to replace him, the Wildcats are fortunate to bring back a veteran who’s coming off a season where he was the program’s first unanimous National Player of the Year. That makes it a big season in Lexington, for the team as well as Tshiebwe himself.

Tshiebwe once again broke down his decision to return during Kentucky’s Media Day earlier this week. He said he came back for two reasons. For one, Tshiebwe is bent on bringing a national title to UK, the ninth in the program’s history. For two, he wants to show the NBA the things they have shared that they would like to see him work on during the course of his senior season.

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“I came back for one reason. To work for No. 9. I collected so many trophies that there’s not even enough room in my room for (them),” said Tshiebwe. “I came back too to work on things I heard from the NBA. They told me I gotta get better at shooting, attacking the rim, defense, stopping guards, making passes. Those are the things I’ve been working on. I got better. I wish you all were here at the Pro Day (because) I was really hooping.”

Improvement for Tshiebwe would mean a truly incredible season. That’s because he was historic during his junior campaign. Tshiebwe averaged 15.1 rebounds per game, which was tops in the nation, along with 17.1 points a contest. However, the personal success did not translate to team success in the postseason as the Wildcats were upset in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

With the improvements he has made, though, Tshiebwe believes he can help himself and Kentucky be in position yet again. Focusing on his development has Tshiebwe believing things can get even more daunting for the Wildcat’s opposition.

That’s the thing I’m looking forward to helping my team with. I know they’re gonna come and trap me. So if I can make those passes and they can have their hands ready to shoot? It will help my team,” Tshiebwe said. “If I can really attack the rim and really do the things I want to do better and I can do great, it’ll be crazy scary.”

Kentucky will play its first exhibition of the season on Sunday when they tip against Missouri Western State at 7 p.m. Tshiebwe won’t be available in that one as he continues to recover from a minor knee procedure he underwent a few weeks ago. That hopefully won’t impact what should be yet another special season from Tshiebwe and the Wildcats by the time their year really kicks off against Howard on November 7th.