Jacob Toppin's transformation from "12-year-old" to team leader

Oscar Tshiebwe will never forget the moment he met Jacob Toppin, but not for the reasons you might expect. When Oscar transferred from West Virginia to Kentucky in January 2021, John Calipari said he had a 12-year-old on the team he wanted Oscar to mentor. So, imagine Oscar’s surprise when in walked 6’9″, 205 lbs. Jacob Toppin, midway through his first season at Kentucky after transferring from Rhode Island.

“When I first got here, Coach said, ‘We have a 12-year-old kid on the team.’ I said, ’12-year-old kid? How is there a 12-year-old kid on the team?’ He said, ‘You’re going to meet him Oscar and you’re going to need to help him so he can grow.’ And he comes and introduces me to Jacob. I said, ‘He’s not 12! He’s not 12. He’s not 12.’

“I said, ‘Man, how old are you?’ He said, ’22.’ I said, ‘Why did Coach say you are 12?’ Because of the way he was acting.”

Fast forward two years and a few months and my, how things have changed. Now, Oscar and Toppin are preparing for their Senior Night at Rupp Arena. They’re first and third on the team in scoring, first and second in rebounding, and have played key parts in Kentucky’s turnaround. After a slow start to the season, Oscar is rounding into his old National Player of the Year form. Toppin has scored in double figures in 12 straight games, averaging 14.3 points (53.0% FG, 50.0% 3PT), 7.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per contest during that stretch. Kentucky is 7-0 when Toppin records a double-double, which has happened in the last two games.

Toppin’s consistency on the court is huge, but so is his growth off it. As his “mentor,” Oscar said he’s proud of how Toppin is using his own experiences to guide some of Kentucky’s younger players.

“Jacob has changed a lot,” Oscar said. “He’s become more mature. He understands, he knows we need him the most. He’s done a lot of great things this year to help us and I’m so proud of him, to see how far he always works harder, he’s always in the gym. And now he’s taking leadership to lead all these younger boys. I’m just so happy for him.”

Fellow senior Brennan Canada, who earned a scholarship this season, may not start alongside Toppin in games like Oscar but has witnessed his transformation behind the scenes.

“The Jacob I first met when he got here, he was…” Canada said, glancing at his teammate.

“You can be honest,” Toppin said, laughing. “You can be honest.”

“He was a little, I guess, like immature a little bit? He’s grown a lot. I think we can all see that. I remember, there were a lot of practices — whenever you first get here, you don’t know how serious it is and stuff. Coming from Rhode Island, it’s obviously different. He’s grown so much since he’s been here, it’s actually crazy. I’m happy for him and happy for all of his accomplishments this year.”

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Toppin: “We’re still writing our story and we still have a long ways to go”

Toppin will be the first to tell you that his college career, specifically his senior season, hasn’t always gone according to plan. He tested the NBA Draft waters last spring and returned with the feedback he needed to become a pro. He spent the summer in the weight room and gym, transforming his body and practicing his three-point shot. It translated into stellar performances during the Bahamas tour and a strong start to the season; however, Toppin faded in December and hit “rock bottom” ahead of Kentucky’s loss to Missouri on Dec. 28, going scoreless in the 14-point loss. After some soul-searching, he broke through to post a career-high 24 points the next game out vs. Louisville. Toppin has scored in double figures in the last 12 games, and against Auburn on Tuesday, grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to be in college for this long but you know, everything works out for the best. It’s God’s plan. I’m truly blessed to be able to play for Kentucky Basketball; it’s been an honor.

“The emotions are going to be a lot because I’ve been here for three years. A lot of ups and downs, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, so it’s going to be emotional, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to come in tomorrow and fight and win the basketball game so that’s the most important thing…Not a lot of people can say they did this so I’m definitely going to soak it in, take it all in and understand how blessed and how honored I am to be here.”

Oscar said Toppin’s transformation from the “12-year-old” he met two years ago to the team leader he is now is remarkable. As Kentucky has hit skids at various points of the season, it’s also been invaluable.

“He tries to bring everybody together, communicate. Sometimes he just talks to me too. I said, ‘Jacob, I feel like you talk to me too much. [Laughter] You’ve got to relax.’ But he communicates now. He makes sure everybody does what they’re supposed to do because we really want to help this team. Everybody’s got to step up as a leader but he has done a good job.”

“We’ve been saying from the beginning how we write our own story. There’s been a lot of ups and downs individually and as a team, but right now we’re focusing — like, I don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves, but at the end of the day, we’re still writing our story and we still have a long ways to go. And it starts today. For practice, we have to win today so we can have a chance at winning tomorrow.”

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Last Game at Rupp?

While Senior Night will undoubtedly be emotional, Toppin said he will try to stay focused on the most important thing: winning. Kentucky beat Vanderbilt earlier this season, 69-53, but the Commodores have seven-foot center Liam Robbins back and have won six of their last seven. A loss tomorrow night could be costly to the Cats’ improving NCAA Tournament resume.

“Honestly, I feel like I’m going to be locked into the game, obviously,” Toppin said of his mindset tomorrow night. “Yeah, it’s my last game in Rupp Arena and that’s definitely like crazy to imagine, but at the end of the day, we have to worry about the game. It’s a sport we love to play and hopefully, we can play it for a long time. I’m just worried about winning tomorrow.”

About that “last game at Rupp” part. Like Oscar and the other seniors, Toppin has another year of eligibility remaining due to the NCAA’s COVID relief waiver. When asked if this really will be his last game at Rupp, he backtracked slightly, saying it will at least be the last game there this season. When Oscar was asked if there was anything that could make him return to Kentucky for another season, he laughed and looked at Toppin.

“I will let you answer that,” Oscar said.

“I’ll do whatever you do,” Toppin responded.

“I like playing with Jacob, so I’ll just follow Jacob.”