John Calipari will "be surprised" if Oscar Tshiebwe doesn't win NPOY

Oscar Tshiebwe opened the year with a 17-point, 20-rebound performance against Duke in the Champions Classic, firmly solidifying his status as a top frontcourt player in all of college basketball from day one. From there, the 6-foot-9 center rewrote the record book at Kentucky, going on to average 17.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 assists per contest to close out the regular season.

Tshiebwe proved to be more than an elite big man at the collegiate level or even one of the top players in the nation. Those accolades were established in the opening months of the season. As conference play ramped up and the finish line crept closer, Tshiebwe quickly emerged as the best player in all of college basketball and the runaway favorite for National Player of the Year.

Other players have put together strong seasons, with Johnny Davis (Wisconsin), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Ochai Agbaji (Kansas) and Drew Timme (Gonzaga) seen as the other top contenders. But those players are not Oscar Tshiebwe.

John Calipari has had just one National Player of the Year during his time at Kentucky, with Anthony Davis earning the honor following his historic 2011-12 freshman season. Will Tshiebwe be his second?

The UK head coach will be surprised if he’s not.

“Yeah, I’ll be surprised,” Calipari said. “I’ve been surprised before, you know? But the things that he’s done haven’t been done for 50 years. Let me say that again. The things that he’s doing haven’t been done for 50 years. So how could you not do it?”

Politics come into play at times and Calipari knows he and his program have doubters. If you don’t want to vote for Tshiebwe for those reasons, that’s fine. Just be prepared to explain yourself if you choose to do so.

“‘Well, I don’t like Kentucky’ or ‘I don’t like Cal.’ OK, that’s fine. Then vote for who you want,” Calipari said. “But you’ve got to explain yourself. ‘Well, he’s not a great free-throw shooter.’ I don’t know what you say. I mean, he’s done some good stuff, I’ll tell you that.”

Tshiebwe isn’t just an elite player on the floor, he’s also a high-character person away from it. It’s what makes the Kentucky star such a unique and special student-athlete, one Calipari is grateful to coach.

“I’m proud of him,” Calipari said. “It’s not only on the court. Off the court, this kid’s a model citizen. How hard he works. Does he ever say anything to the officials? No. … He doesn’t say anything, not one word. He gets called on a baseline drive, a touch (foul) on the baseline, and you’re like, ‘Really? You’re lucky this kid is nice.’

“He’s a beautiful kid who just — he’s just playing. He’s so thankful, so faith-based. I mean, it’s been great. I’ve enjoyed coaching him.”

What would it mean to Tshiebwe to earn the prestigious honor? It’d certainly be a career achievement, one he’d be grateful to receive.

His focus, though, is on a bigger prize.

“That would make some of my dream come true,” Tshiebwe said. “My (big) dream in college is to win the national championship, that would make my dream come true. That’s why I come out every night and give it everything I have.”