NPOY conversation starts with Oscar Tshiebwe, says Rick Barnes

Like most teams taking on the Wildcats this season, Tennessee will have its hands full at the center position when Kentucky comes to town. It doesn’t help that UK may be shorthanded and/or limited with TyTy Washington and Jacob Toppin both dealing with ankle injuries. Oscar Tshiebwe will clearly carry quite a bit of the workload on Tuesday evening, and the Volunteers understand the challenge that brings.

After all, he is the current favorite to win national player of the year honors.

“You can’t talk about national player of the year without bringing his name up,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said of Tshiebwe. “The numbers that he is putting up are incredible, and the consistency with which he does it with. The fact that he does it when every coach before the game is trying to slow him down; no one has found a way to do that.”

In the teams’ head-to-head matchup in January, Tshiebwe finished with ‘just’ nine points and 12 rebounds in the blowout win, both below his season averages of 16.4 PPG and 15.3 RPG. A key reason for that, though, is that Kentucky’s backcourt of Sahvir Wheeler, Washington, Kellan Grady and Davion Mintz combined for a whopping 75 points in the team’s 107-79 win. The unit nearly outscored Tennessee by itself, meaning Tshiebwe’s production wasn’t completely necessary.

Tonight, though, that will likely be different with the Wildcats dealing with injury issues. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a leading player of the year candidate at your disposal.

“John (Calipari) and his staff have done a great job putting him in areas to be successful and Tshiebwe has responded well to that,” Barnes added. “Again, you can’t mention national player of the year candidate without mentioning his name.”

How is Tshiebwe able to find the production he does? Barnes says the standout center’s instincts are second-to-none at this level.

“He’s got really good instincts and he’s going to fight off your first block out, so you have to stay with him,” he said. “He gets his hands up well, he’s quick to the ball, and if he misses his shot, he has that quick jump to go up and get the ball. He has terrific instincts in terms of being in the right position to get the rebound.”

In an appearance on Andy Katz’s March Madness 365 podcast, Tshiebwe said this is the exact role he envisioned when he transferred from West Virginia to Kentucky last year. Once he found the school he was looking for, he knew the elite production would follow.

He just needed to find his “place.”

“This is my place. I came out this year and said I was going to give it everything I’ve got to help this team,” Tshiebwe said. “I told Coach Calipari, ‘I can score, but that’s not what I’m here for. I’m here to collect all those rebounds and be successful. … I’m so happy for what I’m doing right now. So grateful and thankful to God.”

The feeling is certainly mutual.

Kentucky is set to take on Tennessee in Knoxville at 9 p.m. ET, with the game broadcast live on ESPN.