Oscar Tshiebwe ready to lead Kentucky into battle vs. No. 2 Auburn

Guys, I think Oscar Tshiebwe is ready for tomorrow’s game vs. Auburn. This morning, Kentucky’s big man sat down with reporters on Zoom to preview the clash with the No. 2 Tigers and during the 12-minute conversation, used the word “fight” approximately 23 times. Oscar made it clear he is ready to lead the Cats into battle on The Plains.

“The mindset for us right now is we go to war. We go to war. It’s not going to be easy. We just need to go out there and fight. Just like people go out and fight for their countries. They’re not going to just go out there and play around; they’re going to go out there willing to die. We are willing to die just to bring a win on Saturday. It’s going to be a great game for us. Like you said, everybody just wants to hunt us, but this one, there’s no hunting. This one is a fight. It’s against another team that’s really good. It’s not against somebody else for us, it’s against ourselves. We battle against ourselves then nobody can really beat us.”

Am I watching Kentucky Basketball or Braveheart here?!

How Oscar is preparing for Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler

Obviously, tomorrow’s game will be the Cats’ biggest challenge of the season so far. The No. 2 Tigers are 17-1, undefeated in SEC play. They have one of the best freshmen in college basketball in Jabari Smith, a 6’10” 220 lbs. forward that could be a matchup nightmare for Kentucky. Next to Smith in the middle is 7’1″ 255 lbs. center Walker Kessler, who leads the SEC and ranks second nationally in blocks at 4.2 per game. When asked about the Tigers’ formidable frontcourt, Oscar said he’s just going to focus on — you guessed it — fighting inside and helping his team, regardless of the opponent.

“For me, I just go out there and go fight. I don’t care who they are. I just go out there and fight. Like I said, the numbers for me don’t really matter as long as we’re bringing the winning and the team [mindset]. Last game, they tried to stop me in every way on offense but I still fight on defense. At the end of the day, we won the game. That’s what matters. I don’t care who I’m going against, I just care about winning. That’s all I care about.”

When asked specifically how he’s preparing for Smith and Kessler, OScar did go into more detail.

“The big man is not really the type who can go in the post and finish on somebody. He’s somebody who says ball screen and goes for a lob. Ball screen, go for lob. We’ve got to stop that. I don’t think he’ll be able to stop me too because I don’t see them trap. Most of the teams we play against, they just trap me down. I’m proud of my teammates for making shots, finishing, because you cannot just go through me. Sometimes, they’re going to close out to me and I want them to make shots. That’s why I’ll go for every rebound too. I think we’re good. We’re going to go out there and fight and find out after the game who is the better team.”

“They’re just as good as we are”

After the Texas A&M game, Oscar said he respects Auburn but does not fear them. Today, he expanded on that, saying that the No. 2 Tigers are just as good as the Cats. Headed into the wildest atmosphere they’ll probably face all season, that makes Kentucky’s attitude and energy key.

“What makes them good is what they do. They just fight. We fight too. They lost one game but for us, we just go out there and fight. They’re just as good as we are. We’re good too. We’re not going to let how good they are affect us. We are just like them and we’re going to go there, we’re not going to take anything easy. We know it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a 40-minute game. We’re just going to go out there and fight and finish the game. Finish the business.”

The country will be tuned in tomorrow for a battle between two of the nation’s top teams and, for the less casual viewers, top freshmen in Smith and TyTy Washington. Oscar himself has the chance to make a big statement. But, Oscar being Oscar, he’s aiming that energy at his teammates.

“For me, the big thing is just to go out there and fight. Just go out there and show what I can do. I’m not going to take any players for granted. I’m just going to go out there and fight for my teammates. I told them exactly the same thing. This is for our life. We are fighting for our life. There is nothing easy — nothing of worth is going to be given to you. This is for our life. You’ve got to go out there and fight, you’ve got to go out there and take what is yours.

“You’ve got to take what you deserve because if you’re waiting for them to come give it to you, sometimes it’s going to take a long time to give it to you. Sometimes you’ve got to go snatch it from somebody’s hands. We’re going to play at their home. Probably they’ve never lost [there] but this is going to be a great matchup. For us, we’re going to go take what we think we deserve. We’re going to go fight for our victory. That’s why I’m looking forward to it.”

Lead us, Oscar. (Just don’t get into foul trouble, please.)