Oscar Tshiebwe selected No. 1 in ESPN's CBB fantasy draft (DUH)

What happens when the best player in college basketball returns for another season? Common sense would tell you he’d be the best player in college basketball for another season.

ESPN agreed with that logic in its 2022 college basketball fantasy draft, with none other than Kentucky superstar Oscar Tshiebwe coming off the board at No. 1 overall.

Analysts Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Myron Medcalf conducted the three-team, eight-round draft, choosing the 24 best players in college basketball this season. Five starters, three reserves, including the following stipulations:

• Each GM could not draft more than one player from a particular team
• Each team needed to include a mid-major player not from Gonzaga

Up first? Oscar Tshiebwe, selected by Borzello at the top of the order.

“I initially didn’t want the No. 1 pick, just because I wanted to see how my opponents would approach the draft. Would they lean toward taking the best NBA talent or toward proven college players?” Borzello wrote. “Still, it didn’t take me long to decide: the reigning consensus National Player of the Year, the guy who shattered all sorts of records and put up 30 points and 16 rebounds in his final game last season. Done and done.”

Interestingly enough, Tshiebwe is the only Wildcat on the list, with neither Gasaway nor Medcalf picking a Kentucky player for their respective teams. No Sahvir Wheeler, Cason Wallace, Jacob Toppin, Antonio Reeves, Daimion Collins, no one.

Among bonus coach picks, though, Medcalf did select John Calipari to lead his fantasy team, if that means anything.

“I have a lot of egos in my locker room. There are a bunch of guys vying for national awards and hoping to elevate their respective draft stock. A challenge for any coach, but just another day for Calipari,” Medcalf wrote. “He’s the best ego manager in the business. And he’ll let these guys run an offense that’ll allow them to play to their strengths. Calipari with Wooden Award candidates, a handful of elite playmakers and a couple talented shooters? Should we just cut the nets down now or wait until April?”

Who did the trio of analysts pick for their made-up teams? Check out the complete draft below:

1. Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky) – Borzello
2. Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana) – Gasaway
3. Drew Timme (Gonzaga) – Medcalf
4. Tyger Campbell (UCLA) – Medcalf
5. Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas) – Gasaway
6. Jaime Jaquez (UCLA) – Borzello
7. Marcus Sasser (Houston) – Borzello
8. Armando Bacot (North Carolina) – Gasaway
9. Jalen Wilson (Kansas) – Medcalf
10. Hunter Dickinson (Michigan) – Medcalf
11. Hunter Maldonado (Wyoming) – Gasaway
12. Cameron Whitmore (Villanova) – Borzello
13. Kendric Davis (Memphis) – Borzello
14. Rasir Bolton (Gonzaga) – Gasaway
15. Caleb Love (North Carolina) – Medcalf
16. Dereck Lively II (Duke) – Medcalf
17. Kris Murray (Iowa) – Gasaway
18. Max Abmas (Oral Roberts) – Borzello
19. Keyonte George (Baylor) – Borzello
20. Adam Sanogo (UConn) – Gasaway
21. Matt Bradley (San Diego State) – Medcalf
22. Will Richardson (Oregon) – Medcalf
23. Jordan ‘Jelly’ Walker (UAB) – Gasaway
24. Colin Castleton (Florida) – Borzello

• Borzello’s coach: Rick Pitino, Iona
• Gasaway’s coach: Drew Valentine, Loyola Chicago
• Medcalf’s coach: John Calipari, Kentucky

Which Wildcats were snubbed in the draft? Personally, you just can’t tell me there will be 24 players better than Cason Wallace in college basketball next season. There’s an argument to be made for several other Kentucky players, too.

You’re telling me UCLA has two top-six players in the nation and Kentucky doesn’t have two in the entire top 24? Stop it.

We’ll find out this season. My money is on the Cats.