Oscar Tshiebwe named Sporting News National Player of the Year

On Monday, Oscar Tshiebwe was named a unanimous First Team All-American by The Sporting News. Today, the outlet announced that Oscar is their National Player of the Year as well. He is only the second Kentucky Wildcat to receive the honor, which dates back to 1943. Anthony Davis is Kentucky’s other winner, taking home the award in 2012.

The award is the first of six Oscar needs to win to be a consensus and/or unanimous Player of the Year. The others are the Naismith Award, the AP College Basketball Player of the Year Award, the Wooden Award, the Oscar Robertson Trophy, and the NABC Player of the Year award.

Oscar’s National Player of the Year resume

Oscar leads Kentucky in scoring (17.3), rebounding (15.3), steals (1.9), and blocks (1.5). His 15.3 rebounds per game lead the nation and he’s second nationally in double-doubles with 25. One more and he ties Kentucky’s record of 26, set by Dan Issel in 1969-70. He is looking to become the first Division I player to average at least 15.0 points and at least 15.0 rebounds per game since Drake’s Lewis Lloyd and Alcorn State’s Larry Smith each did during the 1979-80 season, and the first major-conference player to average at least 16.0 points and at least 15.0 rebounds for a season since Bill Walton at UCLA in 1972-73. He would be the first Wildcat to do it since Bob Burrow tallied 19.1 points and 17.7 rebounds per game in 1954-55.

Here’s a running list of Oscar’s accolades so far:

• Sporting News National Player of the Year
• Sporting News First-Team All-America
• Southeastern Conference Player of the Year (coaches/media)
• All-SEC First Team (coaches/media)
• All-SEC Defensive Team (coaches)
• Sports Illustrated First-Team All-American
• The Field of 68 National Player of the Year
• The Field of 68 First-Team All-America
• College Hoops Today National Player of the Year 
• USA Today SEC Player of the Year
• USA Today First-Team All-SEC unanimous selection
• John R. Wooden Award finalist
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Final Five
• Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist

Yesterday afternoon, Oscar couldn’t wait to call his mom and tell her he’d been named SEC Player of the Year. I bet today’s phone call about his first major National Player of the Year honor will be even better.