Oscar Tshiebwe to explore NBA, praying on final decision

Oscar Tshiebwe is Kentucky’s first unanimous national player of the year, earning the Wooden Award on Tuesday to complete the clean sweep. It is the sixth of the NCAA-recognized electors for national player of the year, joining top honors from The Sporting News, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the Associated Press, the United States Basketball Writers Association and the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.

Tshiebwe accepted the Wooden Award on SportsCenter to make him the consensus player of the year.

“I am very excited and I’m very grateful,” Tshiebwe said. “I thank God for this moment in my life. Thank you very much for choosing me to be the winner of this. I’m very excited to be here. I can’t even explain, I’m very excited.”

Tshiebwe finished the year averaging a team-high 17.4 points and a nation-leading 15.1 rebounds per game. He is the first Division I player who averaged 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 who averaged at least 16.0 points and at least 15.0 rebounds for a season since Bill Walton at UCLA in 1972-73.

How did he accomplish what he did in his first season as a Wildcat?

“My mentality is just different. I’m going to fight, I fight all the time,” Tshiebwe said. “Every time I see a basketball, I just think on a different level. I just say (to) myself, repeat over and over, ‘I don’t think this person I go against works harder than me. There’s no way he can dominate me.’ I just go out there with a different mind thinking, just fight until the end. I came out with good things in the end and trust in God in everything I do.”

Tshiebwe raked in every individual honor he could get his hands on in his debut season at Kentucky. Now it’s time for him to decide if he will return for another year to help the Wildcats compete for a national title. He’ll be leaning on UK head coach John Calipari as he weighs his options.

“I am praying about my decision,” Tshiebwe said. “I have a big decision to make but I believe the God I trust will help me make a good decision. God has put great people around me. Coach Calipari, he just wants to help. He’s done that before with a lot of different players. I don’t think he’s going to lead me (to) the wrong situation. Whatever decision comes to my mind from God, and I’m going to talk to Coach (Cal), that’s the decision we’ll make.”

The star center also added that he will test the NBA Draft waters and talk to teams to help him make a complete and thorough decision. When it comes time to go one direction or the other, Tshiebwe knows he’ll make the right choice.

“I’m going to go through the process in the NBA and everything to see what it’s like out there,” he said. “I’m going to come out with a good decision talking with Coach (Cal) and everybody in my family. We’re going to make a great decision for myself.”

You can watch Tshiebwe’s complete SportsCenter appearance below:

Run it back.