Oscar Tshiebwe to WKU's Sharp: "How? How can you be this tall?"

There was a lot of talk about Western Kentucky’s Jamarion Sharp, the tallest player in college basketball, prior to the Hilltoppers’ loss to Kentucky. Listed at 7-foot-5, Sharp leads the country in shot-blocking at 7.1 blocks per 40 minutes. Last night, it took Kentucky one Keion Brooks shot attempt 20 seconds into the game for Sharp to record his first of seven blocks against the Wildcats.

Matched up against Sharp, Oscar Tshiebwe was in disbelief by his opponent’s height. Tshiebwe called the Hilltoppers’ rim-protector a nightmare to try to shoot against, while wondering how someone could be so tall.

“I was pissed out there. I said, ‘How? How can you be this tall? What you be eating? What did you do? How tall is your parents?” Tshiebwe wondered, which is hilarious.

“He was tough because you have to shoot it fast. If you don’t shoot it fast, you know where the ball is going. It’s not going to the rim. They’re blocking it. So he was a tough matchup.”

Tshiebwe found his advantage over Sharp on the glass, where Tshiebwe set a new Rupp Arena record with 28 rebounds in the game, more than WKU’s entire team.

He said afterward, “One thing I realized, he was not going for rebounds. He was not fighting for rebounds. He just wants to block and I said, if I’m not scoring, I’ve got to get every rebound. The result that came out in the end, I had 28.”

Tshiebwe added, “I am not the tallest guy, but I have a big heart.”