Oscar Tshiebwe unbothered by Uros Plavsic's attempts at trash talk

It’s no secret that Oscar Tshiebwe has struggled against bigger centers throughout the season, but he wasn’t having any of it on Saturday afternoon.

The Kentucky big man went for 16 points and seven rebounds during the Wildcats’ huge 66-54 victory over No. 10 Tennessee in Rupp Arena. While he shot just 3-9 from the floor, the reigning national player of the year finished 10-11 from the free-throw line, canning several clutch freebies for his team that included the final two points of the game. Some foul trouble limited him in the second half, but Tshiebwe still managed 32 minutes as Kentucky won its second straight game and worked its way firmly back into the NCAA Tournament picture.

It certainly didn’t come easy, though. Tshiebwe had to deal with Tennessee’s seven-foot big man, Uros Plavsic, who played arguably the best game of his season during Kentucky’s first matchup against the Volunteers last month. While UK won that showdown in Knoxville 63-56, Plavsic went for a season-high 19 points on 9-11 shooting as he manhandled Tshiebwe (who still managed 15 points and 12 rebounds of his own) in the paint.

Plavsic tried to use that memory against Tshiebwe during round two, although it didn’t play out the same way it did a few weeks ago other than the final outcome. Tshiebwe says that Plavsic was trash-talking him the entire game, attempting to get in his head and mess with his rhythm, but it was mostly for naught.

“It is very annoying to be in there. He cussed me out in the game all the time. He’s talking crazy all the time.” Tshiebwe said postgame about facing Plavsic. “‘I’m your daddy’ or something like that. ‘You’re playing against your baby daddy.’ He’s just trying to get in your head but the coaches said don’t let anybody get in your head… I did not let him get in my head, and when he get in your head, it makes you mad.”

Plavsic, who was mainly on the court whenever Tshiebwe was out there too, posted just two points and three rebounds in 18 minutes as Kentucky beat Tennessee for the second time this season.

Kentucky using Tshiebwe in new ways on offense

If it feels like Tshiebwe isn’t making the same type of impact he was early in the season, there’s a good reason for it. While he’s still a dominant rebounder and tough to slow down around the rim, opposing teams have zeroed in on stopping him first and foremost, bringing double and triple teams before he can even establish himself in the post.

That additional pressure has given Tshiebwe fits. He scored just four points against Florida on Feb. 4 then a mere seven points three days later against Arkansas. But head coach John Calipari has developed a new scheme that allows Tshiebwe to operate in space and take advantage of his mid-range jumper. The small tweak resulted in a 20-point, 14-rebound performance against Georgia, an 18-point, 11-rebound outing the next time out against Mississippi State, then his showing against the Vols on Saturday.

“We’re playing Oscar a little bit different now. Because they were just sitting three guys on him,” Calipari said after beating Tennessee. “So now we’re playing him inside, but we’re also playing him outside. We’re putting him at the elbows, we’re putting him in the corners. We’re just — he’s shooting the ball better. How about late in the game we went to him to shoot free throws?”

Instead of force-feeding the ball to Tshiebwe inside, which had been part of the gameplan for most of the season, Kentucky is letting its big man survey the landscape by facing up around the elbows. While he’s no Nikola Jokic when it comes to making plays out of the high post, he’s learning how to make the right decision by opening up more opportunities for his teammates and knocking down jumpers.

“The practice most of the time now is the coach trying to get me out, to move me out around to try to post up Cason (Wallace), to try to post up Jacob (Toppin), to try to post up Chris (Livingston). All of them, they are nice so they can catch the ball and go up and finish,” Tshiebwe said postgame. “On the side I can catch it and shoot it too and I can catch it, drive, make the pass, and they can shoot, they can dunk the ball. I’m just excited. We have changed a little bit in practice and I love what Coach is doing.”

It hasn’t been a seamless adjustment by any means, as Tshiebwe might still be settling for long jump shots more than he should, but if the wins continue to pile up, it’s a strategy Kentucky can work with.