Kentucky’s senior forward Oscar Tshiebwe has been named to The Sporting News All-America Third Team, becoming UK’s first two-time All-America selection since Tayshaun Prince in 2001 and 2002. Tshiebwe led the Wildcats in scoring (16.4) and rebounds (13.1) for the second consecutive season, becoming the only player in the country averaging at least 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 block per game.
The Sporting News is one of the four major NCAA-recognized All-America teams, alongside the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Tshiebwe is the 12th player and the first to win multiple All-America distinctions by one of the four major organizations. He joins an impressive list of Kentucky players who have earned All-America distinction, including John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Julius Randle, Willie Cauley-Stein, Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyler Ulis, Jamal Murray, Malik Monk, and PJ Washington.
Tshiebwe’s dominance goes beyond the All-America distinction. He is breaking records and leading the country in rebounds for the second straight year, with 13.1 rebounds per game to go along with a team-best 16.4 points per game. The senior has tallied six 20-point, 15-rebound contests this season after seven a season ago, among his Southeastern Conference-high 18 doubles. In just 63 games for Kentucky, Tshiebwe ranks eighth in program history with 894 rebounds, registering a double-double in 46 of those 63 games, ranking third in program history behind Dan Issel and Cotton Nash. He also became the 61st player in program history to tally more than 1,000 points in a career, currently ranking 52nd overall with 1,065.
Tshiebwe’s career average of 12.1 rebounds per game places him in the elite company of Paul Millsap and Kenneth Faried as the only players since the 1996-97 season to average 12 rebounds per game for their career. He leads the country in rebounds per game and ranks second in total rebounds (379) despite missing two games due to a knee procedure at the beginning of the season.
Tshiebwe’s achievements have earned him several postseason honors, including being named to the All-SEC First Team by the coaches, becoming a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, and making the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award late-season list, the Naismith Player of the Year semifinalist, and the Oscar Robertson Trophy late-season watch list.
Tshiebwe’s 37-point, 24-rebound performance in a home victory against Georgia on Jan. 17 was one of the best individual performances of the season, marking the first 35-point, 20-rebound game for a Wildcat since 1976 and just the fifth such game in program history. He has produced four 20-point efforts in the last seven games and has generated 11 games with 15 or more rebounds this season.
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