Kentucky’s senior forward Oscar Tshiebwe has made history once again, becoming the ninth consensus two-time All-American in the program’s history. Tshiebwe, a native of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was selected for the second team of the All-America squad by the United States Basketball Writer’s Association on Wednesday. This honor had not been achieved by a Kentucky player since Kenny Walker in 1985 and 1986.
Tshiebwe joins an elite group of Wildcats, including Forest Sale, Ralph Beard, Alex Groza, Cliff Hagan, Cotton Nash, Louie Dampier, Dani Issel, and Walker, who have earned this distinction at least twice. The United States Basketball Writer’s Association is one of the four “major” NCAA-recognized All-America teams that the NCAA uses for its consensus All-America teams. Last week, Tshiebwe claimed third-team accolades by The Sporting News, and he also received second-team honors from the Associated Press and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. As all four major outlets recognized Tshiebwe in the 2022-23 season, he is now considered a consensus second-team All-America selection.
Tshiebwe has been a key player for the Wildcats, leading them in scoring (16.5) and rebounds (13.1) for the second-consecutive season. He is the only player in the country averaging at least 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in another impressive season.
Tshiebwe’s achievements include several notable records at Kentucky. He is eighth in program history with 909 rebounds in just 64 games for the team, the fastest player to reach that mark in UK’s history. If he had played his entire career at Kentucky, his 1,274 career rebounds would be the most all-time. Tshiebwe ranks 49th overall in scoring history in program history, with only one player (Bill Spivey) scoring more points in just two seasons than Tshiebwe’s 1,084. He is also third all-time with 47 double-doubles, behind only Issel and Nash.
In addition, Tshiebwe has achieved numerous individual game and season milestones, including scoring 37 points and grabbing 24 rebounds in a game against Georgia this season. This was the first 35-point, 20-rebound game for a UK player since 1976 and only the fifth such game in program history. He has also amassed seven games of at least 20 rebounds as a Wildcat, while all UK players combined since the 1970-71 season have totaled seven such games.
Tshiebwe’s success has contributed to the Wildcats’ outstanding rebounding performance, leading the country in rebound margin (+9.7) in 2022 and ranking third (+8.8) in 2023. Kentucky was fourth in the country in offensive rebounding percentage (37.7%) last year and is second this season at 38.7%.
Tshiebwe has also received several other postseason honors, including being a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, and the Oscar Robertson Trophy late season watch list.
The Wildcats are set to play the Providence Friars in first round NCAA action on Friday at 7:10 PM.
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