Divine intervention? Tshiebwe cites God’s hand in transfer to Kentucky.

As a high school senior, Oscar Tshiebwe had two goals that should be familiar to the Big Blue Nation: Play for Kentucky and be a one-and-done player.

“Kentucky was my school,” he said during a teleconference Wednesday. “My favorite school. I chose West Virginia, but look what God did. He sent me to the place I always prayed for and meant to be. I am so happy to be here.”

Like former UK player Nick Richards, Tshiebwe got a relatively late start in basketball. Soccer was the sport he played growing up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was a goalie. He idolized Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Tshiebwe’s introduction to basketball came when he was 13 or 14. As the story has been told, he wore soccer cleats to his first basketball practice.

“I think he did, like, some crazy dunks,” said Rick Mancino, who later was Tshiebwe’s coach at Kennedy Catholic High School in Hermitage, Pa. “So, the coach is, like, you’re playing basketball now.”

Tshiebwe later attended a camp led by Bismack Biyombo, who is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has played for several NBA teams.

A future in basketball led Tshiebwe to the United States as a high school freshman. He played two seasons for a high school in Virginia. Then he transferred to Kennedy Catholic. Two players from the African country of Mali, brothers Mohamed and Sagaba Konate, had played for Kennedy Catholic a few years earlier.

After high school, the Konate brothers played collegiately for West Virginia, which no doubt influenced Tshiebwe’s college choice.

Mancino said Tshiebwe felt “obligated” to play for West Virginia.

Meanwhile, UK Coach John Calipari wished the player well.

“My relationship with Coach has been great since my high school (years),” Tshiebwe said. “Even when I chose West Virginia over Kentucky, he called me (and said) you’ve got to go where you feel you’re going to be comfortable. ‘One thing I tell you is to keep working. There’s going to be nothing easy in life wherever you go.’”

A lot to learn

When he arrived in the United States, Tshiebwe had to learn to speak English.

“He understood better than he could speak it,” Mancino said. “It was just a work in progress. . . . You couldn’t be sarcastic with him. (The players from Africa) took everything word for word.”

The late start to playing basketball has put Tshiebwe behind.

“I think it set him back a little bit,” Mancino said. “Just because I think he has to get better offensively (with) his skills. He’s going to have to play better facing the hoop.”

On the teleconference, Tshiebwe said his jump shot could improve.

“I had a conversation with Coach Cal (who advised) don’t forget things that got you here,” the player said. “You have to keep getting better at the things you do the best.”

Tshiebwe played well enough in high school to be judged a five-star prospect. He became only the second McDonald’s All-American to enroll at West Virginia as a freshman.

He made a positive impression almost immediately. In his second college game, Tshiebwe scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds at Pittsburgh. He was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.

In the last game of the 2019-20 season, Tshiebwe posted a double-double (16 points and 12 rebounds) against Baylor despite foul trouble limiting him to 21 minutes.

But not all was good.

“I felt I was not happy anymore, and everything was no good,” Tshiebwe said of his second season for West Virginia. He downplayed the assumption that playing with another big man, Derek Culver, made him unhappy with his role.

Many people told him he would “ruin my life” by transferring, while he also heard from many schools wanting to gauge his interest. “I prayed a lot because I wanted God to help me with this situation.”

Mancino thought the transfer to Kentucky was inevitable. “As soon as he put his name in the portal, I knew what he was going to do,” the coach said.

Ideally, Tshiebwe hoped to play for Kentucky as soon as he transferred at the semester break.

The NCAA did not grant immediate eligibility. So, now, he looks to be a significant contributor to Kentucky’s team next season.

‘Where is Oscar?’

Using a first-person plural pronoun, Tshiebwe said of Kentucky’s 2021-22 season, “We really struggled this year with rebounding. It is something I can really bring to the table. . . . I go for every rebound. I don’t care who I’m going against.”

Of the 2020-21 season, he added, “We had a lot of skill. But we did not have a lot of muscle. . . . People kind of bullied us a little bit.”

Tshiebwe, who UK lists as 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds, brushed off the idea of putting his name in this year’s NBA Draft.

“I’ve got to work,” he said. “I’ve got to get better. I’ve got to be ready for this team next year.”

Justin Jackson, who covers West Virginia for Morgantown’s daily newspaper, The Dominion-Post, said that Tshiebwe enjoyed being a basketball celebrity. Jackson watched him closely when Kennedy Catholic played in a Christmas tournament in Morgantown.

“The thing that stood out to me was that (celebrity for some players) is not fun, it feels like a job,” Jackson said. “Oscar was completely 360 degrees from that. He loved it.”

Mancino recalled how it was not unusual for Tshiebwe to be late for the team bus after games because he was interacting with fans.

“If he wasn’t such a nice kid, we’d have all beat his (butt),” Mancino said. “There were times we’d be on the bus leaving games and I’m thinking, like, ‘Where is Oscar?’ Still in the gym because he wouldn’t leave until he spoke to every freaking person who came to talk to him.”

“So, it’s kind of hard to get mad at him when he was such a nice kid.”

Tshiebwe laughed when asked how often his name is mispronounced. The “T” is silent. He smiled as he recalled an ESPN announcer saying his name as “O-sheeb-way.”

It’s pronounced SHEE-bway.

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