Oscar Tshiebwe Named Third-Team All-America by Sporting News
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky senior forward Oscar Tshiebwe is Britain’s first two-time All-America selection since Tayshaun Prince (2001, 02) after being named to The Sporting News’ All-America Third Team on Tuesday.
Tshiebwe led the Wildcats in points (16.4) and rebounds (13.1) for the second straight season. He is the only player in the country to average at least 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game in another banner season for the Wildcats.
The Sporting News is one of the four “major” NCAA-recognized All-America teams that the NCAA uses for its consensus All-America teams. The other three are the Associated Press, the US Basketball Writers Association, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Tshiebwe is the 12th player and first to win multiple All-America awards from any of the Big Four organizations. He joins John Wall (2010), DeMarcus Cousins (2010), Anthony Davis (2012), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2012), Julius Randle (2014), Willie Cauley-Stein (2015), Karl-Anthony Towns ( 2015) on. Tyler Ulis (2016), Jamal Murray (2016), Malik Monk (2017), and PJ Washington (2019) were named All-Americas by either The Sporting News, AP, USBWA, or the NABC. He is the 56th overall player in program history to receive All-America honors.
Throughout the program’s history and with Tshiebwe’s induction, 24 players have earned All-America honors across multiple seasons.
Tshiebwe not only averages a double-double, but also breaks records in the process.
He leads the country for the second straight year with 13.1 rebounds per contest, along with a team-best 16.4 points per game. Among Tshiebwe’s top-18 Southeastern Conference doubles, the senior has had six 20-point and 15-rebound contests this season, down from seven last season. He has 13 of the 55 such contests by SEC players over the past 10 seasons.
In just 63 games for Kentucky, Tshiebwe ranks eighth in program history with 894 rebounds. He has recorded a double-double in 46 of those 63 games, ranking third in program history behind Dan Issel (64) and Cotton Nash (48).
He became the 61st player in program history to score more than 1,000 points in his career and is currently ranked 52nd overall with 1,065. Only two Wildcats (Rex Chapman – 1,073 and Bill Spivey – 1,213) have scored more in just two seasons with the Cats.
Averaging 12.1 rebounds per game in his career, Tshiebwe joined Paul Millsap and Kenneth Faried as the only player since the 1996-97 season to average 12 rebounds per game in his career. He leads the country in rebounds per game and ranks second in total rebounds (379) — just six behind the leader, despite missing two games with a knee surgery earlier in the season.
In one of the best individual performances of the season, Tshiebwe posted a career-high 37 points and 24 rebounds in a home win over Georgia on Jan. 17. It was the first 35-point, 20-rebound game for a Wildcat since 1976 and only the fifth such game in program history.
The Lubumbashi native of the DRC has scored in double digits in each of the United Kingdom’s last seven games, notching four 20-point attempts in the process. He has generated 11 games with 15 or more rebounds this season.
Tshiebwe collects post-season honors every day. Major honors he has won or is a finalist for to date include:
- Sporting News Third Team All-America
- All-SEC First Team (Coach)
- John R. Wooden Award Finalist
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award List for Late Season
- Naismith Player of the Year in the semifinals
- Oscar Robertson Trophy Postseason Watch List
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