Fox Sports Radio national host Aaron Torres likes the pieces coach John Calipari will put around Oscar Tshiebwe next season. (Photo by Jeff Houchin)
National basketball writer and Fox Sports Radio national host Aaron Torres likes the way that Kentucky’s basketball roster has come together.
“As I’ve said on my show quite a bit, when you have Oscar Tshiebwe, you have a chance. Against anyone, on any night. For all the Shaedon Sharpe hubbub, I still believe getting Oscar back was the single most important piece,” Torres said.
“Beyond that, I like how all the other pieces fit around him. Sahvir Wheeler is a polarizing guy, but at his best, he was the point guard of arguably the best team in college hoops, and I think CJ Fredrick, Antonio Reeves and Cason Wallace are nice pieces to put around him. I think a front court of Tshiebwe with Daimion Collins, Jacob Toppin and Chris Livingston is solid as well. Obviously Lance Ware provides depth.”
“Obviously there will be no replacing Shaedon Sharpe, and my hunch is, Calipari is probably looking for one more backcourt piece. With the injury histories of Wheeler and Fredrick, this seems like the right move.”
Tshiebwe didn’t put his name into the NBA Draft because NBA personnel evaluations told him he needed to improve his shooting range and defensive footwork. But can Kentucky be better taking Tshiebwe, the nation’s leading rebounder, away from the basket?
“Short answer, no. Do I want Oscar to develop into the best player he can be, because he’s an amazing kid and it’s impossible not to root for him? Sure. And do I understand that some spacing issues get solved if he isn’t in the paint as much?” Torres said.
“But you can’t tell me that pulling one of the best rebounders in the history of college basketball away from the basket is good for the team overall.”
5 Responses
We don’t have to pull Oscar out to get better spacing!! We have other options – like get a transfer who is tall and long onndefense and shoot the 3 from the 4 spot on offense!
Yes, that guy would steal all of Collins and Ware’s quality minutes, but do we go into next season with the same glaring weakness that hurt us in all of our losses last season, just because we don’t want to hurt Collins and Ware’s feelings? Battle it out, best man win. We are putting a lot of pressure on Toppin, Ware, and Collins to make huge jumps in their games in just 5 months!!
Toppin could still play 18 – 20 minutes at the 4, but the right transfer would play the other 20-22 minutes in the 4 spot, and even backup Oscar for another 10 minutes per game in big games or foul trouble for O.
That is over 30 minutes per game for the right kind of transfer (or Leonard Miller, if he pulls out of draft) – Toppin, Collins, And Lance would have to battle to take some of those minutes back!
Come on, someone back me on this and slip a note to Cal for me!
You gotta remember we got a coach that’s stubborn to change his style, I really think if he doesn’t make some noise this upcoming season it could be bye bye for him.
I agree ..the rate of return with that salary isn’t close.
What concerns me – I really believe that I am thinking about this a lot more and deeper than he is! And I ain’t getting paid a cent!
Look like he is the smart one.