Oscar Tshiebwe's life journey includes more than just basketball. He had his fourth double-double this year and 44th of his career in Sunday's win over Michigan. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky assistant coach Orlando Antigua had a list of things that UK wanted to see Oscar Tshiebwe do better this year — shoot from 17 feet, pass better, make better decisions with the ball in his hand and play more consistently in space — to show he could do more than just play with his back to the basket.
However, Antigua also knows there is a lot more to Tshiebwe than what he does on the basketball court even if he was national player of the year last season and is averaging 14.2 points, 13.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 55.4 percent from the field going into today’s game against Yale.
“He is such a unique player and person,” Antigua said. “He is so positive with anyone he meets. He makes it hard for anyone to take shots at him.”
Antigua also understands that Tshiebwe has a journey planned that goes well beyond basketball.
“He has a calling in his life to follow in father’s footsteps as a preacher,” the Kentucky assistant coach said. “He wants to say yes to anyone who asks him anything.
“Part of his maturity is being able to tell people no when it comes at the expense of his time. He has to continue to work on that because he wants to help anyone he can or do whatever he can for anyone. It’s part of his calling that defines him in his mind a lot more than what he does on the basketball court.”
