Oscar Tshiebwe made sure Conner Perry, right, and Cohen Stallons got to meet him after UK's win at Vanderbilt. (Tyler Perry Photo)
Tyler Stallons and his friend, Tyler Perry, took their sons, Cohen and Conner, to see Kentucky play at Vanderbilt last week in Nashville. It was the first UK game for both boys and a chance to see their favorite player, Oscar Tshiebwe, in person.
“My sign had a sign made to take to the game but I told him there was a chance he might not be able to take it into the game and might have to throw it away. He didn’t want to take a chance since he put some time into making it, so he left the sign at home,” Stallons said.
The fathers had planned this outing a few months ago, so getting a ticket was not that difficult.
“We didn’t have the best seats but we were not in the worst spot, either,” he said. “After the game we decided to come down to the court. We knew we would have to wait in traffic to get home anyway. We figured if they (UK Radio Network) interviewed anybody it would be Oscar.
“The Vanderbilt staff was not very aggressive in trying to keep us from coming down to the lower level. We thought if we walked down the worse they could do was kick us out. The boys took off running because they were so excited.”
Both youngsters wanted to meet Tshiebwe but Stallons also knew they couldn’t force the issue even when Tshiebwe did come out for the radio interview.
“We yelled, ‘Oscar,’ and pointed at the boys. He had two or three guys with him but he did a little head tilt that he wanted to come over,” Stallons said. “Oscar walks over and my friend goes to pick up his son but we were told he could not go on the court.
“Oscar walks up and grabs my son by one arm and pulls him up (on the court) and then gets his friend. I had the video ready and my friend got pictures. Oscar didn’t have to do any of that but it just shows how selfless he is.”
Stallons said on the drive home to Hopkinsville, he said had a smile on his face even after he fell asleep.
“He woke up the next morning and was so happy. He wanted to know if we were going to the next Kentucky game,” Stallons said.
The parents/children did not think about trying to get an autograph.
“We didn’t have any expectations when we went down to the floor. The boys just wanted to see him up close,” Stallons said. “Oscar has a larger than life personality. Even without an autograph, we were happy with the way everything turned out. What they got to do with him meant more than any autograph. It was just an awesome experience.”
2 Responses
It is Cohen on the left and Conner in the right. Great experience for the boys.
Oscar has made him self a role model since he has came to UK. He ranks up top with others that has play for UK and will be miss when his playing days are over