Oscar Tshiebwe says he has to play with more fight than he did against Georgia. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Remember when Oscar Tshiebwe called out teammates after Kentucky’s disappointing home loss to South Carolina?
He didn’t do that after UK’s loss at Georgia Saturday. Instead, he criticized himself in a way that has to make you wonder what is going on with this team.
“I myself fell asleep sometimes,” Tshiebwe said.
Yes, the unanimous national player of the year last season said he fell asleep on the court during a must-win game for Kentucky. That’s not what you want to hear from a player many thought would lead UK to the Final Four this season. Instead, UK currently is not in the top four in the SEC.
“I just gotta fight. I just gotta come in and fight,” Tshiebwe said after the Georgia loss. “If I just let him come and stop me all the time, then it’s gonna be a problem for my team.”
He’s right. If Tshiebwe lets physical play keep him from scoring and rebounding, it is a HUGE problem for Kentucky and was against both Arkansas and Georgia in UK’s two most recent losses.
Tshiebwe said Georgia used a “different game plan” against him this time and basically double teamed him every possession. He should expect that tonight at Mississippi State, too.
Tshiebwe — like Calipari — said Kentucky has a good team and that he believes “we got this” with a 16-9 record and only six regular-season games left.
“I think we just need to keep fighting and listening to the coaches,” Tshiebwe said. “Sometimes we make a lot of mistakes. Coach might tell you, ‘Do this,’ and then you forget and you do something else. We’ve got to stay locked into those little things, and we’re gonna win.”
5 Responses
The problem here is not Oscar. He has contributed more to this team than any other player on the roster, and he will continue to give everything he has.
The problem is a coaching failure to solve the weaknesses that any decent opponent has learned to exploit offensively and defensively against this team.
This coach is at a complete loss, …. because he is a fraud.
You right!
Just hope Oscar doesn’t pick up two quick fouls.
Larry, you know that every opponent game plans to do just that, and there is no game planning from the UK side to overcome those plans.
The deal about fouling early also applies to Wallace. Reeves. Toppin, and LIvingston. UK needs all 5 of those guys on the floor.
Professor, you have to be able to coach to game plan which explains why Calipari keeps on doing the same predictable thing over and over.