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Oscar Tshiebwe went to the NBA Combine hoping to convince teams he’s worth picking him in the upcoming NBA Draft.
He had 16 points and nine rebounds in his final combine game Tuesday after pulling off 16 rebounds and 10 rebounds in his first game.
Now the two-time Kentucky all-American and unanimous national player of the year after the 2021-22 season will have workouts with several teams before he has to decide May 31st whether to keep his name in the draft or not.
“I believe there will be a team in the NBA that will love what I do,” Tshiebwe told Adam Zagoria of ZAGSBLOG.com.
247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein posted on Twitter that Tshiebwe had a “strong pro-day workout” where he shot corner 3’s “surprisingly well” by making 12 of 25 3-pointers — he missed his only two 3-point tries at UK.
He has worked out for the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, and Sacramento Kings so far.
There has been speculation that even if Tshiebwe takes his name out of the draft that he might still transfer as a graduate student. However, Tshiebwe told Ben Roberts, UK beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader, that was “not an option” for him.
“I will never transfer. Kentucky’s my home. If there’s a chance to go professional, I’ll go pro. If there’s a chance to not go professional, I will go back to Kentucky,” Tshiebwe told Roberts.
“I’ve never even thought about going (another) place. Kentucky is my home. It’s a dream place. I can’t leave my home. That’s my place, forever.”
He told Roberts that playing at Kentucky was “probably the best time in my life” to emphasize why he would not play for another school.
“The people have been great to me. I’ve been good with the fans. I’m just so appreciative for everything the people have done for us. And everything I have accomplished for Kentucky — I’m very grateful for that,” Tshiebwe said.
“And I will continue to be a part of the Big Blue Nation forever.”
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You can read Roberts’ full story here.
