In Freshman Season, Oscar Tshiebwe Dazzles
With the college basketball season now in the rear view, it can be argued that West Virginia’s 21-win campaign left a little to be desired. That tends to happen when you flash greatness only to stumble through an entire month of conference play. However, the sins of a team should not detract from individual triumphs and for the Mountaineers’ golden child, Oscar Tshiebwe, his was a freshman campaign for the books.
There was no shortage of buzz when the native of Congo committed to West Virginia last year. While it’s commonplace for five-star recruits to land at basketball factories like Duke and Kansas, West Virginia has only been home to three McDonald’s All-Americans in program history. On the heels of a rudderless 15-win season in 2018, Tshiebwe’s arrival in Morgantown coupled with the desperation to re-emerge on the national stage could have been a recipe for a “too much, too soon” scenario that caused Tshiebwe to falter and fall short, a victim of perhaps unfair expectations. Thankfully for Mountaineer fans, that’s not what happened.
Over the course of 31 games this season, Tshiebwe posted season averages of 11.2 points, 9.3 rebounds while shooting 55% from the field. At times, he was utterly dominant in the low post, wielding an envy-inducing combination of strength and agility. After West Virginia's narrow seven point loss to the Jayhawks back on January 4th, both head coach Bill Self was nigh incredulous when he called Tshiebwe a "monster" and the Big 12 POTY, Udoka Azubuike, was equally as stunned claiming that he had "never played against somebody like that". That sentiment seems to have now formed into the consensus on the 6'9", 260-pound titan. As a gilded-cherry on top of everything else, Tshiebwe has now collected All-Big 12 Second Team honors, Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and Big 12 All-Freshman honors along with being named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the fourth time this season.
If there was a single moment from this season that encapsulates just how much "wow" factor the Kennedy Catholic (PA) alum brought with him to Morgantown, you needn't look any further than the Mountaineers' 97-59 dismantling of Texas on January 20th. In a single, seconds-long sequence in the second half, Tshiebwe sprinted the length of the floor and tracked down a loose ball inches from the sideline. Then, almost as an afterthought, he took one dribble and exploded off the floor for a tomahawk dunk that shook the dust off the coliseum dome. The power, the leaping ability, the out-of-nowhere speed- it was LeBron James-esque.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe48aiWE0So
As good and, at times, astounding as Tshiebwe has been, there's still degrees of separation between him and his ceiling. There were contests where no. 34 barely registered, be it a residual effect of foul trouble or just not finding his way into the game. There are also moments, blips really, where he passes up an open look or can't quite finish at the basket. Part of it is youth, something every player encounters and has to navigate as quickly and error-free as humanly possible. Some of it, especially with Oscar, is just general inexperience. Lest we forget, he only has five-odd years of experience playing basketball at a competitive level. He is very, very much a student learning at a hyper-accelerated rate.
So as the Mountaineers prepare for Big 12 tournament action in Kansas City, the real question becomes, more and more, what happens next? There are mounting whispers that this could be the one and only year Mountaineer fans get to see Oscar Tshiebwe suit up in gold and blue. It doesn't come as a huge surprise, anyway. Several West Virginia bigs from recent years- Elijah Macon, Devin Williams and Sagaba Konate- all opted for an early departure to earn money playing professionally overseas. Compared to that group, good as they are, Tshiebwe's ceiling as a future pro is far higher, not just as an NBA draft pick but as a potential lottery pick in the first round in future drafts. Will the lure of a possible pay day win out or will he choose to continue to fine-tune his game at the college level while helping West Virginia track down an ever-elusive national title?
As good a year as Tshiebwe has had, if he were to opt to bet on himself in the pro ranks, that's all this year will ever be: good peppered with moments of great. If he were to stay and lock arms with fellow bookend Derek Culver, West Virginia would be set up to have an outstanding year in 2020-21 and be tabbed as a likely Final Four favorite. It's not too early to start talking about legacy where Tshiebwe is concerned. When you have the tools that he has and the ceiling that he's been allotted, the conversation needs to turn to bigger, loftier things.
As it stands leading up to the start of Big 12 tournament play, Oscar Tshiebwe has not only had arguably the best season of any freshman in the country, but certainly one of the greatest seasons of any freshman in program history. However, his imprint on West Virginia basketball can be monumental, if he wishes. If the basketball gods are kind and Tshiebwe takes heed of his better angels, this season will only stand as an overture to something truly great. There is still a good deal of basketball yet to be played as West Virginia is looking to parlay it's new-found edge into playing spoiler in the Big 12 tournament thereby rolling into March Madness at full strength.
In retrospect, Oscar Tshiebwe could not have turned in a better season. Better not to focus on the troublesome "if" looming in the near future. What happens after season's end is not up to us and has yet to be written. Here and now, Oscar Tshiebwe, still learning, is as exciting to watch as anyone who has suited up in Mountaineer blue and gold. A monster with an ultra HD smile- Oscar Tshiebwe is having fun and fans should be, too.
