Rebounding Machine Working Out for Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets are knee-deep in pre-draft workouts as they are bringing in a handful of prospects nearly every day to get a strong evaluation on guys ahead of next month's draft.

Wednesday morning, the Hornets welcomed in six prospects for a workout, including Kentucky center Oscar Tshiebwe.

After bursting onto the scene as a true freshman at West Virginia, Tshiebwe elected to enter the transfer portal within the first month of his sophomore season. Not long after, he landed at UK and sat out the remainder of the season. In his first season with the Wildcats, Tshiebwe averaged 17.4 points, 15.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. He was named the recipient of the 2022 Wooden Award, Naismith Award, SEC Player of the Year, and earned consensus All-American honors.

This past season, Tshiebwe saw his totals dip slightly to 16.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, and one block per game. However, his near 14 boards per game still led the country by almost a full rebound over Purdue's Zach Edey. What's most impressive about that stat is that Edey (7'4") has a major size advantage over Tshiewbe who is just 6'9".

That is one of the biggest concerns with Tshiebwe at the next level - his size. Can he still be as effective on the boards when going up against the Nikola Jokic's, Joel Embiid's, and Anthony Davis's of the world? He has gone up against taller opponents before and that hasn't bothered him but the strength of those opponents compared to what he'll see in the NBA is a stark contrast.

Really the only other red flag with Tshiebwe is his lack of range on the offensive end. He's a back-to-the-basket/putback finisher and that's about the extent of his scoring ability. He can knock down some mid-range shots from time to time but it's an area that still needs some work. Three-pointers are non-existent as he's attempted just two in his four-year career.

Tshiebwe won't be as dominant of a scorer in the NBA but if he commits to extending his range and is able to rebound the ball at a fairly high rate, he'll carve out a nice career as a role player. Most projections have Tshiewbe going in the second round.

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