Kansas once was in contention to sign West Virginia ‘monster’ power forward Tshiebwe
Kansas at one time was one of eight schools in the running for Oscar Tshiebwe, a 6-foot-9, 258-pound power forward from Kennedy Catholic High School in Hermitage, Pennsylvania.
The Jayhawks, however, were not included in the final four of Tshiebwe, the No. 26-rated player in the recruiting Class of 2019 who chose West Virginia over Baylor, Illinois and Kentucky. Like KU, Georgetown, Virginia and Mississippi made the big man’s final eight.
“Oscar is a monster,” KU coach Bill Self said of the Democratic Republic of the Congo big man after the Jayhawks’ 60-53 victory over the Tshiebwe-led West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
“The first thing Silvio (De Sousa) said after the game was, ‘Coach, that dude ain’t 18 years old, he’s a man,’’’ added Self, who was convinced during the recruiting process that Tshiebwe would excel on both the college then someday the pro level.
Tshiebwe scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting (5 of 9 from line) and grabbed 17 rebounds in 35 minutes. His 17 rebounds were the most by a Kansas opponent in Big 12 play since Texas’ Jarrett Allen grabbed 19 rebounds on Jan. 21, 2017. Tshiebwe’s 10 first-half rebounds were the most by a KU opponent in a half since Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado corralled 11 boards in the second half against the Jayhawks on March 17, 2018.
Tshiebwe scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting (3 of 5 from the line) with 10 rebounds the first half in helping WVU to a 30-24 lead.
He was 0 for 2 from the field the second half with seven rebounds. He made 2 of 4 free throws in the final stanza for his only points.
“Doke (Udoka Azubuike, 17 points, 11 boards, six blocks) did a good job on Oscar the second half and then we made enough plays but it was just a tough win, to be honest with you,” Self said. “That was one of the hardest first games to open conference play that we’ve had that I can remember and I thought the guys responded to the physicality after we were shocked initially.”
Tshiebwe certainly was one reason the Jayhawks, according to Self “appeared shell-shocked.”
“Oscar is a grown man. I’ve never played against someone like that,” said 7-footer Azubuike, who had 11 points, four boards and three blocks the second half while also exerting great energy defensively guarding Tshiebwe.
Azubuike’s six blocks were the most by a Jayhawk since Jeff Withey swatted nine shots against West Virginia on March 2, 2013.
“I had to move in the paint because he was really physical and really strong. It was my first time playing him and I tried boxing him out as best I could. In the second half, we just had that mindset to go out and play hard. I just went out there and tried to rebound the ball,” Azubuike added.
Self certainly appreciated Azubuike’s effort in a 32-minute stint.
“Oscar was the best player by far in the first half, but there’s no doubt the best player in the second half was Doke,” Self said. “I thought Doke played huge. I thought he played well and they’re going to be hard for anybody to beat. Our guys hung in there and that was a great win for us.”
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, who fell to 5-13 versus Kansas in his 13 years at WVU and 5-17 versus KU overall, spoke glowingly of freshman big man Tshiebwe, who is averaging 12.2 points and 9.4 boards a game.
“The beautiful thing about Oscar is that Oscar is Oscar. He doesn’t try to be anybody else,” Huggins said. “He’s really good at what he does, and you don’t have to worry about him going out and dribbling between his legs and losing it, or jacking up three-pointers like some guys in his situation would do. Oscar knows who he is, and he’s happy with who he is and he’s pretty damn good at who he is.”
Self was pleased with KU’s defense on West Virginia’s other big man, 6-10, 255-pound soph Derek Culver, who scored five points on 1-of-6 shooting with 12 rebounds.
“Oscar and Culver together are good, but how about the job Marcus Garrett did on Culver? It’s unbelievable,” Self said. “The guy (Garrett) is 6-foot-4, he’s not a high riser and he’s not the biggest guy, of course we helped him by trapping but he eliminates him for the most part, except on the glass.”
Garrett’s defense also impressed KU freshman wing Christian Braun, who played the entire second half.
“Marcus did a good job on Culver, shutting him down,” Braun said, going back to the challenge presented by Tshiebwe. “Doke worked hard. We were both trying to box him (Tshiebwe) out one time. He was moving both of us. He’s a strong kid. It was tough but we did what we needed to do,” added Braun, who had six points and five rebounds in 30 minutes.
Garrett was a huge factor in the victory, KU’s 11th against two losses (WVU also is 11-2). The junior guard had 12 points, six assists, two steals in 35 minuters.
“That’s a hard cover. He’s a hard cover when they play him at the four, because he can bounce it so well,” Huggins said.
KU will next meet Iowa State at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones (7-6) fell to TCU, 81-79, on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas.
