Kentucky Basketball: Cats outcoached- out played – out hustled -out of NCAA

Oscar Tshiebwe deserved better support from his team in defeat

He will probably go down as one of the most loved Wildcats and epitomizes what every athlete and human being should strive for and that is getting the most out of every opportunity presented to you.

Last season when he transferred in and couldn’t play he practiced his tail off. This season he continued to study, learn, listen and craft his game day after day. Everything he did was to better himself and the team.

What becomes more and more abundantly clear is that team when it had moments of despair, frustration, ailments, and woes the cure was always feeding Oscar. Even Calipari promoted this on and off the court and during games.

While he scored, worked, and never complained he accomplished his tasks while others on the team used him as a crutch. A case in point was this game.

Watching him in tears after the game was the most heartbreaking.

He finished a remarkable and historical season with 500+ points, 500+ rebounds, 50+ steals, and 50+ blocks. His 60.6 percent shooting from the field this season is the third-best ever by a UK
player in a single season with at least 300 field goal attempts (62.3 percent, Anthony Davis, 2011-2012; 61.7 percent and Melvin Turpin, 1982-1983.

He was asked after the game about how he poured his heart into this season and what the feeling was.

"“It is sad because I’ve been wanting this moment for a long time. I’m a junior and this is three years in college and this is my first March Madness. I even told my teammates, this is not going to be easy for us. If we don’t — if we are not willing to fight, any team in March Madness, they make it for a reason. So we’ve got to be locked in. We’ve got to be ready to go. So I think everybody tried and did their best they could. I did the best I could. It just happens sometimes like that. But one thing I’m going to say, we are just going to stay together and just trust the process. Losing and winning is part of the game. And I don’t know, just to stay together.”"

Kentucky fans will have to wait and see what Oscar decides to do about next season and if he will return of go to the NBA. He said he would have to wait and talk to Calipari about it.