John Calipari. Roy Williams. Bill Self. They and dozens of other college coaches sat in a gym in Indianapolis last weekend watching a teenager who attends a high school a little more than an hour north of Pittsburgh.
Oscar Tshiebwe was the center of attention.
And to think, this is a kid who began playing the sport only four years ago.
“A lot of people would tell me, ‘You are tall. You have the potential. You have a chance to go to the USA and play basketball in the NBA. So what are you waiting for?,’” Tshiebwe recalled.
Tshiebwe (pronounced SHOO-BWAY) is a 6-foot-8 native of Congo and a junior at Kennedy Catholic High School in Hermitage. He began playing basketball in May 2014 and moved to the United States in November 2015. Tshiebwe was considered a national recruit prior to his junior season, but his stock has since skyrocketed. He dazzled while playing with the ITPS AAU team at the adidas Gauntlet event last weekend and could be on the cusp of being given a five-star ranking by scouting services.
Schools such as West Virginia, Pitt, Virginia, Georgetown, Clemson and Penn State are among the schools that have offered, and many more offers could be coming soon.
“‘You are the best player and the best big in the class of 2019. I want to be your coach.’ Everyone has told me the same,” said Tshiebwe. “I have lots of options. I want to visit more schools before I make my decision.”
West Virginia and Pitt appear to have legitimate shots of landing Tshiebwe, a power forward who has elite athleticism, throws down big dunks, and is an excellent shot blocker. Tshiebwe could have a future in the NBA just like a few of the Congo natives he looks up to — Dikembe Mutombo and Serge Ibaka.
West Virginia has long been considered the team to beat. Former Kennedy Catholic player Sagaba Konate starred at West Virginia this past season and Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins began forming a tight bond with Tshiebwe not long after the latter moved to this country.
But Tshiebwe said it would be inaccurate to call West Virginia his favorite school; that’s because he said he doesn’t have any. Konate hasn’t been actively recruiting him, either, which, according to Tshiebwe, would be a waste of time.
“I cannot go somewhere just because people tell me to go. I want to go to the school that I want to go to,” he said.
A few days after Jeff Capel was hired at Pitt, he made a trip to Kennedy Catholic to meet with Tshiebwe and some of his teammates. One of them, fellow junior Maceo Austin, also has a Pitt offer.
Tshiebwe said he could see himself ending up at Pitt.
"Yeah. If the coach recruits a player like me and recruits a couple of more good players, we’re going to be good. We’re going to be really good,” he said.
Football commitments
Ambridge’s Laconia Seymour (Geneva); Bishop Canevin’s Zach Trusky (Grove City).
Basketball commitments
Burrell’s Donovan Russell (Goucher); Canon-McMillan’s Jason Fowlkes (Slippery Rock); Indiana’s Carlos Carter (Wheeling Jesuit); Peters Township’s Conor Pederson (Case Western Reserve).
Baseball commitment
Serra Catholic’s Nate Piontka (Alderson Broaddus).
First Published: April 25, 2018, 11:00 a.m.
