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Cats put depth on display in Blue-White Game

Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe eyed the rim on a dunk in Friday's Blue-White Game at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe eyed the rim on a dunk in Friday's Blue-White Game at Rupp Arena. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Even without two of its expected main contributors not playing, No. 10 Kentucky put its impressive depth on display Friday night in the Wildcats' annual Blue-White Game.

Four players produced double-doubles for the Cats, including a dominant performance in the paint from transfer forward Oscar Tshiebwe. The 6-foot-9, 255-pound native of the Congo, who transfered from West Virginia in January, scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down 21 rebounds while playing all 40 minutes for the Blue squad in a 108-80 win at Rupp Arena.

"I told the coach I am going for 20 and 20 and it was what I got," Tshiebwe said. "As you could see tonight, I was playing basketball, but I was going 100%. I am excited. Tonight was great. I had fun out there. I can’t wait until we start.”

"The biggest thing, you see how hard he plays? How fast he runs? How nimble his feet are for somebody 255?" UK head coach John Calipari said of Tshiebwe. "And, yeah, you better put a body on him."

Tshiebwe said during UK media day earlier this week that he wants to average 20 rebounds per game. Many likely rolled their eyes at such a lofty goal. But his effort Friday night indicated that there may be more than a few nights where he challenges it.

Fellow transfer Sahvir Wheeler, who starred for Georgia last season, added 11 points and 11 assists in logging time for both squads.

"It's nice when you got a guy that can absolutely control the ball," said Calipari, who noted how strong the 5-foot-9 Wheeler has been on both ends of the floor during his short time as a Cat.

Sophomore forward Lance Ware produced 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the White squad in admirably battling the bullish Tshiebwe for more than 37 minutes.

"The good news for Lance is he gets to go against Oscar," Calipari said. "The bad news is he's got to go against Oscar."

Overall, however, the UK boss was pleased with the progress of his other physical big man.

Meanwhile, the jewel of the Cats' latest elite recruiting class, freshman guard TyTy Washington, tallied 24 points and 10 assists in splitting time between the Blue and White.

"Yeesh," Calipari exclaimed upon surveying the stat sheet.

Kentucky's improved perimeter shooting was also on display. The Blue and the White combined to knock down 18 of 46 shots (39.1%) from beyond the arc, well above the 33.5% mark last year's team posted.

Freshman wing Bryce Hopkins was 3-for-5 from deep en route to 18 points split between the two squads. Washington also went 3-for-5, while freshman forward Daimion Collins was a surprising 3-for-4 and finished with 22 points between the two teams.

And that did not include several other solid performances or account for the absence of junior wings Jacob Toppin (shoulder) and CJ Fredrick (knee), who have yet to return to full-game action.

"I will figure it out," Calipari said of his potential embarrassment of riches. "I have in the past. I will figure it out. If 12 guys deserve to play, we'll figure it out. But I'm challenging them. If you want to (play), no excuses.

"We've got a lot of fighters, and they're going to battle."


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