| Intro | Congolese basketball player |
| Is |
Athlete |
| From |
Republic of the Congo |
| Type |
Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 1999 |
| Age: | 21 years |
Oscar Tshiebwe (born 27 November 1999) is a Congolese college basketball player for the West Virginia Mountaineers of the Big 12 Conference.
Early life
Tshiebwe grew up in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. He played soccer as a child but was encouraged to start basketball because he was tall. Tshiebwe trained by running on hills and on a mountain near his hometown. He attended a basketball camp led by Congolese National Basketball Association (NBA) player Bismack Biyombo, who helped advance his career. Tshiebwe did not start playing basketball until May 2014.
High school career
Tshiebwe moved to the United States in November 2015, before his freshman year of high school, attending Mountain Mission School School in Grundy, Virginia. Entering his junior year, he transferred to Kennedy Catholic High School in Hermitage, Pennsylvania.
As a junior, Tshiebwe averaged 21.1 points per game and led his team to a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 1A title. He earned Class 1A All-State first team honors. On October 20, 2018, he committed to play college basketball for West Virginia. In his senior season, Tshiebwe averaged 23.4 points, 18 rebounds, and five blocks per game, leading Kennedy Catholic to a 24–3 record and the PIAA Class 6A championship. He was a Class 6A All-State first team pick and was named Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year. He averaged 21.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game playing for ITPS Wildcats Select on the adidas Gauntlet. Tshiebwe played in the McDonald’s All-American Game and Nike Hoop Summit. He was considered a five-star recruit by Rivals and 247Sports and a four-star recruit by ESPN.
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Oscar Tshiebwe C |
Sharon, PA | Kennedy Catholic (PA) | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Oct 20, 2018 | |
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 26 247Sports: 22 ESPN: 46 | ||||||
Sources:
|
||||||
College career
In his second college game, Tshiebwe had a double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds at Pittsburgh. As a result, he was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week. Tshiebwe had 19 points and 18 rebounds against Wichita State in the Cancun Challenge championship game, leading his team to victory and earning MVP honors. He was again named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on December 2, 2019.
Personal life
After Tshiebwe began attending Kennedy Catholic High School, Jeff Kollar and his wife, who live near the school, became his legal guardians. Kollar and his wife were previously guardians of brothers Mohamed and Sagaba Konate, who both played basketball for Kennedy Catholic. Sagaba Konate also played college basketball for West Virginia.