Just saw this on the Kentucky 24/7 site.
Calipari said.
One misconception is that Tshiebwe must now become a 3-point specialist, too, if he is to flourish in the NBA. He shot 60 percent from the field last year, but did not attempt a single 3-point shot.
“He doesn’t have to go to the 3-point line,” Calipari said. “Who doesn’t shoot 3s? Bam Adebayo, and he’s an All Star.
“He needs to be a better basketball player,” Calipari said. “He needs to get the ball in the middle of the court and make basketball plays. He needs to stretch the court a little bit.”
Calipari has one other tool for Tshiebwe to improve his NBA chances.
“I have to teach him to be a better screener,” the coach said. “I just had on my iPad the best screening big guys in the NBA. I want him to see it. They’re not looking for balls, they’re nailing people. And those guys are playing because they’re create space for everybody else. If your man helps, then they throw you the ball.”
As for Kentucky, Tshiebwe will get help this season from a pair of wing men that would make Top Gun’s Maverick envious – long and lean Daimion Collins and Jacob Toppin.
“The biggest thing for us and this team is that we’ll have two players playing a lot of minutes in Daimion and Jacob who give you more shot-blocking,” Calipari said. “I looked over my 13 years. Let’s look at shots taken, within 5 percent. Threes taken, within 5 percent. 3-point percentage, field goal percentage, rebound margin. In the same ball park. Defensively, in the range. The only thing that was different … blocked shots.
“That’s why I said last year, ‘I need to play Daimion.’ But at the expense of Daimion, I played some other guys,” Calipari said. “Now, they may have done X,Y,Z, but they could not block the shots. Now, you’ve got he and Jacob. Oscar is going to get two or three blocks, but that’s not seven and you need seven, you need eight. Now, we can get back to that.”
One other reason for Tshiebwe to return is that Kentucky has finally navigated the name, image and likeness situation. It’s no exaggeration to say that as an F1 Visa student, one wrong step by Kentucky on the NIL front last year would have led to Tshiebwe being deported to his home in the Congo.
“All this stuff about Oscar making $2 million, come on,” Calipari said. “He’s an F1 student. He can make money passively. Get this, they can put his picture on a billboard, but he can’t do a photo shoot because that’s work. He can sell T-shirts where it’s passive, but he can’t sign autographs because it’s work. He can’t put it on social media.
“The school and the lawyers on campus have done yeoman’s work. Literally dug in to make sure what he can do.”
Calipari said.
One misconception is that Tshiebwe must now become a 3-point specialist, too, if he is to flourish in the NBA. He shot 60 percent from the field last year, but did not attempt a single 3-point shot.
“He doesn’t have to go to the 3-point line,” Calipari said. “Who doesn’t shoot 3s? Bam Adebayo, and he’s an All Star.
“He needs to be a better basketball player,” Calipari said. “He needs to get the ball in the middle of the court and make basketball plays. He needs to stretch the court a little bit.”
Calipari has one other tool for Tshiebwe to improve his NBA chances.
“I have to teach him to be a better screener,” the coach said. “I just had on my iPad the best screening big guys in the NBA. I want him to see it. They’re not looking for balls, they’re nailing people. And those guys are playing because they’re create space for everybody else. If your man helps, then they throw you the ball.”
As for Kentucky, Tshiebwe will get help this season from a pair of wing men that would make Top Gun’s Maverick envious – long and lean Daimion Collins and Jacob Toppin.
“The biggest thing for us and this team is that we’ll have two players playing a lot of minutes in Daimion and Jacob who give you more shot-blocking,” Calipari said. “I looked over my 13 years. Let’s look at shots taken, within 5 percent. Threes taken, within 5 percent. 3-point percentage, field goal percentage, rebound margin. In the same ball park. Defensively, in the range. The only thing that was different … blocked shots.
“That’s why I said last year, ‘I need to play Daimion.’ But at the expense of Daimion, I played some other guys,” Calipari said. “Now, they may have done X,Y,Z, but they could not block the shots. Now, you’ve got he and Jacob. Oscar is going to get two or three blocks, but that’s not seven and you need seven, you need eight. Now, we can get back to that.”
One other reason for Tshiebwe to return is that Kentucky has finally navigated the name, image and likeness situation. It’s no exaggeration to say that as an F1 Visa student, one wrong step by Kentucky on the NIL front last year would have led to Tshiebwe being deported to his home in the Congo.
“All this stuff about Oscar making $2 million, come on,” Calipari said. “He’s an F1 student. He can make money passively. Get this, they can put his picture on a billboard, but he can’t do a photo shoot because that’s work. He can sell T-shirts where it’s passive, but he can’t sign autographs because it’s work. He can’t put it on social media.
“The school and the lawyers on campus have done yeoman’s work. Literally dug in to make sure what he can do.”
