Wooden Award Winner Oscar Tshiebwe to Return to Kentucky Next Season, Forgo NBA Draft

Oscar Tshibaw will return for his senior year, giving Kentucky a huge boost as they prepare for the 2022-23 season.

He announced his decision on SportsCenter.

Jeff Borzello @jeffborzello

BREAKING: Wooden Award winner Oscar Tshiebwe announces on SportsCenter that he's returning to Kentucky for another season. First Wooden Award winner since Tyler Hansbrough in 2008 to return to college.

There have been rumors that Tshiebwe would skip the draft in order to play out his college eligibility.

Kyle Tucker of The Athletic reported on April 5 that the general consensus within the Kentucky program is that there is a very good chance that Tshiebwe will return.

It is not expected that Jeff Borzello's status as a foreign student will affect his ability to earn money.

If he had decided to declare, he would not have been a first-round pick. He was projected to go to Oklahoma City in the most recent mock draft.

The offensive rebound and constant activity of Tsubwe feel translatable, and that may be enough for teams to add a frontcourt player in the second round.

The national championship picture should be made better by the return of Tshiebwe for another season. Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace are the first 5-star recruits to commit to John Calipari.

Kentucky lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but still earned the second seed in the East Region.

The National Player of the Year award was won by Tshiebwe. He averaged 17.4 points per game and was the leader in the nation with 15.3 points per game.