Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe, the reigning player of the year, to have 'minor' knee procedure, per John Calipari

Calipari said the operation on the knee of the Wildcats star would 'clean some things up' and was 'no big deal'

By David Cobb

Oct 11, 2022 at 4:28 pm ET • 1 min read

USATSI

Kentucky coach John Calipari revealed Tuesday that reigning national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe will undergo an operation on his knee ahead of the 2022-23 season. In a series of tweets, Calipari described it as a "minor 15-minute procedure to clean some things up."

Calipari did not reveal a timeline for Tshiebwe's return as the Wildcats prepare for their Nov. 7 season opener against Howard at Rupp Arena. But Calipari did specify that there will be "no dancing" for Tshiebwe at the program's Big Blue Madness event Friday. Tshiebwe was held out of practice Saturday and Monday because of the knee issue. But according to Calipari, Tshiebwe refused to sit out during UK's pro day on Sunday and "balled out" in front of the attending scouts.

Tshiebwe averaged 17.4 points, 15.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for Kentucky last season while leading the Wildcats to a 26-8 record and No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Though UK lost in the first round of the Big Dance to No. 15 seed Saint Peter's, the season still marked a bounce-back year for the program after the Wildcats posted a stunning 9-16 mark in the 2020-21 campaign.

I have good news and bad news. Good news is Oscar had an unbelievable performance at Pro Day and the scouts loved what they saw. He came back to develop his game and become a more complete player and that’s exactly what he displayed Sunday night. They loved it.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) October 11, 2022

Bad news is I kept him out of practice Sat. with knee stuff. He refused to sit out Pro Day and balled out. I made him sit out Mon. and get examined as a precaution. He’s going to have a minor 15-minute procedure to clean some things up. Not a big deal, but no dancing at Madness!
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) October 11, 2022

The impetus behind Kentucky's transformation was Tshiebwe, who transferred in from West Virginia and immediately became UK's heart and soul. He swept the sport's national player of the year honors as he reached double figures in 30 of 34 games. Tshiebwe also recorded 10 or more rebounds 32 times last season while setting a school record with 28 double-doubles.