Morgantown, West Virginia – According to ESPN Analyst Fran Fraschilla, Oscar Tshiebwe left the West Virginia basketball program without telling any of his coaches in Morgantown.
“Disappointing thing about Oscar is that he never told Huggins or the coaching staff he was leaving. But I do believe he is a good young guy. Also don’t believe that Kentucky tampered the way that the others did.”
Disappointing about Oscar is that he never told Huggins or the coaching staff he was leaving. But I do believe he is a good young guy. Also also don’t believe Kentucky tampered the way others did.
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) January 11, 2021
Lots to unpack here. First of all, Oscar Tshiebwe apparently left WVU without discussing it with any of the Mountaineers coaching staff. Although Bob Huggins said that he wasn’t surprised that Tshiebwe decided to transfer, it must have come as a bit of a shock to realize that he left without even letting anyone know.
Second, Fran Fraschilla spoke out on social media a few days ago about Tshiebwe’s decision to leave West Virginia. “I like Oscar Tshiebwe as a kid at West Virginia. I am reasonably sure there was tampering going on but that would just it a Tuesday in college basketball.”
I liked Oscar Tshiebwe as a kid at @WVUhoops. I am reasonably sure there was tampering going on but that would just make it a Tuesday in college basketball. Simply put, with Derek Culver’s dramatic improvement there was little space inside. Skill level must improve at next stop.
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) January 5, 2021
It was assumed by many people – including West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins – that Tshiebwe was convinced by “outside influences” to leave the program in order to transfer to an Adidas-sponsored school. As it turns out, it doesn’t seem that these outside influences were able to get Tshiebwe to an Adidas school where they might profit financially.
It now appears that Oscar Tshiebwe left West Virginia for a better opportunity at being drafted to play in the NBA.
