Oscar Tshiebwe Conundrum

[WillMunny 1,375]

Last season, Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe was the NCAA Player of the Year, and he outplayed Walker Kessler both times they faced off.

Yet Tshiebwe came back to play for Kentucky this year (I assume the pro scouts recommended he do that), and Kessler went pro and is doing OK (I assume the pro scouts recommended he go pro).

This seems like a conundrum.  It sure seemed like Tshiebwe was better overall than Kessler, yet Kessler blocked shots at an other-worldy rate.

Explanation?  Did Kessler's shot-blocking skills make him a better pro prospect than Tshiebwe?

Note: Tshiebwe seems to have regressed slightly from last year.

Thanks

[gravejd 3,269]

I think Tshiebwe got a huge NIL deal to come back to Kentucky. I recall that being cited as why he came back more than his evaluation from pro scouts. Though it does look like Kessler's was rated higher by this site https://www.nbadraft.net/players/walker-kessler/ vs Oscar https://www.nbadraft.net/players/oscar-tshiebwe/. 

Basically Oscar is a center in a power forwards body. He dominates on the boards and inside now but that will likely go away in NBA when the bigs are more filled out than what you typically see in college. He'll lose his strength advantage and then his height will be a real problem. 

[cole256 17,042]

It's always dependent on what you offer your individual team. Then as far as translating to the NBA Kessler has more size, athleticism that's not even risks. A team that was thinking they need size and rebounding and defense wasn't even gambling with Kessler. You pretty much knew what you were getting with him. It's not about individual match ups as much as it's about how can you help this team be better and can you do what you do if the talent is stepped up. 

It's the same in football as well, that's why you can see guys like Jared Harper, Tim Tebow, jimmer what's his face be successful in college but not the same in the pro's