As the first consensus National Player of the Year to return to college basketball since 2008, Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe might be the biggest star in the sport.
But its junior forward Jacob Toppin that Tshiebwe says has actually been performing best in early summer workouts.
“You guys are going to be impressed to see him play basketball this year,” Tshiebwe said. “He's right now like our best player. He's unstoppable in the gym. Nobody can stop him.”
While any Wildcat wrestling the “best player” mantle from Tshiebwe during the season would be a surprise, a significant jump in production from Toppin would not.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.
On This Day In UK Basketball History
- On March 18, 1966, Louie Dampier joined the 1,000-point club. He did it in 53 games.
- On March 18, 1966, Kentucky, the No. 1 team in the nation, faced off against No. 2 Duke in the 1966 NCAA Final Four. Louie Dampier (23 points) and Pat Riley (19) led the top-ranked Cats past No. 2 Duke in front of 14,253 at the Cole Field House in College Park, Md.
- On March 18, 1972, Adolph Rupp coaches his last game at UK, a 73-54 loss to Florida State for the Mideast Region title in the NCAA Tournament.
- On March 18, 1978, in the 1978 NCAA Tournament round of eight, sophomore point guard Kyle Macy scored nine points in the final 6:16 to rally the Wildcats past Michigan State and freshman star Earvin “Magic” Johnson before 13,485 at the University of Dayton Arena.