POINT OF NO RETURN: Oscar Tshiebwe steps away from WVU men’s basketball team

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Oscar Tshiebwe has stepped away from the No. 9 West Virginia men’s basketball team, and according to head coach Bob Huggins, there is no chance of his return to the program.

“No, absolutely not. No return,” Huggins said during a Zoom meeting Friday with reporters. “We’ve got guys who have worked their butts off and have worked their butts off all summer to get an opportunity. I am more than confident they will do a great job for us. So why would we screw that up?”

Huggins said he was not caught off guard by Tshiebwe’s decision, and it is not known if the 6-foot-9 forward plans to transfer to a different school.

According to a WVU press release, Tshiebwe stepped away for personal reasons. Huggins declined to add any more details.

“With all due respect, I don’t want to talk about Oscar,” Huggins said. “I want to talk about our team. I want to talk about the guys who are here and who have worked their tails off all summer long, continued to work when we didn’t know if we were going to play or not. Those guys deserve all the credit in the world and I’m sure they’re champing at the bit to get an opportunity to show what they can do.”

The Mountaineers (8-2, 1-1 Big 12) will travel to Oklahoma (5-2, 1-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday, having had just one full practice without Tshiebwe on the floor.

“Obviously they were all there (Thursday), so they know what the game plan is,” Huggins said. “They know what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it. I’m more excited about the opportunity to go play a couple of games this weekend than I had been at the beginning, because of their attitudes, their willingness to work, their willingness to learn and they sincerely do care about this basketball program, this university and this state.”

As to what the Mountaineers will do, Huggins hinted at several possibilities, but WVU will also be without 6-10 freshman Isaiah Cottrell, who tore his Achilles tendon during Tuesday’s victory against Northeastern.

Huggins said moving freshman forward Jalen Bridges into the starting rotation could be a possibility, which would keep Gabe Osabuohien as a key reserve coming off the bench.

More importantly, Huggins expects Tshiebwe’s absence to create more opportunity for junior forward Derek Culver.

Already the Big 12’s second-leading rebounder, Culver could have more room to operate around the rim without Tshiebwe.

“It gives Derek so much more room, and let’s tell the truth, he’s the best big in (the Big 12),” Huggins said. “Derek, by far, is the best big man in the league, so to have him isolated down there is not a bad thing.”

Tshiebwe was just the second-ever McDonald’s All-American to ever sign with the Mountaineers as an incoming freshman.

He was named to the all-Big 12 freshman team last season after averaging 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

But, Tshiebwe’s numbers dipped through the first 10 games of his sophomore season, when he averaged 8.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

He had his best game of the season against Northeastern, finishing with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

After that game, Huggins hinted for the first time that Tshiebwe may not have put in as much work over the summer as needed to build off a solid freshman season.

“Oscar had a rough summer. He was anything but the Oscar who was supposed to give us 12 to 15 rebounds a game,” Huggins said after the game. “I think he understands that he spent too much time touring the state of West Virginia, which there is nothing wrong with that, but you’ve got to put enough time into your craft.”

As for moving ahead, Huggins said he was excited to see how his remaining players responded.

“What do we do moving forward? We’re going to win more games,” Huggins said. “I think this gives us an opportunity to be able to spread the floor a little bit more. Guys like (Jalen Bridges) can come in and spread the floor and make shots. It will give Derek a lot more room to work with down there.”

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