Report: Pacers agree to 2-way deal with former POTY Tshiebwe

The Indiana Pacers have agreed to a two-way contract with Kentucky standout and former college player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Tshiebwe, the 2022 National Player of the Year, was a free agent after going undrafted in Thursday's draft.

The former Wildcat only started playing basketball in 2014 after growing up a soccer player in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A year later, he emigrated to the United States and enrolled in high school before eventually committing to West Virginia as a highly touted recruit. The Congolese big man impressed with the Mountaineers but suddenly stepped away from the team midway through his sophomore year.

In January 2021, a month after leaving West Virginia, Tshiebwe committed to Kentucky, and his national profile reached another level. He emerged as one of the most dominant players in college with the Wildcats, registering 17.4 points on 60.6% shooting and 15.1 rebounds per game as a junior and sweeping all the major player-of-the-year honors. Tshiebwe didn't match those numbers as a senior but came pretty close as he was again the squad's most impactful player. While his college strengths may not translate perfectly to the NBA level, he can still potentially carve out a respectable pro career if he can shore up his biggest flaws - particularly his defensive mobility.

Bio

Position: Center
School: Kentucky
College experience: Senior
Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 253.6 lbs
Wingspan: 7-foot-4
Max vertical: 32.5 inches

2022-23 stats with Kentucky

Strengths

• Incredible high-energy rebounder at both ends despite being undersized in frontcourt; led the entire country in boards per game in both seasons at Kentucky.
• Ridiculously strong, which he uses to his advantage in establishing inside-post presence and checking opposing post players himself.
• Started to develop a slight face-up game with occasional mid-range jumper from just outside the paint.

Weaknesses

• Height could be disadvantage against true 7-footers in the NBA who excel on the glass, especially those he can't outmuscle as easily.
• Gets exposed very badly on pick-and-roll coverage because of really poor lateral movement.
• Can look stranded in no man's land when he gets the ball at the top of the key; struggles to take it himself past defenders and fails to make right pass in those situations.

NBA comparable: Montrezl Harrell. Like Tshiebwe, Harrell's offense is predominantly located near the basket, though they've both shown the capability to stretch out to the elbow for the rare jumper. Their physical measurements are also incredibly similar, right down to their undersized heights as centers: Harrell also stood 6-foot-7 without shoes at his combine in 2015, had a 7-foot-4 wingspan, and weighed in at 253.4 (he didn't register a pre-draft max vertical). Tshiebwe's likeliest outcome is probably a high-motor bench big deployed in specific situations in the NBA, much like Harrell today. But the Kentucky product could give himself more leeway if he can work on his poor defensive mobility - another trait he shares with the Philadelphia 76ers big.