Oscar Tshiebwe is coming back. What that means for Kentucky and college basketball.

Break out the trumpets, pitch the confetti and drop the balloons. It’s celebration time in Big Blue Country. The news Kentucky basketball fans were hoping to hear — dare we say, expecting to hear — came Wednesday with a thunderous clap.

Oscar Tshiebwe is coming back.

That’s right, the Kentucky center is returning for the 2022-23 season. Only this isn’t just the UK center we’re talking about. This is the unanimous national player of the year, the 22-year-old dynamo from the Congo who produced a historic campaign, leading the Cats in scoring (17.4 points per game) and the nation in rebounding (15.1 boards per game).

Wednesday’s announcement was not exactly a shocker. Talking to those around the UK camp both at the SEC Tournament and its far-too-brief NCAA Tournament appearance in Indianapolis, you got the feeling that those in the know had the feeling Tshiebwe would delay his shot at the NBA in order to be a Wildcat for another year.

After all, despite Tshiebwe’s collegiate exploits, most mock drafts were projecting the 6-foot-9 center as a late first-round or early second-round pick in the June 23 NBA Draft. To succeed at the next level, so said the scouts, Tshiebwe needed to work on his perimeter defense and continue to expand his offensive game beyond offensive rebounds.

Besides, Tshiebwe obviously loved being at Kentucky almost as much as Kentucky fans loved Oscar being at Kentucky. His smile. His positive attitude. His enchanting way with the English language. His strong faith. Those at the recent 54th annual Governor’s Prayer Breakfast in Frankfort gushed at the way Tshiebwe wowed the crowd, telling it, “I love being here.”

Still, until Tshiebwe actually announced his intentions, no one was sure of his intentions. Now we know.

What part did the burgeoning NIL landscape play in all of this? That’s hard to say. As a foreign student on an F-1 student visa, Tshiebwe had been ineligible to capitalize on his name, image and likeness. That changed in February. It is yet to be seen if what Tshiebwe can earn through NIL would approach a professional salary, but surely the change in eligibility played a role in his decision to return.

It’s no doubt playing a role in a lot of decisions right now. A major gripe among college hoops fanatics has been the propensity of one-and-dones. You barely get to know a player before he’s off to the NBA or the G-League or a paycheck overseas. The hope was that potential NIL proceeds might convince some stars to stay put for a year or more. Perhaps the return of the national player of the year is proof of that.

What does Tshiebwe’s return mean for Kentucky basketball? Even without Oscar, the Cats figured to be a contender next season. March’s NCAA first-round loss notwithstanding, Kentucky is still Kentucky. With Oscar, the Cats are a national title contender. Simple as that. John Calipari still has holes to fill and roster construction questions to answer — Shaedon Sharpe’s future moves to the top of that list — but Tshiebwe is undoubtedly the centerpiece to next season’s aspirations.

He’s also part of a growing trend in college basketball. Back-to-the-basket centers are back. Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji was voted Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four, but 6-foot-10 center David McCormack was the true MVP of the Jayhawks’ national championship run. North Carolina’s 6-10 Armando Bacot led the No. 8 seed Tar Heels to the NCAA title game. Look at what 7-footer Kofi Cockburn did at Illinois, or 7-4 Zach Edey at Purdue or 7-footer Mark Williams at Duke.

Speaking of Duke, the Blue Devils have built their No. 1 recruiting class for 2022 around 7-1 Derek Lively and 6-10 Kyle Filipowski. ESPN rates Lively as the nation’s No. 1 prospect. Filipowski checks in at No. 7. Never mind three-point bombers or so-called position-less players, what’s old is new again. Centers are back in style.

Now Kentucky’s Big Man on Campus is back. It’s official. Oscar Tshiebwe is coming back. Next season can’t come soon enough.

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