Oscar Tshiebwe will never forget the moment he met Jacob Toppin, but not for the reasons you might expect. When Oscar transferred from West Virginia to Kentucky in January 2021, John Calipari said he had a 12-year-old on the team he wanted Oscar to mentor. So, imagine Oscar’s surprise when in walked 6’9″, 205 lbs. Jacob Toppin, midway through his first season at Kentucky after transferring from Rhode Island.
“When I first got here, Coach said, ‘We have a 12-year-old kid on the team.’ I said, ’12-year-old kid? How is there a 12-year-old kid on the team?