Ugonna Onyenso Isn't Surprised By His Early-Season Impact

The true freshman center provided an impressive nine-point, 10-rebound performance on Friday night in the win over Duquesne.

Every time Ugonna Onyenso takes the court, he continues to show just how far he's progressing as a true freshman. 

The next example of that was on Friday night, when the big man nearly earned his first career double-double, scoring nine points to go along with 10 rebounds. He also blocked three more shots, bringing his early season total to seven. He's just the fourth Wildcat ever to have seven or more swats in his first two collegiate games. 

"For him to turn it on and do it in games, it's big time," point guard Sahvir Wheeler said of Onyenso. "That's the thing that Coach Cal always talks about is shot blocking, he's done a terrific job with that. If he continues to do that, he's definitely going to be a major part of what we do going forward." 

He showed improvement on the offensive side in the win over Duquesne, being more aggressive when having the ball in his hands and even taking a few shots not right next to the rim. 

Granted, they didn't all come close to going in, but the rapid growth is clear to see. 

"I'm still working on it," Onyenso said post-game. "I'm just helping the team any way I can now. I'm not forcing anything, i'm just doing what I know how to do best." 

"Ugonna, wow. Like, he impacts the game the minute he walks on the court. Not afraid," head coach John Calipari said. "How about he shot a right-handed jump hook from 12 feet. Air ball. But, he had the courage to shoot it."

The production this early on from the big man is rather surprising, at least to everyone except him.

"I wasn't expecting it, but i'm not surprised," he said with a smile. 

While unexpected, it's a much-welcomed sight for the Wildcats and Calipari, who are still playing without superstar center Oscar Tshiebwe. 

Onyenso now has 15 points and 14 rebounds to go along with the seven blocks in just under 40 minutes of playing time. He's clearly carving out a role for himself to play, even when Tshiebwe does return to the court. 

"Obviously we want Oscar back, but having him out, (Onyenso) got his opportunity," forward Jacob Toppin said. "Coach always says 'next man up' and he's been able to stand up and be effective for us. Blocking shots, grabbing rebounds, finishing around the rim, he's definitely a good factor for this team." 

The extent of how serious Tshiebwe's injury is remains unknown. Following the Duquesne win, Calipari said he "didn't know yet" if the reigning unanimous National Player of the Year would make his season debut this Tuesday in the Champions Classic against Michigan State. 

Even when Tshiebwe gets back in the rotation, Calipari made it clear that Onyenso will get his tick if he continues to earn it like he has through the first two games of the regular season:

"(Oscar) can't play 36 minutes. And part of the reason he can't is there's this kid, Ugonna, that's going to deserve some minutes," Calipari joked. "And then the question is, can they play together? I don't know. I haven't coached them together."

When speaking to reporters after the game, Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot said that Onyenso was someone who was going to make "a lot of money" down the road once he gets into the NBA. 

That's high praise, but it doesn't change anything about Onyenso's mindset moving forward, even though it got his attention: 

"Oh really?" he smiled. "It doesn't change anything. I just stay focused and keep working on my craft, trying to improve every day...once the time comes, i'll make the money. But for now i'm just focused on improving my game." 

That improvement is going to keep him as an important member of this Kentucky rotation over the course of the season. The chips will fall where they may upon the return on Tshiebwe, but for now the legend of Onyenso continues to grow through just a pair of regular season games. 

For more on the win over Duquesne, click here.

Game Notes on the Victory can be found here.

Watch: Toppin, Wheeler, Onyenso speak on the win

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