John Calipari: Kentucky doesn't win vs. Florida without Sahvir Wheeler

Sahvir Wheeler has really settled into his new role in Kentucky’s rotation. He’s playing well off the bench, is impacting winning, and John Calipari even went as far as to say he was the key to the Wildcat’s latest victory.

Calipari singled out Wheeler from his other players during his postgame press conference after winning 72-67 over Florida. He said part of why Wheeler was so impactful was his own play but that the other part was how he deferred his responsibilities to freshman guard Cason Wallace down the stretch.

“The guy that, without him, we don’t win the game? Sahvir. Without him, we don’t win this game,” Calipari said. “Aside from those layups that we really needed to create a gap, do you know what he did? He let Cason go do his thing. He told me, ‘Let Cason handle it. I’ll just be out on the wing’. That’s a teammate.”

Wheeler finished the game with eight points, which was his most in almost a month. He did so on the best field goal percentage of his season. He also added three assists, two steals, and two rebounds in his effort as well.

However, as Calipari pointed out, Wheeler also allowed Wallace to be on the ball more. That was a big part of Wallace’s second 20-point game of his season, on 70% shooting no less, that went along with his three rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and a steal.

With Wheeler off the ball, Wallace was able to score seven of his 20 in the final three minutes to widen the margin enough for the Wildcats to eventually win.

Many wanted to see Calipari hand Wallace the keys to the offense earlier on. Still, anyone who believes Sahvir Wheeler can’t and shouldn’t play a role in Kentucky’s lineup is missing the point. He can still be a very integral piece, even when off the ball, as that fact was on full display over the team’s pair of wins last week.