CJ Fredrick, Sahvir Wheeler Injury Update from the John Calipari Show

Kentucky has not been at full strength for more than half of its games in the 2022-23 season. That trend appears to be continuing into the final two weeks of the regular season.

On Monday night’s John Calipari Show, Tom Leach asked the Kentucky head basketball coach how a pair of guards have progressed as they rehabilitate various injuries. Calipari sounded upbeat when describing the latest on CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler, but he remains unsure when either will be able to return to action.

“Both of those two are really working hard to come back. They want to play for this team. They want to play for the fans. But, they got to be healthy,” said Calipari. “All the doctors, trainers, everybody says they’re both really working hard to come back, but you know, you just trust the kids. They only know their pain. No one else does.”

Fredrick cracked a rib colliding with a cameraman during the Florida game on Feb. 4, and after trying to play through the injury vs. Arkansas has now missed three straight games. As for Wheeler, he re-injured his ankle in practice two weeks ago, sidelining the point guard for four straight games. He was spotted in a boot with four games left in the regular season.

Without Wheeler playing minutes at point guard, Cason Wallace has excelled as a distributor, totaling 23 assists and only five turnovers over the last three games. However, with the additional work-load as the primary ball-handler, he’s struggled to knock down shots from downtown, going 1-of-18 from three-point land over the last four games.

Kentucky is playing better basketball when it matters most, but the Wildcats need to get healthy to put together an extended postseason run.

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