John Calipari endorses Sahvir Wheeler as nation's top point guard

John Calipari can’t necessarily speak for the rest of the country, but he dares anyone to find a better point guard in college basketball than Sahvir Wheeler. Not just in terms of overall talent, either. Calipari wants you to find a point guard who impacts the game on both ends of the floor more than the 5-foot-9 former Georgia Bulldog.

“Sahvir, of all the point guards who are going for the Cousy Award, I need to see one that has a bigger impact on the game than him, both defensively and offensively,” Calipari said of Wheeler following Tuesday’s 83-72 win over Ole Miss. “Creating shots, playing with speed, the pace of the game is what he dictates, smart. But then disruptive defensively.

“You say, well, he’s small. Yeah, but how disruptive? They were pushing off to get it up the court. So, I’m proud of him.”

Wheeler is up for the Bob Cousy Award as one of the five finalists. He joins a group of highly talented ball handlers, including James Akinjo (Baylor), Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga), Tyger Campbell (UCLA), and Collin Gillespie (Villanova). First introduced in 2004 as part of the Naismith Starting Five, the Cousy Award is widely recognized as the highest individual honor a point guard can earn at the college level.

Even without his head coach’s stamp of approval, Wheeler certainly has a case as the eventual winner.

He currently leads the Southeastern Conference in assists at 7.0 per game, 1.5 more than the next highest player. Wheeler’s assist rate of 36.1 percent ranks among the top 20 across the entire country. He’s the clear floor general for Kentucky and the one who “stirs the drink” on both ends of the court. No other Wildcat can push the pace on offense while defending 94-feet on defense.

On the season, Wheeler is posting impressive numbers as the Wildcats’ lead guard. He’s up to 10.0 points, the aforementioned 7.0 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per outing over 26 appearances. When healthy, he ranks third in minutes played behind Oscar Tshiebwe and Kellan Grady. His 44.8 field goal percentage is about on par with high-usage guards, but he’s also shown improvement on his 3-point shot. While he should still limit any (and all) pull-up mid-range jumpers, open shots from distance are actually turning into good looks.

Wheeler is now shooting 9-20 from deep during SEC action, including a 2-3 clip against Ole Miss on Tuesday. He’s up to 32.6 percent on the season (14-43), a vast improvement from the sub-20 percent he was shooting prior to conference play.

An untimely wrist injury that caused him to sit out wins over Alabama and LSU brought on some rust once he finally returned against Arkansas. But he was able to hit his groove against the Rebels, finishing with 16 points and seven dimes on 6-9 shooting in 35 minutes played. Wheeler had the Kentucky offense flying up and down the floor all night long as he helped engineer a 60 percent overall shooting clip from the team. He was totally in control, which is exactly what Calipari demands out of his point guards.

“It’s super important to lead because as the point guard, you are kind of the extension of the coaching staff,” Wheeler said following Tuesday’s win. “You want to get the message clear out to the guys of whatever the coaches are saying. You want to provide that sense of calmness, even when you face adversity. When a team goes on a run, you want to be there that level head, even-keel person. Also being there as an encourager, just being like, ‘Hey man, keep going.’ Even if your shots aren’t going, there are other ways you can impact the game. If someone is hot, let them know that I’m going to find you, to keep running.”

Wheeler has been the on-court leader all season long and his voice clearly carries a ton of weight in the huddle and locker room. But most important to his personal success, he’s having fun playing alongside his Kentucky teammates. There have been seasons in the past where he simply wanted the season to end, but with this group, he’s still looking forward to every single second.

“I don’t think there’s any wanting to get to the finish line, especially with the team that we have,” Wheeler added. “What we’re capable of, the ceiling of our team, and how special we are. If we continue to get better each and every day, trust in each other, share the ball, we know we can take this thing pretty far. I’ve been a part of teams in the past where I was looking for the finish line for sure. But not this. I’m excited to go to practice today. I’m excited to be around the guys, I’m excited to watch film, interact with the coaches. I feel like we can continue to build that edge and continue to get better.”

Kentucky has just one more regular-season game before the finish line becomes visible. But Wheeler’s words should let the Big Blue Nation know that this team is far from a complete product.