Kentucky needed Sahvir Wheeler to beat Ole Miss -- and he knew it
Tuesday night in Oxford felt eerily similar to what Kentucky men’s basketball experienced around this same time last season. A future first-round NBA Draft pick was sidelined with a minor injury, Sahvir Wheeler had his own physical ailments to fight through, and a veteran transfer stepped in to pick up the scoring slack.
Only this time around, Wheeler found a way to overcome his injury — a sprained ankle he suffered with about four minutes left in the first half against Ole Miss. Kentucky led by four points before Wheeler, who started for the first time since Jan. 10, limped his way to the locker room. UK eventually went into halftime tied 32-32 with arguably the worst team in the SEC
Knowing that Wildcats’ star guard Cason Wallace was out with a knee issue and that CJ Fredrick continued to struggle with his shot, Wheeler felt like he had no choice but to suck it up and do whatever he could to help lead his team to a win. He stayed ready, decided to play through the pain, and didn’t leave the court for a single possession in the second half on Tuesday. Six of his nine assists came after the break.
The result was a 75-66, must-have win over Ole Miss on the road.
After being relegated to the bench a couple of weeks ago despite starting over 80 percent of his college games up to that point, the fourth-year veteran could have easily thrown in the towel and pouted his way through the rest of the season. But instead, he did something that likely wasn’t easy: accept his role off the pine.
“Sahvir, again here’s a kid that was coming off the bench, we needed him to start, his ankle was busted up, swelled, and he said ‘I’m playing, because I know you guys need me to win this game.’ And he played,” UK head coach John Calipari said postgame. “So here is a young man that is playing for Kentucky, for the state, for the basketball program. Not playing for himself or he wouldn’t have played.”
In place of Wallace, Wheeler did exactly what Kentucky needed of him. He finished with four points, four rebounds, nine assists, and just one turnover in 33 total minutes. It certainly wasn’t a perfect performance (he shot 2-8 from the floor and gave up some buckets on the other end), but he controlled the flow of the game and defended the entire length of the court.
“My game doesn’t change from whether I’m starting, whether I’m coming off the bench. I’m still gonna be the same,” Wheeler told Jack “Goose” Givens on UK’s postgame radio show. “I know the impact that I can have on the game at any given moment on both sides of the ball. Tonight when Cason went down it was next man up and we were able to get that ‘W’.”
Wheeler went from starting every game he was healthy at Kentucky in 2021-22 to slowly losing his spot throughout the course of 2022-23. His absence due to a shoulder injury during UK’s upset win over Tennessee in mid-January sparked plenty of debate as the wins began to pile up with Wheeler playing less and less. The Georgia transfer went on to play just 11 minutes against his former team, eight against Texas A&M, 23 in a blowout against Vanderbilt, and 14 in the loss to Kansas over the weekend — all coming off the bench.
But he wasn’t ignorant of the situation. He acknowledged with impressive humility after Tuesday night’s win how Kentucky was rolling (and winning) with the hot hand during and after his shoulder injury. Simply put, this group might just be better in the long haul with Wheeler taking a step back and handing Wallace a bigger role, which he’s beginning to understand himself. Wheeler’s not playing for himself right now, but rather for the team — and preparing himself for the rest of his basketball career in the process.
“If I make it to the next level, play at the next level, there’s no guarantee I’m gonna start there,” Wheeler said. “And this is the highest level of basketball you can get here at Kentucky. This is the closest thing to the next level. And why not? Why not prepare yourself for something like that?”
Not many people in his position would come away with that mindset. Wheeler also proved that Kentucky will need him in order to put together a run heading into March. His role and minutes will likely continue to fluctuate, but being able to step up when his name is called is a major boost to this team’s versatility.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard