Q&A: Kentucky's Sahvir Wheeler opens up about roster and excitement for 2022-23

How much excitement is there around the Kentucky basketball program going into the 2022-23 season? Let the team’s starting point guard tell you.

In a sit-down interview with the media during his Players First Satellite Camp in Danville on Thursday, Sahvir Wheeler opened up about the potential of this Kentucky roster, moving on from the St. Peter’s loss, what he’s working on this offseason and another year of growth under John Calipari.

What did Wheeler have to say? Read KSR’s complete transcript of the conversation below.

On Kentucky’s roster in 2022-23…

I’m really excited about it, have some good guys coming in, some guys back. Super grateful for the opportunity to play for Kentucky again. I’m enjoying everything, you know. We just got back on campus, finally meeting guys in person for the first time. It feels like it’s going to be a really good team, a special group. We’re looking to build on what we did last year, for sure.

On why he believes Kentucky will have a good team next season…

It’s always a good team here. I think having that — just continuing what we did last year, having those key guys back. We lost some good players, but we also got some really good players back. The core that we have with Lance (Ware), Jacob (Toppin), Oscar (Tshiebwe), myself, Daimion (Collins), everyone has gotten better. We also have a year under our belt here, so we know what to expect not only from our opponents, but we know how Coach Cal is. We know what he wants, how he does things, what the coaching staff is like, so it’s going to be fun for sure. With all that, we know we’ve got to get better. It’s the only way.

On moving on from the St. Peter’s loss…

That’s all behind us now. It is what it is, it’s unfortunate, but it’s a new year and a new season with new teammates. I’m just super, super excited to get back on the court and mentor those guys.

On how long it took to move on…

It took some time. It’s a loss. Any loss for me takes me a while. Obviously it was an NCAA Tournament game, first round, it stung a little bit. Not going to get too much into it because it’s behind us. We’re in the summer now with a brand new team, new year, and I’m super excited and grateful to be in this position, to play at Kentucky again this year.

On what he’s working on this offseason…

Everything. Definitely trying to get better. I increased everything, my field goal percentage, my free-throw percentage, my 3-point went up 10% from my sophomore to my junior year. I shot over 40% (from three) in league play. There were some struggles mid-season, but you can’t become an elite shooter overnight. It takes work. You’re going to have ups and you’re going to have downs until you get it just right. During the year, tweaking stuff, working with Brad (Calipari) and all the coaches, by the end of the year I was really comfortable with it. I was making shots. I’m going to continue building on that and have fun while doing it.

On improving as a playmaker…

You can always work on that. You can always work on finding new ways to get your teammates easy looks, easy baskets. I mean, you just can’t get complacent. We’re not getting paid millions yet to do this, I’m not the No. 1 player in the world. It’s always about finding new ways to get better and enjoying the process of doing it, as well.

On CJ Fredrick’s potential impact…

CJ is an elite, elite, elite, elite shooter. Yeah. Not for much longer. As a person, he’s just selfless and wants to make sure we’re good. He’s always asking us if we need rides, ‘Sahvir, you good? You need anything?’ That’s going to affect us on the court, having someone like that. He has a lot of experience playing for a good Iowa team, and he’s watched from afar so he knows what to do and how he can help us. CJ is going to be a great piece added. Hopefully he stays healthy, because we need him and really want him. I’m excited to see what he can bring to us, as well.

On how CJ Fredrick compares to Kellan Grady as a shooter…

CJ can really shoot the ball, but unlike those guys, I haven’t seen him shoot in a real game setting yet. It’s not fair to judge them by that quite yet. From what I’ve seen on film, what I saw from Iowa when I was a sophomore at Georgia, CJ could really shoot.

On improving as a shooter…

Everyone is a numbers guy now, looking at numbers and statistics. Just looking at the numbers, I was better at field goal, free-throw and 3-point shooting. Not everyone is a 50/40/90 (split player) over one year, it takes work. That’s work I’ve been willing to put in, and I’ve had game success making shots. I’ve also had not so much success where I’ve had to remind myself to get in the gym and get reps up, even when I was struggling from the field. It’s all part of the game, but I’m in a really comfortable place right now, and I’m super excited to get back out there in front of the best fanbase and continue to rack up wins.

On his workout regimen to improve shooting…

Since the season has ended, it’s 500 makes. I do it twice; go in the morning and hit 500, then in the evening it’s about 250 whether it be 250 3-pointers, 250 mid-range pull-ups. I’m keeping track of the shots I make and which shots I’m taking. It’s not always going to be stand-still, wide-open. Sometimes it’s going to be on the move, sometimes it’s off a ball screen. I’m just putting myself in various situations where I know it’s going to be game-like situations where I’m going to have to make those shots and continue to get better. (It doesn’t take) long at all. 30 minutes, maybe less.

On another year of growth under John Calipari…

Building that connection with Coach Cal, we have a really strong relationship. I feel I can talk to him about anything, whether it’s basketball related or not. That’s my guy. Having a year to build a relationship continuously, having that strong foundation, it’s crucial, especially coming into a second year where you felt like you had a team that could win it last year and fell short. I have motivation behind that, and I know he does, as well. He’s constantly pushing me to become the best player I can be, and I’m grateful for that.

On if Calipari will still be hard on him for his mistakes…

He will. That’s part of it, that’s Coach Cal. I wouldn’t want it any other way. If he wasn’t yelling at me for a turnover, that’d show he doesn’t care. As long as he’s yelling at me for turning it over, but also cheering me on when I do well, which he does, I’m all for it.

On his relationship with Cason Wallace and meeting the new additions this week…

It was good. I know he’s from Texas, so it’s not going to be too hard to adjust to because I’m familiar with playing guys from Texas. We all have similar play styles as far as being aggressive, playing downhill, but also being unselfish. I don’t think there’s any guy from Texas who’s been selfish. I think we’re going to get along really well. From meeting with him, chilling out with him, it was fun. Great vibes. He was kind of to himself, but as the day went on, I finally got him to open up and laugh a little bit. I think some of it, having those ties to Daimion allowed him to be more comfortable than he would’ve been. It’s been great to see him, great to meet all of the new players. Looking forward to it as well.