Sahvir Wheeler content with any role: "As long as I'm impacting someone, I'm not worried"

Kentucky senior point guard Sahvir Wheeler has played a grand total of 107 games over the course of his four-year career — two at Georgia, two in Lexington — with 86 games of at least 25 minutes. 21 as a freshman, 26 as a sophomore, 27 as a junior, then 12 as a senior.

There are still nine regular season games remaining, then the SEC Tournament, then the NCAA Tournament. But the senior-year total is still an obvious outlier from the on-court time we’ve seen out of the 5-foot-9 guard this season. A high-minute, high-usage player for the majority of his career, Wheeler hit a stretch of zero 25-plus-minute games in four consecutive contests in Januar. 11 minutes vs. Georgia, eight minutes vs. Texas A&M, 23 minutes at Vanderbilt and 15 minutes vs. Kansas.

It started with a minor shoulder injury, one that kept him out at Tennessee during Kentucky’s trip to Knoxville. Freshman Cason Wallace took over starting point guard duties and helped lead the team to victory in a must-win matchup for the Wildcats.

John Calipari rode the hot hand and kept things the same, winning four of five games with the year-one standout emerging as the lead guard. Wheeler became a bench player for the first time in his career.

That streak came to a temporary close when Wallace suffered a minor leg injury of his own, keeping him out of Kentucky’s game at Ole Miss. Wheeler was thrust back into the lineup and played well, scoring four points (2-8 FG) to go with nine assists, four rebounds and just one turnover in 34 minutes.

But his current status and what happens in the future remain in question. Will Calipari go with Wallace to close out the year, going with what worked during Kentucky’s four-game winning streak? Or will he move back to Wheeler, hoping to emulate what worked down in Oxford?

Wheeler doesn’t know. And he doesn’t care, he says.

“I’ve done my fair share of winning and I’m going to continue doing whatever it takes to help my team win,” Wheeler said this week. “As long as my teammates love me while I’m doing it, I’m alright.”

That doesn’t mean this season hasn’t been a learning experience, a new and different chapter to his story as a college basketball player. Sure, he’s been tested. It’s not easy giving up the keys to the offense, especially after doing it for three-plus years at different stops. But that doesn’t mean he’s not willing to adapt or capable of thriving in a new role.

“What has this season taught me? I’ve been through a lot. I’ve been through a lot in my lifetime. This season is just another one of those things you can add to my chapter,” Wheeler added. “It’s been a great experience, it’s been a great ride. I can’t wait to see what else is left for us this year.”

If the team is winning, he’s happy. If he’s impacting someone’s life for the better, again, he’s good. A learning process, sure, but it’s one he’s embraced.

“You know, I’m a 22-year-old dude in college who has had some experience, having my family so close to me has helped me along the way,” he said. “I’m learning a lot about myself, how much I can handle and how much I’m willing to handle. At the end of the day, all I want is to be known as a guy who won games and put the team first, who impacted somebody beyond basketball. If I’m doing those things, I’m good.”

Playing 40 minutes or four, Wheeler is confident he’s the same person either way. If the staff thinks he’s better off the bench, he’ll be the ultimate role player, one who contributes to winning as a key piece. If they want him back in the starting lineup to help set the tone early, he’ll do that, too.

He’s ready to make a positive impact no matter how he’s used.

“I act the same way no matter what is going to happen. You’ll never see me act a different way, coming with a different energy,” Wheeler said. “You say coming off the bench, every game I’ve come back from injury, I’ve come off the bench. It doesn’t matter to me. As long as I’m helping my team win and my teammates are happy, we’re winning games, that’s the biggest thing.

“As long as I can have an impact on somebody, not just with basketball, but touching somebody. Maybe me being a motivation — he can do it at his size, so maybe I can go out there and do the same thing? As long as I’m impacting someone, I’m not worried. I’m good.”