John Calipari hopes Sahvir Wheeler can impact an NCAA Tournament game

It’s been more than a month since Kentucky guard Sahvir Wheeler has played a game, but it seems he at least has a chance to return for the NCAA Tournament. Wildcats coach John Calipari revealed recently that Wheeler returned to practice, but will need to make more progress if he is to see game action.

With UK set to face Providence in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Calipari laid out what needs to happen for Wheeler to play.

“That’s why he’s gotta practice for three days,” the coach said. “He’s gotta show us that he’s what he needed to be. And I said there’s nothing that would make me happier than for him to impact a game (and) then everybody say, ‘man if we had this dude all year, what would we have been?’ Because when we struggled, a lot of it was guard play.”

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Wheeler hasn’t played since Feb. 4 as he dealt with an ankle injury. Then, on March 1, Calipari revealed that the senior underwent a “minor procedure” that was unrelated to his injured ankle.

If Wheeler does return for the NCAA Tournament, he likely won’t play his full load of minutes as he is eased back into action. However, if he can manage a lighter workload off the bench, it would be extremely valuable as the Wildcats attempt to make a run in March Madness.

In 21 games this season, Wheeler is averaging 7.7 points and 5.6 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. Kentucky is 14-7 when he plays this season.

Wheeler not the only Wildcat dealing with injury

Wheeler isn’t the only injured Wildcat heading into March Madness. Calipari confirmed that forward Jacob Toppin is still hurting after leaving the SEC Tournament quarterfinal game against Vanderbilt. Guard CJ Fredrick has been battling injuries as well, playing limited minutes over the past couple of games.

With that in mind, the next few days of practice will be key.

“Last week, we had four guys not practice Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, including Jacob, who had a hamstring (injury), so they did not practice, the four of those guys,” Calipari said on Sunday following the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. “This week I told them, You will either practice Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or you will not start and you will come off the bench if you’re a starter.”

Kentucky is scheduled to tip off against Providence at 7:10 p.m. ET on Friday.