Sahvir Wheeler comments on recent struggles, team success

No player has been under more scrutiny in the Bluegrass this season than Sahvir Wheeler. The senior point guard for Kentucky has heard it all over the course of Kentucky’s campaign. Still, although the Wildcats have found a better groove as his minutes have dwindled, he showed off his veteran leadership in a big way on Tuesday night.

Following Kentucky’s 69-53 win over Vanderbilt, Wheeler applauded the Wildcat lineup that has found success over the last four games. He says he has had to realize that he is competing with several other talented players. Now, for his team to keep it going, he wants to play his part and make an impact in the moments that he does get.

“That’s just part of it. Those guys who have been playing the last couple of games are guys who have been winning games. That’s the group who went down to Tennessee and popped Tennessee. So, at the end of the day, we’re at Kentucky and I’m playing with some really good players. Sometimes that’s okay,” said Wheeler. “You gotta learn, you gotta live with that. You’ve got to learn and be mature about it because those guys deserve to play as much as anybody else. Those guys were fighting in practice, working their tails off, paying attention to detail. They deserve that.”

“We’re riding with that. It’s got us four wins in a row. And today was just my turn, my opportunity to kind of give us some energy and I did that,” Wheeler said. “But you gotta give all the credit to these guys. They were the ones who were in there when I wasn’t available. Now we’re looking pretty good.”

If you want to talk about maturity? That’s the definition. Wheeler was averaging 32.2 minutes per game as a starter when the Wildcats opened their year at 9-6. Over the last three games, though, his minutes have dwindled to 14 per game off the bench yet Kentucky is 4-0 in the time since the switch. That can be a heavy load for a senior and the two-time league assist leader to have to carry and accept.

However, he still very much has a role to play for the Wildcats. In that victory Tuesday night over Vandy, Wheeler played 23 minutes and scored four points with five assists. It was the best he had looked in some time and brought out plenty of emotion from John Calipari and his teammates.

Even after all the backlash, Wheeler has welcomed the step back in his eyes for the good of the team. That kind of growth has been a massive key to Kentucky’s turnaround and, with him now acting as their backup point guard, could lead him and the Wildcats to a lot of success down the stretch of the season.