How Sahvir Wheeler is helping Kentucky prepare for Markquis Nowell

Markquis Nowell is a certified hooper, the straw that stirs the drink for Kansas State. Averaging 16.8 points, 7.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 steals in 36.5 minutes per contest for the Wildcats, he was named First-Team All-Big 12 and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year at the conclusion of his senior campaign. And to do it all at 5-foot-7 — “on a good day,” he says — that’s pretty darn impressive.

Admittedly, John Calipari hasn’t seen very many players like him.

“No. No (there aren’t many like him). And deep, quick,” he said. “Big-time usage. Creates for his teammates. He is really — he is an All-American, and he deserves to be.”

Thing is, Calipari has seen at least one guard like him. He’s on his staff in Tyler Ulis, a First-Team All-American and Bob Cousy Award winner. Also generously listed at 5-foot-8.

Nowell called Ulis his “big brother” this week, saying he grew up studying his game and leaned on him for advice on thriving as a small guard. “I watched him in his college days on what gained him success,” he said. “So just his defense and just his play-making ability I watched and studied over the course of the years and tried to implement that into my game. … He helped me.”

Not a bad guy to learn from. But on the flip side, that same player is in the Kentucky locker room and on the bench with all of the tips and tricks on how to make a smaller guard uncomfortable. It works both ways.

And Ulis isn’t the only one. His on-court availability may be up in the air, but 5-foot-9 — also a generous listing — point guard Sahvir Wheeler has been a consistent presence for the Wildcats two full years now. He may not be the 3-point presence Nowell is — 35% on 6.8 attempts per game — but he’s got the same quickness and shiftiness as the change-of-tempo piece in the backcourt.

Whether he’s able to suit up or not for Kentucky on Sunday, Wheeler has helped the Wildcats prepare for their Round of 32 matchup.

“I think it’s going to help a great deal,” freshman wing Chris Livingston told KSR. “He’s told us a lot of things that he does from his perspective as a smaller guard, what we can look out for. The speed that he plays with, being able to practice against that, it’s going to be a great thing we can use as experience to help us against them.”

That’s not to say it’s an easy matchup or even a wash. Nowell is unbelievably talented as a scorer, facilitator and defender. His deep shot-making skills are second-to-none, hitting 40% from three in the pick-and-roll specifically.

Small, sure, but deadly.

“Some of the film that we watched today, I mean, (Nowell) shot a deep one. No rim. Straight in there,” freshman Cason Wallace said. “So seeing him shoot deep like that and get downhill, facilitating for his teammates, like, you know, not everybody can have skill like that.”

“I don’t think we really have seen that throughout the season,” Livingston added. “Except probably one time we played South Carolina. The point guard for South Carolina, Meechie Johnson, shot a few deep shots. But I think the point guard for Kansas State’s range might be a little further out, so I don’t think we’ve really seen that before.”

The hope is Wheeler’s presence over the course of his two-year career helps counter that a bit.

“It’s going to be tough, he’s a fast guard,” senior guard Antonio Reeves told KSR. “But I’ve been playing with Sahvir all year, so being able to guard that type of guard, it’s tricky, but you’ve just got to be ready for those types of situations.”