Kentucky, Jai Lucas challenging Sahvir Wheeler to lead country in assists

When Sahvir Wheeler announced his transfer to Kentucky, his ability to make plays and record assists was never questioned. While his low three-point shooting percentage was the immediate cause of concern for the Big Blue Nation, the wealth of outside shooting that UK now has on the roster has masked that issue for now.

Wheeler ranked fifth in the country throughout 2020-21 when it came to assists per game, averaging 7.4 over 26 games for the Bulldogs. His 193 total assists were third-best in all of Divison I hoops. He’s a vastly different player than his point guard counterpart TyTy Washington, but one that brings a rare set of skills.

If Wheeler were to hit the 193 assist mark in 2021-22, he’d rank fourth all-time in Kentucky history when it comes to dimes in a season. Breaking Tyler Ulis’ school record of 246 is a lofty goal, but one that could feasibly be attainable for Wheeler with the shooters and veterans that surround him.

If you talk to Kentucky assistant coach Jai Lucas, that’s exactly what the staff is asking of Wheeler.

“Another thing we think he can do is lead the country in assists,” Lucas said on Thursday about Wheeler. “We’re challenging him to do that as well.”

During last Friday’s first of two exhibition games, Wheeler recorded six assists and just one turnover in 23 minutes of action. If he is to play at least 35 games this season, he’d be on pace to break 200 assists on the year.

Making Wheeler’s life easier

Playmaking should come even easier this year for Wheeler than it was during his first two seasons at Georgia. In Athens, he was also relied upon to score in bunches for the Bulldogs, which wasn’t his strength at 5-foot-9. While Wheeler is a capable scorer, he was asked to do far too much under Tom Crean’s offense and it showed in the stats–sometimes good, sometimes bad (Wheeler did record Georgia’s first-ever triple-double).

Wheeler has made just 25.8 percent of his three-pointers in college. And while his assist numbers have been outstanding, the turnover rate has been far too high. His 7.4 assists per game as a sophomore were coupled with 4.4 turnovers. Kentucky, particularly head coach John Calipari, isn’t going to tolerate four miscues every night.

That shouldn’t be the case, though. Kentucky will be able to ease the pressure off of Wheeler by mixing in TyTy Washington, Kellan Grady, and Davion Mintz as additional ball handlers. Wheeler won’t have to force nearly as much with this team compared to his years at Georgia.

Adapting to the idea that less might be more could be a learning curve early on, but Wheeler will come out a better player because of it–and ideally, Kentucky will come out a better team.