Sahvir Wheeler "ran a great game" against Florida, breaks out of shooting slump

John Calipari said earlier in the season that Sahvir Wheeler “stirs the drink” for Kentucky on both ends of the floor, and the head coach’s words were justified on Saturday afternoon.

The No. 5 Wildcats exploded out of the gate against Florida, jumping out to an immediate 20-6 lead that had the packed Rupp Arena crowd ready to blow off the roof. It took just six minutes of action for Kentucky to nearly bury the Gators in an early hole. Kellan Grady opened up by drilling his first three looks from deep while Oscar Tshiebwe did his usual work on the glass and in the paint.

Even Wheeler made a shot — a 3-pointer that touched every bit of the rim before finally falling — which was his first since the 3:00 mark of the first half against Kansas exactly two weeks ago. He missed his previous 19 looks before getting that one to fall on Saturday. Wheeler eventually finished the contest with nine points, his most since UK beat Mississippi State on Jan. 25. He also did turn the ball over a single time, only the second time he’s done so all season — the first coming against Robert Morris in the second outing of the year.

Kentucky’s comfortable 14-point lead came by way of a collective effort, not from Wheeler alone, but once he was forced to the bench, the momentum of the game shifted.

Wheeler picked up his first foul just 15 seconds into the game before getting hit with his second at the 13:32 mark of the first half. The moment he hit the bench, Florida went on a run. Kentucky’s 20-6 lead shrunk to just 22-21 as the offense stagnated. The fast-paced tempo that Wheeler was driving early on all but vanished. It was clear that UK was missing its stirrer — and his teammates knew it, too.

“I thought Sahvir ran a great game. Just ran us in the second half it was great,” Calipari said postgame. “At one point, one of the other players, we broke a huddle and I think it was Kellan (Grady) said to him don’t foul. Because with you in the game we’re different. You make us run so don’t foul. And it’s true.”

Wheeler sat out the remainder of the first half after picking up his second foul. Kentucky’s lead evaporated from 14 points with the team’s point guard to just five at the half without him. But as Calipari said, Wheeler ran his unit beautifully in the second half. He posted six points, three rebounds, and six assists on 3-5 shooting during that span, playing all 20 minutes for the ‘Cats.

When the final buzzer went off, UK won by 21 points, 78-57, and Wheeler finished with a team-high plus/minus of +30. Even after TyTy Washington went down with his worrisome lower leg injury, Wheeler was able to keep Kentucky grooving on offense.

I’ve said it for a while now…

Oscar Tshiebwe is the National Player of the Year candidate.

TyTy Washington is the best player on the team.

But…Sahvir Wheeler is the most valuable player. What he brings simply cannot be replicated. Both ends of the floor. https://t.co/BRtcFzhGiJ

— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) February 12, 2022

“I kept telling Sahvir. Sahvir, you have an impact on the game when you don’t score,” Calipari added. “But it kills you when you don’t. The minute you don’t care about scoring, you’re gonna score, which he did today.”

It also helps to see that first shot finally go through after a lengthy drought. Once Wheeler hit that 3-pointer in the first half, a wave of relief washed over him. As Wheeler’s Wildcat teammate Davion Mintz said earlier in the year when he was fighting through his own shooting slump: It can’t rain forever. The sun has to come out eventually.

“It was a rhythm shot. I wouldn’t be here at Kentucky if I didn’t make some baskets,” Wheeler said of his first made bucket in 14 days. “They don’t just hand out the jerseys here. I just trusted my process knowing that at some point it’s gonna come back to me. You don’t live at the top of the mountain forever. Sometimes you gotta come down and then you’re next achievement is climbing another mountain. That’s what happened today, where I finally got one to drop. When I made it I was pretty happy though, just to see one go in. The biggest thing was how excited my teammates were for me on the bench if you look at their reactions.”

Wheeler is the bonafide leader of this team, even if he’s not the most purely talented. His voice carries a ton of weight in the locker room and teammates look to him for advice and words of encouragement. Part of those responsibilities includes keeping a level-head when things aren’t going your way. He has to stay locked in so everyone else follows suit.

“It’s part of basketball. Obviously you look at the stat sheet and see that you ain’t make any, but I had 11 assists, I had four rebounds, I had three steals,” Wheeler said postgame. “Like Coach (Calipari) was saying, I impact the game in other ways and even stuff that isn’t on the stat sheet with my voice and my leadership. My presence, being able to hold my guys accountable and also making sure they’re loose and they’re fine. Because when everyone is playing loose, everyone is in a rhythm, that’s a big thing for us.”