Sahvir Wheeler warns teammates to "be ready" for SEC play

Kentucky opens SEC play tomorrow vs. Missouri. While the Tigers are one of the weakest teams in the league, the road quickly gets tougher. After a New Year’s Eve date with High Point, Kentucky travels to No. 16 LSU on Jan. 4. The Cats host No. 14 Tennessee on Jan. 15 and play at No. 11 Auburn on Jan. 22. Interspersed are games vs. Georgia, at Vanderbilt, and at Texas A&M.

Sahvir Wheeler, who spent two seasons at Georgia before coming to Lexington, used the shift to conference play to remind his teammates that there are no days off in the SEC, even against the “easy” teams.

“Yesterday in practice, I heard Sahvir say now that conference play is coming, we’re going to have to communicate a lot more and I agree with him,” Jacob Toppin told reporters today. “That’s the leader he is. That just shows what type of person he is. He’s always looking out for his teammates and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to communicate more. I think that’s the only change we need to make.”

With a season of SEC play under his belt, Toppin knows how physical conference games can be. He believes the Cats are ready.

“SEC play, I believe, is going to be a lot more physical so we’re definitely working on being physical in practice. We’re going at each other so I think we’re going to be well prepared for SEC play.”

“Everyone needs to step up their game to the next level”

As someone who knows what it’s like to circle the Kentucky game on his calendar, Wheeler had specific instructions for his backcourt partner, freshman TyTy Washington.

“He told me just expect it to be physical and just be ready because these games are very important, not only for us but for the opponent we’re playing as well. He just said everyone needs to step up their game to the next level. He said when he was at Georgia and they found Kentucky on their SEC conference schedule, he was super excited to play them. So, he was just telling me, a lot of teams are going to be excited to play us so we’ve got to be ready and stay sharp.”

Five SEC teams are currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Only three are outside of the KenPom Top 100. Although Washington hasn’t been able to keep a close eye on Kentucky’s SEC counterparts, he’s excited to play in what he called the “best conference” in the country.

“I’ve seen little highlights here and there from other schools in the SEC but really haven’t had a chance to watch games and stuff like that. I’m very excited to be going into SEC play because I feel like the SEC is the best conference. Every night, it’s going to be a really good game. Anybody can beat anybody so you just have to stay sharp and stay on your A-game.”

You know, everyone’s Super Bowl and stuff.