TyTy Washington, Sahvir Wheeler working back to pre-injury form

Kentucky’s backcourt has met some untimely injury luck throughout the season, but the Wildcats’ two point guards appear to be knocking off the rust at the ideal time.

TyTy Washington and Sahvir Wheeler both played their best game in two weeks during Kentucky’s 83-72 Senior Night victory over the Ole Miss Rebels. A nagging ankle issue for Washington and a minor wrist ailment for Wheeler saw them struggle to find their footing once they returned to the court against Arkansas over the weekend. Granted, UK impressively won both games in which those two were fully sidelined (home contests against Alabama and LSU), but it’s no secret that John Calipari needs his lead guards to stir the drink.

Against Ole Miss, Washington and Wheeler were stirring up the Rebels all night long. The two combined for 30 points and 11 assists on 11-19 shooting with just three turnovers. Washington was able to take over the game all by himself at one point in the first half while Wheeler pushed the pace at will and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.

Neither player started in Kentucky’s loss to the Razorbacks and took some time to eventually get into a rhythm down in Fayetteville once they did take the floor. But back in Lexington, with a few more days of rest under their belt, the rust was much easier to knock off.

“I finally felt like I got some of that rust off,” Wheeler said postgame. “Just getting in rhythm, scrimmaging in practice, getting some extra time up shooting and handling the ball, doing different passes. Just making shots I feel comfortable with my wrist.”

The wrist sure did look fine for Wheeler. He finished with 16 points on 6-9 shooting (2-3 from beyond the arc) to go along with three rebounds and seven assists in 35 minutes of action. His constant pushing of the ball is what made him such a threat all night long against the Rebels. This was the version of Wheeler — on both ends of the floor — that Kentucky will need come tournament time.

As for Washington, his injury was considered a bit more serious when it occurred. Considering his own reaction and how he was injured — which happened over two weeks ago on Feb. 12 against Florida — there was a fear his season might be over. For him to only miss two games felt like a mini-miracle, so it wasn’t a shock to see him wobble out of the return gate just a bit. Washington shot just 3-12 in Saturday’s loss to Arkansas, but a few more days off was all he needed to hit his stride once again.

“I just needed a little bit of time,” Washington said after beating Ole Miss. “Coming back from an injury, especially a little nagging injury, it always takes time but I feel good. Foot, ankle, everything feels good. So now it’s just about staying constant in the gym, getting up reps, and I just feel like the more reps I do in practice and on my own, it’s just gonna translate to the game way easier for me.”

This wasn’t the first time Washington dealt with a foot injury this season, either. We have to go back to Kentucky’s road loss to Auburn in late January to find the beginning of what would be a string of small yet significant ankle injuries. Prior to that game against the Tigers, he was shooting over 50 percent from the floor and over 40 percent from deep across 19 games. In the seven games he played after that (not counting Ole Miss), those numbers dipped all the way down to 35.3 percent overall and 23.1 percent from distance.

So it was important for him to see the ball go through the hole on Tuesday night. Washington finished with 14 points on 5-10 shooting in addition to his four assists and three steals. He was more confident driving to the rim and looked much sprier on the defensive end of the floor.

“I was just happy to see the ball go through the hole,” Washington added. “That actually just boosted my confidence. I know I’m coming back from injury but just seeing the ball go in that many times in that timespan was just very happy for me and I felt like I’m finally feeling back to myself a little bit.”

For Kentucky to make a deep tournament run, the ‘Cats will need both Washington and Wheeler feeling back to their normal selves. They’ll have one more regular-season game against Florida to get right for the postseason.