Former Kentucky guard Sahvir Wheeler to visit Georgia

Kentucky transfer guard Sahvir Wheeler is set to visit Georgia this weekend, a source told On3’s Joe Tipton. Wheeler started his college career with the Bulldogs before transferring to Kentucky.

Wheeler played two years at Georgia and turned in an impressive sophomore season in 2020-21, averaging 14 points and 7.4 assists per game. He then entered the transfer portal and headed to Kentucky, where he became a regular starter for the Wildcats.

This past season, Wheeler averaged 7.7 points and 5.6 assists per game in 21 appearances, including 14 starts. He last played a game Feb. 4 after re-injuring his ankle.

After entering the portal, Wheeler released a statement regarding his decision and called his time with Kentucky “invaluable.”

“For the past two years you all have been nothing short of amazing. Some of my greatest memories that I will take away from my time at Kentucky will be my time spent interacting with the fans. The community service opportunities that I was able to participate in with you all were invaluable and I will always be thankful,” Wheeler wrote.

Kentucky coach John Calipari also addressed Wheeler’s decision to transfer and gave him his full support.

“I talked with Sahvir a few days ago and he decided that he wants to graduate and play one more year because of the injuries he faced this year,” Calipari wrote on Twitter. “He also wanted a fresh start, and I supported his decision. Sahvir has been a big part of our team and we wish him nothing but the best.”

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.