Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler out with injury for game against Georgia
Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler is not in the starting lineup for the Wildcats’ game against Georgia at Rupp Arena on Saturday night.
Wheeler injured his neck early in the Cats’ loss at Louisiana State on Tuesday night, and UK Coach John Calipari said earlier this week that he was questionable for the game against the Bulldogs as he continues to recover from that injury.
Calipari said on his weekly radio show Wednesday that he would prepare for the Georgia game as if Wheeler would be unable to play. He said Friday that the starting point guard remained “day-to-day” with the injury and was unlikely to practice later that day.
“The neck is still bothering him, so it will be day-to-day,” Calipari said. “I know he wants to play against Georgia. And he’s not doing it out of spite. He just wants to play games.”
Calipari said on the pregame radio show Saturday evening that Wheeler was not at the team shootaround earlier in the day and that he didn’t think he would play against the Bulldogs. He also did not take part in the pregame warmups, and UK announced just before tip-off that he would be unavailable for Saturday’s game.
Wheeler played the last two seasons at Georgia before transferring to Kentucky over the summer. He led the Southeastern Conference in assists per game last season, and he’s once again leading the league in that statistic in his first year with the Wildcats. The junior guard is averaging 9.6 points and 7.3 assists per game this season, despite leaving the LSU game with 16:07 left in the first half after running into a screen by Tigers center Efton Reid.
UK’s second point guard, TyTy Washington, was in the starting lineup for Saturday’s game. He thrived as UK’s primary point guard against Georgia, tallying 17 assists with just two turnovers and setting a school record for most assists in a single game. John Wall previously held the record with 16 assists. UK defeated the Bulldogs, 92-77.
Washington also battled injury against LSU on Tuesday night, leaving with 9:17 left in the game with leg cramps. The UK freshman was forced to play the entire game up until that point due partly to Wheeler’s injury, and he briefly went to the Kentucky locker room late in the second half before returning to the court with 6:00 left. Washington was limping badly when he returned, however, and he was pulled from the game for good with 3:55 still remaining.
When Washington left with 9:17 to go, the Cats were leading LSU, 50-47. UK made just one field goal over the next 8 minutes and ultimately lost to the Tigers, 65-60, while playing without their top two point guards.
“Now he’s going to have the opportunity that Tyrese Maxey had, Jamal Murray had and some of the other guys that were playing off the ball — now you’re going to play on the ball,” Calipari said Friday. “Now you look at those guys now professionally, where they’re playing. So, I’m anxious to see him. I told him, ‘What a great thing for you. You get this chance.’
“Now everybody on this call knows that the guy that stirs the drink for us is Sahvir. But you’ve got two guys that can play that position that run our club. I told him, ‘You’ve got to sub yourself before TV timeouts. You can’t try and play every minute.’ Yesterday he was really good, and we’ll see what happens for us. If he’s that guy, if Sahvir cannot play, the ball will be in his hands more.”
Davion Mintz handled the point guard duties during that final stretch against LSU.
Jacob Toppin was in the UK starting lineup against Georgia in Wheeler’s absence, joining Washington, Kellan Grady, Keion Brooks and Oscar Tshiebwe.
Star recruit Shaedon Sharpe — a 6-foot-5 shooting guard — joined the Kentucky team earlier this week, but he has yet to take part in the Wildcats’ practices, and Calipari has said Sharpe will not play in actual games anytime soon, though it’s possible Sharpe could debut for UK sometime later this season.
Kentucky’s next game will be at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night, with a return to Rupp Arena for a matchup with No. 18 Tennessee following next Saturday.
This story was originally published January 8, 2022 at 5:45 PM.
