Sahvir Wheeler philosophical after ending shooting slump: ‘I’m not a computer’
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Game day: No. 5 Kentucky 78, Florida 57
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s game between Kentucky and Florida in Rupp Arena.
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Making a shot is nice. But making an impact is more important.
That was how Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler said he wants to approach basketball.
Before Saturday’s victory against Florida, Kentucky Coach John Calipari said Wheeler worried unnecessarily about making shots.
“Stop,” Calipari said. “It doesn’t matter to our team. When it doesn’t matter to you, Sahvir, you’re going to make more shots.”
In the three most recent games leading into this weekend, Wheeler had missed all 17 shots he’d taken. But he had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 27-to-11 and made five steals in those games.
Against Florida, Wheeler continued to make an impact. He had six assists, which raised his career total to 497. And he did not have a turnover in 26-plus minutes. He was 4-for-7 overall and finished with nine points.
When asked why he had not been shooting well, Wheeler said he could not cite a specific reason.
“Kobe Bryant goes ‘o-fer,’” he said. “I’m not a 2K player rated 99. I’m not a computer. … That’s part of the game.”
Wheeler did rattle in a three-point shot against Florida.
“You don’t live on top of a mountain forever,” he said. “Sometimes you have to come down. Your next achievement is to climb another mountain …
“When I made it, I was really happy, though.”
Wheeler’s contributions against Florida included shaking off early foul trouble. He picked up two fouls inside the first seven minutes, both resulting from him trying to fight through screens. Calipari said Wheeler fouled both times.
Wheeler said he took pleasure in making his first three-pointer since the game at Kansas on Jan. 29.
“Those are rhythm shots,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here at Kentucky if I didn’t make some baskets (or) if I couldn’t impact the game. … They don’t just hand out jerseys here.”
Looking ahead
Kentucky stayed one game behind first-place Auburn in the SEC standings.
Kentucky’s final three “true” road games this season are against teams that have a combined home record of 38-4. That’s Tennessee (13-0), Arkansas (14-1) and Florida (11-3).
Those three teams have a combined home record in SEC games of 15-3: Tennessee 6-0, Arkansas 5-1 and Florida 4-2.
Kentucky’s remaining three home opponents — Alabama, LSU and Mississippi — had a combined record of 11-15 in “true” away games. In “true” SEC road games, the combined record is 5-13: 2-4 for Alabama, 2-4 for LSU and 1-5 for Mississippi.
‘Unique’
Kentucky’s journey from last season’s first losing record since 1988-89 to a No. 5 ranking going into the game caught Florida Coach Mike White’s attention.
“That story in itself is unique,” he said Friday. “It’s a strong story in terms of being really, really good quickly. They’re terrific. I think this team has a chance to win it all. I really do.”
White spoke of the Kentucky team as complete.
“There’s probably only a few teams out there, in my opinion, that just don’t have a glaring weakness,” he said. “And I just think they’re one of them, and probably not the only one in our league. Auburn would be in that conversation, of course.”
White said he could not rule out another SEC team evolving into such an elite status.
“You never know,” he said. “We may have another team or two in this league that make improvements in the next month. But there’s not many in the country.”
‘Steady Eddie’
Kellan Grady reached double-digit points for a seventh straight game, and 10 of the most recent 13. This consistency prompted the nickname “Steady Eddie” from Calipari.
“I’m aware of what I’m supposed to do (and) what my role is,” Grady said of his consistency.
Calipari is not alone in using the nickname. “The whole team now,” Grady said. “That and ‘Granddad.’”
‘Don’t forget’
Calipari said four people from Mayfield who survived the tornadoes that devastated western Kentucky in December attended the game. One of those was in the candle factory hit by a tornado. The UK coach said he hoped the message would be, “Do not forget about western Kentucky.”
NCAA streaks
Florida has played in the last four NCAA tournaments. That’s the longest active streak among SEC programs.
Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas have played in three of the last four NCAA tournaments.
Tied for 13th
Calipari gained his 805th “on-court” victory as a college coach. That tied him with longtime Belmont coach Rick Byrd for 13th most in Division I history.
Top five woes
Florida has only twice beaten an opponent ranked in the top five away from Gainesville. Both victories came against Kentucky teams ranked No. 4: 58-56 on Jan. 20, 1988, and 78-75 on Dec. 17, 1966.
This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 9:33 PM.
