Calipari’s next challenge: How to integrate Sahvir Wheeler back into Kentucky’s lineup?

Kentucky is rolling once again, owners of a three-game winning streak and, seemingly, a newfound confidence on the basketball court.

Conspicuous by his absence amid the Wildcats’ successful stretch of games over the past week and a half has been Sahvir Wheeler, an all-conference point guard who also happens to be one of the most polarizing UK players in recent memory.

Wheeler missed the Cats’ shocking victory over Tennessee with a back injury. He returned to the court three days later in a win over Georgia, but the 5-foot-9 playmaker came off the bench in that one, seeing just 33 seconds of run after halftime. In a 76-67 win over Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon, a similar story: Wheeler started the game on the bench, played some quality minutes in the first half, then saw less than a minute on the court after halftime.

Meanwhile, freshman guard Cason Wallace has been seeing more time at the point, and Coach John Calipari has finally deployed a lineup that Kentucky fans have been thirsting for all season: playing Wallace alongside shooting guards CJ Fredrick and Antonio Reeves, with Jacob Toppin and reigning national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe manning the frontcourt.

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