2 Sahvir Wheeler

Sahvir Wheeler was born on January 17, 2001, in Harlem, New York to Jacqueline and Teddy Wheeler.  He grew up in Houston, Texas. Wheeler has five siblings: Sage, Montana, Lincoln, Lola, and Liv.  His uncle, Bernard Wheeler, played basketball at the University of Buffalo.  He attended Houston Christian High School, where he averaged 19 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds per game as a senior. He led the Mustangs to back-to-back Southwest Preparatory state titles.  His high school squad combined to go 61-13 in 2018 and 2019.  He is the school record holder for points in a game (47), assists (18) and 3s (10).  Wheeler was a four-time All-State selection.  Wheeler originally committed to playing college basketball for Texas A&M but reopened his recruitment after head coach Billy Kennedy was fired. He later committed to Georgia, choosing the Bulldogs over Iowa State. Wheeler was considered a four-star recruit by most services.

As a freshman at Georgia, Wheeler averaged nine points and 4.5 assists per game. He set a program freshman record with 139 assists. In his sophomore season, Wheeler assumed a leading role with the departure of Anthony Edwards. On February 23, 2021, he recorded the first triple-double in program history, with 14 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds in a 91–78 win over LSU. As a sophomore, Wheeler averaged 14 points, an SEC-leading 7.4 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game. He was a consensus Second Team All-SEC selection and set the program’s single-season record for assists.

On May 17, 2021, Wheeler announced he would transfer to Kentucky.  He chose Kentucky over Kansas, Oklahoma State, and LSU.

As a junior at Kentucky, Wheeler used his extreme quickness and ball-handling skills to get every teammate involved. Though he’s usually the shortest player on the court, he’s not afraid to drive the lane and often made his best decisions in midair.  Wheeler was a Bob Cousy Award finalist for the nation’s best point guard and was All-SEC Second Team.  He was third in the nation and first in the SEC for the second straight season with an average of 6.9 assists per game.  He finished with 207 assists on the season which is the fourth most in a single season in UK history.  That mark was also a career-high.  Wheeler was second in the SEC with a 2.27 assist-to-turnover ratio and he totaled 12 games with at least eight assists and had five or more in 12 of the final 13 games of the season.  Wheeler scored in double figures in 16 outings and started 29 of the 30 games he played.  He missed four games due to an injury.  Wheeler averaged 10.1 points, 6.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game.  On November 9, 2021, Wheeler logged 16 points and 10 assists in his season debut against Duke in the Champions Classic.  On November 26, 2021, he tallied 12 points and a career-high 14 assists in the win over North Florida for his second double-double.  He was named the SEC Player of the Week and the NCAA March Madness National Player of the Week following that performance.  Wheeler scored a season-high 26 points to couple with eight assists and a season-best four steals in the win over North Carolina on December 18, 2021.  On December 29, 2021, hogged 11 points and nine assists in the SEC regular-season opener vs. Missouri.  Wheeler had 21 points, eight assists and two steals following a two-game absence due to injury in a historic win over Tennessee at home on January 15, 2022.  On January 29, 2022, he totaled seven points, eight assists, and three rebounds in a win at Kansas.  On March 11, 2022, he produced eight points and 11 assists in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal win against Vanderbilt.

Wheeler’s senior season was plagued with injuries.  He missed 13 games, including each of the last 11.  He played in 21 games and started 14.  Wheeler averaged 7.7 points, 5.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game.  Prior to missing the final 11 games, he led the Southeastern Conference and ranked in the top 20 nationally with 5.6 assists per game.  He amassed 656 career assists playing in the SEC, which ranks fifth all-time in conference history.  Wheeler shot a career-high 36.6% from 3-point range.  He eclipsed 1,000 points in his career with 11 points – including some clutch buckets – in a win over Michigan in London, England.

Wheeler transferred to Washington after his senior season.

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