Sahvir Wheeler announces transfer destination

Sahvir Wheeler will face Georgia again - even now that he has transferred. Wheeler will play for Kentucky, the former Georgia point guard announced Monday. Wheeler, a rising junior, entered the transfer portal on April 20. He chose the Wildcats from a final four list that included LSU, Kansas and Oklahoma State.

“I chose the University of Kentucky because it gives me the best opportunity to make a run at a national championship and pursue my dreams of playing in the NBA,” Wheeler said on Kentucky’s press release announcing he’d signed. “I can’t wait to get to Lexington and get to work.”

An All-SEC guard and Georgia’s leading scorer last season, Wheeler also has entered his name into the NBA Draft. However, he has maintained his eligibility by not hiring an agent. He is back home in Houston after leaving Georgia as the school’s single-season assists record holder.

Wheeler was a second-team All-SEC selection for Georgia this past season while averaging 13.9 points, 7.3 assists and 1.7 steals. He ranked first in the SEC in assists and fifth nationally.

Wheeler is the fourth transfer to be added to Kentucky’s roster over the last three and a half months. He joins forward Oscar Tshiebwe (West Virginia), guard Kellen Grady (Davidson) and guard CJ Fredrick (Iowa). He may be the most important as the Wildcats did not have a true point guard returning for next season.

“Sahvir is the kind of player that dictates the pace of the game, who gets easy baskets for himself and his teammates, and who can be disruptive defensively,” UK coach John Calipari said. “He is what you look for in a point guard in that he puts his teammates in positions to score, yet he can score the ball in bunches when he needs to. ... I am excited for him to be a part of this program and my guess is our players will be, too.”

Wheeler is one of nine Georgia players who have entered the transfer portal. K.D. Johnson, a freshman from Atlanta and the Bulldogs’ second-leading scorer, was also supposed to announce his transfer decision Monday afternoon.

Wheeler’s father told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week he does not think it’s because of any missteps by Georgia coach Tom Crean.

“I think Coach Crean did a great job with Sahvir; I have nothing negative to say from a basketball standpoint,” Teddy Wheele said. “And how he was treated; Sahvir was treated well. It was just a question of what Sahvir wants right now, at this point. All that isolation forced him to look at himself and think about what he wanted to get out of the sport.”