John Calipari talks addition of transfer PG Sahvir Wheeler

The Kentucky basketball edition of "Extreme Makeover" continued Monday with the addition of transfer Sahvir Wheeler.

The former Georgia Bulldog officially announced his long-rumored transfer to UK on Jeff Goodman's Field of 68 podcast, picking the Wildcats over Kansas, LSU, and Oklahoma State.

Wheeler, a 5-foot-10 point guard from Houston, averaged 11.3 points and 5.8 assists per game during his career at Georgia. He ranked in the top five nationally in assists last season at 7.4 per game.

“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 in a statement released by UK. “I can’t wait to get to Lexington and get to work.”

He is the third major transfer to join the UK program this spring, joining Davidson wing Kellan Grady and Iowa shooting guard CJ Frederick. A fourth transfer, center/forward Oscar Tshiebwe, joined the Cats this winter after playing his first two seasons at West Virginia.

The NCAA Division I Council recently adopted legislation allowing a one-time trasnfer without the traditional requirement to sit out a season. The SEC must still approve a new rule regarding intra-conference transfers, which is expected to happen this summer.

Wheeler would have three seasons of eligibility remaining with the Cats.

“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 head 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.

"He was a second-team all-conference player as a sophomore and almost routinely put up games with double-digit assists, including setting the SEC Tournament record this last season with 13. I am excited for him to be a part of this program and my guess is our players will be too.”

Wheeler broke UGA's single-season assists record with 193 during the 2020-21 season, topping the previous mark of 169 held by Pertha Robinson in 1995. He needed only 24 games to set a new mark.

He had eight double-doubles during his breakout sophomore season and recorded the Bulldogs' first triple-double in program history with a 14-point, 13-assist, 11-rebound game against LSU on Feb. 23.

Wheeler had a career-high 27-point game against Florida.

He'll join recent five-star prep signee TyTy Washington as the Cats' expected point guard tandem for 2021-22. Kentucky is also awaiting word from graduate senior combo guard Davion Mintz on whether he'll keep his name in the NBA Draft or return for an additional season of college basketball.