Transfer Portal Profiles: Sahvir Wheeler, Washington

The Kentucky Wildcats were disappointing in the 2022-23 season, and it’s led to a mass exodus of the team’s nucleus in the offseason. Senior guard Sahvir Wheeler is among the departed as he’ll make the long trek to Seattle and play for the Washington Huskies in his final collegiate season.

In this edition of Transfer Portal Profiles, we discuss former Kentucky guard Sahvir Wheeler’s game and his fit at Washington.

Career at Kentucky

After showing off his elite playmaking ability during his sophomore campaign at Georgia, Wheeler made the rare intraconference transfer and headed to Lexington to play for Kentucky. The junior displayed the same skills during a successful debut season with the Wildcats, but injuries and struggling play made him look less than 100 percent throughout last year. He still managed the 24th-highest assist rate in the country last season but missed the final 11 games of the season due to an ankle injury.

Scouting Report

Wheeler is one of college basketball’s elite passers, finishing his past three seasons in the top 25 nationally in assist rate. He’s a player who makes his teammates better when carving defenses left and right. The biggest weakness of his game comes with his scoring efficiency. He’s a subpar shooter at 43 percent in his career but has improved from beyond the arc after shooting 36.6 percent from three. That must improve if he wants to see some respect from on-ball defenders.

The Fit at Washington

Washington has become a laughing stock of the Pac-12 for over a decade now, and Wheeler could be a sparkplug on the offensive end to make the Huskies a formidable opponent within the Pac-12. If he can continue to work on his shot, he has the ceiling of a First Team All-Pac-12 selection for the upcoming season. It’s also worth wondering how severe the ankle injury was from a season ago.

Check out some of our other Transfer Portal Profiles: Kerr Kriisa, West Virginia | LJ Cryer, Houston | Walter Clayton Jr., Florida

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