Former Georgia point guard Sahvir Wheeler picks Kentucky over KU basketball, others

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Former University of Georgia point guard Sahvir Wheeler, who entered his name in the NCAA’s transfer portal on April 20, has decided to transfer to Kentucky, he announced Monday.

Wheeler, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound graduate of Houston Christian High School in Texas, chose Kentucky over Kansas, LSU and Oklahoma State.

At one time the college sophomore also had Wichita State, Texas, Gonzaga, Michigan, Oregon State and Stanford on his list of possible transfer destinations.

He announced for Kentucky on the Field of 68 podcast hosted by Jeff Goodman.

Asked about choosing Kentucky, Wheeler said the “biggest difference is the opportunity not only to play in the NCAA Tournament but to have a roster that is set up to win a national championship.”

Wheeler last season led the Bulldogs in scoring (14.0 ppg), assists (7.4 apg) and steals (1.7 spg). He hit 135 of 338 shots for 39.9%. He also cashed 18 of 80 threes for 22.5% and 76 of 103 free throws for 73.8%.

The second-team all-SEC selection dished a single-season school record 193 assists against 115 turnovers. He topped the previous mark of 169 assists by Pertha Robinson in 1995.

Wheeler had 13 assists — third most in a game in Georgia men’s basketball history — against LSU during the regular season and against Missouri in the SEC Tournament. His 13 assists versus MU were the most in a game in SEC Tourney history. He had 12 assists against Florida A&M.

He recorded the only triple double in 116 seasons of Georgia basketball against LSU, scoring 14 points, dishing 13 assists and grabbing 11 rebounds in a 91-78 win over the Tigers on Feb. 23 in Athens, Georgia.

Wheeler scored in double figures 22 times for the 14-12 Bulldogs. His season high in scoring was 27 points at Florida.

In high school, he was the ranked No. 78 nationally by ESPN.com, No. 88 by Rivals.com and No. 93 by 247sports.com.

KU still has one scholarship available in recruiting, more if Ochai Agbaji and/or Jalen Wilson keep their names in the 2021 NBA Draft. The Jayhawks so far have added seven scholarship players in the recruiting Class of 2021 as well as one walk-on.

KU has signed high school point guards Bobby Pettiford and Kyle Cuffe and also has signed Drake sophomore point guard Joseph Yesufu. KU also has signed frontcourt players KJ Adams, Zach Clemence, Cam Martin and Sydney Curry. Dajuan Harris, who played meaningful minutes his redshirt freshman season at KU, is KU’s sole returning point guard off the 2020-21 roster.

Bryce Hamilton, a 6-4 junior combo guard from UNLV has KU on his list of possible transfer destinations. KU also reportedly is interested in recruiting Arizona State senior point guard Remy Martin, who has entered his name in both the transfer portal and NBA Draft pool.