The question was how can you get to college and be such a bad shooter. The answer was anything except about shooting.
Wheeler was incredible this weekend
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I wouldn't say incredible but serviceable. He is a Senior and will need to perform at an optimum level for us to make it to the final four. If he can just man-up on those screens, I would be happy lol. No more falling down acting like you are hurt, No more trying to shoot crappy 3's that don't go in. Just play beautiful basketball and be the floor leader that you are supposed to be. Lead the country in assist and keep your turn-overs at a minimum. If you can do this, I will be first in line to buy you a drink. I say all of this to say Wheeler you are making strides my brother keep pushing yourself to be great!
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I think having more guys on the floor who can create their own shot will be huge for him. Last year when the offense struggled he tried to do too much. Having more shot blockers might allow him to put more pressure on defense that’s a strength of his. And being in better shape will be big late in games. He was already an All-Conference caliber player but I think he’s going to be more consistent. Jury still out on 3pt shooting but we won’t need it from him.
Wheeler's like the love child of a traffic bollard and a mongoose.
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0-9 from 3 but he was great? Listen a 5’7” pg needs to hit 3s period. In the college game they will sag and he needs to be able to take every open 3 with a solid chance of making them. Wheeler padded his stats last year against cup cake city. The man has to hit shots or he ll be on the bench come tournament time.
i think wheeler seems like a really good person. He’s very likeable. The problem is we have a top 10 pick who is likely a top 5 pick if he plays pg. Wallace is far more dynamic than wheeler. Wheeler will struggle against college teams who know his Achilles is his shooting.
btw wheeler does have some fitness issues and I don’t think he lost much weight. Wheeler is not a final four pg imo. A nice back up and change of pace but that’s it. A role player. He may be the best option to start the season but by mid December I expect Wallace to be the guy.
i think wheeler seems like a really good person. He’s very likeable. The problem is we have a top 10 pick who is likely a top 5 pick if he plays pg. Wallace is far more dynamic than wheeler. Wheeler will struggle against college teams who know his Achilles is his shooting.
btw wheeler does have some fitness issues and I don’t think he lost much weight. Wheeler is not a final four pg imo. A nice back up and change of pace but that’s it. A role player. He may be the best option to start the season but by mid December I expect Wallace to be the guy.
Rajon rondo has intangibles that wheeler doesn’t. He has extremely long arms and is top 5 historically in the largest hands in nba history. Comparing wheeler and rondo is the dumbest comparison that there is. They aren’t similar in any way.
He’s shooting threes at a good percentage in the NBA. Hawkins and turner were awful as well. And Beal.
most players get better when they get to the pro's and can hire help and practice 24/7 if they choose
BTW Fox is a NBA career 32.0% 3 point shooter
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I liked the way he played for the most part this past week, but those that think Wheeler can get us to the final four shooting that poorly from deep are delusional. If he can shoot 30 + % from three consistently I’ll change my tone. Guards that small have to hit shots when they are wide open
Athletically superior to HS competition. The same thing that's wrong with alot of kids when they get to college.
Not forced to get better and craft your game because you're 5x as athletically gifted as your opponent so you don't really have to put in the effort to refine your game when you can drive at will.
Shot 30% last year. Shot 45% on the road.
I'd like him to be up around 35% but he wasn't like a 10% shooter like some claim. He wasn't amazingly good but he did hit 30% which is what you claim he needs after bashing him for sucking.
Of course this is the answer. My question was more rhetorical. If you aren’t a dominant big this is problematic. Look at Ware. At least he can dunk near the basket although he’ll never do much beyond being a back up unless he can fix his shot. It’s just funny as hell when people have to defend the obvious flaw. It’s like “don’t look at that part of his game”. “Nothing to see here”.
about 1.23% better
that is almost a non existent difference
i would not say either are good three point shooters
but Wheeler is not the worst we have ever had
That doesn’t make him good. He’s an awful 3 point shooter through 3 years. Maybe he’ll get better. Who knows.
Heck no... Cason will get his minutes as a combo guard, plenty of transition game. Penatrate n dish n the half court. Wheeler can in the game for all that to still happen.Assists per game leaders 2021-22
1Yuri CollinsSaint LouisSo.6-0G342677.9
2Jalen MooreOaklandJr.5-11G302317.7
3Sahvir WheelerKentuckyJr.5-9G302076.9
4Grant SherfieldNevadaJr.6-2G281796.4
5Hunter MaldonadoWyomingSr.6-7G332076.3
Top assists leaders 2020-21
PLAYERS GP GS MPG AST APG AST/40 TO TPG TO% AST/TO AST%
1 J. MooreOAK
30 29 37.8 252 8.4 8.9 115 3.8 18.4 2.19 45.9 2 C. MackPV
18 17 35.9 138 7.7 8.5 58 3.2 21.4 2.38 37.5 3 C. RossPEPP
24 24 37.5 179 7.5 8.0 94 3.9 20.1 1.90 39.0 4 K. DavisSMU
16 16 34.4 118 7.4 8.6 40 2.5 13.5 2.95 45.2 5 S. WheelerUGA
26 26 34.8 193 7.4 8.5 115 4.4 23.1 1.68 38.5 6 J. PrestonOHIO
18 17 33.9 130 7.2 8.5
Top assists in a season in UK history...
# Name Season Games Assists 1 Tyler Ulis 2015-16 35 246 2 John Wall 2009-10 37 241 3 Roger Harden 1985-86 36 232 4 Sahvir Wheeler 2021-22 30 207 5 Travis Ford 1993-94 33 193 5 Anthony Epps 1996-97 40 193 7 Ashton Hagans 2019-20 30 191 7 Marquis Teague 2011-12 40 191 9 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 2017-18 37 189 10 Dirk Minniefield 1981-82 30 188 11 Dirk Minniefield 1982-83 31 181 12 Kyle Macy 1977-78 32 178 13 Anthony Epps 1995-96 36 175 14 Wayne Turner 1997-98 39 173 15 Rajon Rondo
If you switch to assists per game for UK history, Wheeler is 2nd behind only Tyler Ulis.
So, this becomes the question: do you bench Wheeler, for his senior season, in favor of a freshman?
yea i have never seen anyone claim he is a good 3 point shooter
he did improve to 30% last year
on the bright side if this team shoots close to what it did in the Bahamas he will not need to be a good shooter
all he will need to do is shoot around 30% and push the tempo and hit ft's
But if teams dont send guys to rebound for fear of our break this team will kill them with offensive rebounds. Good situation for UK
I've been a pretty ardent Wheeler supporter (especially with regards to his turnovers) but I have to say I'm very disappointed that he hasn't done anything to improve his shot mechanics. Still shooting with the same bad form. Given enough practice (and confidence) it's certainly possible to shoot a high percentage with bad form, but with better form you're going to shoot an even higher percentage. I just don't get why he's never fixed it. Maybe he just keeps being told his form is fine and he simply needs to get in the gym and shoot more.
Grady: 1-9
TyTy: 2-10
Brooks: 2-7
Wheeler: 4-8 11pts, 6ast
Yes, Wheeler made some bad plays down the stretch of that game and missed free throws in OT, but it never should have come to that point. The game never should have gone to OT. If the supporting cast does their job, we win in regulation with relative ease. You can't blame Wheeler when the rest of the team is doing nothing and he feels the pressure to make something happen. That's pretty much when he gets in trouble. When the team is floundering and missing the wide open shots he's getting for them. That season was lost when TyTy went down in the Auburn game and was never the same. And then after the season we find out that Grady was battling plantar fasciitis for much of the season, and it was getting worse as the season progressed. None of that is Wheeler's fault. His only fault is that he tries too hard sometimes when others are failing, and he turns it over. The other fault he has that many don't like is that he's not very tall. Nevermind that he led the SEC in assists and is not 2nd in assists per game for a season behind only Tyler Ulis. Just bench him! Some have made up the idea that he's fat and out of shape. Nevermind that he's the fastest guy on the team and is constantly running and giving max effort and never seems tired. His build makes him look pudgy, so when you dislike someone, that means he's fat and poorly conditioned. Ha! You don't bench the guy who leads the league in assists for 2 straight years for his senior season, unless you're brain dead. His assist to turnover is 3 to 1. We've never had a pg other than Ulis who had a better ratio.
I wouldn't say to bench him but I'd say a couple main things: I wish he would make better decisions at times. And wish he could hit threes consistently.
The height isn't his fault of course, but the height and shooting both impact what kind of threat he can be, which impacts defensive spacing that the whole team has to deal with.
He is quick and (when making the right decision) quite a skilled passer. But he has limitations. I wouldn't mind seeing him share some more of the minutes at point this season.
I also want to be clear that I'm not the type of fan who EVER cheers against one of our own. I'd be more thrilled than anyone if Wheeler magically hit 50% of his threes this season and led us to a title with a Final Four MOP.
People love to mention the turnovers (which were really bad) but not mention how he scored 6 of our last 13 in regulation and had some clutch baskets as well in that game.
That's reasonable. I will say this, part of what makes Wheeler so dynamic is also what causes his turnovers. That is, he's often most effective when he's going full speed and making decisions very quickly. This is how he makes such dynamic plays often. Kinda like that play at the end of the first half Sunday- he used his speed to fly by everyone and get that layup off before the buzzer. There are many times he's going so fast he looks out of control. Defensive players don't know what to do because he's coming with a full head of steam. I saw him drive straight to the baseline in a full sprint several times last week and hit a guy in the corner for a wide-open three with a wild looking wrap around pass. But those are also the times he will make turnovers, have nobody to throw it to or the ball is deflected or stolen.
So, this is what becomes the question: do you tell a guy like Wheeler to slow down and try to be more precise when you may also be limiting his creativity and playmaking- the very thing that makes him so dynamic?
He has to take and hit a higher volume of 3s than 2-3 a game. The guy is a pg for crying out loud. One who has to find a way to compensate for his size.
They main problem of that game was not getting Oscar a shot at the end of the game. He would have been fouled or made it. That and Grady hit the shot to win it but like the entire game we couldn’t get a stop. Our defense lost that game.
Exactly! He is what he is and he’s proven that he brings more good than bad with an excellent Assist to turnover ratio.
The concern is whether a 5-9 lead guard who can’t shoot from the perimeter can lead a team to a title. Or will his deficiencies ultimately be too much to overcome. Really good player. But for the minutes he plays I’m just not sure yet.
He is about quick as lightning still and seldom seems even a little gassed so a little extra a bulk probably helps him withstand the physicality.
He so squat that adding muscle may tend to look like bad weight but no evidence of slowing or huffing and puffing, I suspect he is in good shape.
John Wall didn't take more threes. He was a bad 3pt shooter, also. Wall averaged 1 for 3 on 3pt fgs during his one season at UK. Wheeler has a better assist to turnover ratio than Wall had and also more assists per game. We've had a few pgs who weren't good 3pt shooters.
Wayne Turner couldn't hit the broad side of a barn outside 10 feet. Wheeler's form is 10 times better. Turner cocked his wrist to one side and shot the ball across his body. He led UK to the 1998 title, with fewer assists per game and a worse a/to ratio.
hopefully from what we seen in the Bahamas we have enough shooters to open it up
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