Wheeler believes Cats’ returning vets are ready to lead

Published 4:30 pm Tuesday, June 28, 2022

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If senior point guard Sahvir Wheeler is right, it is going to help Kentucky a lot having players like Oscar Tshiebwe and himself back after playing one year under John Calipari.

“When they (teammates) make mistakes, just being able to be like ‘Hey man, it’s good, you’re good.’ It’s all part of the growing process and all part of learning and going into a new environment where you aren’t totally comfortable, you’re gonna make mistakes,” Wheeler said.

“Things are gonna happen that don’t go your way. Us being that calming presence — it’s happened to the best of us.”

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Wheeler understands the impact an older, experienced teammate can have when a player is having a bad game because it has happened to him.

“I feel like that’s already happened with some of the workouts. Guys might get a little frustrated, like bro it’s new, it’s completely new. You’ve never ran this hard, you’ve never worked this hard before in your life, it’s all right, we’re gonna be with you every step of the way,” Wheeler said.

“I think Oscar and I have done a really good job and continue to do that with the rest of our teammates, just picking each other up, lifting each other, empowering each other, to work hard and be the best versions of ourselves.”