< Previous18 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Up Next: Kentucky Hosts Georgia Kentucky returns to Rupp Arena to host Georgia at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be televised by SEC Network. It is the only meeting between the two schools. Georgia is 5-0 on the season and has lost four of its last five games. With a largely new roster, all four players averaging double figures for the Bulldogs are logging their first minutes in a Georgia uniform. All four are transfers. The Bulldogs, led by current Wildcat Sah- vir Wheeler, snapped Kentucky’s 14-game winning streak in the series with a 63-62 UGA win in Athens, Georgia. Wheeler posted 10 points and seven assists in that game. Wheeler Questionable vs. Georgia Kentucky guard Sahvir Wheeler’s highly anticipated game vs. his former team, Geor- gia, is up in the air. Wheeler is officially day- to-day with a neck injury he suffered in Tues- day’s game at LSU. “I’ve got to prepare as though he’s not go- ing to play in that Georgia game in case he doesn’t,” John Calipari said Wednesday on his radio show. Later, on Friday, Calipari acknowledged he knows Wheeler wants to face his former team. “I know he wants to play against Georgia,” Calipari said. “And he’s not doing it out of spite. He just wants to play games.” Wheeler, who entered the game second in the country in assists per game, was knocked out of the contest less than four minutes into the game when he ran head-first into a screen by LSU’s 7-foot, 230-pound Efton Reid. Wheeler was helped off the court by UK’s medical staff and did not return to the court. Without Wheeler, UK scored a season-low 60 points and shot a season-worst 36.2%. With freshman guard TyTy Washington Jr. also sidelined for part of the second half with cramps in his legs, UK managed just one field goal over nearly a 12-minute stretch and was outscored 20-2 after UK took a 50-41 lead with 13:06 left to play. “You saw that Sahvir stirs the drink offen- sively for us,” Calipari said. “Makes our game fast. Someone said, in the last minutes Kellan (Grady) didn’t get the ball. And I say, we didn’t have a point guard in. So, those guys who would find him, that’s who they are. So now we’ve got to say, all right, how do we do this?” Wheeler was likely looking forward to the matchup vs. his former team. He led the Southeastern Conference in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio last season at Georgia. His 193 assists in 2020-21 broke Georgia’s previous single-season assists re- cord by 24 dimes despite a shortened season. He transferred after the year was over. Wheeler has been as good as advertised for the Wildcats. His as- sists average took a hit with the limited action Tuesday, but he is still ranked third national- ly with 7.3 assists per game (through games on Jan. 4). Wheeler has dished out at least eight assists seven times and at least six assists in 11 games while adding 9.6 points per game. His 26 points vs. North Caroli- na is the most by a Wild- cat this season. Shaedon Sharpe Arrives on Campus Shaedon Sharpe, originally a part of the 2022 signing class and the consensus No. 1 player in the 2022 class, has enrolled early at the University of Kentucky and is on campus. Sharpe arrived ear- lier this week and is undergoing testing and workouts while he gets acclimated to campus. His playing status for the remainder of the 2021-22 season has not been determined at this time. “We will bring him along slow,” John Cali- pari said at his radio show Wednesday. “I want him in practice. I want to see him fly up and down the court and play that way and have that mentality. It takes time to teach it. I want to see if he can make shots when he’s playing that fast and all that stuff. But he’s not ready to be playing in games yet.” Calipari went a step further Friday and said there isn’t a current plan to play Sharpe this season. “If you ask me right now, my guess is he won’t play, but you don’t know what hap- pens,” Calipari said. “I mean, we’ve had in- jury after injury, this happen and that happen. We’re down to six, seven guys, I may tell him, ‘Look, man, you’ve got to go in seven minutes a game. You’ve got to play some.’ But, my hope is we’re never there.” Calipari added that he looks like he’s grown since he signed with the Wildcats. UK will provide official measurements, jersey number and background soon after he goes through orientation and evaluations. Sharpe averaged 22.6 points, 5.8 re- bounds, and 2.7 assists in the 2021 Nike Elite Youth Basketball League this past summer. If the rankings hold and Sharpe remains in the 2022 class, he would be the first consensus No. 1 prospect to sign with Kentucky since Nerlens Noel in 2012. Mintz Reaches 1,000 Career Points With a 3-pointer from the right corner that ignited a key second-half rally for Kentucky at LSU on Jan. 4, Davion Mintz reached the 1,000-point barrier. Mintz would go on to score a game-high 16 points in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and nearly rallied the Wildcats for a come-from- behind win with UK’s final five points in the closing minutes. Mintz reached 1,000 career points in his 133rd career game that has spanned five sea- sons, 97 games at Creighton and 37 at Ken- tucky. The graduate transfer has scored 377 points at Kentucky after leading the Wildcats in scoring in 2020-21. He became the first player in the John Calipari era at UK to return to Kentucky after leading the team in scoring. Mintz averaged 11.5 points last season and also led the Wildcats with 56 3-pointers and 3.1 assists per game. In a reserve role this season, Mintz is av- eraging 8.1 points. Although he has struggled to find a consistent shooting stroke, he has scored 26 points over the last two games on 9-of-20 shooting.167 W Main Street, Lexington | @LockboxLex | LockboxLex.com LEXINGTONLocated at GLOW BIG BLUE Just blocks from Rupp Arena, we’re the perfect destination for your pre-game dinner or post-game drinks. Make a night of it and enjoy free valet parking with the 21c Game Day Package.20 @KentuckyMBB Florida Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. Saturday February 12 Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 9 p.m. Tuesday February 15 Alabama Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m. Saturday February 19 LSU Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Wednesday February 23 Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 2 p.m. Saturday February 26 Ole Miss Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday March 1 Florida Gainesville, Fla. 2 p.m. Saturday March 5 SEC Tournament Tampa, Fla. TBA Wed.-Sun. March 9-13 NCAA Tournament Final Four® New Orleans | TBA March- April TBA LSU Baton Rouge, La. L, 60-65 Tuesday January 4 Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 7 p.m. Tuesday January 11 Texas A&M College Station, Texas 8:30 p.m. Wednesday January 19 Auburn Auburn, Ala. 1 or 1:30 p.m. Saturday January 22 Mississippi State Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Tuesday January 25 Kansas Lawrence, Kan. | SEC/Big 12 Challenge | 6 p.m. Saturday January 29 Vanderbilt Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Wednesday February 2 Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. 8 p.m. Saturday February 5 South Carolina Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Tuesday February 8 Georgia Lexington, Ky. 6 p.m. Saturday January 8 Duke New York L, 71-79 Tuesday November 9 Robert Morris Lexington, Ky. W, 100-60 Friday November 12 Mount St. Mary's Lexington, Ky. W, 80-55 Tuesday November 16 Ohio Lexington, Ky. W, 77-59 Friday November 19 North Florida Lexington, Ky. W, 86-52 Friday November 26 Central Michigan Lexington, Ky. W, 85-57 Monday November 29 Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. L, 62-66 Saturday December 11 Southern Lexington, Ky. W, 76-64 Tuesday December 7 North Carolina Las Vegas | CBS Sports Classic | W, 98-69 Saturday December 18 Western Kentucky Lexington, Ky. W, 95-60 Wednesday December 22 Missouri Lexington, Ky. W, 83-56 Wednesday December 29 High Point Lexington, Ky. W, 92-48 Friday December 31 UAlbany Lexington, Ky. W, 86-61 Monday November 22 Home Neutral Away 2021-22 Basketball Schedule Tennessee Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m. Saturday January 15We’re your Shield. We’re your Shelter. ShelterInsurance.com • 1-800-SHELTER WE ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT THE KENTUCKYKENTUCKY WILDCATS!WILDCATS! KENTUCKYKENTUCKY WILDCATS!WILDCATS! ® BEAVER DAM Robbie Parham BEREA Chad Tate BENTON Michelle Clark BOWLING GREEN Nancy Hickey BUTLER Jason Laytart CAMPBELLSVILLE Joseph Hamilton CARLISLE Bill Clark CYNTHIANA David Yeiser DANVILLE Troy Wheeler ELIZABETHTOWN Jamie Martin Alice Slaubaugh EMINENCE Fred Downey EVANSVILLE, IN Rick Koberstein FAIRDALE Jamie Norsworthy FLEMINGSBURG Cole Clark FLORENCE Rocky Bryan Will Gilliland FRANKLIN Brian Knapp FRANKFORT BJ Hurst Audrey Marshall GEORGETOWN Steve Black Spencer Kilpatrick HARDINSBURG Sandra Bruington HARRODSBURG Jamie Dunn HENDERSON Lesley Liley HODGENVILLE Teddy Sandford HOPKINSVILLE Scott Leuckel LAGRANGE Paula Kaeser LANCASTER Cindy Lanham LAWRENCEBURG Ashley Bailey Larry Moore LEITCHFIELD Donna Vanmeter LEXINGTON Tony Arnold Linda Fugate Dawan Hart Willie Morrison Maddie Stiles Terry Wolfe Gene Young LIBERTY Kevin Atwood LIVERMORE Katie Gunterman LONDON Jeffery Anderson LOUISVILLE Larissa Spears MADISONVILLE Kelly Madison MAYFIELD Steve Jones MOREHEAD Caleb Staggs MOUNT STER- LING Elizabeth Shelley MURRAY Doug Henry NICHOLASVILLE Marc Miller Russ Owens OWENSBORO Karen Keller Bob Smith Nick Warren PADUCAH Toby Boone RICHMOND Ashley Kovaleski Evan Worrell SHELBYVILLE Jessica Cole SLAUGHTERS Sam Westfall SOMERSET Jason Weatherford SPRINGFIELD Sue Blair STANFORD Sean Slusher VERSAILLES Janice Frasier WINCHESTER Kay Brandenburg Olin Woolum22 @KentuckyMBB 2021-22 Kentucky Wildcats Statistics TOTAL 3-POINT F-THROW SCORING REBOUNDS No. Player GP-S Min. Avg. FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Pts Avg. Off Def Total Avg. PF A TO Stl Blk. 34 Tshiebwe, Oscar 14-14 393 28.1 87-141 .617 0-0 .000 39-55 .709 213 15.2 78 133 211 15.1 34 13 25 19 21 03 Washington Jr. , TyTy 14-14 429 30.6 77-159 .484 20-49 .408 13-16 .813 187 13.4 14 46 60 4.3 22 55 23 15 4 31 Grady, Kellan 14-14 411 29.4 57-115 .496 42-88 .477 11-17 .647 167 11.9 3 25 28 2.0 6 14 7 15 1 12 Brooks Jr., Keion 13-13 296 22.8 56-116 .483 3-15 .200 22-31 .710 137 10.5 18 44 62 4.8 15 7 17 5 11 02 Wheeler, Sahvir 14-14 409 29.2 56-127 .441 4-23 .174 18-21 .857 134 9.6 11 22 33 2.4 33 102 41 20 1 10 Mintz, Davion 11-0 220 20.0 28-77 .364 13-45 .289 20-27 .741 89 8.1 10 19 29 2.6 10 15 13 5 2 00 Toppin, Jacob 10-0 168 16.8 24-44 .545 0-1 .000 13-18 .722 61 6.1 11 25 36 3.6 12 15 7 6 7 04 Collins, Daimion 14-1 156 11.1 26-40 .650 0-3 .000 7-9 .778 59 4.2 15 26 41 2.9 25 4 12 5 18 11 Allen, Dontaie 10-0 94 9.4 13-44 .295 6-32 .188 4-4 1.000 36 3.6 3 16 19 1.9 7 6 3 2 2 23 Hopkins, Bryce 14-0 120 8.6 16-39 .410 4-14 .286 3-5 .600 39 2.8 12 13 25 1.8 7 5 11 3 2 55 Ware, Lance 9-0 68 7.6 5-8 .625 0-0 .000 7-16 .438 17 1.9 4 15 19 2.1 12 1 8 1 5 14 Canada, Brennan 8-0 12 1.5 3-4 .750 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 6 0.8 1 0 1 0.1 0 1 0 0 0 20 Payne, Zan 8-0 12 1.5 2-6 .333 0-3 .000 2-2 1.000 6 0.8 0 2 2 0.3 1 0 1 1 0 25 Watkins, Kareem 8-0 12 1.5 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0.0 1 2 3 0.4 2 2 2 2 0 Total 14 2800 200.0 450-921 .489 92-274 .336 159-221 .719 1151 82.21 206 416 622 44.4 186 240 171 99 74 Opponents 2800 200.0 322-842 .382 81-288 .281 126-180 .700 851 60.79 117 285 402 28.7 209 140 181 93 42The UK HealthCare John Calipari Show Behind Kentucky Basketball SUBSCRIBE TO PODCASTS TODAY! SPORTS NETWORKSPORTS NETWORK Presented By2021-22 Georgia Bulldogs Statistics TOTAL 3-POINT F-THROW SCORING REBOUNDS No. Player GP-S Min. Avg. FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Pts Avg. Off Def Total Avg. PF A TO Stl Blk. 23 Bridges, Braelen 14-14 372 26.6 68-104 .654 0-0 .000 43-62 .694 179 12.8 25 58 83 5.9 28 17 31 5 7 03 Oquendo, Kario 14-14 385 27.5 65-136 .478 11-50 .220 30-47 .638 171 12.2 14 40 54 3.9 28 11 30 17 11 00 Ingram, Jailyn 9-9 245 27.2 36-73 .493 6-23 .261 18-20 .900 96 10.7 8 46 54 6.0 25 19 25 7 2 10 Cook, Aaron 13-13 420 32.3 49-128 .383 16-52 .308 19-29 .655 133 10.2 5 30 35 2.7 19 88 42 21 4 20 Baumann, Noah 13-8 249 19.2 34-74 .459 26-56 .464 7-9 .778 101 7.8 4 39 43 3.3 11 10 5 2 5 01 Abdur-Rahim, Jabri 14-3 267 19.1 30-85 .353 18-55 .327 27-37 .730 105 7.5 13 29 42 3.0 23 4 15 4 5 05 Wright, Christian 14-5 315 22.5 25-72 .347 6-23 .261 27-34 .794 83 5.9 11 24 35 2.5 24 22 15 10 4 11 Etter, Jaxon 13-4 319 24.5 21-55 .382 5-19 .263 22-30 .733 69 5.3 11 30 41 3.2 31 24 13 6 1 15 Ridgnal, Dalen 12-0 88 7.3 7-24 .292 5-17 .294 6-8 .750 25 2.1 4 28 32 2.7 5 2 1 0 1 04 McMillan, Tyron 13-0 109 8.4 6-17 .353 0-1 .000 7-10 .700 19 1.5 9 13 22 1.7 8 3 6 2 0 12 Taylor, Josh 3-0 7 2.3 2-3 .667 0-0 .000 0-1 .000 4 1.3 1 1 2 0.7 0 0 0 0 0 02 McDowell, Cam 1-0 14 14.0 0-3 .000 0-1 .000 1-2 .500 1 1.0 0 2 2 2.0 2 2 1 1 0 35 Baker, Tyrone 3-0 10 3.3 1-4 .250 0-1 .000 0-1 .000 2 0.7 2 0 2 0.7 2 0 0 1 1 Total 14 2800 200.0 344-778 .442 93-298 .312 207-290 .714 988 70.57 137 359 496 35.4 206 202 193 76 41 Opponents 2800 200.0 380-852 .446 115-338 .340 148-207 .715 1023 73.07 138 341 479 34.2 248 209 156 104 50 Braelen Bridges Jailyn Ingram 24 @KentuckyMBBFind your vibe at VisitLEX.com26 @KentuckyMBB 2021-22 Kentucky Wildcats No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown/High School 0 Jacob Toppin F 6-9 200 Jr. Brooklyn, N.Y. / Woodstock Academy 1 CJ Fredrick G 6-3 190 RJr. Cincinnati / Covington Catholic 2 Sahvir Wheeler G 5-9 180 Jr. Houston / Houston Christian 3 TyTy Washington Jr. G 6-3 197 Fr. Phoenix /Compass Prep 4 Daimion Collins F 6-9 202 Fr. Atlanta, Texas / Atlanta 10 Davion Mintz G 6-3 195 Gr. Charlotte, N.C. / Mecklenburg 11 Dontaie Allen G 6-6 205 RSo. Falmouth, Ky. / Pendleton County 12 Keion Brooks Jr. F 6-7 210 Jr. Fort Wayne, Ind. / La Lumiere School 14 Brennan Canada F 6-6 198 Jr. Mount Sterling, Ky. / George Rogers Clark 20 Zan Payne G/F 6-4 215 RJr. Lexington, Ky. / Lexington Catholic 23 Bryce Hopkins F 6-6 220 Fr. Oak Park, Ill. / Fenwick 25 Kareem Watkins G 5-8 170 So. Camden, N.J. / Kingsway Regional 31 Kellan Grady G 6-5 205 Gr. Boston / Northfield Mount Hermon School 34 Oscar Tshiebwe F 6-9 255 Jr. Lubumbashi, Congo / Kennedy Catholic 55 Lance Ware F 6-9 225 So. Camden, N.J. / Camden Coaching Staff Head Coach: John Calipari Associate to the Head Coach: James "Bruiser" Flint Associate Coach: Orlando Antigua Assistant Coaches: Ronald "Chin" Coleman, Jai Lucas Quick Facts Location: Lexington, Ky. Founded: 1865 Enrollment: 31,800 Conference: SECNext >