Huskies Send 18-Wheeler Onto the Floor, Run Over Northern Kentucky

People had every reason to skip the University of Washington basketball game on Thursday night.

It's still football season. Rain made driving to Montlake a dicey situation. Northern Kentucky, not Kentucky or Western Kentucky, was the opponent.

Sahvir Wheeler was every justification to ignore all of those convenient excuses and show up at Alaska Airlines Arena.  

After missing Sunday's season opener against Bellarmine, the 5-foot-9 Kentucky grad transfer and exquisite point guard shook off the minor injury, made his UW debut and controlled the floor throughout in the Huskies' 75-67 victory.

No matter what kind of team coach Mike Hopkins puts together this winter, and better than average is the projection, Wheeler, yes, will be worth the price of admission. 

In an early November outing against an unsung opponent that can tend to turn off fans for its sloppiness, Wheeler was a bundle of energy who kept things lively and moving. 

He finished with 18 points, second only to Keion Brooks' career-high 32 for the Huskies, shot 6 of 12 from the floor, dished out 7 assists and played 36 minutes.

Wheeler was eager rather than anxious to get started after missing the later part of his Kentucky season with an injury last winter and then the UW opener over the weekend. 

"I'm just grateful to be out here and be healthy and help my team and continue winning," the playmaker said. "When you're playing with a group like I have this year, it's super fun. The energy is contagious. I cant wait to keep going out there and winning games."

In his most memorable moment in a gym barely half full of fans, Wheeler in the second half stood and bounced the ball in calculated fashion on the left side of the lane, effectively setting up his defender. 

Then it was go time and the Texas native gave the other guy 4-5 lightning-quick head fakes and left his opponent badly fooled and on the floor behind him. 

Once he reached the basket, Wheeler deftly fed the ball to former Kentucky teammate and current UW running mate Brooks for a resounding dunk and the Huskies led 49-40 with 16:46 left to play. Northern Kentucky didn't hesitate to call a timeout to regroup.

"He does a great job of keeping everybody involved and his ability to score makes the defense be honest," Brooks said. "He just does a great job finding me in positions to be successful and puts me in positions to take high- percentage shots and I couldn't ask for much more than that."

As the Huskies struggled to find an offensive rhythm early on and trailed, it was Wheeler who gathered fellow guards Koren Johnson and Nate Calmese together at midcourt for a few words with the Huskies trailing 19-14 and coming out of a timeout.

He had a couple of shots blocked early but he kept attacking and scored his first points on a floater in the key. Next came a scoop left-handed lay-in, followed by another. He did a spin move, hit a left-handed bank shot, was fouled and converted the three-point play.

At halftime, Wheeler had 10 points and helped set up Brooks for a team-best 13 as the Huskies settled into a 41-35 advantage. 

Three times on the night, Wheeler casually lobbed the ball high above the rim for Brooks to come find it and slam dunk it through.

By the end of the night, the Huskies looked a little more organized and a lot more confident in meshing all of its new transfer portal players together, beginning with Wheeler.

"He plays with a passion, he plays with a smile and that's infectious to the rest of your team," UW coach Mike Hopkins said. "He's all about how to do I make others better? You love to run with him, love to play with him."