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Teammates Defend Sahvir Wheeler: “This Team is Nothing Without Sahvir”

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© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Sahvir Wheeler has been one of the most polarizing Kentucky basketball players in recent seasons. On one hand, he is a Bob Cousy award finalist – award for the nation’s best point guard – and a two-time SEC assist leader. On the other, he stands just 5-foot-8 and negatively effects the spacing of the offense.

This season, the positives and negatives have been seen as much as ever.

On the season, Wheeler is averaging 9 points and an SEC leading six assists per game, while shooting the best three-point percentage of his career (38.5%). The analytics also show that Wheeler is the fourth most valuable player for the Cats.

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However, in the last two games, Kentucky has played their best basketball of the season without Wheeler on the floor, also allowing “the lineup” to emerge: Cason Wallace, Antonio Reeves, CJ Fredrick, Jacob Toppin, and Oscar Tshiebwe. While still a small sample size, that lineup is rated as the most efficient lineup in college basketball since 2019-20.

While the debate on Wheeler has grown louder and louder, his teammates are taking up for him. “I know a lot of people are talking bad about him but this team is nothing without Sahvir,” Jacob Toppin said during Thursday’s pre-Texas A&M press conference.

“He does a lot for us, whether he’s starting or coming off the bench. He brings a lot of energy to this team and he changes the pace of the game on the offensive end, he defends very well even though he’s small. He fights, he’s tough, so all the negative comments about him could go out the window. He’s really important to this team and we need him in order to do something special.”

Toppin wasn’t the only Wildcat taking up for Wheeler. “He’s really important. He runs the show for us offensively and he’s like the head of the snake defensively,” Kentucky freshman Chris Livingston said. “We’re looking forward to getting him back in the lineup, getting his minutes back up, cause we’re gonna need him throughout the course of the season.”

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During his time on the bench, some have questioned Wheeler’s body language. Yet, Livingston wasn’t feeding into that narrative, “He really did his part when he didn’t play, bringing energy on the bench.”

While the Wildcats have looked improved without Wheeler in the lineup, a four-year SEC veteran is valuable, and deserves to have a role on the team. Now, it will be about getting healthy and adapting to that role. As Toppin said, “We’re here to stick through it for one another, we’re here for each other, and Sahvir knows we’re here for him.”

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Men's Basketball

CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment

In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.

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Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.
Chet White | UK Athletics

Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.

Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):

“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.

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With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.

Losing One of Our Own

That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.

Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.

So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.

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Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.

Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.

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Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

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Kentucky basketball Travis Perry talks about growing more comfortable on the court.
Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky in the Mark Pope era. Last season, the staff was able to build a Sweet Sixteen roster almost exclusively from the portal, and this offseason have put together a top-five portal class.

While the portal giveth, it also taketh. Just hours before the deadline to enter, Kentucky native and fan favorite Travis Perry has entered the transfer portal, per multiple reports.

Coming to Kentucky as the state’s all-time high-school scoring record holder, fans were excited to see how his career would unfold in Lexington.

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Not expecting to play much freshman, he was called upon due to injuries and played some key minutes for the Wildcats into the postseason. He averaged 2.7 PPG and .6 APG on 32% shooting from three.

Looking at the depth chart, it was difficult to see where Perry would get much playing time next season, leading to his decision to enter the portal.

Perry has yet to release an official statement, but all the best to him in his future.

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Men's Basketball

Top Transfer Guard Denzel Aberdeen Commits to Kentucky

Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky, likely closing the transfer portal for next year’s roster.

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Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky.
UF Athletics

Another day, another “boom.” Denzel Aberdeen has officially committed to Kentucky for the 2025-26’ season.

A soon-to-be senior guard fresh off his championship win with Florida, Aberdeen spent his first three years of eligibility in Gainesville. Now, following an apparent conflict in the Gators’ rotation, he’s swapped teams in the southeast.

At 6 ‘5”, 190, Aberdeen spent much of this past season beating defenders off the dribble and making them pay at the rim. His speed and size made him a nightmare off the bench for opposing teams, and for the short stretch of play that he started during the year, Florida didn’t miss a beat. 

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In 19 minutes, Aberdeen averaged 8 points, two rebounds and one assist per game. His consistent contribution to the Gators’ title run made him one of the most coveted transfers in the cycle this season, and given his big blue commitment just days after entering the portal, Mark Pope clearly wasted no time in Kentucky’s pursuit.

Aberdeen slots in as yet another addition to what was already one of the strongest portal classes going into next season. His SEC experience and combo-guard intangibles make Aberdeen one of the most exciting portal players to come through Lexington in a long while, reinforcing Kentucky’s back court to what may be the final degree.

Whether or not Mark Pope is officially done for next season, nobody is sure, but this commitment only further cements the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just like the  fanbase behind him, Coach Pope seems to never sleep.

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