WHAT: Georgia (1-0) vs. The Citadel (0-1)
WHEN: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Stegeman Coliseum
TV/RADIO: SEC Network+ (Jeff Dantzler, play-by-play; Mark Slonaker, analyst); Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta; Internet: 974 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, producer)
The inevitable comparisons to former Georgia great J.J. Frazier were bound to happen, but Bulldog freshman Sahvir Wheeler doesn’t seem to mind.
At 5-10, Wheeler and Frazier are the same height. Both are left-handed, both are personable, outgoing young men, and both enjoy getting their teammates involved in the offense as much as they can.
While some players might dismiss such comparisons at such an early stage, that’s not the case with Wheeler, who agrees there are some similarities in their respective games.
“I believe we do have some similarities, but I believe we’ve got some differences as well. Obviously, the major thing to everyone is the size. But we’re both left-handed, we’re both kind of speedy, crafty guards,” Wheeler said. “I will say I’m probably a bit more attack-oriented, try to get to the paint. He relies more on his jumper. But then again, we’re both smart players, we try to get all of our teammates involved so I definitely see similarities, although like I said, there are differences as well.”
They’re also not strangers.
Wheeler said the pair met a couple of times during the summer, when Frazier was on campus to work out prior to heading overseas, where he is playing professionally.
“Yeah, he came up here a couple of times during the summer, and we were able to communicate a little bit,” said Wheeler, who made quite the impact for the Bulldogs during their 91-72 win over Western Carolina in the season-opener.
How good was it?
While Anthony Edwards was receiving praise for his 24-point effort, the second-most scored by a Georgia freshman in his first collegiate game, Wheeler was quietly etching his name into the record books as well.
With 19 points, the Houston native tallied the third-most points ever for the Bulldogs in his freshman debut, a mark he shares with former Georgia great Terry Fair.
“I was not aware of that, but that’s great to hear,” Wheeler said. “But I’m just trying to win the game. Some games I might need to score, but other games I might be 10 assists, 10 rebounds, and four points. Whatever it takes to help the team win.”
Head coach Tom Crean likes what he’s seen of Wheeler, who was committed to SEC rival Texas A&M before the Aggies made a coaching change, opening the door for the Bulldogs to snatch up the former four-star.
“He's a winner. I mean he's a pure winner. He always has been, and he’s infectious. People like playing with him. He moves the ball. He works extremely hard,and what I like is, he's controlling what he can control,” Crean said. “He's making passes. He's defending at a really high rate. He's getting into the lane, very unselfish, and has just a level of toughness about him. He's got a very strong mental toughness about him not to, not to mention his physical strength. He played his first college game the other night, like so many of the rest of them, and I think he'll just keep getting better.”
In many ways, Wheeler isn’t your typical freshman.
A finance major, whose father and uncle both worked on Wall Street, Sahvir Wheeler has dreams of one day being the general manager of an NBA team.
There’s also an excellent chance he’ll be asked to be a regular representative of the basketball team for pre- and post-game interviews.
As a nine-year-old, Wheeler said his father Teddy would actually conduct practice press conferences to get him used to speaking in front of groups.
“It’s no big deal as far as talking to the media, being able to conduct myself as a public speaker,” Wheeler said. “My dad taught me to project my voice, make clear thoughts, take your time when answering questions. So, no, this isn’t my first rodeo with the media.”
Based on his first performance, there will be plenty more opportunities to come.
