Kentucky, Tshiebwe, Wheeler Win Preseason SEC Awards

All eyes will be on Kentucky today for SEC Media Day in Birmingham, Alabama. The media has included the Cats in three of their preseason awards: Oscar Tshiebwe was picked as preseason SEC Player of the Year, Sahvir Wheeler joins Tshiebwe on the preseason All-SEC First Team, and the Kentucky Wildcats were picked to win the 2022-23 SEC title.

None of this should come as too much of a surprise. Oscar Tshiebwe was the reigning consensus National Player of the Year, Sahvir Wheeler is coming off of his second straight season leading the SEC in assists per game, and those two combined with a unique blend of experience and five-star talent makes Kentucky one of the top title contenders in all of college basketball.

John Calipari was won six SEC regular season titles, most recently in 2020, as well as six SEC Tournament championships, but not since the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led squad in 2018. Getting back on track this year will not come easy as Arkansas, Tennessee, Auburn, and Alabama were all picked by the media to follow closely behind Kentucky, and all will start the season as AP top 25 ranked teams as well. It is also not rare for a surprise team to rise up and pose as a threat as well.

Sahvir Wheeler and Lance Ware have been sent to Birmingham to be the player representatives and spokespeople for the top ranked team in the conference. Stay tuned for how the veterans will respond coming off of a disappointing end to the season last year into one of the most anticipated seasons in the John Calipari era at Kentucky.