Cason Wallace

[MadaboutBlue]

ut the day he said he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, he was dead to me. I don’t care where he stacks up. He shouldn’t be here in the first place.

Well said! He's almost exemplifies the attitude of the players during the Cal era.

 

[STL_Cat]

I’ve enjoyed watching Wallace as a player for the most part, but for him to say “I want to get out of there as soon as possible” before he ever set foot on campus was insane. Goodness gracious.

 

[blackcat714]

I like Cason’s defense but he can’t shoot for ****.

 

[megablue]

Many PG rankings and comparisons in this thread, which makes for interesting sharing and discussion.
Here is a statistical comparison of PGs (primary and back-up) for the Calipari era.
To my view, there is Tyler Ulis and then, pretty much, everybody else.
There may be some you have ranked higher than probably deserved
There may be some you have ranked lower than probably deserved.

Season	Player	Minutes	FG%	3PT%	FT%	Assists	A / Min	TO	TO / MIN	A/TO	PPG	FGA / MIN
09-10	Wall	1288	46.12%	32.46%	75.43%​	241	0.187	149	0.116	1.62	16.65	0.340
10-11	Knight	1363	42.30%	37.66%	79.53%​	159	0.117	120	0.088	1.33	17.29	0.376
11-12	Teague	1303	41.19%	32.50%	71.43%​	191	0.147	109	0.084	1.75	10.03	0.270
12-13	Harrow	787	41.35%	29.58%	70.77%​	82	0.104	48	0.061	1.71	9.90	0.338
12-13	Goodwin	1048	43.98%	26.56%	63.68%​	88	0.084	101	0.096	0.87	14.12	0.341
13-14	Harrison	1267	36.67%	35.11%	76.44%​	159	0.126	109	0.086	1.46	10.85	0.260
14-15	Harrison	994	37.83%	38.30%	79.25%​	139	0.140	64	0.064	2.17	9.33	0.269
14-15	Ulis	882	40.61%	42.86%	80.77%​	135	0.153	38	0.043	3.55	5.65	0.187
15-16	Ulis	1287	43.44%	34.38%	85.64%​	246	0.191	69	0.054	3.57	17.31	0.343
16-17	Fox	1064	47.77%	24.64%	73.93%​	165	0.155	87	0.082	1.90	16.69	0.421
17-18	Gilg-Alex	1248	48.54%	40.35%	81.71%​	189	0.151	99	0.079	1.91	14.38	0.302
17-18	Green	869	45.14%	37.61%	80.77%​	91	0.105	55	0.063	1.65	9.26	0.296
18-19	Green	160	44.90%	42.31%	89.47%​	21	0.131	21	0.131	1.00	8.00	0.306
18-19	Hagans	1054	46.73%	27.45%	76.09%​	160	0.152	94	0.089	1.70	7.68	0.203
19-20	Hagans	996	40.38%	25.81%	80.99%​	191	0.192	103	0.103	1.85	11.50	0.266
19-20	Maxey	1068	42.74%	29.20%	83.33%​	98	0.092	67	0.063	1.46	13.97	0.329
20-21	Askew	722	34.51%	27.78%	80.65%​	73	0.101	50	0.069	1.46	6.52	0.197
20-21	Mintz	769	39.67%	38.10%	65.57%​	77	0.100	47	0.061	1.64	11.52	0.315
21-22	Mintz	768	38.22%	34.38%	70.15%​	55	0.072	31	0.040	1.77	8.48	0.293
21-22	Wheeler	937	44.12%	30.77%	77.97%​	207	0.221	91	0.097	2.27	10.07	0.290
21-22	Washington	906	45.10%	34.95%	75.00%​	120	0.133	51	0.056	2.35	12.52	0.372
22-23	Wheeler	599	41.67%	36.59%	53.33%​	117	0.195	39	0.065	3.00	7.67	0.260
22-23	Wallace	953	44.14%	34.68%	76.19%​	127	0.133	61	0.064	2.08	11.57	0.304

 

[MidseasonTweak]

Jrue Holiday is an example of a fantastic defensive point guard. Perhaps he can try and emulate his game.

 

[dc513]

This. Not healthy at all. Can see him constantly wearing that back wrap trying to keep his back warm. Anyone who ever experienced back issues knows how that physically and mentally effects you. It's stolen all that explosive athleticism we saw earlier.

Also some here including me pointed out that cals refusal to use thiero to spell the back court guys would have us going into post season worn down and injured. Happened to Wallace and I believe reeves had his legs go vs vandy which is why he went cold. Cal did the same thing last year

Repeat of last year.

 

[sosoblue]

not gonna lie. I said from day one he needed to be the starting point guard over wheeler.

But the day he said he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, he was dead to me. I don’t care where he stacks up. He shouldn’t be here in the first place.

Gromcat when did he make that statement? Was it before Christmas or after? Was he upset with something. I don't recall seeing that statement but probably missed it because of traveling.

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

Wallace strikes me as a player in the NBA similar to TyTy Washington. I watched the Celtics/Rockets game last night and TyTy played 12 minutes .... went 0-2 from deep, no other shots. He stood on the 3-pt line the ENTIRE time, never hustled, never penetrated the lane, looked lazy AF.

I really wanted to see TyTy as a sophomore ... didn't think he was ready. I think TyTy will be out of the league soon if last night was his typical effort - again, never saw any hustle, effort, just stood like a statue on the 3-pt line waiting for a pass and opportunity to shoot.

 

[richbrookstomato]

Would love to see Wallace's shooting numbers for the last month of the season. His shooting has been bad. That is the difference between him and Brandon Knight, who I always thought he would play like.

If Wallace can make more shots, we are MUCH better. We really need him to step it up to have ANY chance at a deep run.

 

[megablue]

Would love to see Wallace's shooting numbers for the last month of the season. His shooting has been bad. That is the difference between him and Brandon Knight, who I always thought he would play like.

If Wallace can make more shots, we are MUCH better. We really need him to step it up to have ANY chance at a deep run.

He shoots much better as the off-guard, without the responsibility of being the primary ball-handler, it seems to me.

 

[Burly]

I do think he’s hampered by his back - that being said I don’t think he does anything at a 5* level - just a solid player - if he wasn’t wearing UK on his chest I do not believe he would be considered a lottery selection
I don’t see it but hey hope the kid gets his bag

 

[Wildcats1st]

You mean Livingston at the 4. Cal has been trying to shoehorn him into the three spot since the beginning of the year.

With Oscar such a liability defensively it seemed to help with Livingston and toppin played the 3/4

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I'm really not blown away by him as our PG, at all. While simultaneously realizing we absolute need him there if we want to do anything in the tournament.

 

[WeWant9]

Gromcat when did he make that statement? Was it before Christmas or after? Was he upset with something. I don't recall seeing that statement but probably missed it because of traveling.

It was before the season started. I don’t remember the exact quote, but someone asked what him and Livingston’s goals were for the upcoming season, and it was something like “win a lot of games, and get out as soon as possible.” Aka get to the NBA.

 

[Lane Beard]

Cason made that comment before the season even started. How dare he have life goals.

 

[cats#1again]

When he said he wanted to get out of here as fast as possible that was it. I don’t care to even remember him. But win while you’re here Wallace. It’s the least you can do.

Calipari is garbage for bringing in these kids that don’t value Kentucky. I’d rather run with Saul.

So you want him to not be honest and give you coach speak? The same **** you hate Cal for

 

[RuppnRoll]

When he said he wanted to get out of here as fast as possible that was it. I don’t care to even remember him. But win while you’re here Wallace. It’s the least you can do.

Calipari is garbage for bringing in these kids that don’t value Kentucky. I’d rather run with Saul.

AGREED... Play for the name on your chest not your name on your back. If you do what you're supposed to do everything else will take care of itself.

 

[Crawfords Corner]

Would love to see Wallace's shooting numbers for the last month of the season. His shooting has been bad. That is the difference between him and Brandon Knight, who I always thought he would play like.

If Wallace can make more shots, we are MUCH better. We really need him to step it up to have ANY chance at a deep run.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/cason-wallace-1/splits/2023

 

[Crawfords Corner]

Cason Wallace will go to the NBA and he'll develop in to a good 2-way player. He shouldn't be entertaining the thought of the NBA as he is not ready, but he's a Cal recruit so he's done what he was recruited to do- play 1 season at Kentucky. Now hell go change the trajectory of his family's lives. Of course, he could still do that even if he stayed another year, but Cal already has his next crop coming in.

 

[UK-Chulo]

With Oscar such a liability defensively it seemed to help with Livingston and toppin played the 3/4

The 4 position should average at least 10 rebounds a game next to Oscar.

 

[KentuckyDad_rivals217703]

Really? I think Cason is one of the more obvious players we have that will go underdrafted and exceed expectations. The problem with him is that he was forced to be the primary ball handler when he’s really a secondary. If wheeler was actually good, Cason would be a sure fire top 10 pick imo. Think of Bledsoe next to John Wall, for example.

Game changing defender, solid playmaker, answered the shooting concerns. Don’t really see what’s not to like?

 

[richbrookstomato]

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/cason-wallace-1/splits/2023

Looking at those numbers, it's actually been the last 3 months!!! He's shot the ball HORRIBLY from the 3 pt line, 14-63 for a cool 22%!!

He's shot right at 50% from 2, which is actually better than I thought. Which tells me he needs to DRIVE MORE and shoot 3's LESS. He's shooting right around 90% from the FT line. Cason needs to be going toward the basket EVERY time he has the ball!!!

 

[kyjeff1]

You are spewing nonsense. You dont know if they care about winning a title or not. You can care about two things at once. Some people are so competitive that they absolutely want to win every single game they play. Some want to win a college title and go straight to the NBA. Going to the NBA and winning NCAAT games are not exclusive of each other.

All the proof you need to see is the video our NBA kids in the locker room in 2017 after losing to UNC.

Brandon Boston and Schaedon Sharp made it pretty obvious. It's the culture at UK in the Cal era.

I'll post my opinion, you post yours. The difference is, I won't attack you for your opinion.

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

Really? I think Cason is one of the more obvious players we have that will go underdrafted and exceed expectations. The problem with him is that he was forced to be the primary ball handler when he’s really a secondary. If wheeler was actually good, Cason would be a sure fire top 10 pick imo. Think of Bledsoe next to John Wall, for example.

Game changing defender, solid playmaker, answered the shooting concerns. Don’t really see what’s not to like?

His shot has been broken for months. In the midst of a 3-22 stretch or something like that heading into the tourney.

 

[kyjeff1]

Who struggled here as frosh?
All our guys who have thrived in the NBA were amongst the best freshmen in the nation.
The natural maturation process is going to improve their game plus unlimited time to work on basketball.

Take a look at Booker, that guy was decent at the beginning of the season, but faded and couldn't guard anybody. Couldn't check Decker, but goes to the NBA and immediately becomes one of the best players in the league.

BJ Boston was awwwwwful at UK, but he's playing in the league.

Juzang, couldn't even get on the court here, took UCLA to the FF.

Charles Matthews couldn’t get on the court here, he was a star at Michigan.

Bryce Hopkins, you don't need details on this guy, right?

CJ Frederick (reverse, he shot bear 50% at Iowa, stinks here)

Keion Brooks, 10.8 ppg was the best he ever did here, 1 season a Washington and he averaged 18ppg and 6.7rpg. Thats pretty significant.

The bottom line is, there are guys that either struggled, or played okay here, but then went on to their next stops and their numbers jumped. Even Fox, Murray, Monk, Bam, Herro, Quickly and Randle took big jumps when they got to the NBA. They averaged more points in the NBA than they averaged here. Are you going to say the NBA just doesn’t guard them?

 

[kyjeff1]

Bobby Knight once said the kids haven't changed, it's the adults that have changed.
I'm sure Bowie and Minniefield as 18-19 yr olds would have taken the money and gone the OAD route but no adults at the time were willing to make them millionaires based on potential.
I remember the Twins announced they would be spending the next 4 years at Kentucky.
Well Wallace is 9 years younger than the Twins so what can we expect kids to be saying 9 years from now?
This thing is not going to reverse course.

Cool, but this seems to be a UK thing though. When I look around college basketball, I see a bunch of programs with guys that have stayed in school for 3+ years and they are playing for the name on their chest.

It's funny how the schools getting to final 4's and winning titles seem to have those types of players.

 

[kyjeff1]

I do think he’s hampered by his back - that being said I don’t think he does anything at a 5* level - just a solid player - if he wasn’t wearing UK on his chest I do not believe he would be considered a lottery selection
I don’t see it but hey hope the kid gets his bag

He fits the description of a guy that did okay here, then at his next stop, immediately blows up.

 

[bluedog79]

Wallace didn't have injuries and played at his best level all season ......I'd put him in the top 6.
I like Wallace as a point guard on this team..

It sucks that he has pressure to leave because really I'd like to have him back as the point guard next year cuz I don't trust these damn freshmen pg's on defense.
Wallace defense has been pretty good until lately because of injury. One of the best freshman guards we've had at defense until started getting hurt

 

[mcwildcats04]

Would love to see Wallace's shooting numbers for the last month of the season. His shooting has been bad. That is the difference between him and Brandon Knight, who I always thought he would play like.

If Wallace can make more shots, we are MUCH better. We really need him to step it up to have ANY chance at a deep run.

I simply wish he would attack the rim more instead of settling for outside shots. He doesn't attack the rim nearly enough.

 

[bluedog79]

We just need Wallace to grab enough attention to allow Reeves to be a little bit more open so he can go to work. Cuz we can ride Antonio Reeves and Oscar to the Elite 8. Wallace and Toppin just have to be competent, play decent defense , and don't get outscored at your position.

 

[sambowieshin_rivals]

Wallace has been average on D last month. Tells me he isn’t healthy.

His biggest impediment moving forward to the NBA will be his lack of pure NBA caliber athleticism.
His D is pretty solid when healthy but he has struggled mightily against quicker/athletic guards this year.... especially when hobbled.

 

[Blue Bigfoot]

Cason made that comment before the season even started. How dare he have life goals.

Regardless of what he said, at least he plays hard with injuries. That's more than I can say about Sharpe.

But why can't those life goals be winning a championship at Kentucky anymore?

 

[AllBall]

He isn't a point guard, he's a combo guard. He's a fantastic defender, a solid shooter and a very good assist/to ratio.

His shooting beyond the arc isn't what I'd call solid. Not sure what the issue is there.

 

[jbne222]

Take a look at Booker, that guy was decent at the beginning of the season, but faded and couldn't guard anybody. Couldn't check Decker, but goes to the NBA and immediately becomes one of the best players in the league.

BJ Boston was awwwwwful at UK, but he's playing in the league.

Juzang, couldn't even get on the court here, took UCLA to the FF.

Charles Matthews couldn’t get on the court here, he was a star at Michigan.

Bryce Hopkins, you don't need details on this guy, right?

CJ Frederick (reverse, he shot bear 50% at Iowa, stinks here)

Keion Brooks, 10.8 ppg was the best he ever did here, 1 season a Washington and he averaged 18ppg and 6.7rpg. Thats pretty significant.

The bottom line is, there are guys that either struggled, or played okay here, but then went on to their next stops and their numbers jumped. Even Fox, Murray, Monk, Bam, Herro, Quickly and Randle took big jumps when they got to the NBA. They averaged more points in the NBA than they averaged here. Are you going to say the NBA just doesn’t guard them?

I agree with most of the top few players you posted but Keion is the exact same player this year that he was at UK. His usage percentage is obviously way up because he’s playing at Washington, but he’s still the same inconsistent Keion he was here. I also think sometimes players just improve, I understand you have your opinion but you have to admit you are skewing things for some of those players to fit a narrative. I could say “look at what Jacob Toppin did at Rhode Island vs. what he’s doing at Kentucky” to fit the opposite narrative if I wanted to but I’m not because Jacob just wasn’t ready as a freshman/sophomore, just like a lot of players are.

And c’mon man, the average NBA team puts up ~110 points a game vs. ~70 or so in college. Pretty much every successful NBA player is going to average more points in the NBA than they did in college. It’s rare in college to even see a high major player average 20 these days but we see NBA teams with multiple players averaging 20.

 

[Blue till I die]

Brandon Boston and Schaedon Sharp made it pretty obvious. It's the culture at UK in the Cal era.

I'll post my opinion, you post yours. The difference is, I won't attack you for your opinion.

You're attacking the character of high school kids that have committed to UK. I'm defending them. Do you not remember Fox and Bam crying their eyes out when they lost to UNC? Some of these kids care a whole lot about winning while they are here.

I think Wallace proved he cares by playing last week.

 

[kyjeff1]

I agree with most of the top few players you posted but Keion is the exact same player this year that he was at UK. His usage percentage is obviously way up because he’s playing at Washington, but he’s still the same inconsistent Keion he was here. I also think sometimes players just improve, I understand you have your opinion but you have to admit you are skewing things for some of those players to fit a narrative. I could say “look at what Jacob Toppin did at Rhode Island vs. what he’s doing at Kentucky” to fit the opposite narrative if I wanted to but I’m not because Jacob just wasn’t ready as a freshman/sophomore, just like a lot of players are.

And c’mon man, the average NBA team puts up ~110 points a game vs. ~70 or so in college. Pretty much every successful NBA player is going to average more points in the NBA than they did in college. It’s rare in college to even see a high major player average 20 these days but we see NBA teams with multiple players averaging 20.

Doesn't matter how many points the NBA puts up. How can Booker just be a decent 3 point shooter at UK, then immediately score at all levels against the best players in the world the very next year?

Keion might be the same player, but he scored 17ppg, 5 more than he scored here.

What I'm getting at is Cal's offense is dated, easy to game plan for, very predictable and focuses on post scoring (and now, long 2 point jump shots, SMDH), so anyone that is not a big beefy 5, has to get their own and do it against Cal's wishes.

Even Washington runs a more free flowing offense than what Cal runs.

It’s weird how Booker got pulled from the Wisconsin game because he couldn’t guard Decker, but he can guard the best guards and 3's in the world.

He couldn’t score worth a damn the second half of the season here, but he could get 30 in his first year in the NBA.

Most of these guys that have transferred or gone pro yave exploded after they left here.

Hell, even Kyle Wiltjer thrived after he left here.

 

[kyjeff1]

You're attacking the character of high school kids that have committed to UK. I'm defending them. Do you not remember Fox and Bam crying their eyes out when they lost to UNC? Some of these kids care a whole lot about winning while they are here.

I think Wallace proved he cares by playing last week.

Fox and Monk? Yeah, that was back when Cal was Cal. I'm not talking about those players, they did care.

How do you feel about Schaedon Sharpe?

 

[jbne222]

Doesn't matter how many points the NBA puts up. How can Booker just be a decent 3 point shooter at UK, then immediately score at all levels against the best players in the world the very next year?

Keion might be the same player, but he scored 17ppg, 5 more than he scored here.

What I'm getting at is Cal's offense is dated, easy to game plan for, very predictable and focuses on post scoring (and now, long 2 point jump shots, SMDH), so anyone that is not a big beefy 5, has to get their own and do it against Cal's wishes.

Even Washington runs a more free flowing offense than what Cal runs.

It’s weird how Booker got pulled from the Wisconsin game because he couldn’t guard Decker, but he can guard the best guards and 3's in the world.

He couldn’t score worth a damn the second half of the season here, but he could get 30 in his first year in the NBA.

Most of these guys that have transferred or gone pro yave exploded after they left here.

Hell, even Kyle Wiltjer thrived after he left here.

Dude... that's because Keion is the #1 option at Washington, in addition to the fact that he's playing 12 more minutes per game so of course he's averaging more points. He is ABSOLUTELY the same exact player he was at UK. It has nothing to do with their offense and in fact Washington's offense is HORRIBLE, probably one of the worst in the power 5. ALSO, Keion is shooting significantly worse from the field (43% vs 49%) at Washington than he did at UK so he's clearly been less efficient. That HAS to be something you consider man. I can't remember if it was you or someone else that I argued about this in the past with, but I remember listing off a bunch of Duke players that transferred away and went off at their new school, because of course they did because they went somewhere where they were the #1 option.

You can think Cal's offense is outdated, and I actually tend to agree with you there, but I think you're making the wrong points to support that argument.

And FYI, I'm not disagreeing with you but Booker was a 41% three point shooter at UK (which is better than "decent") which is pretty damn good. And he has never shot greater than 39% from 3 in the NBA

 

[kyjeff1]

Dude... that's because Keion is the #1 option at Washington, in addition to the fact that he's playing 12 more minutes per game so of course he's averaging more points. He is ABSOLUTELY the same exact player he was at UK. It has nothing to do with their offense and in fact Washington's offense is HORRIBLE, probably one of the worst in the power 5. ALSO, Keion is shooting significantly worse from the field (43% vs 49%) at Washington than he did at UK so he's clearly been less efficient. That HAS to be something you consider man. I can't remember if it was you or someone else that I argued about this in the past with, but I remember listing off a bunch of Duke players that transferred away and went off at their new school, because of course they did because they went somewhere where they were the #1 option.

You can think Cal's offense is outdated, and I actually tend to agree with you there, but I think you're making the wrong points to support that argument.

And FYI, I'm not disagreeing with you but Booker was a 41% three point shooter at UK (which is better than "decent") which is pretty damn good. And he has never shot greater than 39% from 3 in the NBA

But you're saying KB is shooting a.much worse percentage at Washington than he did at UK, but he's still able to average 5ppg more.

Also, if he's a focal point, wouldn't defenses focus on stopping him more?

My point still stands, a large amount of these kids play better when they leave here. Bryce Hopkins is one of the best examples to use. So is Booker.

 

[kyjeff1]

@jbne222 , FYI, I'm not trying to be argumentative, just discussing. I'm aware my posts come off as attacks, but that's not my intent.