Kentucky guard Cason Wallace declares for 2023 NBA Draft
Kentucky has its next one-and-done. Cason Wallace has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft, he announced via Instagram. The former five-star combo guard is expected to be anywhere from a lottery pick to a mid-first-round selection.
Wallace was the proverbial straw that stirred the drink this past season for the Wildcats. He finished his only year in Lexington as the team’s fourth-leading scorer with 11.7 points but averaged 4.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game as well, as Kentucky’s primary ball handler.
Fighting through injuries late in the season, Wallace left it all on the court in his final performance rocking Kentucky blue. He scored 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting in UK’s second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Kansas State. Wallace recorded 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals before fouling out in the waning seconds of the game.
Wallace was the No. 7 recruit in the 2022 On3 Basketball Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 1 combo guard in the class and the top-ranked player out of Texas.
Assuming he’s the highest-drafted Wildcat this season, Wallace will be the 35th first-round draft pick that John Calipari has sent to the NBA while at Kentucky. He has the chance to be the 23rd lottery pick and will be the 46th player overall since Calipari took over the program 14 seasons ago.
More on the 2023 NBA Draft
The 2023 NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center. Round 1 of the draft will be announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum is expected to handle the second round of picks.
To be eligible for the NBA Draft, players must be at least 19 years in age during the calendar year that the draft is held and at least one NBA season from their high school graduation date, or the date that would have been if they are not graduated. It is not required that player spend that one year playing college basketball, though. Players can play in either college, abroad, or the G League Ignite if they choose so.
While this is a significant change from what the rules once were, players are eligible to enter their names into the NBA Draft pool and explore their options by hiring an agent to go through the process, while still keeping their college eligibility. The deadline to make that move is on April 23 beginning at 11:59 p.m. ET. Players have until June 12 at 5 p.m. ET to withdraw their name from the pool and return to college.
The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 16, which is also the start of the NBA Conference Finals.