Cason Wallace is making his case for SEC Freshman of the Year

If Kentucky wants to make the NCAA Tournament this spring, head coach John Calipari is going to have to lean all-in on Cason Wallace — even more so than he already is.

Wallace, a superbly talented five-star freshman and future NBA lottery pick, has assumed the position of Kentucky’s best player, ripping the title away from a recently rattled Oscar Tshiebwe. From the moment Wallace was handed the keys to the blue and white colored vehicle a few weeks ago, his on-court production has taken a leap. He was already considered a high draft selection, but his play since January has only tantalized NBA front offices that much more.

After back spasms limited Wallace to only eight minutes in the loss to South Carolina on Jan. 10 and just 22 in the following win to Tennessee on Jan. 14, he’s begun to hit a groove. While still not completely healthy (he needed a short break during Tuesday night’s loss to Arkansas to wrap a brace around his back), he’s taking it upon himself to try and lead his team to wins.

Unfortunately, he can only do so much for Kentucky, but he sure as hell is giving it his best effort.

Over his last six games played (he sat out the Jan. 31 win against Ole Miss with a minor leg injury), in which Kentucky went 4-2, Wallace averaged 16.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks in 33.3 minutes per contest. He shot 54.5 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from distance, and 88.2 percent from the charity stripe over that stretch while producing some highlight–worthy blocks.

With Sahvir Wheeler battling injuries of his own (and figuring out his new role as the secondary point guard), Wallace has taken control of the reins. He played 36 minutes against Texas A&M, 37 against Kansas, and 39 against Arkansas, all while fighting on both ends of the floor.

The loss to Arkansas was arguably his best performance as a Wildcat to date: 24 points, three assists, five rebounds, three steals, and two blocks on 10-17 shooting. He ran straight through a weak backline defense, converting the majority of his shots right at the rim as he precisely sliced his way through the paint with relative ease. A similar performance this weekend against Georgia will likely earn him a third straight SEC Freshman of the Week award and his fourth of the season.

Which brings me to my main point: does Cason Wallace have a legitimate shot at taking home Kentucky’s 12th (and first since Tyler Herro in 2018-19) SEC Freshman of the Year honors? The short answer is yes, but the 6-foot-4 Texas native still has plenty of work to do down the stretch.

To be clear, this award is Brandon Miller‘s to lose. The 6-foot-9 Alabama wing is likewise a future NBA lottery pick and lit up the college basketball world with impressive early-season performances against Michigan State (24 points and nine rebounds) and Gonzaga (36 points on six made triples). That carried over into conference play with back-to-back 30-point outings against LSU and Vanderbilt in mid-January. Miller already holds five SEC Freshman of the Week honors, but Wallace is beginning to gain some ground as Miller hits a minor shooting slump.

To cherry-pick some stats a bit, here is how Wallace and Miller have played over their last five outings.

Wallace: 34.4 MPG – 15.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.4 APG, 2.2 SPG, 1.6 BPG | 52.7 FG/36.8 3PT/93.3 FT

Miller: 32.5 MPG – 14.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.0 BPG | 39.3 FG/36.4 3PT/75.0 FT

The numbers are slowly trending in Wallace’s favor, but it could be tough to steal the award away from Miller and a highly-ranked Alabama squad after the latter made multiple rounds in the national media already this season. Miller is still a major candidate for SEC Player of the Year.

With seven regular season games left on the schedule, Wallace has to perform at a Player of the Year-type level the rest of the way to surpass Miller on the totem pole. Kentucky’s postseason chances will likely depend on it, too.