Meet the Wildcats: #11 John Wall

JOHN WALL

FRESHMAN

GUARD

6'4 195

RALEIGH, NC

WORD OF GOD ACADEMY

BEFORE UK:

If not for the NBA's silly requirement that all incoming players must be a year out of HS, there would NOT be a "before UK" section. Wall would be in the NBA as the number one pick overall. Thankfully for UK, there is that rule and UK fans have the wonder of having the number one player in the land lead their team, albeit for a season. Wall made it to the NC State Finals his last three years of HS, winning two titles. Wall was also a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year award and has been named by several pundits as finalists for College Basketball Player of the Year and the Naismith Award. Wall is rated as the top PG and prospect overall by Rivals and best PG and #5 overall by ESPN.

FROM ESPN: John is perhaps the best athlete in the class. He is definitely the most athletic point guard in the class. He is the fastest guard in America from end line to end line with the ball. He has tremendous size and his athletic ability is comparable to that of current NBAer Derrick Rose. Offensively he is best as a slasher.

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS SEASON:

The common knowledge is that Wall is a gift that UK can relish for just one season, so UK better enjoy him while they can. With fellow freshman Eric Bledsoe playing beside him, opponents will be forced to play UK straight up, resulting in lots of broken ankles and a myriad of assists by Wall. If the Blue/White game is any example, Wall will live up to the hype as he had 25 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds.

Even as a freshman, I would look to expect about 25-30 minutes a night, with 16-18 points, 9 assists and about 6 rebounds a game. The odds are pretty good that Wall will become the second UK player to have a triple double and I would lay prety good odds he does it more than once.

Wall on the attention he receives: "All of the attention that comes to me, it comes to all of us. Everybody talks about how just because I signed here, I'll bring Kentucky back but this is about the whole Kentucky basketball team. It's not just myself. This is about Kentucky basketball"

CALIPARI ON WALL:

“"He's way beyond both Tyreke and Derrick in being outgoing. He has a chance to be like the other two and may be a little further ahead with the dribble-drive. We need to see if he'll be where they were at the end of the season. We won't know that yet."”