Wallace will have impact as a Kentucky freshman
Jul. 4—Cason Wallace hasn't been out of Richardson High School in Dallas very long, but he has the physical stature of a college basketball player with experience.
The University of Kentucky freshman is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound combo guard who was considered a top seven player in the 2022 class. Wallace is thought to be an impact player as a freshman, and he could be a lottery pick in next year's NBA Draft. Wallace is pegged as a defensive stopper who is on the go constantly on the court.
He has been practicing and working out with UK over the last month, and it's been his reputation on the defensive end of the floor that has gotten the most attention this summer.
"I love it," Wallace said of work at the defensive end of the court. "It's really what sets people apart. If playing defense sets me apart from the next best players that's what I'm willing to do."
His dad, Mike Wallace, told Cason being an elite defender would get noticed. Mike was a multi-sport athlete in high school.
"My dad told me at a young age it was a will to want to," Cason said. "Everybody knows how to score. If you know how to score and play defense, you'll be one of the better players."
Cason has shown a chase-down blocked shot a few times that is a clear demonstration of how athletic he is and how his defense can affect a game.
"I feel like I'm pretty athletic, so I like to show that," Cason said. "I like to do that, if I see a chance to to get a block, we need a block, I'll do that."
Wallace seems to have a strong win-first mentality, he talked several times about doing whatever job he needs to on the floor to help the Wildcats this season.
When asked which players he's compared to most often, one was a gritty guard from John Calipari's first team at UK.
"I hear Eric Bledsoe and Jimmy Butler pretty often, I feel like those are two good comparisons. They're bigger guards, they play on both ends of the court and they're both winners."
Butler is known as one of the better defensive players in professional basketball, being named to the NBA All-Defensive Team five times.
Wallace is more of an opportunistic scorer and does need to improve on his shot.
Calipari has also compared Wallace to former Wildcats, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Bledsoe.
Wallace was a 5-star prospect and McDonald's All-American in high school in Dallas. He averaged 19.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists as a senior. Wallace was ranked the No. 1 point guard in the 2022 class by ESPN, he was ranked the No. 1 shooting guard in 2022 by Rivals.
He said he's comfortable playing on the ball or off, but Sahvir Wheeler returns at point guard after leading the SEC in assists the last two seasons. That would indicate Wallace playing more at shooting guard.
"I do whatever we need to do to win," Wallace said. "If they need me to play on the ball, off the ball, if they need me to post up I'll post up. I love the way Sahvir plays, he picks up the pace down the court. It will force everybody to get up and down. That's how we want to play this year."
