Cason Wallace had 14 points, eight steals and five rebounds in 44 minutes against Michigan State. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Freshman Cason Wallace missed two free throws late in Tuesday’s 86-77 double overtime loss to Michigan State that were costly.
He also had late turnovers that were costly to Kentucky.
However, those who questioned Wallace’s overall contributions to Kentucky need to pay attention to what UK coach John Calipari said after the game.
Wallace tied a school record with eight steals. He blocked a shot and three of his five rebounds were defensive boards. He also scored 14 points by making five of 10 shots, including two of five from 3-point range.
Most importantly, Wallace played 44 minutes — more minutes than any other UK player had. Calipari said he played him too many minutes but couldn’t afford to take him out.
“That’s why I didn’t take him out. He was getting steals, he was rebounding,” Calipari said about Wallace’s defense.
The only major complaint Calipari had was when Wallace “reverted” to a high school mentality going for one steal.
“He went up, and boom foul and the kid makes two (free throws),” Calipari said.
“But when you talk about what he did, and the difference, the impact he had on the game, it was enormous. He’s a good player.”
Calipari said normally he would play Daimion Collins, Chris Livingston, Ugonna Onyenso and Antonio Reeves. Instead he was “riding a team that’s doing what they’re doing” and just stayed with them.
“Cason, I thought really played well. I played him too many minutes,” Calipari said.
