Vicky Graff Photo
Tuesday night’s game between the Kentucky Wildcats and Michigan State Spartans didn’t end in the result that Big Blue Nation had hoped for. Head coach John Calipari and his team lost, 86-77, in the same building they saw their 2021-2022 campaign end just 10 months ago.
While the final outcome was disappointing, there were a few positive takeaways from Kentucky’s first real test of the young season and one of those was the play of point guard Cason Wallace. The freshman shined brightest in his first UK game away from Rupp Arena, playing a complete game throughout regulation and both overtimes.
Wallace recorded eight steals (five in the first half alone) and played incredible on-ball defense. His hands and overall instincts were lightning quick. He was a defensive menace for all 44 minutes he played.
When a player commits that much energy to one side of the ball, they usually don’t excel at the other end of the court. But Wallace managed to put together 14 points on 50% shooting from the floor with five assists to go along with five rebounds.
Wallace wasn’t granted the opportunity to “close” out Tuesday night’s game, as that role appeared to fall on the shoulders of fellow guard Sahvir Wheeler. But who knows? Maybe we could even see Wallace start to handle the basketball more and run the offense to close out games.
It’s more likely that not that fans will have the opportunity to see this young man continue to grow as an overall player and they should be ecstatic for what he brings to the table. College basketball games are usually won by phenomenal guard play. Not always, but they are more than they’re not.
Wallace’s ability to lock down opposing guards and potential ability to facilitate an offense late in games could very well both be a major factor for the Wildcats’ success moving forward.
2 Responses
I have no doubt that we will see Cason handling the point to close out games eventually. Cal is loyal to his veterans and will likely drag his feet on this. But, Cason is going to be SO reliable that even Sahvir will realize it’s time.
Only if he makes his free-throws! We could have won in regulation and the first overtime, if he had made them. Forced to make a three is much harder than a two. Cal make them practice free throws at the end of practice. 25 in a row in order to leave practice.