‘Where’s your energy?!’ How a Kentucky freshman endeared himself to John Calipari.
At one point during a freewheeling conversation in front of hundreds of people at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner this fall, John Calipari turned to Kenny Payne and uttered a reference that no one else in the room quite understood at first.
“I’ve got another Jamal Murray,” the Kentucky basketball coach said.
Even Payne looked like he didn’t know where this was going. As Calipari talked a little more, the Louisville head coach started to smile.
Calipari explained that — at 63 years old — he still feeds off the joy of young people. And he recalled how Murray used to walk into every Kentucky practice, look at his head coach with a big smile and tell him: “Start smilin,’ Coach!”
He and Payne — the Wildcats’ top assistant at the time — couldn’t help but grin at the memory.
In that regard, Cason Wallace is the new Jamal Murray.
Calipari acted like he was surprised when he first heard a similar exclamation from his new freshman star. “Energy, Coach!” Wallace shouted at him during one of the Cats’ early preseason practices. “Where’s your energy?!”
When asked about it last week, Wallace laughed.
“I feel like he was caught off guard,” the 18-year-old guard said of Calipari’s response.
Most teenagers joining a new team would be intimidated by doing such a thing to a Hall of Fame coach. But, apparently, this is just how Wallace is wired. He thought Calipari looked like he might be in a bad mood, and he was simply trying to perk him up.
“Just having a great spirit,” Wallace said of his motivation that day. “Coming in here and enjoying the atmosphere every day — it just pumps you up. So I see him, and I just get him going. Somebody’s gotta get him going. And I feel like that’s me.
“I just like to relate with everybody. I don’t like anybody to feel down around me — in my presence. So, whatever gets people going, I’ll figure out a way to get them going.”
The freshman said he hit Calipari with the “Where’s your energy, Coach?!” line a few more times before the Kentucky coach started turning the tables.
“Now he does it to me,” Wallace said. “Now it’s our little joke, I guess.”
Calipari isn’t the only one in the UK basketball realm to feel the joy that Wallace is bringing on an everyday basis. His new teammates have marveled at how the star recruit seems much older than his age, much more experienced and mature than a typical freshman.
“I’ve been lucky to be able to play with a lot of good guys,” said fifth-year college player CJ Fredrick. “He might be one of my favorite teammates that I’ve played with. Not only his approach on basketball, but his approach on life — it’s really fun to be around him. Just a good guy. Good, humble guy. And he comes to work every day with the same mindset. I could not care less what he does on the court. Getting 30 a game. Because it’s the little things.”
Fredrick said he’s tried to live by the Golden Rule since he was a little kid. Treat people the way you want to be treated.
“And that’s the kind of stuff I look at,” he said. “He makes others around him feel better. And he’s just a great guy in the locker room. But as a basketball player, he’s terrific. Great defender. Good ball handler. Way better passer than I thought. He’s a really, really good passer. And he’s proven that he can knock down shots.
“He’s going to be a problem. And, luckily, that problem’s on our team.”
Fredrick said the, “Where’s your energy, Coach?!” remark is a perfect example of Wallace’s personality.
“That kind of stuff,” he said. “He just lifts the room up. He makes things fun. We’ve got a bunch of competitive, fun guys, and it makes going into practice every day fun. Playing basketball at Kentucky is not easy. The schedule is ruthless, and it’s tough. And you have to have guys like that that make it fun. And that’s what I think this year’s team has.
“I don’t even look at him as a freshman. He doesn’t carry himself as a freshman at all. I forget that he’s a freshman. You would have thought he’s a fifth-year player or something. He’s really smart. … He’s just that far advanced.”
Calipari singled out Wallace for his play following the Cats’ first exhibition Sunday night, noting that the 6-foot-4 guard led the team in rebounding, showed grit throughout the game, and wished aloud that he had more “Cason Wallaces on the floor” moving forward.
As for confronting his coach on a seeming lack of energy, Wallace said he never really gave it any thought that he should be intimidated by the Hall of Famer.
“Just being myself, really,” he said. “He can’t be mad at me for being myself. And I’m bringing energy to the whole team. There’s nothing you can be mad about.”
Calipari, entering his 14th season at Kentucky and his 31st as a college head coach, continued to smile as he thought about it.
“Young people keep you young,” he said.
