Cason Wallace makes an impression in his Kentucky debut. ‘He’s really a special player.’
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Game day: No. 4 Kentucky 95, Howard 63
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Monday night’s men’s basketball season opener between Kentucky and Howard in Rupp Arena.
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In his very first college basketball game, Cason Wallace ran the point guard spot for the University of Kentucky and led the Wildcats to a 95-63 victory. He scored the first three baskets of the season for a team ranked No. 4 in the country. He nearly recorded a triple-double. And he had all of his teammates — even his hard-to-please head coach — singing his praises.
How’s that for a birthday present?
Wallace, the top-ranked recruit in Kentucky’s freshman class, turned 19 years old Monday, and he finished his birthday in style. The freshman guard tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and two steals in a season-opening victory over Howard University. He made seven of his 11 shots and committed just two turnovers while playing a team-high 35 minutes and sitting for just 67 seconds in the first half.
“I couldn’t imagine this,” Wallace, still a teenager, said afterward. “This was a lot. This was great.”
And that was the word one of his veteran teammates used to describe his performance.
“He did great,” UK senior guard CJ Fredrick said. “I love playing with Cason. He’s just such a tenacious defender, and he can do it the whole game. And the way he pushes the ball in transition and plays with pace, and is such a rim threat — pull-up jumper, he can knock down threes. He’s really a special player.”
Even before Kentucky played its first game of the 2022-23 season Monday night, it was clear that Wallace had already earned the respect of his older teammates. He came to Lexington over the summer as a highly touted recruit joining a team stacked with veterans. He enters this season as the Cats’ top-ranked NBA Draft pick — already projected by ESPN as a lottery selection for 2023. And whenever his name came up in conversation with one of the other Wildcats this preseason, there was usually a smile waiting on the other end of the question.
That carried over into Monday night’s postgame interview session.
“He played really good. He almost got a triple-double out there, man!” senior guard Antonio Reeves said. “And I’m just proud of him, because — coming in as a freshman — there’s not a lot of freshmen that could do that. And that’s what we need for the team. And hopefully he can continue to keep doing that for every game.”
Wallace was running the point Monday night as Sahvir Wheeler continues to recover from a knee injury suffered during the preseason. Wheeler has led the Southeastern Conference in assists the past two seasons and will surely return to a ball-dominant role in Kentucky’s offense once he’s at full health, but Wallace is a fine playmaker himself, and the freshman is likely to get plenty of opportunities to run the show even when Wheeler is back.
He made quite the impression in his debut.
Wallace committed a turnover on UK’s second possession of the game. Any first-game jitters that needed to get out must have escaped at that point. Shortly thereafter, he scored the first three buckets of Kentucky’s season. He committed just one turnover the rest of the game — and none at all in the second half — despite fairly consistent pressure from Howard’s perimeter defenders. Wallace dished out four assists in the first three minutes of action coming out of halftime and had already accumulated seven rebounds and eight assists with 13 minutes still left to play.
There have been only three triple-doubles in the storied history of Kentucky’s program — Chris Mills did it in 1988; Isaiah Briscoe and De’Aaron Fox both did it in 2016 — but this freshman seemed on the verge of joining the list in his very first game.
Wallace said he wasn’t aware of his stat line until later on, when UK forward Lance Ware drew attention to it — the Cats clearly on their way to a blowout victory — and shouted out instructions.
“Yo, everybody box out!” Ware told his teammates. “Let Cason get the rebound.”
Wallace didn’t get the triple-double, but he promised one before the end of the season.
“I’m getting one this year. For sure,” he said with a smile.
Throughout Wallace’s debut, the player whose spot he was taking was apparently offering encouraging thoughts from the bench. Wallace said that Wheeler was cheering him on as he was playing, then taking the time to give the freshman some pointers in the rare instances that he wasn’t on the court.
So, in his first career game, two of Wallace’s biggest cheerleaders were the reigning national player of the year — Oscar Tshiebwe, also out with an injury — and a preseason all-SEC player.
“That’s why I came here,” Wallace said. “I knew the culture was gonna be great. I knew they were supportive players and great people — on and off the court. So, I’m really thankful for that.”
The day before the season began, UK associate coach Orlando Antigua said it was encouraging — but not surprising — that Wallace had fared so well in the Wildcats’ preseason.
“We know he has a mature game,” Antigua said. “He has a mature way about him. And it’s just been demonstrated more and more. He’s continuing to get better every day. Understanding what the team needs. Understanding where his role fits in the team, and how to elevate his teammates. We’re really happy to have him.”
The young guard clearly endeared himself to John Calipari early on. The Kentucky coach had already lauded the positive energy Wallace brings to the team before Monday’s game. He repeated those feelings after the season opener. And asked if Wallace reminded him of any of his previous point guards, Calipari removed that specific designation.
“He’s a guard, is what he is. And the best players I’ve had have been guards,” he said. “They can play on the ball. They can play off the ball. But they’re tough as nails. He is tough.”
Calipari said he’d been challenging Wallace to make left-handed layups. Wallace did it Monday night, then stared at his coach as he ran back down the court. Calipari said he told Wallace he didn’t think he could throw down a contested dunk during a game. Wallace managed to do that, too, flashing a grin at the Hall of Fame coach afterward.
“He’s fun to be around,” Calipari said. “He’s a competitor. … He’s special.”
The Kentucky coach — noting that it was Wallace’s birthday — said the freshman received a batch of homemade brownies from his wife, Ellen, who has made that a Kentucky basketball birthday tradition.
“Did not share them,” Calipari said.
“That’s not true,” Wallace said a few minutes later. “I shared.”
Nine assists and a brownie for whichever Wildcat wanted one. It was Wallace handing out the presents on his own special day. Asked if he was able to do anything birthday-related before the game, he smiled again.
“I played with my guys today. The best gift I could have.”
Next game
Duquesne at No. 4 Kentucky
When: 7 p.m. Friday
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Duquesne 0-0, UK 1-0
Series: UK leads 2-0
Last meeting: UK won 93-59 on Nov. 20, 2016, in Lexington
This story was originally published November 7, 2022 at 10:57 PM.
