Cason Wallace

Wallace’s offensive profile really revolves around his ability to shoot and using screens and creativity to try to create offensive advantages.  On the plus side, Wallace is a confident and aggressive scorer who played well for Kentucky despite their old school offense with big men clogging the paint.  However, it’s never a great sign for a player’s offensive upside when you reread your film notes and have “struggles to create separation” written in 5-6 different ways.  And that’s Wallace’s story.  He’s a strong shooter when he’s in rhythm and he’s able to run the P&R and make smart decisions with the ball.  He also has the ability to stop on a dime, which helps him to get to his mid-range jumper which he hits pretty consistently when he can gather himself and square his shoulders.  However, while they are very different player, I had a touch of deja vu to Johnny Davis’ film last year, where Wallace hit some tough contested shots, but struggled to get seperation against college defenders.  Wallace doesn’t have the pure speed to just run by defenders.  He has a solid array of dribble moves (used some crossovers, hesitations, change of pace), but wasn’t especially crafty or elusive enough to shake defenders.  Similarly, Wallace has a solid step back, but just did not create a lot of separation.  And when Wallace got inside, he was able to use his strength and broad shoulders to hold defenders at bay and score.  This also translates to his post game, where Wallace is willing to post smaller guards and bully his way to the hoop.  However, Wallace lacked real explosiveness and didn’t have the fluidity, length, hang time, or touch to really compensate.  He was fairly stiff and while he could explode a bit with a clear seam, when there was any congestion or his momentum was interrupted, he tended to play more under-the-rim and struggled to score over length.  This led to a lot of inconsistency trying to score inside and could limit his ceiling in the NBA.  However, Wallace also had a couple of clear offensive strengths that should translate to the next level.  Wallace is a strong outside shooter and is savvy moving without the ball and creating passing lanes for his teammates to get him the ball.  He’s also a good passer, who may not be confused for someone like Nash or CP3, but who has good vision and smart plays.  Wallace also has the live dribble passing ability to create off the drive whether kicking the ball out or zipping a pass inside to a cutter or big man.

Wallace flashed much more upside defensively, though he still flashed a few traits that presented at least some violet (if not fully red) flags.  Wallace is a very savvy defender with a high motor, who is able to use his strength and timing to disrupt the offense.  He generates a fair number of blocks for a guard, as he’s not afraid to contest and use his body inside.  He’s also a natural ball hawk who generates a ton of steals in every way imaginable; anticipating offense and jumping into passing lanes, poking the ball away from offensive players with his quick hands, or just using his strength to rip the ball directly out of an opposing guard’s or wings hands.  Wallace also uses his strength to defend well inside, whether using his strong base to hold position against bigger players trying to post him up or absorbing contact from driving guards and wings without giving up any advantage.  Wallace is also a smart defender who does a good job rotating and helping and trying to get back to his man.  Wallace has good lateral speed and good defensive instincts that allow him to take good angles and navigate screens well.  He also has wide shoulders, which makes it a bit harder for guards to get outside his body and turn the corner on him offensively.  However, Wallace has a couple of issues that give me some pause when considering his defensive upside.  First, while he has good lateral speed, it’s not elite.  And more concerningly, Wallace does not seem to change direction very quickly.  He seemed quite vulnerable on close outs and counter moves, especially from quicker guards and wings (against Tennessee, he really could not stay in front of Santiago Vescovi).  Wallace even played a few steps off of some of guards, showing he may have his own concerns about his ability to keep up.  Similarly, while he could navigate screens well, when he did get hit and his momentum was stopped, he was a bit slow recovering.  Once he falls behind, his lack of explosiveness or quick jumping ability hamper how closely he is able to contest the subsequent shot.  Wallace is a good defensive rebounder for a guard and someone who is comfortable quickly transitioning a rebound into an offensive possession.

Notes: First, Wallace had a series of persistent back injuries that started around mid-season, while that could be a red flag, it also may have limited some of his explosiveness.  I don’t think it’s a real gamechangers, as some of these limitations were evident all season, but at least worth noting.  Second, Kentucky under Calipari has always run a bit of a funky system with traditional big men and had a number of guards who looked better in the NBA than in college (e.g., Booker, SGA, Maxey, Quickley, etc.).  While again, some of Wallace’s issues like his inability to create seperation off the dribble or his stiffness would be evident in any system, it is certainly possible that Kentucky’s spacing and system hid some of his offensive value that will be more evident in an NBA system.