Cason Wallace's Defensive Prowess Shines Through in Exhibition Win Over Missouri Western State
If you didn't know just how good of a defender true freshman Cason Wallace was before Kentucky's exhibition against Missouri Western State on Sunday night, you do now.
Standing at 6-foot-4, the guard managed to lead the Wildcats in rebounding, wrangling down seven of them in over 28 minutes on the court.
Granted, center Oscar Tshiebwe didn't play in the exhibition, but the Dallas native managed to haul in more boards than all of the active UK forwards in the frontcourt. Only Missouri Western's Taye Fields (8) totaled more rebounds than Wallace.
He shot 3-10 from the floor against the Griffons, but more than made up for his off shooting night with tenacious defense and that "dog" mentality.
It's that phase of the game that's going to keep him in good ranks with head coach John Calipari:
"That's why he's gonna play, and play a lot. Even though he missed two layups, deal with it," he said of Wallace after the 56-38 exhibition win. "Deal with it because of how he defends, what he does."
Defense and rebounding were two important areas of emphasis for Calipari entering Sunday night. While the Wildcats held Missouri Western to 30.8 percent shooting and only 16 makes, they fell flat on the glass as the Griffons won the rebound battle 36-35.
It's early, but still unacceptable for a Calipari-coached unit. The 14th-year HC admired the effort he got out of Wallace, hoping it will get instilled in the rest of his group, especially those who should be flagging down rebounds in the paint in the first place.
"We got out-rebounded. We had eight offensive rebounds, now we missed a ton of shots too. We accepted being blocked out," Calipari said. "We need Cason Wallace's on the floor...this thing is a man's game, it really is."
Wallace loves playing that pest and menace role on defense. Whether the shots are dropping or not, he'll be making plays on both ends of the court for as long as he's out there.
He knows his role, and he enjoys it:
"Be a dog on both ends of the court. That's basically what i'm here for, they want me to play hard, that's what it takes to win, so that's what i'm willing to do," Wallace said. "That's kinda who I am. Bringing energy, picking up full court."
His energy hits even harder when he's coming off the bench. Wallace was one of the first subs on Sunday night, and his impact was immediate and even infectious on his teammates:
"It lifts everything up," redshirt senior guard CJ Fredrick said of Wallace's defense. You see him disruptive on the ball, blocking shots, diving on the floor. It makes you want to go harder and lift your game up that much more on the defensive end."
Wallace's defensive prowess as a freshman is impressive and will clearly benefit him at the next level. The regular season hasn't even started yet, but it's already clear to see how and where the true freshman is going to fit into the 2022-23 team.
Alongside Sahvir Wheeler, Calipari possesses a pair of unrelenting defenders in the backcourt that will stifle plenty of opposing guards on offense all year long.
At the end of the day for Wallace, the way he plays is nothing new, so it's no surprise to him. He can provide a jolt to the Wildcats on either side of the basketball, and that's exactly what he intends to do this season:
"Coming out, playing with a chip on my shoulder every game, bringing energy, playing hard," Wallace said. "I feel like once I got in, i'm gonna be that spark, i'm gonna make sure there's no drop off, that's why I play so hard."
Spark plug activated.
For post-game reactions from Calipari and Kentucky players on the exhibition win, click here.
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