Kentucky freshman guard Cason Wallace is entering the 2023 NBA draft and will forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Wallace is the latest projected lottery pick to announce that he’s declaring for the draft and going pro, joining Brandon Miller, Jarace Walker, and Keyonte George, among others. Wallace is currently the No. 10 overall prospect in the 2023 draft class on Givony’s big board at ESPN.com.
Wallace’s numbers in 32 games as a freshman don’t necessarily jump off the page. He averaged 11.7 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 32.2 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .446/.346/.757.
However, he finished the year strong, enjoying perhaps his best game of the season in the Wildcats’ second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament (21 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting). He is also one of the best defenders in the draft, per Givony, and showed NBA evaluators a different aspect of his game when he assumed primary ball-handling duties following an injury to Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler.
“Learning how to play the point guard position the whole game helped,” Wallace told ESPN. “It forced me to step up to another challenge in a new role.”
Wallace added that he’s intent on developing “each part” of his game further and intends to get “stronger, faster and quicker in the pre-draft process.”
Walker is a solid 4. Who can come in and start. Or at least be part of a rotation. Good rebounder and doesn’t need plays to get his pts. He’s in the lottery. I’ve seen him as high as 5. I think he’s more like 8-10.
Miller is nice. But I can’t take him on my team.