John Calipari says he'll attend NBA Draft with Cason Wallace, makes final pitch to NBA teams

The night of the NBA Draft has often described as ‘graduation day’ for Kentucky’s basketball program by John Calipari. Now, the latest graduate, former Wildcat guard Cason Wallace, is set to join the ranks of the pros tonight.

Ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft, Calipari shared a message regarding Wallace on Twitter. He started by saying that he will be in the green room with Wallace and his family tonight. From there, he made a case for teams across the NBA to not make the mistake of passing on him considering how other recent guards out of Lexington have outplayed their position from their respective drafts.

I’ll be with Cason and his family tonight at the NBA Draft. Every year, it’s a very anxious time for the family and player (and me!).

As history has shown, our guards usually outperform their draft position. I remember making statements that teams would regret passing on some…

— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) June 22, 2023

Wallace started in all 32 of his games as a freshman for UK. That was after being a five-star prospect out of the 2022 class per On3’s Industry Rankings. In his appearances, he averaged 11.7 points, 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and two steals per game.

Overall, his offensive game gives him a very solid floor. Due to his potential as a defender, though, his ceiling is higher than most as he finished second in steals (63) and Top-10 in blocks (15) for all Wildcat guards in the Calipari era.

As far as Calipari’s second point, one can say that UK guards have been undervalued during recent NBA Drafts. The last Kentucky guard to play and be drafted in the Top-10 was De’Aaron Fox in 2017. Since then, prospects like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyler Herro, Immanuel Quickley, Tyrese Maxey, TyTy Washington have come through the bluegrass and reached the NBA. Each have reached varying levels of success for their respective franchises from then on.

It’s likely that Wallace will hear his name called early with a so-so shot at the lottery. Still, ahead of the proceedings tonight in the Barclays Center, Calipari is making it known now that he tried to tell teams about how good Wallace can be while he was still available to them.

Wallace thanks Kentucky fans for support ahead of NBA Draft

One of the quietest Kentucky stars of the John Calipari era actually had a few words to say about his former university ahead of his NBA Draft selection on Thursday night. Still, Cason Wallace took some time on the day he is getting drafted to send a small thank you note to the Kentucky fan base for supporting him and his team throughout the last year. You can red his message right here and watch the video just below:

“I wanna say thank y’all, BBN, for the love and support. Y’all was always there, still here. And for next year’s team, just go after it, cook everybody that steps in front of y’all.”

🗣️ "Thank you #BBN for all the love and support."

A message from @wallace_cason on Draft Day. pic.twitter.com/R59LkIN5AV

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 22, 2023

A nice message from the next future NBA star to have come through Lexington. Wallace is currently a fringe lottery prospect. He will likely to land between picks No. 10 and 20 this evening as he begins his professional journey. Wherever he’s selected, Kentucky fans will be sure it’s too low, especially after the recent success Calipari has had with guards at the next level.

Now, Cason Wallace is the next in line. Whoever lands him is snagging a real gem.