Chin Coleman on Cason Wallace, Chris Livingston: "They have fear but they're fearless"

By now you probably know that Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston pass the “looks test.” The five-star freshmen arrived on campus with the bodies of upperclassmen, and have only added to their frames with the help of new strength and conditioning coach Brady Welsh. While physically, they are intimidating, assistant coach Chin Coleman said what really sets Wallace and Livingston apart is their mindset.

“They’re fearless,” Coleman told reporters on Thursday. “These two guys, Chris and Cason, they’re fearless. They have fear but they’re fearless.”

Huh?

“The fear that they have is fear of whether they’re good enough,” he explained. “That’s why they work so hard. That fear, you want that fear. They’re fearless in the way that they play in terms of not being afraid of a car crash, attacking the rim, dunking on people, really being those dudes that play downhill and that obviously can make shots and do other things. But the best word for them is that they’re fearless, but they have fear. The fear that they’re not good enough, so they work so hard trying to get better.”

A return to rim-protection

Not every five-star freshman arrives on campus with a passion for defense. When Wallace signed with Kentucky, John Calipari called him an “elite on-ball defender.” The freshman has already snatched at least one rebound from reigning national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe in practice. When asked if Wallace’s defense is as good as advertised, Orlando Antigua smiled.

“Yeah. Yeah. He takes a lot of pride in his defense. He takes a lot of pride in being physical and he is so mature mentally for a kid his age.”

Both Antigua and Coleman said that Calipari is stressing rim protection in summer workouts. While you automatically think of Oscar Tshiebwe, Daimion Collins, Lance Ware, and Jacob Toppin when it comes to blocking shots, Wallace and Livingston are getting in the fun too.

“One of the key emphases we’re talking about with the guys is multiple guys challenging shots,” Antigua said. “Trying to get a few more possessions with our rim protection. Challenging Oscar, challenging Daimion, challenging Lance, challenging Jacob, challenging Chris, and surprisingly enough, you’ll get some shot-blocking and chasing down from Cason. He’s pretty athletic.”

Livingston, a 6’7″ 210 lbs. wing, averaged 18.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.9 steals as a senior at Oak Hill Academy. In his junior season at Buchtel High School in Akron, he also tallied 4.0 blocks per game. Wallace, a 6’4″ 190 lbs. combo guard, averaged 19.9 points, 7.4 boards, 6.1 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks his senior year. Coleman said watching the two go after the ball is reminiscent of Calipari’s earliest guards in Lexington.

“I remember watching Kentucky Basketball years ago when you had guys like Eric Bledsoe, guys like John Wall, who would go up and block shots. I think we have that now with some of our guards being able to protect the rim.”

“The potential of how good we can be defensively with Sahvir [Wheeler], Chris, Cason, Daimion, Jacob, we should be really really good defensively. We should block more shots.”

“Adou is a lot better than I thought he was”

Wallace and Livingston steal the headlines when it comes to Kentucky’s rookies, but the third freshman on the roster is also making an impression. A late bloomer, Adou Thiero was a late addition to Kentucky’s roster and unlike his five-star counterparts, is not expected to have an immediate impact this season; however, Coleman said the 6’5″ guard has been the most pleasant surprise of the summer so far.

“Respectfully, I will say that Adou is a lot better than I thought he was. The one for me would be Adou. Physically, he is prepared. Athletically, he is prepared. He’s got to get better in between the ears by physically and athletically, he is a lot better than I thought he was.”

When Calipari recruited Thiero, he told him he believed he had the potential to be SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He’ll have the luxury of learning from senior point guard Sahvir Wheeler, now in his second year in Calipari’s system at Kentucky.

“His body gets to wherever it’s going to be, I think the most important part is the cerebral part,” Coleman said of Thiero. “He’s young. He’s a freshman. This is a little different for him but physically and athletically, he’s way better than I thought he would be. That’s been the most shocking for me.”

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“Get comfortable being uncomfortable”

Unlike most freshmen across the country, Wallace, Livingston, and Thiero have the benefit of a summer exhibition tour. Antigua is looking forward to seeing the rookies get their feet wet over four games in the Bahamas.

“We try to empower them a lot. Coach talks a lot about failing fast early and then you can get them to understand the pace that you have to play at every level you go up. How hard you have to compete and then you can temper them down to terms of what we’re doing. We’re trying to put them in the best positions so they can play to their strengths.”

There will be highlights — have you seen some of the clips Kentucky Basketball has shared on social media so far? But more important will be the moments the rookies feel like they hit a wall.

“That’s one of the things that Cal is special at, is making them uncomfortable and understanding they have to get comfortable being uncomfortable because that’s where the growth is at. The growth is not in doing what you’re comfortable doing. It’s stretching yourself. Stepping a little outside yourself so that mentally, physically, you can get better.”