Cason Wallace Shooting Through Three-Point Slump

One of Kentucky’s top shooters has lost his touch from downtown. Despite his recent three-point shooting struggles, Cason Wallace is pushing through and finding other ways to help the Wildcats.

The freshman from Texas was a 47.5% three-point shooter when SEC play opened. Wallace has now gone three straight games without a made three-pointer. Of his 15 missed shots, it feels like 12 were wide open. The ball just can’t find the bottom of the net. Just because they aren’t falling, doesn’t mean he’s going to stop shooting.

“I’m never gonna shy away from taking shots,” he told Jack Givens on the UK Postgame Show. “I mean, it just wasn’t falling but you know, I got to see if it’s gonna go in. If I don’t take it, I won’t know if it’ll go in or not.”

There’s an obvious culprit behind his recent shooting struggles. With Sahvir Wheeler sidelined over the last four games, Cason Wallace is playing almost the entire game at point guard. Wallace is 1-of-18 from three since Wheeler’s ankle injury. Not only is it more difficult to get open three-point opportunities from the point guard position, running the offense as the team’s primary ball-handler requires a ton of energy.

Even though his shots aren’t falling, he’s getting comfortable in his new role. Against Tennessee Wallace went 33 minutes without a turnover. He followed up an 11-assist performance by scoring a team-high 16 points against the Vols. He also tallied six rebounds and six assists.

“He’s getting better. He was ready to play,” John Calipari said Saturday afternoon. “He hasn’t been good in afternoon games. Now what’s the next level up to that? And I reminded him, This team needs everybody. You have to be ready to play…And he is such a great kid. He takes all the shots I throw at him. It doesn’t phase him. He knows I care about him. I love him. So he just, he’s a better shooter than he’s shooting right now.”

Cason Wallace isn’t just going to shoot through his struggles. He’s going to dive on the floor, fight for rebounds and create opportunities for his teammates.

“I gotta put my body on the line in certain times,” said Wallace. “My teammates, they might make a mistake or it’s a loose ball, I gotta go get it. It might hurt tomorrow but I got to finish the game.”