“I Probably Would Have Come Back”: John Wall on What Might Have Kept Him at Kentucky

John Wall was the first No. 1 NBA Draft pick in Kentucky Basketball history; fifteen years later, he says there’s a scenario in which he would have returned to Lexington for another season.

During an interview with Matt Jones on “Sunday Mornings with Matt & Myron” on ESPN Radio, Wall said that he had so much fun during his one year at Kentucky that he would have come back for another if his draft stock wasn’t so high.

“I’d say great, man,” Wall said of his time in Lexington. “A once-in-a-lifetime experience. Since the day I stepped foot on campus, it was amazing. I already knew what the fanbase was like, and I knew how much they love basketball and horses out there, but it was surreal.

“I really enjoyed every moment of it, had fun, and it’d be one of those things, if I hadn’t had an opportunity to go number one [in the NBA Draft], I would have loved to come back for another year because I wanted to win a championship, but what we did and brought back the culture of fun basketball with Cal and all that going on at Kentucky, it was just so amazing.”

What specific draft projection could have kept Wall in Lexington for a sophomore season?

“I think like [pick number] 10 or higher, I probably would have come back.”

Wall was one of five Kentucky players drafted in the first round that year — a record for any school — along with DeMarcus Cousins (No. 5), Patrick Patterson (No. 14), Eric Bledsoe (No. 18), and Daniel Orton (No. 29). There’s no telling if the others would have followed Wall’s lead and returned to Lexington for one more run but it’s a fun hypothetical on a Monday in June.

Wall glad he didn’t play college basketball during the NIL era

One thing that could have factored into those decisions: NIL. If players had been able to profit off their name, image, and likeness when Wall was in college, there’s no doubt he would have been one of the top NIL earners in program history and maybe even all of college basketball. He was the biggest rockstar on the team that brought the fun back to Kentucky Basketball. Interestingly, Wall said he was happy NIL wasn’t around during his time as a Wildcat.

“Me and my homeboys talk about it all the time and joke, like, I don’t know if it’s true, but I just saw that [Duke star] Cooper Flagg made like $28 million, they say. I was like, good lord. But I don’t really — for me, I’m glad I didn’t come up in that era, you know what I mean?”

Nope. You would have made millions on millions. Explain more, please.

“Just for me, I think it’s dope, I think it’s great, I think what they’re doing is fun. I think they gotta do like some boundaries with some of it, you know what I mean, so it’s not like everybody jumping in the [transfer] portal every year and trying to just search for money, but I’m glad the athletes are getting paid. But I’m glad I got an era where I just got to play basketball, enjoy, have fun, and then make my decision if I want to go to the league or not.”

When Matt reminded Wall of how many fans still wear his Kentucky jersey to games, he admitted it would have been nice to get a piece of the pie; however, he wouldn’t trade his experience at Kentucky for anything.

“That would be dope, and it’s always like a lot of respect and love that I have for Kentucky, how much love they got for me, for all the things I’ve done there, and getting an opportunity to play there. Even though it was only one year, I enjoyed that. But yeah, that would be crazy to see how much I would have gotten from NIL for sure.”

We might see Wall back in Lexington soon. During the interview, he revealed that Mark Pope invited him to work out with the team this summer, and he’s trying to fit it into his schedule. Even if he can’t make that work, he vowed to return to his old Kentucky home sooner rather than later.

“Kentucky’s always home for me,” Wall said. There’s always love. That’s the school I went to, the jersey I put on. They gave me the opportunity to reach one of my goals and dreams in life to play college basketball, and play on one of the biggest levels for one of the best schools in the country, and a good opportunity to go to the league. So yeah, I’m definitely coming back.”

Listen to Wall’s interview around the 30-minute mark of Hour 3 of “Matt & Myron” below.