John Wall shares respect for Tyler Ulis the player and coach

John Wall and Tyler Ulis will go down as two of the best point guards in Kentucky Basketball history. While their time as Wildcats never overlapped and their careers went in different directions in the pros, there’s a lot of respect between the two.

On the latest episode of his “Point Game” podcast with special guest John Calipari, Wall recalled the first time he met Ulis. The former No. 1 overall draft pick was in town for Kentucky’s alumni game in September 2013 and Ulis was on his official visit with fellow 2014 recruits Devin Booker and Jahlil Okafor. In what feels like a bit of Kentucky Basketball fanfiction, a pickup game took place.

“We was playing pickup and I had so much respect for [Ulis] and D-Book because they were getting into a boog, you know how they were battling, going back and forth, but they didn’t back down,” Wall said. “I was like, I could tell this kid was from Chicago and then D-Book was not scared to guard me and I was like, this kid’s got a chance to be special. So I knew when you signed those guys they would be something good.”

It was on that visit that Calipari told Ulis that he believed he could be an NBA player despite his small stature.

“When he and his family came into my office and we were recruiting him, I knew that he was good, but he was small. I had coaches say, ‘Cal, you finally got a four-year point guard.’ When he was in my office, I said to him, if you want to come here, don’t be planning on staying four years. I don’t know when you’ll leave but you’re not staying for four years. You know that, right?’ He said, ‘Where do I sign? I just wanted someone to believe in me. I wanted someone to know that I could do this.'”

Ulis committed to Kentucky four days later. As a Wildcat, he won SEC Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Player of the Year, and the Bob Cousy Award for the nation’s best point guard. He also earned consensus First Team All-American honors. After two seasons at Kentucky, Ulis was selected in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns, where he would reunite with Booker. Ulis’ time in the pros was cut short due to injuries, and after a car accident in February 2022, he returned to Lexington to finish his degree. The next season, he joined Calipari’s staff as a student assistant, a role he’s held since.

Wall praises work Ulis is doing with DJ Wagner

Wall, who has attended a few games this season, told Calipari he has a lot of respect for the work Ulis is doing with the Cats’ current backcourt of DJ Wagner, Reed Sheppard, and Rob Dillingham.

“I like what Tyler’s doing. I talk to Tyler a lot. I love what he’s doing because he’s one of the best point guards to come out of Kentucky in the last years and like you said, nobody expected him to do what he did at the level he did at the size that he was and the way he played.”

“I know he’s helping DJ [Wagner] out a lot,” Wall continued. “That’s dope because, for DJ, it’s different because DJ has been in the role where he’s always been a scorer his whole life. So now, he’s learning how to be a point guard and how to run a team. It’s kind of been shaky for him and difficult for him at times.”

Is coaching also in Wall’s future? The five-time NBA All-Star didn’t say, but Calipari told his podcast co-host C.J. Toledano that if Wall wanted to get into the profession, he’d be great at it — while advising him to avoid the changing landscape of the college game.

“If that’s what he chose to do, yeah, because he has a wealth of knowledge and he’s also gone through it. I have Tyler Ulis right now. He’s unbelievable. The players go to him, talk to me.”

“He’s been great. If that’s what John would choose to do, he’d be great at it. I would say get on an NBA staff because of NIL, the transfer portal, I’m not sure where this is all going but you would be great around college kids because of the resources and all of the things that you’ve had.”

Oh, to be a fly on that wall for that pickup game in 2013. Enjoy more of Wall and Calipari’s conversation below.

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