KSR Film Room: Cason Wallace

Welcome to Big Blue Nation, Cason Wallace. A five-star combo guard from Richardson, Texas, Wallace is the fourth member of Kentucky’s 2022 recruiting class. The 6’3″ guard is considered one of the best two-way prospects in the country and ranked as the #7 player in the class by On3 Sports. Wallace chose the ‘Cats over Tennessee, Texas, and UTSA.

After missing out on Adem Bona, landing the five-star guard returned momentum to Kentucky on the recruiting front. The Wildcats now once again have the top-ranked recruiting class in the country, overtaking Duke and Arkansas. Adding Cason Wallace to the mix with Shaedon Sharpe, Chris Livingston, and Skyy Clark has assured that Coach Calipari has the perimeter locked up in 2022. However, adding a big man is now priority number one in Lexington.

When looking for a player comparison, Wallace may be most similar to former ‘Cat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Both are long, do-it-all guards known for their two-way abilities. Wallace has drawn comparisons to Jrue Holiday from NBA scouts as well. Typically, labeling a prospect as a combo guard is a lazy evaluation, but with Wallace, it fits. He can play any perimeter position offensively and guard them all defensively. His Peach Jam stat line of 13.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game back up his “do-it-all” abilities.

Now, let us step inside the KSR Film Room to break down the game of Kentucky’s newest five-star guard, Cason Wallace.

Cason Wallace-Driving

Cason Wallace is really, really good with the ball in his hands. As opposed to current Wildcat TyTy Washington who is generally more comfortable off of the ball, Wallace is best when playmaking with the basketball. He can truly be your primary ball-handler when necessary. In this first clip, you can see his ability to get to the rim off of a ballscreen. One subtle piece of this play is what stands out when breaking down his tape.

Coaches and scouts often talk about “getting downhill” when describing a ball handler. But what does that actually mean? The way Wallace drives this ball is exactly what they are talking about. He uses the high ballscreen and quickly notices the big man defender is far too high on his flat hedge. Therefore, Wallace attacks his outside hip and is able to drive right down the lane line for a layup.

Most young guards, or at least guards who aren’t ranked #7 in the country, would end up coasting further outside the lane line on their drive. This would make it hard for them to actually get to the rim before getting cut off. However, Wallace takes it right at the defender’s outside hip and takes it directly down that lane line. Once his shoulders are past the defender he knows he is home free. It looks simple, but this is a high-level play from the five-star guard.

This next clip also shows Wallace’s ability to get downhill as well as his quick first step. His ability to go and get a bucket off of the dribble is something that really separates him from some recent Kentucky guards.

Wallace is very quick with the ball in his hands. Here, his defender is trying to pick him up well beyond the three-point arc and Wallace makes him pay with a quick move off the bounce. One underrated portion of his game is his strength. Wallace takes some contact at the point of attack but is able to maintain his dribble and still get downhill without being bumped off his spot. He may not look like it with his long and wiry frame, but Wallace has a lot of strength. That will really help his transition to the college game. At the end of his drive here he shows off an impressive intermediate finish with the little floater.

Cason Wallace-Shooting

A lot of people talk about Wallace’s ability to defend and create off of the dribble. However, he is probably a little bit underrated as a pure shooter. He has great footwork, a repeatable shooting stroke, and looks like a guy who will make a high percentage at the next level. Wallace is good at creating his own shot beyond the arc and taking them off of the dribble or running off screens. He really is the total package.

In this clip, he shows excellent footwork settling in off of the baseline pindown beyond the arc and great awareness to use the shot fake against an aggressive closeout. The most impressive part though is his change of speed coming off of the screen. A lot of young prospects have the bad habit of only moving at one speed when running off of screens. It isn’t true that you need to sprint at all times. Playing with pace up to the point of the screen, sprinting off of it, and then setting your feet to shoot is really how it should be approached. On the film, you can see how he begins to break down after coming off the screen which allows him to set his feet and gets his shoulders turned to the basket. Textbook fundamentals from Wallace.

To succeed at the highest levels, like Southeastern Conference basketball, you must be able to create your own shot as a guard. That was sorely missing from the 2020-2021 Wildcats. However, it appears to be improved this season and is a strength of every Kentucky commitment so far. Cason Wallace has that shot creation ability.

Once again, Wallace plays with excellent pace. Before coming off of the ballscreen he sets his defender up with a left to right crossover going away from the screen, uses the little shoulder fake, gets down below the screen, then comes off. All of that work before the point of the screen is what gets him open for the pull-up three-point attempt.

The pace also allows him to keep his feet underneath him and his shoulders stacked so that he is ready to shoot on the other side of the ballscreen. You can expect to see Wallace get plenty of buckets off of the dribble from day one in Lexington.

Cason Wallace-Defense

Finally, let’s break down what the five-star guard is most known for, his defense. Many scouts have evaluated Cason Wallace as one of the best, if not the best, defender in the Class of 2022. We will second that notion here in the KSR Film Room. He will have the ability to guard any perimeter position with his length and underrated physicality. Wallace has elite instincts on that end of the floor and could be one of the SEC’s best two-way guards right away.

The ability to simply lock up your man is something that the best teams in college basketball usually have on the wings. Wallace projects as one of the best individual defenders Coach Calipari has had in a while. He uses length to his advantage, has very quick feet, and is strong enough to stand his ground. On film, you can see how he is able to cut his man off without having to reach our foul. That is next-level defensive technique.

The instincts and discipline of Cason Wallace are second to none. Here he actually gets beat on a right-hand drive just a little bit but shows off elite closing speed as he gets back into position. The real highlight of this play though is how he doesn’t fall for the shot fake at the end of the drive. Wallace stays down and then is able to get up quickly to block the turnaround jump shot. This is a big-time defensive play. He will be one of the best perimeter defenders in the SEC from day one.