Age

19.6

Height

6'4"

Weight

193

Workload

MIN%

74.9

USG%

19.9

TS%

54.3

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

15.3

REB

4.8

AST

5.5

STL

2.6

BLK

0.6

TOV

2.7

Efficiency

RIM FG%

71.2

MID FG%

38.4

3PT FG%

34.6

FT%

75.7

Jump to full report

Report by: Josh Abercrombie

Cason Wallace

Guard Kentucky

Superb team and point of attack defender with emerging driving craft and a well-rounded offensive game

Age

19.6

Height

6'4"

Weight

193

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

15.3

REB

4.8

AST

5.5

STL

2.6

BLK

0.6

Positions Defended

Offensive Role

 

Defensive Role

   

Meet Cason Wallace

If you want a versatile two way guard who fits into nearly every lineup, Cason Wallace is your guy. Wallace joined Kentucky as a 5 star recruit out of Richardson, Texas, and he was able to meet his high expectations during his freshman season. Cason was able to make a large impact on both sides of the ball this season, as he was the team’s primary point of attack defender on defense while being the team’s table-setter on offense. 

Offense

Cason Wallace’s offensive skill-set likely does not lead to many future outcomes of being a primary advantage creator. However, I think his combination of connective passing, shooting off the catch, and ability to attack closeouts helps him project well into an off-guard role. I believe that Wallace can be the perfect off guard for a strong downhill advantage creator, as he provides all of the connective skills that you would like for an off guard.

To start off, Cason Wallace is an excellent ball mover. Wallace always makes the proper swing pass to the open man, which is a necessary skill for an off-ball player in the NBA. When a defense is tilted or in rotations, moving the ball to find the open man is absolutely crucial, and Cason is great at perceiving these advantages against the defense. Wallace is an excellent decision maker, as you will rarely ever see him forcing a risky pass. Advantage creators typically can get away with making riskier passes, as those risky passes typically have higher potential to lead to a scoring opportunity (such as an interior pass through a small window or a kick out using eye manipulation). 

Cason Wallace pairs his connective passing well with his great off-catch shooting and smart relocations off the ball. Wallace does a good job of keeping the floor spaced while opening himself up for shots, and he often looks to find open pockets on the perimeter. Wallace shot 34.6% from three on 7.1 threes per 100 this season, and he projects to be a consistently solid shooter in the NBA. This level of shooting will lead to teams closing out on him the perimeter, where he is able to attack the closeout by driving downhill. Off these downhill drives, Cason is a good finisher at the rim and is great at absorbing contact around the basket. He is also able to settle into spots in the mid-range if a defender rotates towards the basket, as he is comfortable hitting pull-up shots in the intermediate ranges. These closeout attacks also allow Cason to showcase his connective passing abilities, as he is always looking to make the right pass off of these drives.

Finally, Cason has some upside as a pick and roll ball handler, and I believe that there are outcomes where he is a secondary or tertiary creator in certain lineups. While Cason may not have the most elite burst in the world, he has some very impressive moments of decelerating and stopping on an instant, as he is good at rotating his front leg to stop his forward momentum. He has also shown some impressive footwork on self-created jumpshots, and in high school showed a fairly advanced triple threat game. As for his pick and roll playmaking, Cason is excellent at delivering accurate pocket passes to rolling big men when able, and has shown extreme comfort making strongside kickouts when a strongside player makes the mistake of helping off their man.

Defense

If you thought I had some fairly high praise for Cason’s offensive game, just wait until you read this part about his defense.

To me, Cason Wallace is one of the three to five best defenders in this draft class. I would say that he is one of the three best point of attack defenders in the class, as his ability to consistently pressure ball-handlers is a rare skill. Wallace has extremely quick feet laterally, he does not waste any movement, and he is always engaged. He gets into a very low defensive stance that makes him extremely difficult to move for a player of his size, and when you pair that with his foot speed and defensive tenacity, you get the perfect formula for an elite on ball defender. 

His feel for the game on defense is extremely high, as you will rarely ever see him missing a rotation. Cason understands help concepts very well, as he is always seen tagging rolls, properly zoning up weakside 2v1s (though he typically is the one making a low rotation), and switching when need be. He is an excellent help defender, though he does have a bit of a tendency to over-help when on a strong-side player. This extra help can lead to him leaving a shooter open, though he is often able to recover due to his great closeouts. This feels like an easy fix when translating his game to the pro’s, as the team will mold his incredible skill-set to fit their defensive scheme. 

To round off his defense, Cason Wallace has active, quick, and accurate hands on defense. This hand activity leads to him getting many steals, as he was able to surmount 2 steals per game and an elite 3.7% steal percentage. When he isn’t swiping at the ball, he can be seen using his hands as a tool to not let drivers get into his frame, and he will often wave in the face of a ball-handler to fluster them. He is also able to get some recovery blocks with his active hands and physical tools, though I would not project him to make too much of an impact as a rim protector due to his size. I would say that he can provide auxiliary rim protection when off the ball, though he will likely be playing at the point of the attack primarily in the NBA. 

As for his screen navigation, Cason is typically able to get over screens fairly well. When he enters his low defensive stance, he is typically able to get skinny around the screener’s base and torso, though he occasionally gets caught when a screener sets a borderline illegal screen (as does almost everyone). I have noticed that Cason tends to cheat screens as well, which can lead to him being out of position when a ball-handler denies the screen.

Overall

Cason Wallace is a player that all coaches would love to have on their team. Cason does the jobs that many players do not want to do, and he typically keeps it simple with the ball. Cason projects perfectly next to a high level advantage creator, and when his minutes are staggered with said advantage creator, I believe he can be a perfect tablesetter for a bench lineup. He can set up actions, make all of the right passes, call the plays, and capitalize when he is given an advantage. Cason Wallace will likely be selected in the lottery of this year’s draft due to his extremely valuable skill-set, and I am extremely confident that we will look back and say that Wallace was the right pick for whatever team ends up selecting him.

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