Wall has cemented himself as one of the most impressive Kentucky products…
John Wall was arguably the best high school prospect in 2009, as he was playing varsity basketball in North Carolina. It led to multiple schools vying for his commitment, but John Calipari and Kentucky came away with his word.
Wall’s mother wanted him to play for NC State, and the athletic guard was a North Carolina Tar Heels fan.
However, he found Calipari alluring, making him the coach he wanted to play for, especially after the program leader helped Memphis reach the National Championship in 2008 with star player Derrick Rose.
“NC State was my mom’s dream school, I was thinking about going there, but for me, Carolina was my dream school…
I’m seeing Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, Sean May, all of them played there,” Wall said on ‘The OGs’.
“When I saw Derrick Rose at Memphis, and I saw them playing Oklahoma in the Garden, I said yeah, this is who I’m playing for…
I was about to be in Memphis, but he called me, ‘I’m about to get this job in Kentucky, how do you feel about it?’ I said I know about their history, it’s a basketball state,” John added.
Wall enjoyed his lone season at Kentucky
John wanted to focus on basketball during his lone year at Kentucky and did precisely that. Calipari helped maximize his talent as Wall planned to play for only one year and move forward to the NBA, dispelling the rumors that Tyler Hansbrough was the reason for not playing for his dream school, UNC.
