Still only 23 year old point guard John Wall seems to have the World in the palm of his hands.
In only 3 seasons out out of the University of Kentucky, the former #1 overall draft pick back in 2010, already has impressive career averages of 16.9 points and 8 assists, helping to become the new franchise player for the Washington Wizards.
After overcoming a knee injury that sidelined him until January this past season, he took his game to new heights, setting career high is scoring(18.5ppg), FG%(.441), and FT%(.805), and is well on his way to becoming a Top 5 floor general in the league.
The Wizards apparently think so, as they recently gave the future All Star a 5 year-$80 million max extension, and have begun to surround Wall with some fellow up-and-coming talent to grow with like 2nd year guard Brad Beal and former Georgetown standout Otto Porter Jr, taken with the 3rd overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.
Every year, John Calipari and the University of Kentucky host a wildly popular charity game at Rupp Arena called the annual UK Alumni Game, which serves multiple purposes like raising funds for the needy, putting on a show for the fans, and help in recruiting, as #1 rated HS senior Jahlil Okafor was reportedly in attendance on an official visit.
Kentucky has had so many standout NBA players over the years like Pat Riley, Jamal Mashburn, and Rajon Rondo, along with more recent standouts like Wall, Demarcus Cousins, and Anthony Davis, making the Alumni Game a fan favorite with so many great pro players.
This year, the game featured so many legendary players like Kenny “Sky”Walker, Randolph Morris, and Andre Riddick, along with some of their modern contemporaries like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, Patrick Patterson, Cousins, and Davis, with newest 76er Nerlens Noel making an appearance courtside to the delight of the more than 19,000 fans in attendance.
In the end, Wall’s Blue Team outlasted Davis’ White Team 111-95 behind Wall’s masterful triple-double (40 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast). New Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Knight led the White Team with 30 points. Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and four steals, Patrick Patterson (20 pts and 13 reb), DeAndre Liggins (20 pts), and Anthony Davis (12 pts and 1o reb) also starred.
Check out some highlights of the game as well as some pics from the event….
H/T – Kentucky.com
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
