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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 08-12-2017, 01:45 PM:

John Wall played just one year at the University of Kentucky before jumping to the NBA, but he left quite the impression.

The school announced on Monday that Wall will be inducted into the school's athletics Hall of Fame. Wall is one of six inductees including Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb and Padres outfielder Collin Cowgill.

Link

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 08-20-2017, 12:33 AM:

I have all the respect in the world for Wall, but I'm not sure he did near enough to garner hall of fame status as a Kentucky athlete. If he would've led the team to a championship his only year then I could possibly see him being worthy.

Posted by SCWC (Member # 2464) on 08-20-2017, 02:45 AM:

My sentiments exactly Paulcat. He was a tremendous player but????

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 08-20-2017, 09:31 AM:

Cal's criteria of success for a player is getting drafted high in the NBA lottery. So by that criteria, Wall HAS his reward. I also don't think he did enough to warrant HoF status. For the talent that Wall had around him on that team, it struggled waaaay too much. Wall/Bledsoe might have been the most athletic backcourt in UK's history, and Cousins was one of the most dominant big men we have seen. No, that team underperformed. Why are we awarding the leader of that team Hall of Fame status for his one year? Because he is a superior athlete? I don't think that is a good reason.

Wall, like so many others, used UK as a springboard to that narrow version of 'success'. By narrow, I mean it was a HUGE boon to John Wall and his family. The only other benefit that might have wider impact would be the ripple effect on recruiting.

But, past coaches have emphasized success in ways that resonate with the broader Big Blue community. Championships. Developing players for the fans to follow for four years. Those things are secondary to a "players first" coach. As much as I enjoy the success of Cal's system, I just can't shake the feeling that we are running "thin"... one bad recruiting year, or a few misses on high lottery picks, could bring the whole scheme to a crashing halt. There is no margin for error, no depth of experienced players. So far, he has managed to pull it off, and has made a few dozen millionaires in the process.

I think we fans have adapted, and come to accept that this is the way it is. But I think, to a person, we would love to have Cal's recruiting coupled with 2, 3, or ideally, 4 year stays on the team. I know I miss watching players develop over their careers, and then following them in the NBA. Now, I don't much care to follow them as pros (for the most part), simply because I didn't have time to build that connection that comes from watching them play for four years.