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Kentucky Wildcats Basketball: John Wall or Anthony Davis?

ByBrian Smith|

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

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John Wall or Anthony Davis? Which is more important to Kentucky Wildcats basketball recruiting?

In modern college basketball, the historical significance of a program is seemingly less important than the track record of a college basketball coach to “get” players into the NBA (never mind, for a minute, that for most of the elite players in college basketball for whom and where they play is of little significance). This is why, in large part, John Calipari or Mike Krzyzewzeski or Bill Self dominate recruiting year after year. It is also why recruits are quick to talk about Calipari’s or Krzyewski’s or Self’s ability to produce NBA draft picks while mentioning the history of Kentucky or Duke or Kansas basketball almost as an afterthought. “Coach Cal really knows how to get guys into the league and that’s where I want to be and he can help do that. And oh yeah, Kentucky basketball is historic.”

With that in mind, I continue to wonder who will have a bigger impact on recruiting (both for John Calipari and for Kentucky) 3, 5, and 10 years down the road—John Wall or Anthony Davis?

John Wall:

The case for John Wall is simple: He made Kentucky basketball cool. He brought a certain level of “swagger” to the Wildcats program, and done the same with the Washington Wizards. He has helped make the Wizards a legitimate Eastern Conference threat and he is the face of that franchise. Wall averaged almost 18 points and 10 assists per game, along with almost 5 rebounds and 2 steals per game. He quickly has become not just one of the Eastern Conference’s best point guards but one of the NBA’s best point guards. And, he is Calipari’s most successful point guards in the NBA, since Calipari became the head coach at Kentucky (although Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe aren’t that far behind). Wall gives Calipari the recruiting angle to pitch and prospective high school point guards, an angle that becomes even more important considering that, should Andrew Harrison end up not being drafted in the first round, Calipari will not have had a point guard drafted in the first round since 2012.

Anthony Davis:

It is possible that in 10 years Anthony Davis won’t just be the face of whatever team for whom he is playing but will be the face of the NBA. Watch Davis play basketball and you can’t help but wonder what his ceiling is and how many championships he may eventually win in his career. And with each passing season, as Davis continues to grow his game (both offensively and defensively) one can imagine high school big men everywhere wanting to mold their game in the likeness of Anthony Davis. After all, if you’re the best guy in the NBA at your position, you’re going to have plenty of imitators. Who better to coach them than the guy who coached Davis in college?

The Verdict:

John Wall is an incredible athlete and basketball player but unfortunately, he also plays a position where it’s unlikely he’ll ever become the best at that position. This isn’t to say he can’t become one of the best, just not the best. And, so while it is possible he ends up being the most successful point guard from the University of Kentucky to play in the NBA, it’s not enough to overcome Anthony Davis, who is quickly becoming the best at his position, and quite possibly the best overall player in the NBA. As we saw with Michael Jordan, being the face of the NBA pays dividends for many years for the school you attended when it comes to recruiting.

Case Closed.

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