Monday, April 13, 2009

John Wall's Maturity Shaped By Tragedy


One of the things that stood out to me while covering the Nike Hoop Summit was that every player on the US team was a good kid. They were respectful and cordial. As I told some of the parents, it was quite refreshing, actually, considering some of the young athletes I have encountered through the years.

For some deeper perspective on the type of kid John Wall is, check out this article about him overcoming tragedy at an early age and how his HS coach has helped him mature. I should have shared this story earlier, but I simply forgot to do it.

There's no question that Wall and his mother are extremely tight due to the adversity they have faced. Some had believed that their relationship would lead Wall to end up choosing Duke in order to stay close to his mother. However, it would appear that becoming the highest possible draft pick after one season in college is most important to Wall.

If that is indeed the case, that bodes extremely well for John Calpari and Kentucky considering the success that Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans achieved in just one season in Calipari's system at Memphis.

But until a kid actually signs his letter of intent and sends it to the school, anything is possible.

1 comment:

Mike West said...

Great info. All of us in The House of Blue really appreciate all the new info! Keep it up!