Kentucky's John Wall Has Propper Motive

Many great college student-athletes, in particular great college basketball players, will come into a program and play for one or two years and then bolt for the NBA without ever planning to return to finish their school work to get their degree. With the money they make playing professional basketball, they don't really have to.

But that is not the case for Kentucky Freshman Guard John Wall. Last Monday on Head Coach John Calipari's call-in show, Calipari made it clear that even though Wall might go pro after this season, he has his priorities in the right place. "John Wall has the highest GPA on our team", Calipari said on his weekly call-in show. "People I like to call "miserables" like to accuse Coach Cal of recruiting players who are only going to stay for one year. You heard me right folks! John Wall has the highest GPA on our team, and he plans to come back and get his degree even if he does go pro after this year", the coach continued.

Perhaps Calipari recruited Wall, he wanted to see if Wall planned on coming back to UK to earn his degree if he were to go pro after one year. Maybe Coach Cal wouldn't have pursued the high school phenom from Raleigh, NC if he thought Wall would not follow through with finishing his education. If this is the case, then it is OK for Calipari to have pursued John Wall because he cared even more for Wall's work in the classroom than on the ball court. I would like to believe that.

The fact that Wall will go pro after this year is more than understandable. Right now, he's arguably the best player in College Basketball, certainly among Freshmen. Should he come out, he stands to make millions of dollars and will certainly be a First Round Draft Pick. If he does go pro, yet follows through on coming back to UK to earn his degree, then the recruiting of John Wall was a good thing even if he only plays in a Wildcat uniform 1 year. John Wall has his priorities in the right place. He'll have the best of both worlds: a stellar career at Kentucky and in the NBA, and a degree that no one can take away from him.