Not to get technical, but the real Rookie of the Year this season was John Wall. I mean, he was a rookie, and Blake Griffin was not. It’s that simple. Averaging 16.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 8.3 assists, Wall wasn’t able to follow in the footsteps of former John Calipari point guards Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans by winning ROY honors, but as Coach Cal said, “He was tremendous.” So what does he have to do to keep up with the league’s youngest MVP?
From Michael Lee of The Washington Post:
“He’s got to know the steps Derrick took – a lot of it was shooting – because right now, they running to the rim on John, they are going under pick and rolls. They are jamming up the other players off his man,” Calipari said. “But when he starts making that knock down jumper, a totally different game. It doesn’t have to be from one year. Derrick did it in progression. He went from very little threes to just a few more to [128] threes in three years. Just make that progression and it doesn’t happen overnight. Sometimes, it comes back and hits you in the face.”
There’s clearly room for improvement. Wall shot only 40.9 percent from the floor and 29.6 percent from three this season, while Rose shot 47.5 percent and 22.2 percent his rookie year. While his field goal percentage dipped this year, there was a noticeable difference in the MVP’s three-point accuracy, finishing the season at a 33.2 percent clip. With his freshman season in the books, expect Wall to subscribe to the Larry Bird workout plan this summer. One word: jumpers.
What do you think Wall has to work on the most this summer? Can he ever catch Rose?
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