In crunch time, Calipari not afraid to go to the Wall

NEW YORK -- Late in the game, things tight, John Calipari was stomping and yelling, asking if Eric Bledsoe was stupid for picking up that stupid fifth foul, wondering, I presume, whether the Kentucky Wildcats could hold off Connecticut. Stressful times.

But then a calming presence suddenly emerged. He looked straight at Calipari, made a demand and a promise.

"Coach, just give me the ball," John Wall said. "I can make plays for us."

Boy, can he ever.

The John Wall Show came to Madison Square Garden late Wednesday and created the best atmosphere for a neutral-site game in December I've ever witnessed. The arena was packed and rowdy, all the attention on Kentucky's star freshman, who is already as much of a lock for the No. 1 pick in next year's NBA Draft as Blake Griffin was for last year's NBA Draft.

Before tip-off, fans of all ages gathered around Wall and tried to secure an autograph. After the buzzer, reporters of all ages gathered around Calipari and asked why Wall is unflappable under pressure.

"I don't know," Calipari said.

More to the point: Who cares?

Imagine how good John Wall will be once he starts limiting his mistakes. (Getty Images)

As long as the kid keeps doing it, Calipari is going to let him keep doing it, case in point being this non-league showdown between two heavyweights of the sport. Over and over down the stretch, Wall was isolated and asked to go get buckets. Over and over down the stretch, he did it, and that was ultimately the difference in Kentucky's 64-61 victory against Connecticut.

Wall scored 12 of UK's final 15 points.

He finished with 25.

And none were more impressive than the three he scored with 30.8 seconds remaining and the Wildcats down 61-60. Darius Miller drove to the free-throw line, then, by design, found Wall circling around behind him. The point was to get the ball to Wall after he was already headed to the rim so that he could, as Calipari often calls it, "go downhill."

At one point, Wall was surrounded by four UConn players. But he still exploded to the rim, took a hit from 240-pound Alex Oriakhi and finished before falling to the hardwood. Wall popped up, stared at his bench, walked to the line and drained a free throw.

Just like that, a one-point deficit was a two-point lead.

UConn never tied the score again.

"It was pretty hard," Wall answered when asked about Oriakhi's bodycheck. "But I was just making a play."

In fairness, Wall was not brilliant from start to finish. He missed the final seven minutes of the first half with two fouls, turned the ball over seven times. ("That's his average," Calipari joked.) Oftentimes, Wall got going so fast he lost control and fumbled the ball away, and there were some stupid moments mixed in, too. So, yes, there is still work to be done. But despite all that -- and this is the part to remember -- I can't imagine there was a basketball mind in the world who wasn't blown away by Wall's performance here at MSG, if only because of the explosiveness he showed early and the poise he showed late.

You want a crazy statistic?

Consider that Wall has played eight games and scored key points in the final minute to help win four of them. Some great college players will go entire careers without doing that. But Wall has already hit a game-winning jumper to beat Miami of Ohio, hit a pull-up jumper followed by free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining to force overtime in an eventual victory against Stanford, made two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining to secure a win over North Carolina, and converted an I-can't-believe-he-just-made-that three-point play with 30.8 seconds remaining to beat UConn.

If it sounds amazing, that's because it is amazing.

If he sounds awesome, that's because he is awesome.

"It's just like I said of John Wall when I saw him play in high school; I said he's at least as good as Derrick Rose," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. "Wall is all of that. Whatever that is, he's all of that."

And more, really.

Calipari won't come right out and say it, but trust me when I tell you the UK staff believes Wall is better than Rose, i.e., the first pick of the 2008 NBA Draft and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year. Wall is bigger and stronger, and just as fast (if not faster). He's more assertive, a better leader, and 10 times as good in clutch situations. That's why regardless of whether you have Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Rose or some other point guard you love, if you're a general manager with the top pick in June's NBA Draft you had better take Wall and just figure it out.

Passing on him would be a massive mistake.

Passing on him will get you fired.

"He's phenomenal," Patterson said. "If we need a big basket, we get the ball to John."

To date, that approach has never failed.

So expect Calipari to keep using it.

Stop it if you can.