And with those words, the NBA Draft started in Madison Square garden. Washington Wizards fans very well could have heard that words that will completely turn their franchise around from being one of the worst teams in the NBA, to a Playoff contender.
John Wall has been the consensus number one pick for quite some time now, and we all knew that we were going to hear his name first, but finally hearing it was the final realization in Washington that they had their future superstar. Wall brings so much to the court that it's hard to really even break his game down, but I'm going to do my best, so here we go.
Offensive Game
John Wall is especially dangerous on the offensive side of the ball, mainly because of his quickness. I was watching a sports science show the other day on the Wizards' #1 overall pick, and they stated that he was faster with the ball than guys like Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, and Chris Paul are without the ball. Judging by that statement, the first thing to think about is Wall being able to get to the bucket.
Whenever a player has the kind of speed that John Wall possesses, he usually can get to the bucket at will. His first step will get him around his defender, and then because he is so fast, he'll get to the bucket before the help defense can respond. Also, Wall's ability to jump up and finish strong with a dunk or through contact on a layup will make him even more deadly.
Because of his scoring, the rest of his game on offense is usually forgotten, but let's bring that up. Sure, he didn't average the most assists per game last year with the University of Kentucky (6.5), but averaging 6.5 assists as a freshmen in college is absolutely outstanding. His ability to get to the free throw line reminds me of Dwyane Wade, and he shoots right at 75% from the line as well.
Wall has an amazing understanding of the game of basketball, and is one of the best players at the pick-and-roll I've seen come out of the draft in quite some time. He knows how to just barely pass the ball out of the defenders reach but just hard enough that it gets his teammate to the bucket in the quickest possible way, and that's a huge plus to a point guards game.
Defensive Game
I haven't really heard many people talk about Wall's defensive game, but I really think it's one of the best in the draft as well. Wall's speed comes in handy on the defensive side of the ball because it enables him to contest almost any shot. He never gets crossed, and because of that he can usually get back to put a hand in the shooters face. Something that he possesses that most young players don't is the desire to play defense. He's one of the rare guys you will see score a bucket on one end, and then the first thing he does is turn right around and get back on defense.
There isn't too much you can really say about defense, but I'll finish with two more things. Wall has very quick hands, which allows him to get in the passing lane, and either steal or deflect the ball. NBA coaches love players who can get deflections because half of the time those will turn into forced turnovers.
Thoughts?
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