Wednesday Headlines: John Wall’s love for Kentucky Basketball

Good morning, BBN!

Stories like these will always put a smile on your face.

When Billy Gillispie got fired, Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball was at its lowest point this century, and hope from the fan base hit an all-time low.

That is until John Calipari accepted the best job in College Basketball on March 30, 2009.

Shortly after that, on April 8th, DeMarcus Cousins committed to Kentucky. It felt like Kentucky was getting there but not quite “back” just yet.

Then, on May 19th, later that year, John Wall committed to Kentucky, and it felt like a lightning bolt hit the fan base.

Everyone was happy and excited that the No. 2 and No. 3 players in the country were taking their talents to the University of Kentucky.

John Wall, specifically, was when everyone officially felt like the Cats were “back”, and for good reason. Wall was already a superstar, touting the greatest high school mixtape of the time.

Now that time has passed, it’s widely regarded as the greatest high school mixtape of all time. Let’s reminisce:

10 million views and counting.

Then, the season started, and John Wall missed the first two games due to his AAU coach accepting benefits during his recruitment.

He debuted against Miami of Ohio, and it’s history from there. Again, enjoy:

He hopped on KSR earlier this week to discuss the New Era of Kentucky Basketball and share his thoughts on Mark Pope and their upcoming season.

He also mentions that he’s trying to make it down this summer to scrimmage the team! That would be awesome. Check it out:

John Wall had plenty to say about the new era of Kentucky basketball.

Wall told @KySportsRadio on ESPN Radio he’s happy to see Mark Pope finding early success.

“They got a lot of great pieces coming in with some good pieces coming back. And it’s great that he does it his way.” pic.twitter.com/86jCwQfyuF

— Mario A Maitland (@MarioMaitland_3) June 2, 2025