Derrick Rose vs. John Wall: Who Has the Brighter Future?
College basketball's John Calipari has coached a few players who went on to become NBA lottery picks.
He had Marcus Camby during his time at Massachusetts, Dajuan Wagner and Tyreke Evans at Memphis and then DeMarcus Cousins at Kentucky last year.
But the two most well-known Calipari-coached stars are none other than Derrick Rose and John Wall.
These young and exciting point guards have more things in common than playing for the same college coach, though.
They both were No. 1 overall draft picks, both contain blazing speed and both are two of the main reasons fans will follow NBA hoops for years to come.
Rose was drafted by his hometown Chicago Bulls in 2008 after a fantastic freshman season at Memphis in which he helped the school reach the NCAA championship game. He would go on to win Rookie of the Year honors and then become an All-Star in just his second season in the league.
But more importantly, Rose led the Bulls to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons.
This season, Rose was named an All-Star once again, this time as a starter for the Eastern Conference. He is also widely considered a top MVP candidate, as he's powered the Bulls to the league's fifth-best record despite injuries to key players.
Rose currently ranks in the top 10 in both scoring (24.9 points per game) and assists (8.2 assists per game) and has improved his shooting quite a bit from his first two seasons.
Like Rose, Wall played just one year of college ball, but for Kentucky. He would prove to the nation that he was worthy of all the hype that surrounded him by winning National Freshman of the Year honors and leading the Wildcats to a 35-3 record.
Wall was then chosen by the Washington Wizards in the 2010 draft, giving fans something to smile about following the ugly Gilbert Arenas situation.
He would showcase his all-around game during his sixth regular-season contests, recording a triple-double with 19 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds and finishing just four steals shy of a quadruple-double.
Currently, Wall is having the best season of any rookie not named Blake Griffin, averaging 15 points as well as 8.9 assists per game (seventh best in the league). He's proving to be one of the few bright spots for the struggling Wizards.
Right now, Rose clearly trumps Wall as the better player, but which of the two will end up having the more accomplished career when it's all said and done?
Only God can predict the future, but it's always fun to speculate.
Rose and Wall both have the potential to become not just perennial All-Stars, but Hall of Fame-type superstars. They seem destined for greatness.
Both players possess mind-blowing speed and quickness in which they use to leave defenders in the dust. However, D-Rose is the superior scorer and much better finisher.
Rose will probably always put up better scoring stats, but it looks as if Wall gets the nod when it comes to playmaking skills.
Wall's nearly nine assists per game average is pretty impressive, especially for a rookie—and especially when you look at the teammates that he has to dish the ball to. Yeah, that's right—guys like Nick Young, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee aren't quite All-Star-caliber players. Well, at least not yet.
Wall also showed the world his playmaking abilities in the Rookie Challenge this past Friday night by handing out a record 22 assists.
When it comes to championships, chances are that Rose will be the first of the two to win one. His Bulls team, which features All-Star forward Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng, appears to be just a shooting guard away from bringing title No. 7 to Chi-Town.
Wall's Wizards currently own the NBA's fifth-worst record and are headed to the lottery once again unless some type of miracle takes place in the near future. But you never know—the team might acquire a nice supporting cast to surround Wall with soon.
It's uncertain how Rose and Wall's futures will unfold, but the sky is the limit for these two young and gifted floor generals.
