Getting Defensive: Anthony Black vs. Cason Wallace (DraftPunk)

This draft is particularly heavy in guards with excellent defensive skills – here are my two favorites, what they do best, and how they compare.

Disclaimer: This is a long one…Buckle up.

Given all of the attributes a player can have that provides him value, it seems that to the casual viewer, a guard’s defense doesn’t move the needle. The stars of NBA on that end are seemingly exclusively wings and bigs, with the occasional Marcus Smart or Jrue Holiday. Blocked shots are the DPOY’s love language, of which most guards fail to record even a single one over the course of a few games typically.

This year’s class, however, seems to be popping with guards that have displayed elite perimeter defense on a regular or semi-regular basis. There are plenty of potentially effective NBA guards eligible for the ‘23 Draft, so defensive ability will be a major point of separation in a GM’s decision-making process when picking between two similar prospects.

My two favorite defensive guard prospects in this class are both Dallas/Forth Worth kids who both played at SEC schools: Anthony Black (Duncanville TX, Arkansas) and Cason Wallace (Richardson TX, Kentucky).

So let’s get into it.

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Anthony Black, Arkansas (19.3 Years).

Personally, I am a huge fan of Anthony Black’s game, personality on and off the court, and potential to be an outstanding player at the next level. Ranked seventh on my Big Board, Black is a primary ball-handler, a distributing lead guard who possesses arguably the best basketball IQ in the class and plays the game cerebrally, as it truly seems to slow down for him when he’s out there.

During his freshman year in 2022-23, he averaged a really impressive 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while starting at the point for a highly talented, albeit sometimes underwhelming, Arkansas Razorbacks team.

The versatility is what stands out primarily: he does nearly everything pretty well, including scoring (though his shot needs work), facilitation, and rebounding from the guard spot.

Throughout the year, Black’s most impressive attribute continued to be his court vision and decision making. For a guy without a jumper and who lacks a quick first step, Black is still able to be an effective offensive piece due to his skills in the passing game.

An example of his prowess can be seen below in this transition set during Arkansas’ game against Creighton in the Maui Invitational. There’s not a ton to break down, but the ease with which he bounces the ball to the perfect spot for Ricky Council IV to receive it is an indication of his vision and touch. It takes skill to put it where he did, right in between two Bluejay defenders, leading to a basket. Two points for the ‘Hogs.

If you’ll recall, Anthony Black had an outstanding Maui Invitational – seriously, you could make an And1 Mixtape with the highlights. I had known about him before his college days, as he played for Texas state basketball champion Duncanville (though as a Texas MBB insider, he was never really on the Longhorns’ radar). Still, as a five-star basketball and four-star football recruit, Black was a highly-decorated prep athlete with a ton of buzz. However, I wasn’t quite aware of his Lottery ability until this tournament.

Another example of his crazy court vision can be seen below. Though he doesn’t have an elite first step, he still has decent speed, which is on display here. As he drags the defense with him on his way to the basket, he sees the weak side open up, and kicks a beautiful skip pass once again to Ricky Council IV. Splash, and three for Arkansas.

Not to get you too excited, but another thing I really like about Black is the pace with which he plays, not unlike a certain 6’7 Slovenian lead guard from Dallas. The way he doesn’t feel rushed when he has the ball is an indication that he has a natural feel for the game…

Chill. I’m not saying Anthony Black will be Luka Doncic. Don’t quote me on that.

However, watch below how he takes his time to meticulously cut through the Auburn defense, never once getting out of control or playing impulsively. He’s completely aware of his spacing and spot on the court, he doesn’t take a rushed shot, and to top it all off, he’s able to finish through contact. The body control he demonstrates here makes it easy to understand why he’s so effective at drawing fouls as well.

Here’s another clip illustrating Black’s pace with the ball. Watch the body control on the dribble hesitation, a play he then finishes at the rim, which he did at a 58.3% clip on the season. This wasn’t against a clown show team, either – this was against the future national champion Connecticut Huskies, and guarded by eventual Tournament MOP Adama Sanogo.

Black absolutely fools Sanogo on the initial move, then shields the ball away from the UConn center on his way up, protecting himself from being rejected. Cerebral is the word that keeps coming up. At the risk of sounding cliché, he just plays smart basketball.

On top of all of his offensive abilities, he is one of the best defensive guards in the class, despite lacking some of the top-line athleticism present with guys like Amen Thompson or Scoot Henderson. Don’t get me wrong – Black is a strong athlete with good vertical ability and body control, he’s just not a Derrick-Rose type with explosive athleticism.

Still, watch below how he demonstrates an impressive ability here to stay in front of a quick guard in Texas A&M’s Dexter Dennis. Black not only puts a body on him without committing a foul, but also tracks him to the rim and rejects his shot at the end.

These are impressive defensive instincts and illustrate that he can make an impact on the defensive end early in his pro career.

Here’s another example below displaying both his defensive awareness/anticipation as well as his ability to close out (and the physical tools necessary to do so effectively). Watch how the Kobe Brown post-up turns into a pass out to the three-point line that looks at first like it’s going to be a wide-open take.

Enter Anthony Black, who sprints to close out on the shot, not simply contesting, but actually getting a piece of the attempt. Perimeter defense is going to be the name of the game for Black as a young NBA guard, and he illustrates an impressive ability to react and recover, even when the pass is heading away from him.

Here’s a clip of his help defense. Here, he slides over to help another terrific defender in wing Jordan Walsh (a late-first-to-mid-second pick).

Walsh does a great job of forcing the driver to turn his body towards the baseline at an awkward angle from the basket. Anthony Black then comes in and rejects the attempt out of bounds from behind. Though Black measured poorly at the combine with essentially an equal wingspan to his height (6’7.5), he still manages to block 0.6 shots per game.

These have been mostly blocks on display, but Black averaged a very impressive 2.1 steals per game as well. Like I mentioned previously, blocks are the hot thing in defensive highlight tapes, so naturally, I had to show off a few. But steals are a better (though still very imperfect) indication of a guard’s defensive prowess.

Watch below how Anthony Black strips projected top-three pick, wing Brandon Miller of Alabama. This is another help defense situation, as he’s not the primary defender on Miller here. His forcing a live-ball turnover against a bonafide elite prospect is a good sign, of course, but what stands out is his quick hands; he’s active on ball and in passing lanes, adding a lot of deflections on top of the steals he records.

Here’s another fun clip of Ant’s defense. Notice the quick reaction from Black once the dribble handoff action begins – he immediately realizes that it’s coming, gets his hands out, and blows up the play before it can even start. You know Black was a football player in high school; he probably just thought of it like playing a bubble screen as a defensive back.

Overall, Anthony Black is one of my favorite prospects in this entire class. His mix of size, intelligence, passing ability, defensive prowess, and scoring at the rim make him one of the most intriguing players in this group. His game just translates so flawlessly to the next level, where he’ll have better spacing than he did at Arkansas, opening up his offensive game even more.

I would be willing to take Anthony Black as high as sixth overall – I’m that big on him. His game makes sense on pretty much every team, as no one ever has enough creation and defense. His value will sag because of his jump shot, but he’s been working with Steph Curry’s trainer, so hopefully that creates some progress.

Player comp: 6’7 Rajon Rondo

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Cason Wallace, Kentucky (19.5 Years).

Cason Wallace of Kentucky this year averaged 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 44.6%/34.6%/75.7% overall. As a lead guard, Wallace can play both on and off ball, and has shown the ability to create for others as both a primary and secondary playmaker.

While he possesses several good offensive qualities, Wallace is an absolutely elite defensive player. As much as I just talked about how good Anthony Black is at this, I think Cason Wallace is a step ahead. His overall impact on that side of the floor makes him a complete game-changer.

When Sahvir Wheeler went out with an injury, Wallace was asked to take the reigns as the lead guard. There were ups and downs of course, but for the most part, Wallace was effective at the point guard spot, making good reads in the pick ‘n’ roll and being effective at entry passes into Tshiebwe.

Let’s look at some of Wallace’s playmaking from this past season.

This clip below, which shows Wallace push the break after a rebound, is super important. Because Wallace has a safety-like nose for the ball on defense, he creates a ton of live-ball turnovers. Being able to accurately throw down court after a steal is a surefire way to get points, and Wallace has displayed the ability to do so here.

In the next clip, Wallace shows off a bit of driving ability en route to a dump-off pass to Oscar Tshiebwe, who slams it home. Despite playing in a system with bad spacing (having a guy that doesn’t leave the paint and can’t shoot will do that), Wallace still managed a very impressive 4.3 assists per game.

Here’s an example of his passing out of the pick ‘n’ roll. He makes a great read here and throws a perfect alley to the big man who completes the play. He shows a decent handle here as well, though that is a bit of an improvement area for him.

One area where Cason Wallace is better than Anthony Black is his finishing at the rim. While Black has a craftier handle, Wallace’s ability to score through contact is even more impressive than Black’s. Wallace shot 64.2% at the rim to Black’s 58.3%.

Watch this incredibly impressive EuroStep right here, after he makes the defensive play first, of course. He gets his incredibly quick hands in perfect position to strip Keyontae Johnson here, making the play on one end before finishing on the other end with a highly athletic move.

Another area where Wallace is better is three-point shooting. He has a cleaner form than Black does, less labored. Though I wouldn’t say Wallace’s deep stroke is a “strength” at this point, he did average 34.6% on the season, which isn’t sharpshooter territory, but can be tweaked and could become a strength for him later in his career.

Watch the two catch-and-shoot threes below. It demonstrates that if he’s in rhythm and his form stays consistent, he can knock down the three. Developing this shot to a consistent level would raise his ceiling significantly.

Where Cason Wallace separates himself from the pack is his insane defense. He was one of the best defenders in the SEC as a true freshman, locking people up in nearly every game he played.

Here he is playing defense against a familiar face. Watch how Wallace blows through the double screen at the top of the key in order to stay in front of Black, using his very good lateral quickness to push Black into no man’s land, forcing him to pass it back out.

Another example of Wallace’s defending of Black here – this time, he’s able to strip the Razorback point guard from behind as Black goes up for a layup. Whether it’s a block or a steal, I’ll let you decide. The important thing is that he completely shut down one of the best players in the SEC on this possession (though the Hogs won this game, and Black had 19 points, five assists, and four rebounds; Wallace himself had 24 points, five dimes, and three boards).

Another thing about this play is that he is able to recover the ball inbounds, meaning he’s created yet another live-ball turnover. His ability to force bad decisions by offensive players because of his smothering style, wingspan, and lightning-quick hands is an absolutely huge reason why he will be a top-10 pick in the upcoming 2023 Draft.

As good as he is as an on-ball defender, he is just as good off. Like Anthony Black, Cason Wallace has a high defensive BBIQ, often jumping routes and stealing passes. Watch here how he reads the play before it happens, and, using his 6’9 wingspan, stretches out an arm to deflect the pass. He then recovers the loose ball, another example of Wallace’s prowess on the defensive end.

Here’s another shot of Wallace’s off-ball defense. Coming back down the floor on defense, he intercepts Texas A&M star point guard Wade Taylor IV’s attempt to kick out to the perimeter for an open three. Not only did this provide Kentucky with a possession, it prevented what would have been a wide-open shot for the Aggies.

Overall, Cason Wallace is an absolute monster on the defensive end, and pretty solid on the offensive end. He can’t really create shots for himself, and took a lot of bad, contested jumpers this year, but I think a lot of that has to do with the awful spacing Kentucky had all season. To me, he seems like a very high-floor type of prospect, a guy that at the very least can be a solid rotation guy on a good team, though I think he will be more than that.

He has all the tools to be a really good secondary playmaker in the NBA, and occasionally, the primary playmaker. I like him as a starter off-ball, at the two-guard spot, who can sometimes run the offense from the lead guard position. Wallace seems like a guy that will make an immediate impact on whichever franchise decides to draft him, as his defensive effort and motor are infectious.

Player comp: Jrue Holiday

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Comparing the Two.

I’ve broken down their film in depth, and if you’re still reading, I applaud you. But now it’s time to debate, which player should be drafted first?

I’m going to break this down into a few categories, and then explain which player fits it better, and at the end, we’ll tally up the points.

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Overall Scoring – Anthony Black

Though Wallace is a far superior shooter and better finisher, Anthony Black is much better at creating for himself than Wallace is. Black typically found good shots in a bad offense, while Wallace occasionally found good shots in a bad offense. Neither player was put in a fantastic position to succeed from an Xs and Os standpoint, but I think the edge here has to go to Black.

It’s close though.

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Creation – Toss-Up

Watching film, you’d think that Black would easily be considered the better passer – and you could be right. But you can’t ignore how much better Wallace is in advanced stats as far as distribution goes. Even for non-advanced stats, Wallace averaged more assists (4.3 to 3.9) and fewer turnovers (2.1 to 3.0). But looking at it more deeply, Wallace had a 24.3% assist rate to Black’s 20.6%. He also had a better TO%: 16.3% to Black’s 20.6%, and they have essentially the same usage rate (20.9% for Black, 19.9% for Wallace).

This shocked me to be honest, and made me re-think the entire argument between these two. Is Wallace the better playmaker? According to the stats, he is. Still, having watched enough of each guy, I think Anthony Black is on Wallace’s level despite the disparity in numbers. I’m going to have to call a toss-up here.

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Shooting – Cason Wallace

Wallace is a significantly more effective shooter than Black is at this juncture. Comparing numbers, Wallace shot 34.9% to Black’s 30.1%, and if you watch both guys shoot, you can see the difference in shot form. Wallace’s is much cleaner than Black’s is – it’s a quicker release as well as requiring less energy to get up.

My good friend over at @MavsDraft on Twitter got a great video of Cason’s shooting ability at the NBA Combine. I sped up and cut the video so it’s not too long.

Cason Wallace is the better shooter, statistically, and form-wise. Also, his 75.7% from the free-throw line is promising that he can increase his three-point percentage during his career.

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Defense – Cason Wallace

This was another close call, but Wallace is the best defensive guard prospect in this class. As I’ve repeated ad nauseam, live-ball turnovers are the Cason Wallace specialty. He had a game this year with eight steals against Michigan State, and multiple games with four or more steals.

Combining this with his ability to finish makes him so lethal in the fast-break, as he basically creates them himself. Since he’s also got great vision, he’s very effective at finding open guys down the floor. Turning defense into offense is probably the thing Wallace is best at in his whole repertoire of skills.

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Rebounding – Anthony Black

Black, being bigger-bodied than Wallace, is also a better rebounder. He has a high motor when chasing down boards, and plays fundamentally when going for the rock (box-outs mostly). Black averaged 5.1 rebounds to Wallace’s 3.7, giving the edge to the former Razorback.

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Intangibles (Size, BBIQ, Drawing Fouls, etc.) – Anthony Black

Size wise, despite Anthony Black’s being three inches taller, I’d call it a toss-up. Wallace has a bigger wingspan (6’9 to Black’s 6’7.5), and Black weighs about 5-10 pounds more than Wallace does. Physically, there’s not a ton of separation, as the height and wingspan kind of offset.

Basketball IQ is another tie, as is probably obvious since I’ve explained throughout this whole piece. These are two of the smartest basketball guys in the draft, and deciding which of the two has a better BBIQ is splitting hairs.

Drawing fouls however? That’s Anthony Black’s area of expertise. He averaged more than twice as many foul shots per game than Wallace did, 5.1 to 2.2. Black is more comfortable attacking the rim, despite Wallace’s being a better finisher. Being able to get to the free-throw line is such an invaluable skill in the NBA that it counts for more than you might think. I’m going to give this category to Ant Black.

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Final Tally – Anthony Black 4, Cason Wallace 3

This was a much tougher article than I had anticipated. I went into it thinking Anthony Black was pretty clearly a better player, when in reality, the margin between the two is very slim. They’re both highly intelligent guards who play incredible defense and contribute in other ways as well, like rebounding and pushing the break.

Either of these players would be an excellent draft choice for any team pick no. 6 or after (Wembanyama, Henderson, Am. Thompson, Cam Whitmore, Jarace Walker). Though I came to the conclusion that agreed with my hypothesis (yeah I went to college), it was a much different analysis than I had assumed it would be, and I came away with an even deeper respect for Cason Wallace’s game.

This is an excellent draft class talent-wise, and still, Anthony Black and Cason Wallace are going to be Top-10 picks.

And they should be.

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@KeenanWomack on Twitter