Oklahoma City's Cason Wallace: Sophomore Outlook

Oklahoma City's rich season ended on Saturday night, losing a hard-fought series to the Dallas Mavericks.

Being defeated in six games while relinquishing a 17-point lead en route to a Game 6 loss, it was hard to stomach for a young team who has reached far beyond expectations. This was also the youngest team in NBA history to find its way this deep into the postseason.

For former Kentucky Wildcat and now one of the best defenders in his class in the association, Cason Wallace's season for the Thunder also exceeded expectations. He answered every call thrown at him, defending eventual hall-of-famers throughout this playoff stretch and assuming responsibilities which most rookies would waver from. For him, this experience in his first season is invaluable.

"We fell short, we all feel the same way about that," Wallace said in his season exit interview on Sunday. "But I feel like we learned a lot as a team, me as a player, but it was nothing like competing with my teammates. Those guys are great."

One of the opening quotes of his exit interview already illuminates Wallace's humility and ability to view things from a broad perspective. The ups and downs this season eventually led to such a high quality season from a team that is still blooming in full swing, and Wallace recognizes that there's a learning bridge.

"I was told availability is the best ability," the 20-year old Dallas native said. "Just making sure I was there for every game. Even with feeling the way I felt sometimes I had to push through it, but I still had to come out and contribute to the team."

Playing all 92 games of the Thunder's season, that availabilty helped immensely. Across 10 games in the postseason, as Wallace generated 4.2 points on 39.0% shooting, and nearly a steal and a three in 19.8 minutes per contest. Of course, Wallace's impact will most be felt in terms of disruption and sound defense along the perimeter, and he showed up time and time again guarding players of high caliber.

Now, Wallace looks ahead to his very bright sophomore season. As he and the Thunder grow concurrently, Wallace's standout season this year should give him many more opportunities -- and depending on the state of the roster into next season, a starting spot.

6.8 points on 49.1% shooting and 1.2 made threes per game on 41.1% in 82 games and consistently stout defense in the regular season, Wallace's ceiling has shown to be much, much higher than his floor -- and next season will be a huge stepping stone.

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