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RICHARDSON — Kevin Lawson knows what Cason Wallace and Rylan Griffen — two Richardson seniors, and two of Texas’ top boys basketball recruits — will hear night in, night out.
They’ll hear it from fans. Maybe even from opposing players.
Lawson knows that for a fact, actually, because they already have.
“There’s a target on them,” Lawson, Richardson’s coach, said. “I expect to hear the overrated chant. I expect to have people try to get under their skin — and they know it. The good thing is, they’ve experienced all of it already.”
Wallace, a five-star recruit, and Griffen, a four-star recruit, are the first- and fifth-ranked recruits in the Dallas area in the class of 2022, per 247. The duo helped lead Richardson to the 6A state semifinals and the No. 3 ranking in the state as juniors in 2020.
So, yeah, they’ve heard it. Ask the players themselves about it, and it’s just white noise.
“Nah, I don’t really feel it,” Wallace said. “I just play the same way every time I touch the court. I play hard, I play as hard as I can, and I make my teammates better. As long as I’m doing those things, I could care less what anybody else says.”
Wallace, who averaged 19.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists last year, will announce his college commitment on Sunday. The No. 7 recruit nationally, per 247, includes Kentucky, Texas, Tennessee and UTSA in his final four. His older brother Keaton — now a member of the Los Angeles Clippers’ G-League team — played at UTSA.
“All of them are really different, honestly,” Wallace said. “I’m grateful I went to all of them. I appreciate all of them for letting me come. But [I’ll choose] the one I’m most comfortable at, and the one that’ll let me strive the most at.”
Griffen averaged 22 points and 4.9 rebounds last year, and will commit on Nov. 9. His top 10 list includes Auburn, Alabama, Kansas and Oklahoma.
“Somewhere I feel comfortable with the coaches,” Griffen said of his upcoming decision. “Somewhere I can play my game, my style. That’s what I’m really looking for.”
Both want to play basketball at the highest level, and Lawson thinks the best fit for each is somewhere they can play to their strengths — Wallace as a do-it-all playmaker, Griffen as a scorer.
For Richardson, it’s an ideal fit right now.
“[They] complement each other so well, basketball-wise,” Lawson said. “Cason is kind of the orchestrator, making sure everybody is in the right place, everybody is happy ... Rylan has always been the scorer, he’s always been the one carrying a big load on the offensive end.”
The top 20 for the class of 2022
| Player, School | Position | Height | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Cason Wallace, Richardson | G | 6-4 | Offers from Kentucky, Tennessee, UTSA, Texas |
| 2. Anthony Black*, Duncanville | G | 6-7 | Offers from Oklahoma State, Baylor, Gonzaga |
| 3. Arterio Morris, Kimball | G | 6-3 | Texas |
| 4. Zuby Ejiofor, Garland | F | 6-8 | Kansas |
| 5. Rylan Griffen, Richardson | G | 6-5 | Offers from Alabama, Auburn, Kansas, Oklahoma |
| 6. Noah Selby, Greenhill | G | 6-2 | Vanderbilt |
| 7. Kyeron Lindsay, Denton Guyer | F | 6-8 | UNLV |
| 8. Lee Dort, Greenhill | C | 6-9 | Vanderbilt |
| 9. Quion Williams, Mansfield Legacy | F | 6-4 | Oklahoma State |
| 10. TJ Caldwell, Faith Family Academy | G | 6-4 | Ole Miss |
| 11. Ryan Agarwal, Coppell | F | 6-6 | Stanford |
| 12. Robert Jennings, Texas Alliance of Christian Athletes | F | 6-7 | Texas Tech |
| 13. Trae Clayton, Kimball | F | 6-5 | Offers from Nebraska, Mississippi State |
| 14. Jason Thirdkill, Texas Alliance of Christian Athletes | F | 6-7 | Offers from TCU, Texas A&M, DePaul |
| 15. Alex Anamekwe, McKinney | F | 6-6 | SMU |
| 16. CJ Ford, Duncanville | G | 5-11 | NAU |
| 17. Chauncey Gibson, Kimball | G | 6-6 | Clemson |
| 18. Jourdyn Grandberry, Richland | G | 6-3 | Texas A&M Corpus Christi |
| 19. Davion Sykes, Duncanville | F | 6-5 | Texas State |
| 20. Terrance Ramirez, Grapevine | G | 6-2 | UT Arlington |
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