John Wall very clearly had a lot to say on Theo Pinson’s Tidal League podcast, from detailing his time with the Houston Rockets to how he was traded from the Wizards.
But he also answered something so many people have been itching to know for so long. Why didn’t Wall go to North Carolina?
Obviously, he’s a Raleigh native. He still hosts his own holiday tournament in his home state. It’s pretty clear he’s got a lot of love for Carolina and the people of Carolina still love him, too. With that being the case, it was always weird that he chose to go to Kentucky.
But now we know why, folks. And the answer — at least, in part — is because of Tyler Hansbrough. At least, that’s how Wall put it on the Tidal League pod.
This story on why John Wall chose Kentucky over his “dream school” UNC is wild 🤯
Via @tpinsonn pic.twitter.com/kzxP0D2Cab
— Prep Hoops 🏀 (@PrepHoops) January 17, 2023
“I go on the visit and Ty Lawson and them there. Tyler Hansbrough got his own section. Him and, like, homeboys. I’m a recruit. I walk up and say what’s up. He said ‘I don’t talk to recruits.’ I’m like ‘F*** you I ain’t coming here.’ That messed it up right there…He did that and I was like ‘I got something for him,’.”
That story is WILD. We’ll never know what Wall had for Hansbrough, really, because the UNC forward left for the NBA in 2009 just a year before Wall started at Kentucky. Look at the beef we missed out on, y’all.
Anyway, Hansbrough straight-up denied Wall’s story on Twitter saying it’s “100% false.” He also threw a shot at John Calipari, sarcastically saying “I’m sure the bank of Calipari had nothing to do with him going to Kentucky.”
The story @JohnWall told on @tpinsonn podcast DID NOT HAPPEN! 100% FALSE! I’m sure the bank of Calipari had nothing to do with him going to Kentucky
— Tyler Hansbrough (@THANS50) January 18, 2023
What’s funny about this is absolutely no one but die-hard UNC fans actually believes Hansbrough here.