He’s never played a college basketball game before.

That seems to be the only knock on UK freshman point guard John Wall. Some say his jump shot needs improvement, some say he can’t hit his 3-pointers with the regularity that others can. But when the UK men’s basketball team talks about just how good Wall is, there’s usually a shaking of the head in disbelief, raising of eyebrows and very complimentary words.

“John is very good,” freshman forward DeMarcus Cousins said. “Everything you hear, everything on paper is true. He is good, he’s not overrated at all. Everything is good.”

When asked if he could be the national player of the year, Cousins responded with a simple, “Oh yeah.”

That’s just the recognition Wall got from CBSSports.com senior writer Gary Parrish, who labeled Wall the Preseason National Player of the Year.

Wall wouldn’t comment on if he can be the national player of the year this year because he has yet to play a game at the college level — not even an exhibition game. Wall was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for the Cats’ first exhibition game and first regular season game because he received money from his AAU coach who was a former agent. On Friday night, Wall will finally get to take the court at Rupp Arena against an opposing team.

Hailing from Raleigh, N.C., Wall chose the Cats over Miami (Fla.), Duke and hometown North Carolina State, among others. Wall was close to giving a commitment to Memphis before then-Memphis head coach John Calipari had left for UK. The move reopened Wall’s recruitment and the Cats became one of the top schools on his list.

“It’s just an offense to have fun,” Wall said of Calipari’s Dribble-Drive Motion offense. “If you can score and get to the basket, this is a great offense for you.”

In the offseason, Wall organized off-court activities and pick-up games with his current teammates. He said he’s always been that way. Along with junior forward Patrick Patterson, Wall said he’s trying to become a more vocal leader on the team and that overall the team has a lot of good leaders.

Being the point guard, the leader of the offense and the No. 1 recruit in the country comes with high expectations and praise from many different sources. Calipari said it’s not uncommon to see Wall in the gym by himself at 11 o’clock at night. Calipari also said Wall, like the great players he’s had in the past, defers the attention to his teammates and is taking it all in stride.

“He thinks Patrick Patterson is the best player in the country,” Calipari said. “He’s going to do what he can to help this team win. His best friend on this team, his closest brother, is Eric Bledsoe. They’re going to be competing and also playing together, and yet that’s his best friend.”

Wall said his strengths include getting to the basket and getting his teammates involved. He also said he dives on the floor for loose balls, something he said you might not expect from a top-10 recruit in the country.

“He’s definitely made an impact on this team for him being known as a passer,” said senior guard/forward Ramon Harris. “He makes guys want to run the floor, he makes guys want to get open because you know he’s going to pass it to you.”

Wall has become a YouTube legend through his play in both AAU tournaments and high school. He averaged 22.1 points, 5.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 2 steals per game his senior season at Word of God Christian Academy, leading them to a runner-up finish in the North Carolina Class 1A state championship.

One of Wall’s biggest YouTube moments came when he threw down a huge one-handed slam in the face of two-time NBA All-Star Jerry Stackhouse. For Cousins, the legend of Wall appeared at a younger age. Cousins met Wall at an under-14 AAU tournament.

“I didn’t know who he was at the time but he was good then,” Cousins said. “He was a lanky kid and he was fast as hell then. He dunked on one of my teammates and he said that was his first dunk. I was like, ‘Your first dunk you slammed on somebody.’ It was a pretty sick dunk.”