Wall doesn’t like needles
December 5th, 2009 | 
Author: By LARRY VAUGHT
LEXINGTON — John Wall had to leave the game early in the second half here Saturday against North Carolina with a leg cramp that required him to return to the dressing room to take fluids through an IV.
“He was cramping up and they brought him in and put the IV in. Because John doesn’t like needles, they had to go to the crowd to get his mom so that she could talk to him and rub his head a little bit and they could put the IV in. That is why it took so long,” Calipari said.
Wall tried to defend himself even though once again he made it clear he does not like needles.
“No, my mom was not back there. They just had trouble finding a vein, and they got the IV put in so I could get back out on the court,” he said. “But no sir, I do not like needles.”
He had an assistant coach giving him scoring updates as North Carolina cut into the lead while he was out.
“I was asking people to please tell me the score. I wanted them to hurry up so I could get back out there with my team. I just wanted to get back out there,” he said.
Calipari thought when Wall did play, he wasn’t about as flawless as a point guard could be against a top opponent except for his seven turnovers. He had 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes.
“I thought that he was terrific. You look at his numbers and they are unbelievable for 32 minutes. If he had three turnovers, then he would have played a perfect game for a point guard,” Calipari said.
Wall refused to use the leg cramps for his less productive play in the second half even though teammates thought he was noticeably slower.
“I got my speed and explosiveness back after I took the IV. It got me going again, and I tried to make some more plays,” he said.
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[...] Wall in the locker room receiving treatment (by the way, John Wall does not like needles), an also hobbled Eric Bledsoe took the reins of the UK attack, and it just wasn’t the same. [...]
A great game. A lot of great performances. An absolutely AWESOME victory!!! GO BIG BLUE!!!
A game to be remembered… until the next one!
Record attendance at Rupp: 24,468
Coach is coaching and the players are playing…
Way to Go, Big Blue!
WOW…was that not fun! First half I was yelling, screaming and stomping my feet. Second half towards the end I was pacing and actually sweating!
John Wall, I feel your pain…I hate needles more than anyone. It took a doctor, my dad and a nurse to hold me down when I was a child to get a shot. However, you did good, really good.
Kadoos to the whole team, you made my day! I have to rank this up there with meeting Ali and Mickey Mantle. I wonder what those fans from that school have to say now. Love the Cats…Go Cats!
John Wall showed a lot of courage and a lot of class, as always. Having had minor leg cramps, I can’t imagine how sore his legs were if his cramps were bad enough to require IVs to rehydrate him, but he kept plugging at it when he got back out there. He did seem a little slower, but way to go for our Baby Cats (John and Eric) when the game was on the line. Coach noted that Eric didn’t play particularly well, but asked to be put back in the game at the end. Instead of getting down on himself, he simply made the plays he needed to make to help the team. Kudos to all the Cats on a big win!
I don’t like needles either so I really feel his pain — literally. we actually talked about our fear of needles during a preseason interview, so I know he is not making this up.
But it was a gutty performance by all the Cats and one that will be talked about across the nation
Does anyone like needles. But I do like the “no sir”- showing respect to LV.