2015 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Media Day: Wallace looking to be family's first college grad

SAN FRANCISCO — Cal basketball guard Tyrone Wallace had a decision to make – should he stay or should he go? On the one hand, he averaged a team-best 17.1 points per game. And, with a loaded freshman class coming in that is ranked third in the nation by Scout, he might not have as many opportunities to make plays. That’d point towards enter the NBA Draft.

On the other hand, Cal was going to have a chance to be a contender on the national stage with Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb coming to Berkeley, buoyed with returning starters Jabari Brid and Jordan Matthews. That side won out – Wallace was returning for his senior year.

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“I think the main thing was for me to take a step back and talk it over with my coach and family,” Wallace said at 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Day. “I think that we have a great opportunity here with the players we have coming back and a chance to do something special.”

But that wasn’t the only reason why. Wallace has the chance to become the first person in his family to graduate from college. Jeff Faraudo of the Bay Area News Group reported at the time of his decision to return that Wallace had made a promise to his late grandfather to graduate from college.

“I think it definitely had a huge impact,” Wallace said of the chance of getting a degree impacting his decision to return. “For me to be a first in the family to get that degree, I think it shows my siblings and my younger family and relatives that they can go to school and get a degree. It's not all about sports or anything like that. So I think that's why I'm getting my degree.”

A social welfare major, Wallace is on track to graduate in the spring.