Skip to main content
Join Now
Get a profile. Be recruited.

Report: Kentucky legend John Wall set to become President of Basketball Operations at Howard

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs04/30/26grant_grubbs_

John Wall has become the president of basketball operations at Howard University, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The move is a return to Washington D.C. for Wall, who played for the Washington Wizards from 2010-20.

“Wall has already taken a hands-on approach to the role at Howard, playing an active role in team meetings and evaluations of recruits and transfer targets,” Charania wrote. “He has helped shape the program’s overall strategic vision with focus on roster management, name, image and likeness deals, revenue sharing, agent negotiations and player mentorship.”

Wall is a five-time NBA All-Star and was a member of the 2017 All-NBA Third-Team. In 2017, he averaged a career-high 23.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game, while shooting 45.1% from the field and 32.7% from beyond the arc.

Now, Wall will aim to use his wealth of basketball knowledge to guide Howard to new heights. Kenny Blakeney has been Howard’s head coach since the 2019-20 season. He’s led the Bison to three NCAA Tournament appearances in the past four seasons.

Most recently, Howard posted a 24-11 overall record and an 11-3 mark in conference play. The Bison won the MEAC regular-season title and the conference tournament to punch their ticket to the Big Dance.

They defeated UMBC in the First Four to secure a spot in the Round of 64, where they ultimately fell to eventual national champion Michigan. With Wall by his side, Blakeney will aim to build on the Bison’s momentum this offseason.

While this role will be Wall’s first on a collegiate staff, the former No. 1 overall pick knows plenty about success at the collegiate level. Wall was the star on John Calipari‘s debut team at Kentucky in the 2009-10 campaign.

Wall averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game as a true freshman. For his efforts, he was named the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus First-Team All-American.

With Wall paving the way, Kentucky won the SEC regular-season and conference tournament titles. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament before ultimately suffering a season-ending loss to West Virginia.

John Wall officially retired from professional basketball in August 2025. He served as an analyst on Amazon Prime’s NBA coverage this season.