SAN ANTONIO – Keaton Wallace, despite his many accomplishments as a prep player, wasn’t a highly sought-after recruit coming out of Richardson High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
The former UTSA men’s basketball standout and current member of the National Basketball Association’s Atlanta Hawks, Wallace – the No. 31 high school player in the Lone Star State as determined by TexasHoops.com - was drawn to the culture within the Roadrunners program.
“UTSA was one of the few schools that actually wanted me,” Wallace said. “It felt like home too. I knew they were trying to start a new culture and a new wave and that I would be the foundation of that.”
It was an opportunity for Wallace to connect with another Dallas-area standout in Jhivvan Jackson and make an impact on a program that hadn’t experienced a winning season in the previous five campaigns.
“Me and Jhivvan were from Dallas – I knew of him, and he knew of me,” Wallace said. “We were going to team up and come to UTSA. He was highly known for scoring in Dallas. We were two underdogs linking up to try to make a difference. That’s what it felt like as freshmen, and it translated even more throughout our college years.”
The two rookies built on the foundation that had been created during the 2016-17 season.
“We had other guys who were the leaders before my class came in,” Wallace said. “They instilled the chemistry and the togetherness before we even got there. Then when we got there, it just meshed even more. The guys before us were key factors in the chemistry.”
Together, Wallace and Jackson formed one of the nation’s highest-scoring backcourts, finishing as the top two scorers in program history. Jackson is UTSA’s all-time points leader with 2,551 points and Wallace is second with 2,080. They are the only two Roadrunners in school history to eclipse the 2,000-point mark.
In four seasons at UTSA, the duo led their squad to 65 total victories and racked up countless honors along the way. Along with Jackson, Wallace formed the second-highest scoring duo of any single recruiting class in NCAA history behind only Duke’s Mark Alarie and Johnny Dawkins in 1982-83. Wallace was a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District honoree.
“It was really fun,” Wallace said. “We had some of our best life memories here at UTSA. We still talk about them often. There were a lot of people tuned into UTSA Basketball. Being here at that time was fun, for sure.”
Wallace, a business finance major at UTSA, had his sights set on a professional career, but went undrafted in 2021. After playing with the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2021 NBA Summer League, he was selected ninth overall in the 2021 NBA G League Draft by the Wisconsin Herd.
For three years, Wallace played in the NBA G League, first for the Agua Caliente Clippers and then the College Park Skyhawks. On July 15, 2024, Wallace signed a two-way contract with the Atlanta Hawks, making his NBA debut on October 27, 2024. The third two-way contract of his career, this would be the one that would ultimately lead to his full-time spot in the NBA.
After making 31 total appearances with five starts last year for the Hawks, Wallace entered this season with a standard NBA contract. While he didn’t have the easiest path to a professional career, Wallace is grateful for the journey that led him to achieving his dreams.
“If you want to play basketball, I’m a living example that anything you want to do is possible,” he said. “You just have to put your head down and grind. It wasn’t the sexiest route, but you can get to where you want to go.”
Wallace returned to San Antonio in late November when the Hawks faced the San Antonio Spurs at the Frost Bank Center. The night before the game, he made a visit to campus and spoke to the current UTSA men’s basketball team.
“I enjoy coming back and seeing the people coming behind me, as far as trying to pursue basketball,” Wallace said. “I think being somebody who was here before, trying to show up for them and letting them know that they have a resource is important. I take pride in my school.”
He reflected back on his time putting up shots in the Convocation Center in the middle of the night and the results that the hard work of he and his teammates yielded. His favorite memory was a historic 17-point comeback win in the final four minutes against Conference USA leader Old Dominion in 2019, capped off by his game-winning three-pointer.
Wallace has enjoyed watching this year’s Roadrunners under the direction of second-year head coach Austin Claunch. He hopes to inspire the next generation of UTSA players.
“They might not know I’m watching, but I’m watching,” Wallace said. “To me, it’s not just about basketball. There’s a lot in this world other than basketball. Somebody might go a different route, but nothing is impossible. Just go your hardest at it and you can do it.”