Early years[edit]
Wall is the son of Frances Pulley and John Carroll Wall, Sr. When Wall was 8 years old, his father was released from prison but died of liver cancer a month later, on August 24, 1999 at the age of 52. Throughout his childhood, Wall's mother worked multiple jobs to support Wall, his sister, Cierra, and his half-sister, Tonya.[2] Wall's father was incarcerated due to the armed robbery of a convenience store and had earlier served time for second-degree murder.[3]
The death of Wall's father caused him to frequently reject the authority of adults and led to a path of violence and occasional fighting, mostly in middle school.[3]
Wall played AAU basketball for D-One Sports.[4]
High school career[edit]
Wall played his first two years of high school basketball at Garner Magnet High School in Garner, North Carolina. After his second season, his family moved to Raleigh and Wall repeated his sophomore year at Needham B. Broughton High School. Despite a very impressive tryout, Wall was cut from the Broughton basketball team for attitude-related issues. As a result Wall transferred from Broughton to Word of God Christian Academy, also in Raleigh.[2][4] It was in Word of God Christian Academy that Wall began mending his attitude related issues. Wall's coach Levi Beckwith worked with Wall in order for him to stop demeaning his teammates for missed layups and later worked on his facial expressions.[3]
In the summer of 2007, after his sophomore year of high school, Wall was invited to the 2007 Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia. Wall distinguished himself by scoring 28 points against a team that featured future lottery