Before you start comparing the Nebraska recruit to Tyronn Lue, before you question his attitude, before you wonder if he'll qualify academically, before you watch him face Creighton recruit Josh Dotzler and Bellevue West Saturday in the Omaha Shootout at the Qwest Center, a story from Walker's coach:
Summer, 2004. Phone rings. It's Bill Self. First thing the Kansas coach says is he made a mistake.
See, the assistant coach who was handling Walker's recruitment got the St. John's job, and somehow the kid slipped through the cracks these past few months.
We'd still like him to come to Lawrence. Self, clipboard kin of Roy Williams and Dr. Naismith, even stops by Walker's house.
"I'm grateful you recognize my talent," the 6-foot-1, 165-pound point guard tells him. But Walker was going to Nebraska.
Mark Nusbaum won't be sorry to see him go. The Rockhurst High School coach has faced Walker five times in four years. "He might be the fastest kid with the ball I've ever seen," said Nusbaum, who coached against Nebraska's Lue and Missouri star Anthony Peeler in high school.
Just two weeks ago, Walker lit up Rockhurst for 45 points. Nusbaum's team led 58-33 early in the fourth quarter before Walker scored 28 of his team's 30 points to make it a nail-biter. It wasn't the first time he went off.
Last season, Walker scored 54 in a game. He hit seven 3-pointers, brought O'Hara back from 12 points in the final 1:50 and hit the game-tying shot. O'Hara won in double overtime.
"Golly, when he's on a roll, just let him go," O'Hara High School Coach Todd Magwire said. "I'll probably never coach a kid that talented again."
In the next month, Walker should break Peeler's city high school scoring record of 2,477 points. He was Kansas City metro player of the year as a junior and averages 27 points per game this year.
