available in PDF - University of Kentucky Athletics

L E A D E R S H I P
CHRIS
WALKER
Second Season
Chris Walker enters his second season with the Kentucky
basketball program.
In addition to day-to-day administrative responsibilities, Walker
assists players with academic responsibilities, coordinates scouting
and film preparation and acts as the liaison to the video department.
A two-year letterman at Texas A&M, Walker’s association with
coach Billy Gillispie is one for the ages. The night before Gillispie
was hired as Texas A&M’s basketball coach, prior to the 2004-05
season, Chris Walker’s team won the school’s intramural championship;
a year later he was starting in the Big 12 Conference for
the new coach. He walked-on to the team in the fall and quickly
gained Gillispie’s attention with his grit and determination.
Walker played in 31 games, starting in 26 — including 15
Big 12 games. He averaged 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds,
despite being a 6-5 forward in a league of talented giants.
Consequently, he was named to the Big 12 All-Bench and
All-Walkon Teams by The Daily Oklahoman.
Along the way, he earned his degree in computer science,
graduating magna cum laude in December of 2005
with a 3.7 GPA.
Walker did not play organized basketball for two
years after playing the 2001-02 season at UT-Dallas, a
Division III school where he was named the conference’s
Freshman of the Year. He averaged 11.9 points
and 5.3 rebounds and earned a spot on the Freshman
All-America Team. He was a second-team all-region
pick as a senior at Grapevine High School and was
named the district’s offensive player of the year.
42 K E N T U C K Y B A S K E T B A L L