Transfer guard Jordan Walker delivering on promise
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It’s common and natural for transfer collegiate basketball players to have a lot of concerns and doubts. Everything promised, up to the point of the team’s first practice until the end of the first real game, isn’t concrete. All the talk from the recruiters and the individuals who have a stake at the university isn’t judged or put into question until after a series of games have been played. Players need to know how the coaches’ basketball ethos translates when the game is underway. Those student-athletes also need to know their teammates and gel with them. All of these elements could take a lot of time to form. But for transfer Jordan Walker, the transition has reaped nothing but positive benefits for the team.
The 5-foot-11 guard transfer from Tulane has played and started in six games for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Blazers and has already averaged the most minutes with 28.2 per game. Walker utilizes his time efficiently by being the team’s leading scorer where he’s averaging 17.3 points. That’s 5.1 points per game more than the second-best scorer on the team. But Walker isn’t just a scorer. He’s a guard that knows how to find the open man for an easy bucket and by doing so, has emerged as the team’s leading passer with 30 assists. That’s 15 more than the second-best distributer on the team. But it should come as no surprise for the coaching staff as Walker has been contributing in that fashion throughout his collegiate career.
Last season as a junior at Tulane, he started in all 23 games and was second in the AAC (American Athletic Conference) with 4.3 assists per game. Walker scored in double-figures 16 times and tied a career-best 24 points to go along with seven assists and three steals in a game versus Tulsa. It was also in the 2020-21 campaign where he recorded his first career double-double by scoring 18 points and distributing a career-high 10 assists at UCF. It’s evident that Walker had his breakout season in what was his final year at Tulane.
However, the UAB Blazers guard isn’t content with just living off his reputation from last season, as it is evident from his performances so far this season. Walker has been the perfect recruit for a team that desperately needed someone who can organize the offense, score a bunch of points, and pass the ball to wide open teammates. From here on out, he will no doubt attract attention from opposing teams who will try their best to slow him down. But the momentum is firmly with Walker as he seeks to lift his team to blissful college hoops heights.
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