Walker Becomes Fifth Husker Recruit of Early Signing Period

Lincoln --- Marcus Walker, a highly rated point guard from Kansas City, has signed a national letter-of-intent to join the Nebraska basketball team and attend the University of Nebraska starting in 2005-06, NU Coach Barry Collier announced Tuesday night.

Walker, who has a four-star ranking and is listed among the top 25 point guards nationally by theinsiders.com, joins a group of four future Huskers who signed letters-of-intent last week, including Will Harris, Jamel White, Chris Balham and Kyle Marks. The quartet that signed last week was already ranked among the top 35 recruiting classes nationally, and the addition of Walker puts the Huskers in position to crack the top 25 when the final rankings are compiled in the spring. Nebraska still has one scholarship remaining to fill for next year.

"We’re excited to have Marcus Walker joining our team next season," Collier said. "He has great skills as both a point guard and scorer, and is a great addition to what we believe is shaping up to be a very good recruiting class."

A top-150 recruit according to hoopmasters.com, Walker will join the Huskers after ending a stellar career at Archbishop O’Hara High School in Kansas City this winter. Playing for coach Todd Magwire, the 6-2, 165-pound Walker has been one of the top scoring guards in the state of Missouri each of the past three seasons and has a chance to break the metro area scoring record set by Anthony Peeler (2,477 in 1988) and move onto the state’s all-time top 25 scorers list. Walker enters the season with 1,818 career points and owns the school records for single-season scoring (754 points) and single-game scoring (54).

Last year, Walker led O’Hara to a 20-8 record and helped the Celtics advance to the Class 4 quarterfinals of the Missouri state tournament. He has helped the Celtics to a 51-29 record the past three seasons. Walker averaged 26.9 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals per game in 2003-04, including a career-high 54 points in a 91-86 double-overtime victory against Kearney. He led the team in scoring in all but two games as a junior, including 16 games with at least 25 points.

Walker was named first-team all-metro each of the past two seasons and was the metro area player of the year in 2003-04. He was also named the DiRenna Award winner as the top male high school basketball player in the Kansas City area.

During the summer season, Walker attended the 2004 Rebook ABCD Camp, where he tied for the tournament lead with 3.9 assists per game and was named one of the top 10 point guards in attendance.

Walker chose the Huskers over Kansas State and Duquesne. He also received offers from Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Purdue and Washington.

 

Coach Barry Collier on this year's recruiting efforts:
"I am extremely appreciative of our assistant coaches as their efforts are paying off. We feel we have an outstanding class of basketball players not to mention young men, and are excited to have them come to Nebraska next year. They are athletic and can score. These five guys are excellent basketball players and can help us on the court and in school. They will represent Nebraska in a first-class manor.

"We felt that Marcus had a great visit, he got along well with the other players and (assistant coach) Reggie Rankin has a great relationship with his family and coaches. We had his major, an opportunity to play early and to play in the Big 12."

Marcus Walker on coming to Nebraska:
"My major was an important thing in the recruiting process. I want to go somewhere where I have an opportunity to play and get my degree in my major (fashion design). I enjoy doing fashion design and Nebraska had the program when most schools did not. It is a good opportunity to have both at one place, instead of going to an academic school or institute and not getting to play basketball, or the other way around and getting to play ball and not have my major. I just thought it was a good situation.

"I’m from the Midwest and the Big 12 is real big here. It’s exciting and it will be fun to go against a lot of teams that recruited me early on. Nebraska has stuck with me from the beginning and through some tough times, so I figured they would stick with me the time I am there. I felt they have a lot of confidence in me to do good things at Nebraska and that people there are confident in what I am doing.

"When I went there, I just clicked with everyone. I am a people person anyway, I can get along with anyone and have fun. I clicked with all the guys there, especially Charles (Richardson Jr.) and Marcus (Neal Jr.), and we had fun. I enjoyed my time there and just felt it is the type of place that I know I can stay four years and not get bored.

"I have been checking up a lot on the other guys who signed. I know Chris (Balham) from playing against him. He is strong and can jump, is aggressive and is one of the hustle-guys who will do anything coach says. I’ve also seen Will (Harris), and he is strong and can go to the basket hard. Jamel (White) is at Laurinburg and doing well and (Kyle) Marks is in Florida and is a big, athletic guy."

Isaac Chew, AAU Coach, on Marcus Walker:
"Marcus is an outstanding scorer, and he has excellent court vision. He is probably one of the quickest guards in the country from point A to point B. One of his main strengths is breaking down a defense. He can score or he can find an open teammate. I would say he is one of the better scoring point guards in this class. He will add a dimension at Nebraska next year with his ability to penetrate and to make people play on their heels.

"I think he can come in as a freshman and produce right away. At this time, he is adding strength. He is already a gym rat and is trying to fill out. He will have a great deal more of that at Nebraska with the right nutrition. Any high school kid needs to add strength, but his quickness is so different, it can make his learning curve a little smaller than others’.

"With the better competition at the college level, it will showcase his talent. His high school team needs him to score and sometimes find a teammate. At the collegiate level, he will be able to show the talent that he hasn’t shown on a consistent level in high school, running the offense and finding his teammates.

"He has a fire and energy that is hard to match. He is one of one hardest playing kids I have ever seen play basketball. He wears his heart on his sleeve and wants to win, he is determined to win."

Coach Todd Magwire, Archbishop O'Hara High School, on Marcus Walker:
"Marcus' court awareness is just incredible. His vision is next to none and he makes phenomonal passes, just threading the needle. You are getting a gem in Marcus. He is a very unselfish person, and on the floor he is a point guard but he can definitely score too. He is just the real deal. And he has worked extremely hard on his outside shot. He can pull up from 15 feet no problem, but he is working on his jumper from the three-point line. I have just been blessed to have him four years and am elated that he is going to Nebraska. Being a Nebraskan myself, it brought a smile to my face although I would have supported him where ever he went.

"He will really only get stronger in their program with the weights and everything they have. He knows he needs to get stronger because day in and day out in Big 12 play and non-conference, he is going to be matching up with a quick, strong, athletic guard. He will have to get stronger, but he is up for the challenge. He is ready to step up. He is a great athlete and ballplayer, but more than that, he is a tremendous person. He will bring a smile to everyone's face. Marcus has a humbling personality and I've been truely blessed to have him.

"When he came in as a freshman, I told the upper classmen that they had better hold on because this freshman was going to start. They accepted him and he did not wait to be a leader. He came in and led not only by example from the beginning but also was a vocal leader who the upper classmen accepted. He is going to bring that to Nebraska. Marcus is a fiery guy who does not like to lose, he only wants to win. And Marcus is excited because he realizes the class of recruits Nebraska has put together. He knows the freshmen there now and the ones who just signed and he is excited to be a part of a team that may be young, but that in a couple years will be one that has to be dealt with."