Derrick Walker Season 2021-22

HONORS & AWARDS

• Second-Team All-Big Ten (Coaches, 2023)
• Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten (Media, 2023)
• 2023 NABC All-Star Game selection
• 2023 Sam Foltz 27 Hero Leadership Award
• School Record Holder for Most Consecutive Field Goals Made  (15, Nov. 21-27, 2021)
• School Record Holder for Single-Season Field Goal Percentage  (.683, 2021-22)
• Academic All-Big Ten (2021, 2022)
• University of Nebraska Graduate (May 2021)
• Four-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll
• NU Academic Medallion (2022, Bronze)
• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2020, 2022, 2023)
• Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Nominee (2022)

Final Bio

2022-23 (SENIOR)
Derrick Walker put together a strong final season, earning All-Big Ten honors for the first time in his career. Walker led Nebraska with 13.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, becoming the first Husker to lead NU in all three categories dating back to the 1970s. He ranked in the top 10 in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.584, second), rebounds (7.1, ninth) and assists (3.9, eighth) and was one of 14 players nationally who averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game. He totaled double figures 20 times, including three double-doubles (vs. Memphis, Florida State and Purdue). He finished second on the Huskers' career field goal percentage list (.620), becoming one of only three players in school history to shoot 60 percent for their entire Husker career.

Walker, who missed NU's first five games, returned with a flourish, earning double figures in each of his first six games, including a pair of double-doubles. He had 15 points and 12 rebounds against Memphis in his 2022-23 debut before following up with a then-career-high 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting, 13 rebounds and four assists against Florida State. He recorded his second career high of the season in NU's 63-53 win over No. 7 Creighton, finishing with 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting and eight boards. He reached double figures in his first five Big Ten contests, including 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in an overtime win at Minnesota. Walker also posted a 20-point game at Penn State on Jan. 21 and a career-high 23-point effort in an overtime win over Maryland on Feb. 25, including 9-of-11 from the foul line. He closed the season with double-figure efforts in seven of his last eight games, as he had nine points, but 12 rebounds and eight assists in NU's win at Iowa to complete the season sweep of the Hawkeyes.

2021-22 (JUNIOR)
Walker gave the Huskers a valuable inside presence, as he started all 32 games and averaged 9.5 points, along with team bests in both rebounds (6.0) and blocked shots (0.9) per game. For his efforts, he was 10th in the Big Ten in blocked shots and 16th in rebounding. Walker shot 68.3 percent from the field, breaking NU's single-season field goal mark which had been on the books since the 1975-76 season. Walker posted career bests in every category, most notably improving his free throw percentage from 46 to 72 percent while shooting nearly as many free throws in 2021-22 as he did in his first three seasons of college basketball.  Walker had 18 double-figure games, including three double-doubles (at NC State, vs. No. 18 Auburn, No. 13 Ohio State).

Walker played some of his best basketball at the end of the season, averaging 11.0 points on 73 percent shooting and 6.8 rebounds per game over the final five games. He matched his career high with 16 points, including 8-of-9 shooting from the foul line, and added seven rebounds and two blocked shots against Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament. He keyed NU's one-point win at No. 10 Wisconsin on March 6, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the first half and adding seven caroms.

During non-conference action, Walker strung together five straight double-figure performances, a stretch where he shot 86 percent (30-35) from the field. Walker tied or set career scoring highs in three straight games, including a 16-point game against Tennessee State on Nov. 23 when he was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. It was part of a three-game stretch where he matched a school mark with 15 consecutive field goals. The stretch was capped with Walker's first double-double, as he had 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in 50 minutes in a four OT game at NC State on Dec. 1. Walker played one of his best games of the year against No. 18 Auburn at Holiday Hoopsgiving, finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. 
In Big Ten action, he ranked third on the team in scoring at 9.0 points while topping NU in rebounding and blocked shots while ranking second in assists. He reached double figures 10 times, including four straight games from Jan. 2-11. Walker recorded his third double-double of the year in an overtime loss to No. 13 Ohio State with 15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high four steals. He followed that up by setting a personal best with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting at No. 10 Michigan State on Jan. 5. He also had 16 points and seven rebounds against No. 25 Illinois on Jan. 11. Walker keyed NU's win over Minnesota on Feb. 8 with 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and paced NU with 14 points at Iowa on Feb. 13. Walker also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out a season-high five assists at Northwestern on Feb. 22, before his 10-point, eight-rebound, two-block effort against No. 25 Iowa on Feb. 25 started his surge to close the year.

2020-21 (COVID-19 SEASON)
Walker gave an immediate boost to the Husker front court after becoming eligible on Jan. 10. He started all 16 games, averaging 5.9 ppg on 60 percent shooting and ranking second in rebounding at 4.8 caroms. Walker closed the season with one of his best performances of the season - an eight-point, eight-rebound, six-assist performance against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament. Walker reached double figures three times in 2020-21, including a career-high 14 points against Rutgers as he connected on 7-of-11 shots from the floor. He nearly produced his first career double-double against Minnesota with 12 points and nine rebounds along with three blocks and also had 10 markers on 5-of-7 shooting in his debut against Indiana. He scored seven or more points in seven of his last eight contests and had six or more rebounds on six occasions in his first season as a Husker.

2019-20 (TRANSFER SEASON)
Walker sat out the 2019-20 season after transferring from Tennessee. He honed his skills working with the scout team. Walker was selected to represent Nebraska at the Black Student-Athlete Summit in Austin, Texas, in January of 2020.

BEFORE NEBRASKA
Walker played in 30 games as a sophomore, as Tennessee reached the NCAA Sweet 16 and finished with a 31-6 record in 2018-19. He came off the bench and averaged 0.8 points and 1.1 rebounds per game in just over five minutes per contest. He shot 53 percent from the floor, including 6-of-7 from the field in SEC play. He had five points, two boards and a pair of assists in a win over Georgia.
As a freshman, he was an integral member of the Volunteers’ 2017-18 SEC title team, appearing in 34 of the Vols’ 35 contests and averaging 1.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per game. He was efficient on the offensive end, shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor, including 68 percent (19-of-28) in SEC action. He totaled five or more points six times, including career bests in points (10), field goals (five) and minutes (25) at South Carolina when he hit all five field goal attempts. He set personal bests in both rebounds (seven) and blocks (two) at Alabama and also grabbed seven boards against Ole Miss. In all, he reached double-figures in minutes 11 times, including seven games against SEC competition.  

He spent his senior and postgrad years at Sunrise (Kan.) Christian Academy, where he averaged 14 points and seven rebounds per game in 2016-17. He was a four-star prospect by ESPN.com and a three-star choice by Rivals and 247Sports, which rated him as the No. 2 prospect in Missouri in 2017. Walker played for the MoKan Elite in the summer of 2016, helping the team win the Nike Peach Jam championship. On that team, he played with 2018 first-round NBA picks Trae Young and Michael Porter Jr.  He spent three seasons at Raytown High School, helping the school to a conference title and earning second-team all-conference honors. Walker, who attended the same high school as former Husker legend Tyronn Lue, also played three years of football at the school.

PERSONAL
Derrick is the son of Brandy Hunter and was born on Nov. 9, 1997, in Kansas City, Mo. He has one sister (Mayah) and one younger brother (Trinton Roland). Derrick earned his undergraduate degree in child, youth and family studies in May of 2021 and is working on a master's degree. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, he is a two-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship team. In the summer of 2022, Walker organized a Special Olympics Basketball Clinic with the Husker basketball team for 40 participants. He also participated in the inaugural Big Life Series trip to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama in July of 2022.  While at Tennessee, Walker was a participant in the 2018 Joint Student-Athlete Leadership Council in Birmingham, Ala., serving as one of 25 Basketball Leadership Council representatives.