Walked His Own Way

By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – When Baltimore native Anthony Walker went to Hope Academy in Stockbridge, Ga., for his freshman year of high school it was not because of basketball. At all.

In fact, Walker, now a freshman forward at Miami, was not even on the hoops team while there.

Rather, his first time playing competitive basketball was as a sophomore, when he returned to the Old Line State and helped lead Perry Hall High School to the first state title in program history. His junior year, Walker again guided Perry Hall to the 4A state crown.

After that—well, basketball factored more into his next decision. Walker made the choice to attend Brewster Academy in Wolfebroro, N.H., for his senior year.

A stellar academic school with a powerhouse hoops program that has featured numerous NBA players such as Will Barton, Donovan Mitchell, Thomas Robinson and TJ Warren, Brewster was the spot Walker felt he had to go for his final year before college.

“I just talked about it for a long time with my family and my mom,” Walker said. “She didn’t want me to go to a different state so soon because I was still in high school, but that just being such a prestigious school, being in one of the best high school leagues [and having] other players on the team that were going everywhere else, like Texas and Ohio State, I just had to go. It was great competition and I just wanted to get better.”

Along with those Texas- (Kai Jones) and Ohio State-bound (Alonzo Gaffney) teammates was Jalen Lecque, who signed a deal with the Phoenix Suns straight out of Brewster. All three were top-55 prospects in the 247Sports Composite rankings, while Joel Brown (Cal) was another highly-touted 2019 recruit whom Walker faced every day in practice.

“Just going against and playing with players that were better than me, going against players that were also the man on their old high school team before Brewster,” Walker explained, “I learned how to play a role that I would have had to learn playing here at The U. So, it was a great experience.”

The NEPSAC, arguably the top prep league in America, features numerous post-graduate, fifth-year players. For Walker, already relatively young for his grade, that meant consistently taking on opponents who were not just extremely talented, but also older than him.

He felt his competitiveness improve throughout the season, which featured a run to the NEPSAC AAA title game. He also felt his confidence rise, both from his good days against elite competition and from bad days when he still hung tough.

While Walker certainly improved on the hardwood while at Brewster, he thinks his time in New England also helped him off the court.

“It definitely prepared me very well for college, me being away from my mom and . . . having to manage my own time and take care of my own self,” Walker said. “So, I think I matured pretty well.”

Now that he is at the college level, the 6-foot-9-inch wing with pogo stick-like bounce, has set some general goals for his freshman campaign.

The goals, though, may not be what one would think, as they are not about numbers or accolades. Rather, they are about continuing to grow and develop, like the decision to attend Brewster was.

“Just to get adjusted to the collegiate level,” Walker said. “Just playing against the best and hopefully making a great impact on this team so going into my sophomore year I can become more of a leader.”

Walker recognizes the needs to improve both his handles and his jump-shot, but knows his leaping ability will help him from the start.

“I heard I’ve got a pretty good second jump, so I feel like I’m a good rebounder,” Walker said of his strengths. “I feel like I’m a great athlete. I feel like I can jump and chase balls in the air that most players can’t.”

One other thing most players also can’t do is play in the nation’s premier college conference, the ACC. However, four years after not even playing high school hoops, Anthony Walker is ready to do just that.