Prospect Spotlight: Kendall Walker (2020)

Colby Giacubeno February 15, 2019 @ 03:17 PM

The Boys' Latin Lakers will play their final game of the regular season this evening against John Carroll. It will cap a very successful journey as they look to improve their overall record to 29-5 with a win. Although their record brings the assumption of dominance, they have had their share of adversity. Recently, they lost starting senior guard Cam Watts to a meniscus injury that'll keep him sidelined for the remainder of the year. Watts was a routine 15 or more points in the scoring column, among other things.   When one player drops, the famous saying is "next man up." In the Lakers' case, that guy has been junior guard Kendall Walker. Walker has been playing big minutes with Watts out. He was already a starter, but because of the other four players' ability to score, he was looked at as the last option.   "Prior to Cam going down, my role was really just to run the team and make sure everyone was in the right spots at the right times," Walker said following his 18-point performance in a win over Annapolis Area. "I just had to make sure everything was getting run smoothly and when the opportunity presented itself, look to get mine. But it was really just to facilitate and try to free up all of the great shooters that we have on the perimeter."   Following the Watts injury, there was a clear change for expectations in terms of what Walker had to bring in his promoted role.   "Since the beginning of the season Coach Rees has always told me to be a aggressive, but once Cam went down he told me that I really have to step up and not necessarily replace all of his scoring, but look to be more aggressive," Walker told Prep Hoops.   The Lakers depended so heavily on the production from their starting five. It was a fear of my own that if one player went down, they'd be in jeopardy of collapsing, but the team's chemistry and basketball IQ remains very strong.   Walker has improved on his jump shot drastically from the beginning of the season. His pace in which he shoots with is much more under control, even when he is pulling up off the dribble. Even though he is expected to take a few more shots now, he still picks good shots to shoot and doesn't force the issue.   This spring and summer, Walker looks forward to working on his finishing around the rim. As this team stands today, Walker and forward Jake Nichols will be the only significant returners. Even if they get a few transfers or special freshman, Walker will still be taking on a heavy load offensively, so having the ability to score from all three levels would be imperative.   As of now, Walker isn't being recruited heavily by any one program, but it shouldn't be long until he starts hearing from Division III schools who need a point guard from the 2020 class.