Louis Walker has a bright future ahead of him as an engineer, but before he gets to college to prepare for the field of his choice, he’s helping lead Hamilton High School to basketball dominance.
Standing at 6’3”, he is a power forward who plays on both the low post and on the perimeter. He gets a lot of points off of rebounds, and he doesn’t pass up open jump shots. As a junior, basketball is coming pretty easy for him, but it was not always that way. He did not play organized basketball until the 7th grade, and two things were really tough for him in the beginning.
“Dribbling, and learning plays,” Walker said. “I was new to organized basketball, so I really didn’t know how to adjust to plays.”
As a young child Louis played baseball, and he always got in pickup basketball games on the blacktop at lunchtime. He also ran cross country as a freshman. But basketball was in his genes.
“I had a lot of help from my dad,” Walker said. “He used to play basketball, so he inspired me to play.”
Walker’s father played at Cleveland High School and Glendale College, and he has played a vital role in his son’s career.
“He’s passing on everything that he knows, and he helps me become a better player,” Walker said. “When he comes to my games or practices, he’ll guide me and try to help me learn what my coaches are saying. He’ll repeat what they are saying, and tell me why my coaches are right. He just tries to help me be a better player.”
Walker takes a lot of pride in seeing his father in the stands of his games.
“I look at a lot of my teammates, and not a lot of their parents come to their games,” Walker said. “So to have my father there, it’s pretty cool. And when he’s there, at halftime he’ll tell me a few things, how to improve and what to do around the court.”
Walker’s basketball career at Hamilton is going very well so far. As a freshman, he was a starter on the junior varsity team that won the league title. As a sophomore he came off of the bench on the varsity team, which made it all the way to the Division III City championship game. This past season, he averaged 11 points and nine rebounds on Hamilton’s Division II City championship team.
Winning the City Section title was an unbelievable experience.
“Our coach told us that we could win a championship, but not a lot of us believed him at first,” Walker said. “Back to last year in the summer, when we went to Vegas he was telling us how we could win, and all summer up until the season started we all worked hard. So it felt really good to win it.”
Walker has come a long way as a basketball player, and his coaches have said that his ability to listen, grasp the concepts of the game, and being a coachable player are his strengths. He is a fast learner and he does not make the same mistake twice.
Walker plans to play in college, where he would more than likely have to play small forward or shooting guard, depending on how tall he gets. His father is 6’5”, so he still has some room to grow.
College basketball is an option, but it is not something that Walker has to count on. With a 3.8 grade point average, he will be able to get into the colleges of his choice. The two schools that are on the top of his list are UCLA and Georgia Tech, because they have two of the top engineering programs in the nation. Math and science are Walker’s favorite subjects.
“I’m not so much into a lot of reading and writing essays,” Walker said. “I’m not much into history. I know my history pretty well, but that’s more about memory. Math is more hands on. I like chemistry because I like to do experiments, and math ties into chemistry. Those two subjects kind of connect.”
Doing well in school is pretty simple for Walker.
“I do my work,” Walker said. “I notice a lot of students around me don’t really do their homework. If you do your homework, your teachers will like you.”
Walker has a great memory, so he does not have to spend a lot of time memorizing the material. He takes detailed notes, and after going over them a few times, he just remembers it.
Being smart in the classroom has helped him on the court.
“A lot of my classes have me critically think,” Walker said. “Being able to think things through on the court, and knowing where to be by instincts, to me it requires a lot of thinking. If I need to get through certain gaps, I’m more likely to think about it faster.”
Walker is a champion on the court, and he’s excelling in the classroom, which will make him an asset to our community.
