Jamall Walker

Jamall Walker (born August 7, 1977)[1] is an American basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach at Grand Canyon University.

Jamall Walker
Current position
TitleAssistant coach
TeamGrand Canyon
ConferenceWAC
Biographical details
Born (1977-08-07) August 7, 1977
Wichita, Kansas
Playing career
1996–1999Saint Louis
Position(s)Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2000Alton HS (assistant)
2001–2002F. L. Schlagle HS (assistant)
2003–2004Redlands CC (assistant)
2005–2006Ball State (assistant)
2007Saint Louis (assistant)
2008Murray State (assistant)
2009Ohio (assistant)
2011–2012Ohio (assistant)
2013–2020Illinois (assistant)
2017Illinois (Interim HC)
2020–presentGrand Canyon (assistant)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2010Arizona (DBO)
Head coaching record
Overall2–1
Tournaments2–1 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
As a player

Early life

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Walker graduated from Wichita South High School. As a high school senior in 1995, Walker was named Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year.[2]

College career

After graduating from high school Walker played for head coach Charlie Spoonhour at Saint Louis and started 73 games for the Billikens.[3] Alongside future NBA lottery pick Larry Hughes, Walker helped the Billikens reach the second round of the 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament before losing to eventual national champions Kentucky Wildcats.[3] Instead of attempting a professional basketball career overseas, Walker decided to go into coaching after his collegiate career.[4]

Coaching career

Walker's coaching career began as a varsity assistant at Alton High School in the Metro East area of Illinois during the 2000 season before serving in the same position at F. L. Schlagle High School in Kansas City, Kansas from 2001-02.[3][4] From 2003–2004 Walker spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Redlands Community College in El Reno, Oklahoma. During his two seasons, Redlands went 67-5 and was the 2004 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I national runner-up.[5] Walker later moved to work as an assistant coach at Ball State under Tim Buckley for two seasons.[5] Over the next four seasons from 2007—2010 Walker spent a single season with the following programs: Saint Louis under Brad Soderberg, Murray State under Billy Kennedy, Ohio under John Groce, and with Arizona as the director of basketball operations under Sean Miller.[3][6] After a season with Arizona, Walker returned to Ohio for two more seasons with John Groce. In 2012, Walker became an assistant at Illinois following Groce, who was hired as Illinois' head coach. Walker was named interim head coach after Groce was fired March 11, 2017, and Walker lead the Illini to a 2-1 record in the 2017 National Invitation Tournament.[7] After Illinois hired head coach Brad Underwood, Walker was retained as an assistant coach.[7]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (2017)
2016–17 Illinois 2–1†NIT Quarterfinals
Illinois: 2–1 (.667)
Total:2–1 (.667)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

†Walker was interim head coach for Illinois during 2017 NIT

References
  1. "Groce Names Ford, Walker to Fighting Illini Staff". Illinois DIA. April 9, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  2. Eisenbath, Mike (November 23, 1995). "Meet the Billikens". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  3. "Great basketball mind waits his turn". Arizona Daily Star. February 16, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  4. Tate, Loren (July 30, 2016). "Metro East blues coming to end?". News Gazette. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  5. "Former Billiken Jamall Walker Named Assistant Coach". CBS Sports. May 12, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  6. "New Ohio basketball coach starts to put his staff together". Athens News. July 14, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  7. Ryan, Shannon (March 23, 2017). "Illinois retains Jamall Walker as assistant coach, report says". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
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