Marcus Walker (basketball)

Marcus Walker (born August 22, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He led KR to the Icelandic championship[1] and Icelandic Basketball Cup in 2011, and was named both the Úrvalsdeild Foreign Player of the year and the Úrvalsdeild Playoffs MVP.[2]

Marcus Walker
Personal information
Born (1986-08-22) August 22, 1986 (age 38)
Kansas City, Missouri
NationalityAmerican
Listed height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Listed weight75 kg (165 lb)
Career information
High schoolArchbishop O'Hara
(Kansas City, Missouri)
College
NBA Development League draft2009: 8th round, 120th overall pick
Playing career2009–2012
2017–2018
PositionPoint guard
Number4, 10, 12, 13
Career history
2010–2011KR
2011–2012BC Goverla
2017KR-b
2018KR
Career highlights and awards

College

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Walker joined Nebraska University in 2005 but left the school after one season, citing his desire to play in a more up-tempo offense.[3] He played for Indian Hills during the 2006–2007 season[4] before finishing his college career with Colorado State in 2009.[5]

Professional career

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On November 1, 2009 Walker was selected 120th overall in the draft by the Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League.[6]

In October 2010, Walker signed with KR of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild karla.[7] After a slow start, he ended by leading the league in scoring after averaging 23.2 points per game.[8] In the playoffs, Walker helped KR to win the national championship with a dominant playoff performance.[9][10][11] Walker averaged 32.5 points, made 67 percent of his three point shots 67 (14 of 21) and only had 2 turnovers in his 143 minutes in the finals series, where KR beat Stjarnan 3–1. He also set a new Úrvalsdeild playoff record by scoring 332 points in his 11 playoff games, breaking Damon Johnson's twelve year old record for most points scored in the playoffs.[12][13]

Walker spent the 2011–2012 season with BC Goverla. For the season he averaged in the 14.0 points per game in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague and 12.2 points per game in the FIBA EuroChallenge.[14]

In July 2012, Walker signed with Basket Barcellona of the Italian Serie A2.[14][15] He was however released in September[16] after physical tests revealed he was suffering from an enlarged heart.[17][18]

Walker came out of retirement in October 2017 when he joined KR's B-team to play with them in the Final 16 round of the Icelandic Basketball Cup.[19][20] On November 3, Walker scored 42 points for KR-b in a 100–108 loss against Breiðablik in the cup.[21] On April 14, it was announced that Walker had been called up to KR's A-team for the rest of the 2018 Úrvalsdeild playoffs due to injuries to Jón Arnór Stefánsson.[22] In his first game, he scored 6 points in KR's semi-finals victory against Haukar.[18] On April 28, Walker won his second Icelandic championship after KR defeated Tindastóll in the Úrvalsdeild finals.[23][24]

Honours

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Iceland

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Club

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Individual

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References

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  1. ^ "Elskar Ísland" (PDF). Monitor (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. 28 April 2011. p. 4. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Walker valinn sá besti". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 19 April 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Marcus Walker looks at leaving NU". Lincoln Journal Star. 16 May 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  4. ^ "2006–07 – NJCAA Stats – NJCAA". njcaa.org. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Walker's 43 points leads Colorado St. over Tennessee St". The Denver Post. 17 November 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  6. ^ "2009 NBA D-League Draft Results". NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. November 5, 2009. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  7. ^ "KR samdi við Walker". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 2 October 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Úrvalsdeild karla Iceland Express-deildin (2011 Tímabil)". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Federation. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  9. ^ Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (30 March 2011). "Marcus Walker með 21,7 stig að meðaltali í seinni hálfleik". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  10. ^ Eiríkur Stefán Ásgeirsson (19 April 2011). "Marcus Walker: Mamma er besti vinur minn". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  11. ^ Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (30 March 2011). "Walker: Vil að mótherjarnir hræðist mig". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  12. ^ Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (12 April 2011). "Marcus tók stigametið af Damon". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  13. ^ Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (20 April 2011). "KR átti fjóra bestu leikmenn úrslitaeinvígisins". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  14. ^ a b "Sigma Barcellona officially tabs Marcus Walker". sportando.com. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  15. ^ Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (27 August 2012). "Marcus Walker fékk sér KR-húðflúr á öxlina". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  16. ^ E. Carchia (4 September 2012). "Sigma Barcellona waives Marcus Walker". sportando.com. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Barcellona, heart problem for Marcus Walker?". sportando.com. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  18. ^ a b Ástrós Ýr Eggertsdóttir (19 April 2018). "Var sagt hann myndi aldrei spila aftur en berst nú um titil með KR". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  19. ^ Henry Birgir Gunnarsson (31 October 2017). "Walker snýr aftur til þess að spila með KR bumbunni". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Walker sýnir listir sínar á ný með KR". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  21. ^ Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (3 November 2017). "Marcus Walker hefur engu gleymt". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  22. ^ Henry Birgir Gunnarsson (14 April 2018). "Marcus Walker klárar úrslitakeppnina með KR". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  23. ^ Kristján Jónsson (28 April 2018). "KR meistari fimmta árið í röð". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  24. ^ Anton Ingi Leifsson (30 April 2018). "Walker hjálpar heimilislausum og krökkum sem eiga undir högg að sækja". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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