Kyree Walker, a 25-year-old former four-star prospect and current professional basketball player, is rerouting his path to pursue college hoops, part of a trend months in the making.
For the past several years, Walker has been playing professionally outside of the United States and in the G League. He now wants to play college basketball and recently visited the University of Maryland. But basketball isn’t the only reason he wants to play in college.
“The biggest thing is getting an education, it’s never too late to get one,” Walker said on Glenn Clark Radio Feb. 10. “And another [reason] is just to really provide for my daughter.”
Walker said he’s getting a lot of criticism about his decision to go to college basketball at the age of 25, but it hasn’t shaken him.
“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “If somebody else had an opportunity, they would do the same thing. It’s simple. I’m not really mad at nobody. People can be mad at me. I honestly don’t care because it’s really not for them to understand.”
Instead, he views this opportunity as something bigger.
“It’s for God to give me another opportunity to do some things and to just move in the right direction,” Walker said.
Walker also made it clear he does not want to spend the next four years in college.
“I won’t do it for four years, I’ll be quite honest,” he said. “That’s not what I’m trying to do.”
Walker is aspiring to “revamp” his basketball career by this decision to go to the collegiate level, saying “a lot of NBA GMs and scouts feel like it’s really good for me to go back to college and revamp myself. That’s what I’m doing. I’m not really worried too much about if I prove myself to anybody. … I’m going to go and do what I’ve done a lot of times in my career and dominate.”
Walker’s connection to Maryland came through discussions with head coach Buzz Williams and assistant coach Aki Collins. He is also friends with Maryland signee Kaden House.
“[I] definitely was highly interested in the school and some of the guys they’ve got coming in next year,” Walker said prior to the visit.
As for his professional resume, Walker played for the Capital City Go-Go in the NBA G League to start things off. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound wing averaged 8.7 points and 2.7 rebounds for the Go-Go in 2021-22. Since then, he has played in Greece, Canada and Mongolia.
On the court, Walker said he is versatile and persistent.
“I’m a double-double guy every night,” Walker said. “… I’ve got a great motor. I impact the game in many ways. Standing at 6-7 and being able to dribble, shoot and be athletic, there’s not much I cannot do out there.”
Off the court, fatherhood has altered Walker’s perspective. He said his daughter, now 10 months old, has changed everything for him.
“Fatherhood has just taught me how to be more wise, taught me how to be calmer — patient I think is another thing. I’ve got to protect her with my heart and everything I have,” Walker said. “… She’s my everything. I wake up and I do everything I can to be a better dad every day.”
For more from Walker, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Kyree Walker