Devondrick Walker

Devondrick Walker (born July 11, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played three years of college basketball for Texas A&M–Commerce before spending the first three seasons of his professional career in the NBA Development League. He moved overseas for the first time in 2017 to play in Australia for the Perth Wildcats, only to return home prior to the 2017–18 season due to a foot injury.

High school career
Walker attended South Garland High School in Garland, Texas, where he was a three-year letterwinner. As a senior in 2009–10, he averaged 10 points, four assists and four steals per game, which earned him all-district honors.

College career
Coming out of high school, Walker had no scholarship offers. Instead, he secured a last-second offer through a connection his high school assistant coach had. In May 2010, Walker signed a letter of intent to play basketball for Northwestern Oklahoma State University in the 2010–11 season. Walker played for former four-year Ranger basketball player and assistant coach at South Garland High School, Dominique Parker. He rarely played, however, and after one season transferred to Texas A&M University–Commerce, a little known Division-II school outside of Dallas. It was there that Walker found someone who believed in him—head coach Sam Walker. Devondrick said in January 2017, "I had an amazing head coach (Sam Walker). He forced me to defend when I didn't want to, forced me to rebound when I didn't want to."

As a sophomore in 2011–12, Walker saw action in all 27 games with 21 starts, and averaged 28.1 minutes, 8.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He ranked 10th in the Lone Star Conference in free throw percentage (76.9) and was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week on February 27, 2012. He scored in double digits in 11 contests, including a career-best 24 points in the regular season finale against Angelo State on February 25, 2012.

As a junior in 2012–13, Walker appeared in all 29 games for the Lions with 14 starts. He averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.9 steals in 24.7 minutes per game. He shot 41.5 percent from the floor, including 41.9 percent from three-point range, while hitting 82.3 percent of his free throws, ranking second in the Lone Star Conference. He posted 13 double figure point totals on the year, highlighted by his 20-point performance against Southern Arkansas on November 26, 2012.

As a senior in 2013–14, Walker was a second-team all-Lone Star Conference selection, his first such honor. He finished the season ranked in the top 10 in the league with 13.6 points per game and led the LSC with a 91.3-percent mark from the foul stripe. He also was named to the academic all-LSC team for the second time in his career, graduating in May. On June 5, 2014, he was named the recipient of the 2013–14 Lone Star Conference Scholar-Athlete Award for A&M-Commerce.

Professional career

NBA D-League/G League (2014–2018)

2014–15 season
Upon graduating from college, Walker had no contract offers, and as a result, he thought his playing days had come to a close. However, after attending open tryouts with the Austin Spurs, Texas Legends and Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League, the Spurs added him to their training camp roster in early November 2014. In 2014–15, Walker helped Austin reach the Western Conference Finals of the 2015 NBA D-League Playoffs. In 37 games as a rookie, he averaged 3.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.

2015–16 season
On October 30, 2015, Walker was reacquired by the Austin Spurs. However, on November 11, 2015, he was waived by the Spurs prior to the start of the 2015–16 D-League regular season. On January 18, 2016, Walker was acquired by the Westchester Knicks. He remained with Westchester for the rest of the 2015–16 season, and in 25 regular-season games, Walker averaged 4.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

2016–17 season
On October 31, 2016, Walker was reacquired by the Westchester Knicks. On December 14, 2016, he was traded to the Delaware 87ers in exchange for Von Wafer. Walker was averaging 10 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 21 minutes per game with Westchester prior to the trade. Walker's best month of the 2016–17 season was January, when he averaged 14.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists. At the 2017 D-League Showcase in Mississauga in late January, over the course of the 87ers' two games, Walker put on perhaps the greatest shooting display the Showcase has ever seen. In just 49 total minutes, he went 15-of-18 from the field, including 12-of-12 from downtown, on his way to 46 points. Five of his six 20-point games with Delaware came after December, including a career-high 24 points in a 131–125 loss to the Maine Red Claws on February 4. Walker also tallied at least 17 points in 12 games, with 10 of those performances coming after December. Having demonstrated the most significant improvement during the 2016–17 NBA D-League season, on April 20, 2017, Walker was named the NBA D-League Most Improved Player. In his third season in the NBA D-League, Walker appeared in 48 games (38 with Delaware, 10 with Westchester), averaging 12.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

2017–18 season
In July 2017, Walker played for the Utah Jazz Summer League team in Utah and Las Vegas. In six games, he averaged 9.3 points in 20 minutes per game.

On July 21, 2017, Walker signed with the Perth Wildcats in Australia for the 2017–18 NBL season. He quickly established himself as a key part of the playing group, but on August 24, 2017, the Wildcats announced that Walker had suffered a fracture in his left foot that would sidelined him for a large portion of the season. After receiving advice from multiple specialists, Walker opted to take a non-surgical approach to repairing the injury. He was subsequently replaced in the squad by J. P. Tokoto.

On March 15, 2018, Walker returned to the Delaware 87ers. In July 2018, he played for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2018 NBA Summer League.

Europe (2018–2020)
On July 31, 2018, Walker signed a one-year deal with Italian team Pallacanestro Trieste for the 2018–19 LBA season. He left them after appearing in four games. On January 9, 2019, he signed with New Basket Brindisi for the rest of the LBA season. In seven games for Brindisi, he averaged 11.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.

On December 12, 2019, Walker signed with French team Chorale Roanne Basket of the LNB Pro A. He parted ways with Chorale Roanne on January 13, 2020. He appeared in four games for Roanne, averaging 9.3 points in 23 minutes per game.

Return to Australia (2020–present)
On January 14, 2020, Walker signed with the South East Melbourne Phoenix for the rest of the 2019–20 NBL season, returning to Australia for a second stint.

Personal
Walker is good friends with former Austin Spurs teammate and current NBA player Jonathon Simmons, and former NBA player Bryce Cotton. Walker grew up idolising Detroit Pistons' great Isiah Thomas.

References

External links
Devondrick Walker at lionathletics.com

Category:1992 births
Category:Living people
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Australia
Category:American expatriate basketball people in France
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Italy
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Austin Spurs players
Category:Basketball players from Texas
Category:Chorale Roanne Basket players
Category:Delaware 87ers players
Category:Lega Basket Serie A players
Category:New Basket Brindisi players
Category:Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers men's basketball players
Category:Pallacanestro Trieste players
Category:Shooting guards
Category:Small forwards
Category:South East Melbourne Phoenix players
Category:Texas A&M–Commerce Lions men's basketball players
Category:Westchester Knicks players