Demetrius Walker As An 8th GraderAs you know I don’t cover high school basketball anymore but I feel the story of Demetrius Walker is one that could benefit the upcoming ballers. It’s a story of quick fame, hardship and perseverance. When Demetrius Walker was in the 8th Grade he was the #1 player in the country and regarded as the “Next Lebron”. He was the focus on a number of websites and even graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. Many felt he was distant for the NBA and a successful career.
I first laid eyes on Walker at the MLK Classic in Asbury Park, NJ. He was playing with the National Champs Team California . I have to say I was impressed with the youngster’s physical presence. He stood 6’2, caught lob passes for dunks and glided over opponents for easy buckets. An Adidas Rep and Sports Illustrated reported were also in the building that day. At the conclusion of the tourney Walker posed for photos and then flew home with his squad.
The next time I saw Walker in action was at the 14U Nationals in Orlando. The rest of the nation must have read the stories about Walker because he had a rock star following at his games. That’s when I saw the other side of things, while watching him play I could tell the pressure of carrying this top player torch was becoming too heavy for this youngster because he was pressing too hard. After a few games of unfavorable showings the critics even those the put Demetrius in this position completely turned on this youngster. Fans began to boo him and the writers called him overrated. This bashing carried over into his freshman year of high school when an injury kept him out of a highly anticipated matchup with another young phenom named Lance Stephenson. Those critics had called him soft and labeled him a bust. Many people including myself thought this was the end of Demetrius Walker.
Then last spring I was reading an article on Prep Stars one of the realest and respected recruiting sites in the country when I saw Demetrius Walker's name. The writer said that Walker made an appearance and looked like he was working on his game. I was happy for the youngster and this sparked my interest in him. I continued to follow Walker's success on the internet and saw that he was really picking up his game and turning heads. His play began to take the notice of high major schools and most recently he was offered a scholarship by big time programs such as USC, California and USC.Walker still has another year of high school to go but I admire the youngsters fortitude and willingness to work on his game. He could have easily packed it in and believed all the critics. But like that saying goes, toughness is not measured by whether you fall but more importantly how you get up after you fall. In this instance it looks like he might have the last laugh.
