Jamall Walker (born August 7, 1977)[1] is an American basketball coach who is an assistant coach at Ohio State University.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Assistant coach |
| Team | Ohio State |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | August 7, 1977 Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1996–1999 | Saint Louis |
| Position(s) | Point guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2000 | Alton HS (assistant) |
| 2001–2002 | F. L. Schlagle HS (assistant) |
| 2002–2004 | Redlands CC (assistant) |
| 2004–2006 | Ball State (assistant) |
| 2006–2007 | Saint Louis (assistant) |
| 2007–2008 | Murray State (assistant) |
| 2008–2009 | Ohio (assistant) |
| 2010–2012 | Ohio (assistant) |
| 2012–2019 | Illinois (assistant) |
| 2017 | Illinois (Interim HC) |
| 2019-2020 | Illinois (Assistant to the HC) |
| 2020–2024 | Grand Canyon (assistant) |
| 2024–present | Ohio State (assistant) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2009–2010 | Arizona (DBO) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 2–1 |
| Tournaments | 2–1 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
As Assistant Coach:
| |
| Awards | |
As a player
| |
Early life edit
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 edit
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 edit
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 to 2002.[3][4] From 2003 to 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 to 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] Walker was demoted to Assistant to the Head Coach for the 2019-20 season, his final season with the Illini.[8]
Walker left the Illini following the season to join the coaching staff at Grand Canyon.[9]
Walker was named an assistant coach at Ohio State University on April 10, 2024.[10]
Head coaching record edit
| 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
| |||||||||
†Walker was interim head coach for Illinois during 2017 NIT
References edit
- ^ "Groce Names Ford, Walker to Fighting Illini Staff". Illinois DIA. April 9, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
- ^ Eisenbath, Mike (November 23, 1995). "Meet the Billikens". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Great basketball mind waits his turn". Arizona Daily Star. February 16, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Tate, Loren (July 30, 2016). "Metro East blues coming to end?". News Gazette. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- ^ a b "Former Billiken Jamall Walker Named Assistant Coach". CBS Sports. May 12, 2006. Archived from the original on September 6, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
- ^ "New Ohio basketball coach starts to put his staff together". Athens News. July 14, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
- ^ a b Ryan, Shannon (March 23, 2017). "Illinois retains Jamall Walker as assistant coach, report says". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
- ^ "2019 20 ILLINI MBB Record Book" (PDF).
- ^ "Jamall Walker Leaves Role at Illinois for Assistant Job at Grand Canyon". April 2020.
- ^ "Jamall Walker Added to Men's Basketball Staff". Ohio State Buckeyes. April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.