San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Newest Spur has people talking
Explosive athleticism, insatiable curiosity define Walker IV
San Antonio drafted 18th and got a firstrate player in Lonnie Walker IV.
Lonnie Walker IV has lost his voice. It is almost noon on Saturday in New York, almost 40 hours since the Spurs made him the No. 18 pick in this year’s NBA draft.
Walker sounds as if he has spent every second of them howling at a Metallica concert.
“I’m sorry about my voice,” Walker rasps in apology to a caller from San Antonio. “I’ve been screaming for two days straight since the draft.”
For some members of the 2018 draft class, a lost voice would be a minor nuisance.
For Walker, it is a borderline catastrophe.
The dynamic 19-year-old guard from Miami was once a five-star recruit out of Reading (Pennsylvania) High, was one of the most explosive athletes on Thursday’s draft board and — the Spurs hope — is a future NBA star in the making.
He is also a world-class talker. If the goal of the draft was to select the player who would be most fun on a deserted island, Walker would have gone No. 1.
He can converse on most any subject, from basketball to politics to astronomy to animals. He is much more likely to be found watching the Discovery Channel or National Geographic than SportsCenter.
His favorite show is the BBC documentary “Planet Earth 2,” which he estimates to have watched 15 times on Netflix.
Walker’s latest fascination concerns the food chain of the ocean, how the various animals work together to keep the fish population in check.
“Seals, dolphins, killer whales — all of them work together to eat fish, like a chemistry,” Walker said. “It’s insane. All of them bring their different styles to the table.”
Like father, like son
Walker says he has always harbored a thirst for knowledge, as insatiable as his quest for the perfect crossover dribble.
It is a way of life passed down from his father.
Lonnie Walker III played at Alvernia University in his hometown of Reading. He was the first player in the history of the Division III school to log 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, and is a member of the school’s Hall of Fame.
Walker III handed down a love of basketball to his son. He was also determined Lonnie Walker IV would not become a stereotypical “dumb jock.”
Walker III made sure his son always had a basketball around. He also kept classical music and art supplies handy.
When Walker IV would come home from school each day, his father’s rule was simple: One hour of reading and one hour of writing, then you can work on your jump shot.
“It was always about gaining knowledge, reading books,” Walker IV said. “I’m a sponge that way. It’s like an addiction.”
As the younger Walker hit high school and began to grow toward a frame that now reaches over 6-foot-4, his calling became evident with every slithery move or soaring dunk.
Lonnie Walker IV was interested in a lot of things. But basketball was his destiny.
Walker finished his four-year stint on the varsity at Reading High as the school’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing 15-year NBA veteran Donyell Marshall.
He grew up idolizing Allen Iverson, as much for the diminutive Philadelphia point guard’s moxie as for his Hall of Fame game.
“He didn’t back down from anybody,” Walker said. “It didn’t matter. He treated every player the same. That’s something I try to represent in myself.”
In 2017, Walker spurned a parade of college basketball royalty — schools like Kentucky, Villanova, Arizona and Syracuse — to sign with Miami.
He instantly became the most highly touted basketball recruit in Hurricanes history.
Miami coach Jim Larranaga was quick to recognize Walker as a different breed of teenager.
One of their first conversations during the recruiting process involved a nature show about a jaguar running down an ostrich.
“I saw he’s a mature young man who has an insatiable appetite for learning,” Larranaga said.
“He loves basketball, and he’ll work on it all day if you want him to. He’ll also talk politics, science, animals. He has so many interests.”
A kid from Reading
First and foremost, Walker is a product of his hardscrabble hometown.
It was during an early trip to visit Walker that Larranga observed the tight bond between his prospective recruit and the town of Reading.
Miami assistant Adam Fisher, who had been running point on Walker’s recruitment, warned his boss that the postpractice scene at Reading High was likely to resemble a scene from Beatlemania.
Still, Larranaga was shocked.
“Kids were waiting outside for his autograph,” Larranaga said. “Adults wanted to take a picture with him. He was an icon.”
Reading is a town of about 87,000, nestled halfway between Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania capital of Harrisburg.
At the time of the 2010 census, Reading had the highest percentage of citizens living in poverty in the nation.
For Walker, basketball became not only a way out, but a platform from which to point others toward the exit, too.
“I had a lot of friends go down the wrong path — gangs, doing drugs, selling drugs,” Walker said. “It hurt me. Once I got to high school, I had this message and I got to share it through basketball. People were watching and listening.”
That message?
“Don’t use Reading as an excuse to why you can’t do something positive,” Walker said. “If you want to be the next president, go be the next president. If you want to be a janitor, be the best janitor. If you want to be an amazing teacher, be an amazing teacher.
“Growing up in Reading doesn’t have to be a reason you can’t.”
Walker’s love for his hometown shone through in his pre-draft interview with Spurs staffers at the May combine in Chicago.
“He has become a real positive role model for young kids in a commu- nity that has had difficult circumstances,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. “He really takes pride in providing inspiration to his community.”
Not all talk
Of course, the Spurs did not exhaust a firstround draft pick on Walker simply because he is a nice guy and a renaissance man.
They tabbed Walker with their highest original draft choice since 1997 because they think he can play.
In his lone season at Miami, Walker averaged 11.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He earned All-ACC honorable mention honors, and was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team.
The numbers don’t scream off the page. In assessing Walker’s freshman season, however, Spurs staffers focused on what he did at the end of games.
In January, Walker forced overtime in a win over Louisville with a twisting layup in the waning seconds.
A month later, he scored eight points in the final four minutes to knock off Virginia Tech.
After Hurricanes point guard Bruce Brown went down with a left foot injury in late February, Walker raised his game further.
On Feb. 24, his off-thedribble 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds to go beat Boston College and became the highlight of Miami’s season.
With Brown out, Walker was at last unleashed to become what he had been as a prep star in Reading.
“He was a piece of the leadership team in their program,” Buford said. “He had to take a lot of responsibility as a freshman and it didn’t faze him.”
Larranaga refuses to place limits on what Walker could become as he continues to hone his game.
The coach notes Walker is still a neophyte in his basketball life cycle.
“He might not be as good as he can be for several more years,” Larranaga said. “He’s effective with his jump shot. He has some basketball skills. But you look at a guy like Kyrie Irving with his dribbling skills, or Steph Curry with his shooting skills — I think Lonnie will be able to advance his skills to that level.”
If that’s a lot of pressure to put on “just a kid from Reading,” as Walker likes to call himself, well, the kid from Reading doesn’t mind.
“I don’t believe in the word pressure,” Walker said. “This is what I want. I’m comfortable in my own skin. If I pass or if I fail, I’m OK because I did it and nobody else.”
For now, the immediate goals remain modest for the garrulous Walker.
Before he can begin find his new place in the NBA, he first must find his voice.
“No more celebrating,” he promised, the temporary frog still in his throat. “It’s time for work. I’m eager. I’m ready to start.”