EMCC’s Nick Walker chosen MACCC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
East Mississippi Community College’s Nick Walker has been named the MACCC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for his season-opening, double-double performances at the Northeast Mississippi-hosted Bonner Arnold Classic. The announcement was made Tuesday by the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference office.
JACKSON – East Mississippi Community College's Nick Walker has been named the MACCC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for his season-opening, double-double performances at the Northeast Mississippi-hosted Bonner Arnold Classic. The announcement was made Tuesday by the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference office.
Walker, a sophomore forward, averaged 17.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals during last weekend's EMCC victories over Dyersburg State (Tenn.) Community College and Baton Rouge (La.) Post Grad Academy. Walker opened the 2023-24 season by hitting his first 11 shots from the field against DSCC on the way to tying his career high with 25 points. He also added 14 rebounds, four steals and two assists in the 101-69 win over Dyersburg State last Friday (Nov. 10). The following day in the Lions' 106-49 victory over Baton Rouge Post Grad Academy, Walker totaled 10 points (5-8 FGs), 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
During the two games played in Booneville, Walker made 16-of-20 field goals (80%) in scoring 35 total points along with adding 25 rebounds, six assists and six steals.
Along with nearing another double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds during EMCC's 85-69 loss at Shelton State to begin the current week, Walker is averaging a team-leading 14.7 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists an outing through the first three games of the season. The Hattiesburg product is also shooting 62.5 percent (20-32 FGs) from the field on the year.
Having taken a year away from basketball last season, Walker was previously a two-year starter for head coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. After averaging 12.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 66.0 percent from the field during the COVID season, Walker was EMCC's third-leading scorer (8.7 ppg) behind former NJCAA All-Americans Jakorie Smith and Blake Butler as well as the team's No. 2 rebounder (7.8 rpg) on the Lions' 2022 MACCC Tournament championship club.
This year's East Mississippi men's team will travel to Poplarville to participate in this weekend's (Nov. 17-18) Pearl River Classic. The Lions are scheduled to meet Southern University-Shreveport and Southern Union State CC on Friday and Saturday, respectively, before tipping off a two-week, four-game home stand on Nov. 27 against Northwest Mississippi. EMCC is also slated to play host to Shelton State (Dec. 4), Jones (Dec. 7) and Meridian (Dec. 11) prior to the Christmas holiday break.