After spending the past four years on the SMU men’s basketball team, Mike Walker has traded his uniform in for a suit.
Walker played his last season on the team in 2010 before graduating and being asked to take over the program’s video coordinator position.
When asked how he stumbled upon the job, Walker said that it was an opportunity that was presented to him by Coach Doherty.
“I wanted to get into coaching,” Walker said. “It’s a lot of hard work but it is a step into the profession so it is definitely something I wanted to do.”
For Walker, coaching is all in the family. His dad is also a basketball coach and has been a guiding light for Walker since he started playing before he can even remember. As the Video Coordinator for the Mustangs, Walker is in charge of breaking down scatter reports and getting footage of both the Mustangs and their opponents.
While NCAA rules restrict video coordinators from working with players on the court, Walker does what he can to help.
“I can help them out in the film,” Walker said. By breaking down film for individual players he is able to give pointers to further their success on the court.
Walker joined the Mustangs as a player all the way from Iowa City in 2007 when he played 29 games with 17 starts as a freshman.
Throughout his time on the Moody court, Walker played an influential role on the team.
Not only did he serve as a tri-captain during the most successful season SMU has had in over a decade, but he was also a four-year letterwinner. His senior year, Walker averaged a career-best 6.9 points with 1.5 assists, 1.3 rebounds and 0.8 steals. Also, the Mustang shot 36.7 percent on 3-pointers and earned the team’s Defensive Award.
Walker is currently working to finish his degree in applied physiology and sports management and happy to still be apart of the SMU basketball family.
“Being on the team and being in the huddles allows me to still have that atmosphere of a family,” Walker said.
Despite the differences between being a player and being a coach, Walker is still able to enjoy being a part of the same basketball program that he spent his entire college career with.
