Recruiting Report: Marquise Walker (2019)

Class of 2019 point guard Marquise Walker played at a high level over the weekend at the Pangos All-Midwest Frosh/Soph Camp.  The 6’0” lead guard from St. Joseph’s is a quality ball handler that has the rock on a string.  At times he can over dribble, but also makes defenders look silly in stretches.  Walker gets to the hoop with power drives where he combines his strength to overpower defenders and slick ball handling.  Good body control around the hoop to finish through traffic.  A lot of his scoring was one on one off the bounce.  Jump shot has definitely improved since last season.  He was much more consistent on the three point shot and is a solid pull up mid-range shooter.  Passes it with flare. We caught up with Walker to discuss his summer with Florida Elite on the travel team circuit. “It went pretty good.  I liked the way we played.  We won Peach Jam and won the Vegas tournament.  It was great playing with great players.  It was a good experience.” After making his name as a freshman on a team that went to state he will have to take on an even bigger role with all-state center Nick Rakocevic off to the Pac 12. “Being a leader.  We lost our leader last year.  He is at USC now.  God bless him and hope he does well.  We have to go back down state.  Everybody thinks we can’t make it with him gone, but I think we have a good shot.” One area he has been working on is his jump shot mechanics. “I talked to Ping.  I am fixing the left hand on my shot.  I was shooting with two hands last year.  It was just about fixing my shot mechanics on my stroke.” What is going on with recruiting? “I have Iowa State and Kansas interest.  I have offers from Illinois, DePaul, and UIC.  I am going to Illinois October 29.  I recently went to Iowa State and Kansas this month.  Everything is going well.” How was the Iowa State visit? “It was great.  I used to live there and everyone knew who I was.  Living there was amazing.  It felt good to be back home.” Kansas was another recent trip he took. “I felt welcome at Kansas.  They showed me everything they needed to show me and tell me everything they need to tell me.  I talked to some of the coaches.  One of the coaches went to Illinois and I can really relate to him.  It was a real good experience.” Illinois is a program that he has already seen once.  What is he looking for on this trip to Champaign? “Just the last visit to see everything one more time.  Just to make sure it is a very good place.  I want to get more into it.  More into the classes and buildings.  Seeing everything.  More than I have already seen it.” There has been some buzz about the chance of a commitment on or shortly after the visit. “You never know.  It is a fun experience.  You always have to keep the fans waiting and keep them on their heels.  You never know what I will do.  You don’t know if I will commit or not.” What stands out about Illinois? “Their education actually.  Their basketball team has always been good.  They should be pretty good this year.  They have always been good, but I really believe that the education and experience of the school and the love from the fans down there is going to be good.”