Prospect Spotlight: Walker Nelson (2020)
A big-bodied 6-foot-6 power forward, Walker Nelson is starting to establish himself as one of Washington’s most productive big-men.
The Roosevelt product just wrapped up his sophomore season with the Roughriders, and says it’s his versatile approach to playing a big, and his ability to rebound that makes him a difference-maker.
“I’m just a big guy, and I’m strong, too. I have a pretty high IQ, and I think I do a really good job at being a utility big who can shoot it from mid-range and possibly step out to the 3-point line,” said Neslon. “And I get a ton of offensive and defensive rebounds for my team.”
Washington’s 42nd-ranked 2020, Nelson transferred into Roosevelt from Garfield after his freshman season. He was just looking for a more normal situation.
“I liked Garfield and all that, but it just wasn’t what I wanted to be doing with the whole top program in the country thing,” said Nelson, who reflected on his sophomore season.
“It’s been pretty good, it was an up-and-down season. I ended up playing both JV and varsity. I was kind of like a role player on varsity, and playing in the JV gave me an opportunity to play a lot of minutes and to stay in shape and all that.”
Now, he’ll head right into his 16U season with Elite Prep. He played with them last season, too. And this season they’ll be an adidas-sponsored team.
Though he’s a standout on the gridiron, too. Nelson hopes to see his hoops recruitment start to take shape this summer.
He says San Diego, Washington, Eastern Washington, Montana and Seattle U all invited him to elite camps this past summer.
“I love both football and basketball, I’m probably a little bit better at football to be honest. But, basketball is what I really love to do, it’s my favorite sport,” said Nelson.
“I’m hoping that after this summer, I’ll get a little more recruited for basketball.”