Jada Walker Making Smooth Transition to College Game
Some incoming freshmen struggle with the transition from high school basketball to the intensity of the college game. Kentucky freshman guard Jada Walker has not experienced such issues and seems to have found her new home in Lexington with ease.
While Walker is over 500 miles away from her hometown of Richmond, Virginia, she has found some similarities to her home in the Bluegrass.
“Some things that really remind me of where I’m from there’s a Richmond here and there’s a Richmond, Virginia,” Walker said. “So, it’s like everything kind of connects. Then I saw a street called Virginia Avenue and I’m like what’s going on here? Everything is just connecting in some way.”
It wasn’t just the connecting geographically that made Walker think UK was the best spot for her. Connections were made over a year ago when she committed to Kentucky. Walker was recruited by four other schools in addition to Kentucky.
“The connection I had with the coaches and the other staff members that were here,” she said. “I just felt comfortable talking to them like it didn’t feel like they were strangers to me. It was like a family as soon as I met them.”
Being a rookie on a veteran team can be intimidating, but Walker says her teammates have taken her in like one of their own.
“They encouraged me a lot because I am kind of hard on myself because I am a perfectionist,” Walker said. “I want to do everything right, but as a freshman you’re not going to do everything right because you’re learning. Rhyne (Howard) especially and Dre (Edwards), the main competitors on our team, have really helped me.”
Many of her teammates and head coach Kyra Elzy have mentioned how quick Walker is on the court. Robyn Benton has even dubbed her with the nickname “Speedy Gonzales.”
While she is one of the shortest players on the court, Walker is making a big impact. She’s averaging 11.3 points and 2.4 assists while playing about 25 minutes per game. All of that despite her seeming height disadvantage.
“The taller players I know I’m quicker than them,” Walker said. “The shorter players are probably going to be as fast as me, so I just have to create and find different ways to get around them. But I’m really just reading defense. I’m really getting better at knowing when to go fast at times and transition.”
Walker knows that the competition is only going to get tougher, especially going into SEC play. She knows what she needs to do to keep up.
“Defensively, just keeping faster guards in front of me and learning how to guard bigger guards because there are going to be some teams with people that are like 6-1 that may try to post me up,” she said. “So really just getting more physical with them without fouling and stopping them from scoring on me so the coach can trust me to be in the game against bigger teams.”
Due to COVID, Walker didn’t get to have a senior season of high school basketball. Being back on the court playing the game she loves has been the highlight of her season so far.
“I’m just happy to be back out there playing, but defensively, I just love playing defense,” Walker said. “Like when I stop people on the other end of the floor and they can’t score, they turn it over and it just makes it easier for our team. Offensively, we get a flow going and then we end up by 30 and the subs can come in and play. So, it’s just fulfilling for me.”
Walker has also enjoyed playing in front of Big Blue Nation.
“They help a lot just because they get us going, like when we’re going on a run they cheer us on,” Walker said. “I hear some random fan just scream my name that I’ve never seen in my life so that’s fun. And just the fact that fans get to be there because of COVID last year.”
With her infectious energy and her drive to win, Walker is sure to become a fan favorite.
