The expectations revolving around a 6-foot-10 forward out of high school were honestly unrealistic.
To this day Chris Walker still carries around those expectations of being this savior-like player, but that’s just not who he is.
Instead, he’s an impact player that is steadily growing into becoming a better basketball mind on the court. However, people still viewed him as this NBA caliber player without allowing him to develop his attributes fully.
“Chris Walker at the next level, when people see that, they are looking at production, production equals NBA player. And it doesn’t work like that,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “A lot of it is people fitting into a box in terms of arm length, height, athleticism, those kind of things, that guys, they’re being looked at.”
Donovan used the example of Udonis Haslem when he played at Florida. Haslem was an impact to the program since day one and was a dominating figure in the paint. Then went on to have a very long career in the NBA, one that is still ongoing. But he wasn’t the same player at Florida as he has been for the Miami Heat. He ended up having to change his style of play and the same goes for Walker.
Coming out of high school he was a ‘lob it up’ type of player and handled the low-post, but stepping into another level of play in college, Walker has had to evolve and become multi-dimensional on the floor.
How far Walker was from a year ago is night and day, but this is his first year at Florida playing a full season so he’s had little experience coming into this year.
“Because he didn’t play last year and because there was so much hype, it’s impossible for him to live up to anybody’s expectations. Personally, I’ve been really proud of his growth,” Donovan said. “I’ve got to do a better job to get him to understand how to do a better job playing in and around the basket. He’s got to be doing a better job finishing plays around the basket and I’ve got to do a better job coaching that.
Donovan added.
“I’ve tried to, but I’m not getting through like I need to get through. I’ve got to do a better job helping because he needs to be more efficient down there with his length, athleticism, size and those kind of things.”
What Walker is able to perform well now is his ability to make a quick move around the baseline where he can catch, turn and square
up for a quick shot. But when he starts to put the ball on the floor, it opens up a set of problems for everybody. When Walker tries to do too much, he gets carried away from what he can successfully do normally.
Another this holding him back thus far is his endurance. Donovan described that the best players he’s coached that had a cardiovascular toughness. A player like Joakim Noah was just a freak of nature when fighting fatigue. Haslem, David Lee, and Matt Bonner were all naturally built with a cardiovascular advantage. A guy like Marreese Speights struggled with that at times, but he was gifted offensively. Walker’s situation is different.
He is able to provide the team with a tremendous amount of energy, but in spurts. Walker’s mission is to get better at sustaining intensity for longer periods of time. With his first half of 16 minutes played against South Carolina — a career high — Walker is working his way to increasing his stamina already.
Whether the expectations were high or if people’s thoughts about him are the same to this day, Donovan is developing Walker the best he can in trying to get him to be a player that can aid the team greatly to win.
“He’s got to get better and got to improve, but he’s worked hard, he’s getting better, he is improving, I have seen growth,” Donovan said. “Are there things I want to see him do better? Obviously, yeah, there’s things I want to see the whole entire team do better, but he’s trying to get better. He’s a good kid, a team guy, but the expectation part for me was probably way too unrealistic for him.”