Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker went from unproven young talent to NBA prospect at IMG Academy
The Indiana Pacers had their eyes on lottery pick Jarace Walker for a while. His great season in the NCAA ranks with the Houston Cougars was important for his draft stock, but the Pacers knew that Walker could be their guy long before that.
"I think, going into this season. We watched Jarace as a high schooler and we were really intrigued," Indiana's general manager, Chad Buchanan, said when asked if there was a specific moment he knew that Walker could be a guy that the team wanted to grab in the draft. Ultimately, the Pacers picked the forward eighth overall. "Really started to see some things at the high school level that got us intrigued."
Talking to those around Walker's high school program makes it easy to understand why the blue and gold were interested early on. In his final season at IMG Academy, the new Pacer averaged 15.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game on 67/40/68 shooting splits, per NBC Sports SportsEngine.
Brian Nash, the Director of Basketball at IMG Academy, remembers when Walker popped up on his radar for the first time. Back then, Walker was the number one eighth grader in the country and was ready to move away from home and head to an elite program. The now-Pacers forward fell in love with IMG right away during his visit.
After arriving, Walker had to sit, watch, and focus on school more. When he joined the program, there were three other future NBA players on his team, so the young forward had to play a specific role and nail his studies.
Thankfully for the program, Walker was raised in a way that makes him accepting of challenges and new situations. He kept working, both as a student and as a player. He was always disciplined throughout his life, so much so that Walker's dad called IMG Academy to make sure the program was the right place for his son after Jarace overslept for class once. He was concerned.
"He comes from incredible stock. His mom and dad are the most amazing parents and did a phenomenal job raising him," Nash said in a one-on-one conversation with AllPacers.
IMG Academy describes itself as "The world's leading sports education brand, providing a holistic education model that empowers student-athletes to win their future, preparing them for college and for life." That was the perfect place for a young Jarace Walker, and he stayed with the program beyond his father's phone call.
He started to grow and get more playing time. The bruising forward's perimeter skills developed, and he began to play as a ball handler. On film, it stands out just how often Walker executed pick-and-rolls as a ball handler in his IMG Academy days. So much so that Buchanan called him a former point guard last week.
Nash recalls Walker making some huge plays against Montverde Academy at GEICO Nationals one year, and that established the forward as a winning player. That label remains to this day.
"He was just consistent with everything that he did," Nash said of Walker. The program director added that Walker would always talk to younger students and never brushed anyting aside, no matter how small. He was great on and off the court.
As the years progressed, IMG Academy needed Walker to switch from his ball handling role to essentially being a center. On one hand, that was a big change. On the other hand, Walker is huge and was a good fit for the role.
"How many kids that young have that much size?" Nash wondered. Buchanan likened Walker to a football linebacker last week.
"He's learned to be the biggest, strongest guy on the court most of the time that he's played," Nash added.
Walker's size allowed him to dominate inside. And when those traits were combined with his experience on the perimeter, he became the perfect point forward for his team. Add in his defense, and it was clear that the Baltimore native had a unique combination of skills.
His IQ and decision making were advanced, and Walker showed them while playing the five in his final season. His maturity was impressive, and it kept growing in the collegiate ranks. He kept getting better while staying within himself and his abilities, and that helped Walker grow from a developing eighth grader to an NBA-lottery prospect as a senior.
"The ones that don't pan out want to keep doing things that they can't do," Nash shared. "I think Jarace understands that 'I'm a great defender, I'm a great rebounder. My offensive game is still evolving, but I'm a good enough player.' And he buys into that."
IMG Academy is a year-round program, and that helps its players learn discipline, time management, and other important life skills. Often, players from the Bradenton, Florida prep school are more prepared for college because of the experience.
Walker was among that group, and he went on to have a successful one season with the Houston Cougars. He averaged 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for Kelvin Sampson's team.
That finished setting him up to be a top-10 pick in the NBA Draft. Indiana grabbed Walker with the eighth overall selection and will hope that he can continue to grow as he has since the start of his days at IMG Academy.
Nash believes that Walker will play some point forward in the NBA and that he will have a long, successful career. "He's going to be a capable shooter," Nash added. That's one of the bigger question marks about Walker's game.
The 19-year old did some work on his jump shot at IMG Academy in the final days of the pre-draft process. Nash got to see it happen. He also got to see a terrific player and person again after a year away from the program at Houston, and one thing stood out to Nash.
"The good thing about coming back here? He was Jarace," he said.
Walker has that kind of impression on everybody he meets, and he left a similar impression during his pre-draft workout with the Pacers. Now, he's a member of the blue and gold and could be the defensive forward that the team has needed for years.
"I know he's going to play in the league for a long time," Nash said. The Pacers hope he's right.
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