#8 KENNY WALKER
1982-86
CRAWFORD COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE (Roberta, GA)
In compiling this list, some of the players from the 1980’s would have been much bigger if only the internet was around. Kenny Walker was huge in his career at Kentucky, and he did it with just the occasional nationally televised game. The internet did not exist then. Neither did ESPN (as we know it now) and certainly not YouTube. Kenny Walker made his presence known with no snazzy mixtapes burning up the internet, but he managed to become a national phenom.
Walker was highly recruited, coming to Kentucky as Mr Basketball for the state of Georgia and he garnered the hat trick of Parade All American, McDonalds All American, and a Scholastic Coach All American. The pressure was on Walker coming to Kentucky as he joined a Kentucky team that suffered an embarrassing NCAA loss to MTSU and had an injured Sam Bowie on the roster. Walker answered the pressure and made the All SEC third team as a freshman, averaging 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds a game. That team went 23-8 and advanced to the Regional Finals only to lose to Louisville 80-68 in overtime.
Walker made all the ALL SEC teams in the next season as Walker played in what I think could be the best front court of all time with Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin. Walker was second on the team in scoring with 12.4 points and 5.9 rebounds. That team advanced to the Final Four only to have one of the worst shooting halves in NCAA history and lost to Georgetown 53-40.
With Bowie and Turpin departing Lexington, Walker became a bonafide superstar in college basketball. Too much talent departed from the Final Four team, but the 18-13 record could not be blamed on Walker. Walker averaged 22.9 points and 10 rebounds a game. Ed Davender was the second leading scorer with 8.5 points a game. Walker was the SEC Player of the Year as well as a consensus second team All American. Even though the team struggled during the season, Walker made his presence known in the NCAA Tournament, leading Kentucky to two wins and earning a spot on the All NCAA Regional Team for Joe B. Hall’s last team.