Walker's Journey to China Unlocks New Outlook on Life, Basketball

Jordan Walker's life has taken him many places. Those places are physical, mental and spiritual, but they have all offered him experiences and opportunities to follow the things he loves. Basketball ranks high on the list of things he loves, and it's the game that has presented him with opportunities and challenges that have benefited him in ways he never expected.

After his high school career at The Patrick School in New Jersey came to an end, he continued his basketball career close to his Port Washington, N.Y. home at Seton Hall University. Following the 2017-18 season, he elected to transfer and made the move to New Orleans to join the program at Tulane.

However, more changes were still to come. After redshirting the 2018-19 campaign, he witnessed the Green Wave make a head-coaching change and introduce Ron Hunter to lead the program. With his eligibility intact and a new leader to follow in Hunter, Walker was offered a chance to do something he's never done: leave the country to play basketball in China for two weeks during the offseason.

Walker jumped at the opportunity and set off for the Far East from May 11-26 with Sports Reach – a program offering men's basketball cultural exchange trips that have taken student-athletes from a variety of U.S. universities to 22 countries over the last 32 years.

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"What Jordan got out of the trip was exactly what we wanted him to get out of it," Hunter said. "He hadn't played in a while and the game was a little fast for him. He's extremely talented and he communicates really well so getting back up to speed was a little easier for him."

While basketball was part of the trip, the main focus of the team was conducting clinics for local children, Bible studies and experiencing Chinese culture.

"I went on the trip expecting to become a better basketball player," Walker said. "Once I got there, I realized it was way more than just basketball. It opened my eyes tremendously in terms of my faith in Christianity and seeing people who have so much less than I do, but they don't complain at all. It made me more grateful for everything I have. It was like experiencing a whole different world."

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Along with Walker, nine student-athletes and a small group of leaders, including coaches and a spiritual guide, made the trip. He developed bonds with many of them, including Marshall University's Taevion Kinsey and Mississippi State's Tolu Smith as they learned more about one another than they ever could have imagined.

"Some of the people on the trip gave their testimonials about what they've been through and how they got through it," Walker said. "We had Bible study every night, and at dinner, we would go around the table talking about stuff other than basketball. Hearing their stories and seeing how some of them were similar to mine made me see things differently."

The topics of discussion weren't always filled with humorous banter and opinions on pop culture or current events. Often, the subject revolved around loss, adversity and overcoming life's most difficult obstacles. For Walker, this was far and away from his comfort zone because his turn came to speak about affliction he endures every day.

"I talked about losing my oldest brother Jamal," Walker said. "That was the hardest thing I've ever experienced in my life. It happened three years ago, but it still affects me to this day. I learned the world doesn't stop just because someone passes away. A lot of the guys also lost someone close them, whether it was a parent or a friend, so that made it a little easier opening up to them."

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Walker describes himself as an outgoing and friendly person but talking about his personal life is something he typically strays from. Doing that with a group of people he just met was definitely an unexpected turn for him, but also an incredible testament to his growth.

It also proved his ability to build camaraderie and chemistry with new teammates, and it translated to the basketball court. He needed that more than he knew after being removed from full speed game action for most of the last two years.

"After sitting out last year and being a hurt the year before that, I was just trying to get my feet under me with a real game, real fans, real referees, real teammates and real coaches," Walker said. "From the first game to the last game, I grew tremendously."

The team played four games against professional teams from Spain and China. According to Walker, he didn't play well in the first game, but his coaches thought the opposite.

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"It wasn't about missing shots, I just felt like I was a step slower or I took one too many dribbles trying to get the ball up the court," Walker said. "I wasn't communicating enough, but my teammates lifted me up."

In the second game, things started to feel normal again. By the third, he felt like he was getting his teammates involved more, and in the fourth and final contest, he felt back to normal and handed out 14 assists in a win.

"I was mas making my teammates better," Walker said. "That's what a great point guard does. Anyone can have a point guard who scores, but if he isn't making his teammates better, how is he the point guard?"

Walker believes the professional team from Spain they played against was the best competition he saw on the court, noting they're chemistry and unselfish play.

"We were playing against professionals, so they weren't really running plays," Walker said. "They were just passing, cutting and making the right reads, so it was harder. Every game, I felt I progressed, adjusting to the speed of the game."

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After returning to New Orleans for workouts and conditioning in Hunter's first offseason leading the program, Walker has shaken off the rust and is ready to lead his new teammates with his newfound understanding of leadership.

Before being able to lead, he took his own initiative to observe the importance of the point guard position on Hunter's teams at Georgia State which have reached the NCAA Tournament three of the last five years.

"They've all been talented," Walker said. "His point guards were impact players, and not just some years, but every year. They impacted every game whether it was offensively, defensively or just being vocal. That's what I'm going to do for this team. I have to be a leader."

The redshirt is off, and Walker is taking all the right steps to be the next "Floor General" in Hunter's program. As Hunter began preaching that every member of his program has "something to prove" shortly after his hiring, Walker now knows where he fits within that mantra.

Walker's Journey to China Unlocks New Outlook on Life, Basketball

Players Mentioned

Jordan Walker

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Tulane University Athletics

Walker's Journey to China Unlocks New Outlook on Life, Basketball

Players Mentioned

Jordan Walker

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