Most players who have suffered a dreaded knee injury like an ACL tear discuss the frustration of being sidelined and the fear of not making a full recovery.
So Vanderbilt redshirt sophomore forward Andre Walker’s response about having to miss all of last season with a torn ACL in his right knee was surprising.
“It was very educational,” he said. “I got to see it more from the coach's point of view. I got to understand the game a lot better.”
Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings has come to expect the unexpected from the versatile Walker, who at 6-feet-7-inches has proven he can play all over the court, including point guard, small forward and power forward.
It won’t be a case of a defensive standout like Walker being eased back into the line-up, either. He started in Vanderbilt’s exhibition win over Alabama-Huntsville, snatching nine rebounds and adding two assists, one steal and two blocked shots in just 24 minutes of action.
“He's a very good post-feeder and a very good passer," Stallings said. "This is his first game in (about) a year...he's a real important guy on our team right now because he's that guy up front that kind of glues it all together.”
Evidently, he is a little shy about another one of his playing attributes.
“(Andre) doesn't like for people to know this, but he is extremely intelligent,” Stallings said. “He's got really, really high IQ and high basketball instinct and high scholastic aptitude. I think that situation where he sat out and watched, he took full advantage of, because he's a smart guy that learns in almost every situation he's in.”
After a freshman season where he saw limited action in all 34 games, Walker was looked at as someone who would contribute on a more consistent basis in 2008-09. He matched his career-high in scoring the second game of the year in a 69-63 loss to Illinois with 10 points, but the injury occurred the next game, Nov. 24 against Middle Tennessee State, ending his season.
Rather than being dejected, Walker seized the opportunity to learn more about the game while getting his knee better enough to be a mainstay on this year’s roster. Stallings took notice.
“He's come back a more knowledgeable player, a smarter player and I think he understood what the coaches were looking for sitting over there by us and seeing the things we were asking of players,” Stallings said. “You get a little more of a coach's view when you're removed from the uniform and I think that happened with him, and I think he got better because of it.”
Along with that newfound knowledge of the game, Walker comes back with a healthy knee. He saw some action during Vanderbilt’s trip to Australia in August where the Commodores played five games over ten days.
“I'm just competing and trying to get as much time as I can,” Walker said. “I don't think (the knee) will have anything to do with it. I can play fully. There's no problems with it.”
That’s to the great relief of the Commodores.
“He's showing no lingering effects whatsoever of the injury,” Stallings said. “Hopefully he's past all that and doesn't have any concerns going forward. It's nice to have depth any time, but it's also nice to have your best players available to you, and Andre's proving right now to be one of our best players.”
