IEBP Alumni

Class of 2000

 

                                                                                                                                                                                  

Walker helped the Wolverines To one of their best starts in history and a Number 7 state ranking                         

 
 

Blake Walker                                                                                                                                                         

 
 

 

 


                               

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


                                                                               

 SAN BERNARDINO - On Blake Walker's right hand is his father's high school ring, worn as a remembrance to his dad, Frederick, who died in 1995. The gold ring with a blue insignia on the top glistens under the florescent light. Now, Walker, a standout on the San Bernardino Valley College men's basketball team, is hoping to earn another gold ring -- one signifying the Wolverines as state champions.

Walker has helped the Wolverines to one of the best starts in school history (6-3 in the Foothill Conference, 17-7 overall) and a No. 7 ranking in the state polls. If all goes well, the Wolverines have a shot at advancing to the state tournament in March -- nearly seven years to the day after Frederick succumbed to lung cancer. The time has passed, but Walker said he still lives and plays every moment to make his father proud. "He knew I could be something special," Walker said. "He would have all the faith in me."

Walker's teammates have all the faith in him, too. As a freshman, he has established himself as one of the top players for the seventh-ranked Wolverines. "When you have the athleticism and God-given ability like him, the sky is the limit," San Bernardino Valley coach John Smith said. "Everyone knows he is a mid-to-high major (college) prospect."

After graduating from San Bernardino Cajon High in 2000, Walker did not earn a qualifying score on his SAT and was left with few options. His IEBP coaches told him about a prep school in New York and said it would allow him to play another year and work toward earning a qualifying score on his SAT. So Walker went to Redemption Academy in Troy, N.Y., in hopes of boosting his score. He did, meeting the NCAA qualifying mark on his final allotted attempt. But a mix-up with his grades meant he would need a 920.

He got a 900. "That was frustrating," Walker said, glancing his eyes down toward his ring. Walker, whom Smith calls "playful and organized," was back where he started, left with the option of attending a two-year school. He came back to San Bernardino and, with some coaxing from Smith, enrolled at San Bernardino Valley. "Every team needs an inside-outside threat," Smith said. "He's ours. When he's off, we're out of sync. When he's on, we're dangerous."

The season started on a high note for Walker. In a four-point victory over Skyline to start the year, he scored the final 12 points to help his team come back from an eight-point deficit with less than two minutes to play. Then, there were the low points away from the hardwood.

His grandmother died suddenly just before Thanksgiving, leaving Walker stunned. He already had lost his father, cousin and grandfather. Now this. "You get the sense that the stuff he's been through has developed his social skills," Smith said. "He'll shut down and be to himself. He doesn't feel he can connect with people sometimes." Walker's half brother, Rob Murphy, is an assistant coach with the Wolverines, but Murphy said he feels even closer to Walker. "To me, it's natural. Twenty-three of the chromosomes are from a different individual, but it doesn't feel any different. He is my brother." Having Murphy around is something Smith is thankful for.

"We'll be eating pre-game meals and I'll see Blake and I'll say, 'What's wrong with him?' and his brother will go over and talk to him and let me know everything is OK. Then, the game starts and he's unstoppable." Walker said he intends to return to San Bernardino Valley next season and he is not focused on his scholarship offers -- just playing and going to school. Murphy said that's just Walker's way of thinking. "He thinks far beyond what he wants to be," Murphy said. "At one point, I didn't think he would be the young man and the basketball player he is."

When Walker is unstoppable, the Wolverines have followed suit. Though the playoffs are still several weeks off, a berth into the state championship tournament is a definite possibility. And if all goes well, Walker could have a state championship ring to put on one of his other nine fingers.