Dantley Walker - Signed to UNLV

Update -



Dantley Walker scored 46 points and had 10 assists in a win over the Meadows High School on Friday night. He also eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for the season.

I made the two hour drive to watch Dantley Walker's game last night in Panaca, Nevada. What a player!



Dantley scored 46 points and had 10 assists. Walker earned every point too, he would double and triple teamed, they put small quick guys on him, tall and long guys on him--it didn't matter. Because the defense was so focused on him, it was difficult for him to get much going, so in the second half, he just turned it up a notch. He had 16 points in the first half, and 30 in the second. He started just stepping back, way back, into Jimmerland and launching threes that hit nothing but net. When they came to half court to guard him, he drove to the basket and scored and got fouled. There rarely seemed to be room for him to get through the defense, but he always did. He also made 12 of 12 free throws, in a game where the refs sucked on their whistles the whole night and just let the kids play.



Dantley is an outstanding passer, his assists were things of beauty. And when he gets out in the open court, on a fast break, there is no stopping him, he is impressive. He is such a great ball handler that he either takes the ball to the hoop and scores, or he makes a great pass for an assist for a layup by his teammates.



On one play, he is the only guy back on defense when the other team has a 2 on 1 fast break. The best player on the other team has the ball, and this kid is good too. But Dantley stripped the ball away from him, in the lane, bolts down court the other way, dribbles into traffic at the top of the key and makes an amazing, deceptive pass to a teammate for a layup. Wow!



Dantley is really only about 5' 10" and maybe 160 pounds, so I don't know if BYU or other D-I schools will offer him, but this kid can play; his skills are just amazing. He handles the ball as well as anyone I've ever seen, he shoots a perfect ball, perfect form, perfect rotation, perfect arch, and he has an array of shots that would impress anyone. His passing might be his greatest asset, he is very, very good, which is how he got 22 assists in one game a week ago.



In a lot of ways he is like Jimmer, not lightning quick, not a great jumper, but very, very skilled--and he can score on anybody, just like Jimmer, he can go inside, he can go long ball, very long ball. He made two 3s last night that just knocked my socks off, he was barely over half court and just launches it, and say, "oh oh, that was probably a mistake," but nothing but net, and the crowd went wild.



This is how basketball was meant to be played, up tempo, fast, great shooting, great ball handling, dizzying passes, and just fun, open court ball handling wizardry. Dantley holds every significant basketball record in the state of Nevada, and there is a reason, this kid is just very, very good.

Dantley had another 46 point 10 assist game to finish out the regular season with a win against Lake Mead on Saturday night. Dantley made 10 3-pointers in the game.

Dantley's father said to me on Friday, "If Katschke and Rippetoe can make some shots, and Dantley is on--we don't lose."



Dantley, like Fredette, demand so much defensive attention that the game becomes kind of skewed, guys are left wide open underneath, the entire game seems to be played out near halfcourt where Dantley and Jimmer must be guarded or they just shoot and make it from there anyway. The frustrating thing for the defense is you spend so much time and effort guarding Dantley (and Jimmer)--and they score on you anyway, that it is discouraging to your team. You go into the game believing you can stop this kid, but you can't. And they are both such great ball handlers that they just rarely turn the ball over, and even with double and triple teams, they don't get the ball stolen from them. And for Dantley, his greatest strength is probably his passing ability, he is very, very good and will make some college coach very, very happy.

Dantley is averaging 35 points per game, for 30 games. He is also averaging just over 10 assists per game, and 6 rebounds per game. The Review Journal does not keep track of steals, but Dantley gets about 6 steals a game. He also plays the full 32 minutes unless his team is well ahead. Dantley has the ball in his hands about 90% of the time. Nobody presses Lincoln County anymore because Dantley beats the press with ease and makes them pay for it. He has also had about 20 games this year when he has scored 40 or more points (73 being the high, and a state record).



Better yet Dantley is a humble, good kid who will serve a mission first (turns 19 in October). So whatever college signs him, won't get his services until probably 2014. He has a great personality and I've never seen him get rattled or angry in a game, he is very even tempered, much like Jimmer.

I stumbled onto this YouTube video of Dantley that someone posted yesterday. It appears to be one of his 10 3-pointers from his game last night against Lake Mead. Take a look and tell me if the move he uses to get open for his shot reminds you of anyone.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGUcGK6dsC0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



FYI - this is not the best quality of video - but good enough to see some of Dantley's abilities.

I'm excited to get this kid on the team. These updates about how he's doing are awesome.

Do you think he is fast enough? Jimmer looks a lot quicker.

Looks like he's a UNLV guy. BOOOO

Well, UNLV did offer Dantley, but haven't heard yet if he accepted it. I know he would prefer go to BYU or Utah State. Here's hoping.

As to Dantley's speed. His father was no speed demon, but he had a very quick first step, and could get by anybody. Dantley is faster in the open court, I think, than he is in the halfcourt game, one on one. Keep in mind, Dantley is not some amazing athlete, he is an amazingly skilled basketball player--much like Jimmer. Give Dantley a couple of years, and time with the conditioning coach, and I think he will be able to play with anybody on the college level.

BYU can always recruit white boys that can shoot it. We need more athletes, especially in the post. Recruiting is getting better in this area, and results are following. I hope this kid pans out so all those Rebel fans can cheer for an LDS kid.

In basketball, BYU can't get all the great LDS kids. It's unfortunate, but I'm glad Dantley has a D1 offer, and it's not a terrible place to be. Las Vegas with all of it's ills does have a high mormon population.



An example of not being able to get all the players: JC Carroll vs. Mark Bigelow. They were in the same recruiting class and BYU only had room for one of them. Bigelow was by far the bigger get out of high school and committed to BYU, so all that BYU could offer to Carroll was walk-on with potential to get a scholarship. USU had a scholarship for him. Them's the breaks.

Lawboy wrote:
BYU can always recruit white boys that can shoot it. We need more athletes, especially in the post. Recruiting is getting better in this area, and results are following. I hope this kid pans out so all those Rebel fans can cheer for an LDS kid.

Agreed, but how often does BYU pass on a kid that is scoring/passing like this kid? It'd make me sick to see this guy tear it up at UNLV.

declocoug wrote:

BYU can always recruit white boys that can shoot it. We need more athletes, especially in the post. Recruiting is getting better in this area, and results are following. I hope this kid pans out so all those Rebel fans can cheer for an LDS kid.

Agreed, but how often does BYU pass on a kid that is scoring/passing like this kid? It'd make me sick to see this guy tear it up at UNLV.

If the kid really wants to go to BYU and BYU offers later, he can take it.. we're not even close to the signing day for college hoops.



Personally, this sounds like something that was going on behind the scenes or that UNLV did what Texas did to Apo and said take it now or leave it... Apo took it from Texas and still bailed on them.



This might be less about Walker and more about Jordan Chatman, Nick Emery and TJ Haws all three of which are substantially more talented than Walker. I have the utmost faith in Dave Rose and his coaching staff's eye for guards.

Congratulations Dantley! Even though it appears that Dantley won't end up in a BYU Cougar uniform I am excited to continue watching his career develop. Dantley is a great kid and a terrific player worth rooting for.

HHH wrote:
Congratulations Dantley! Even though it appears that Dantley won't end up in a BYU Cougar uniform I am excited to continue watching his career develop. Dantley is a great kid and a terrific player worth rooting for.

Not surprising since he is the only topic on which you have commented.

What can I say? . . . . I'm a Dantley fan.

Pretty much anything on a non-Dantley thread would suffice.

I watched his highlight video and UNLV can have him. Yes he has unlimited range but that's all he will be able to do at the D1 level. There is no way he gets into the lane and throws up those soft floaters against D1 athletes. He has no elevation and hardly leaves the ground. I'm from Nevada and played high school ball there. The 2a league is absolutely terrible.