‘Target on my back’: EKU star leads ASUN in scoring yet continues to ‘fine-tune’ her game
Antwainette Walker is making the most of her final season of college basketball.
After a personally successful redshirt senior season in 2022-23, her first year with the Eastern Kentucky Colonels after stops at both Little Rock and Marquette, Walker was showered with accolades, including first-team All-ASUN and the ASUN Newcomer of the Year.
Ahead of her fifth and final season taking the court as a college basketball player, the 5-foot-11 graduate guard was named to the Preseason All-ASUN Team, named as an ESPN Player of the Year front-runner and to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Watchlist, as well as selected as the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year.
The 23-year-old from Lisle, Illinois, is far from the player — and person — she was in 2018 during her freshman (Sun Belt Conference championship-winning) season with the Trojans. All aspects of her life reflect that growth, including her recent surpassing of 1,000 career points in December. And while focus, preparation and confidence are foundational tenets in Walker’s approach, she admits that her past self couldn’t have foreseen that milestone that brought her “an amazing feeling.”
“Honestly,” Walker said. “Past Antwainette, I don’t know if she thought that she was gonna be able to do that. But now it’s like, ‘Wow, I did that. And I just got recognized for it.’”
Despite a knee injury that has limited her to playing in 12 of the Colonels’ 17 games, Walker has elevated her play from last year’s campaign and placed herself atop of the competition’s scouting reports.
Through the Colonels’ first 10 games, Walker ranked inside the top five in Division I women’s college basketball with nearly 25 points per game across seven contests. And she has performed well against the Colonel’s stiffest competition: 29 points in a loss to then-No. 4 Utah on Nov. 19, and 24 points in EKU’s nine-point loss at Tennessee on Dec. 10.
Overall, Walker has averaged 20.7 points (first in the ASUN), 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.0 steals (tied for second in the league) for the Colonels (12-5, 1-2).
“I knew, because I had such a great season last year,” Walker said of being her opponents’ focus on defense. “There was gonna be a — call it a — target on my back. So I knew that I had to focus in a little bit more. Kind of fine-tune things and expand my game more.”
Journey to EKU
Walker was categorized as a three-star prospect in the class of 2018 out of St. Francis High School in Wheaton, Illinois, and, according to St. Francis assistant basketball coach Greg Webb — who joked he always tried to get her to join the track and field team because he was sure she could be a state champion — Walker led the Spartans in all statistical categories
“I always think of Antwainette when I first saw her,” Webb said, “when she was still in grade school, and her athleticism just stands out. She’s such a step ahead (of others), especially back then.”
Out of high school, Walker committed to Little Rock for both its typical success in the Sun Belt Conference and the family oriented style of the program. But after her freshman season — during which the Trojans won the league’s regular season and tournament championships — she decided to transfer. Marquette was her next destination, and at that time transfers had to sit out a year.
“I wasn’t playing as much during my freshman year, either,” Walker said. “So kind of sitting out my sophomore year really allowed me a different perspective versus being on the floor, and then being on the sideline and like looking at what’s going on, I just got to learn a lot from it.”
Megan Duffy, still at the helm at Marquette, originally recruited Walker out of high school when she was leading Miami (Ohio). That connection, Walker said, combined with Marquette’s rise as a program and potential to allow her to grow as a player, sealed the deal.
In three years with the Golden Eagles, Walker earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology (2022) and accessed new levels of personal success fueled by lessons learned on strength and conditioning, nutrition and general resilience.
“That whole time I was resilient,” Walker said. “Still thinking about myself, working on myself, knowing that, you know, I was a really good player. And whenever I got that opportunity I would be ready for it. And so that honestly was my mindset all three years, just to be ready.”
Following her mandatory redshirt season, Walker came off the bench in both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons at Marquette. Her final year with the Golden Eagles, she averaged then-career highs of 4.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.0 steal over the course of 14.5 minutes played across 28 games.
After three years in Wisconsin, Walker entered the portal again, this time as a graduate transfer. And, just like the first time around, a recruiting connection from high school was key to her choice.
EKU head coach Greg Todd, who arrived in Richmond in May 2021, first recruited Walker out of high school while he was still at Morehead State. Todd had seen something great in Walker since the start, but even he didn’t realize the level of play she would eventually reach.
“Once we saw her get in the portal from Marquette,” Todd said, “we were able to get a hold of her and she came and looked at Eastern real hard. To be honest, I didn’t expect — I knew she would be a good player for us, I didn’t quite know that she would … play at the level that she’s playing at. And I think she’s just been a good fit. We play fast, she’s a great athlete. We’ve kind of turned her loose in terms of getting up shots. She’s a hard worker.”
While Todd knew immediately he wanted Walker at EKU, for her, it was a strong gut feeling upon visiting — which she noted she had never had before in choosing a college program — that told her it was the right place to end her college career.
“It was literally just something internally,” Walker said, “that was just like, ‘Antwainette, I really think this is the place for you. You do have all these other schools, but this is the place for you.’ And especially when I came on my visit, the coaches were awesome. They’re true people, they’re really sincere. I mean, I don’t know what else more, like based on the things I went through in the past like, I just felt like, ‘Antwainette, it’s right here. So just take it.’”
A successful tenure in Richmond
Sure enough, that gut feeling proved correct. On a Colonels roster that would finish the 2022-23 campaign with an overall record of 18-14 and 11-7 in the ASUN, Walker had the best season of her career. She started all 30 games she played in and averaged 21.0 points and 9.4 rebounds in addition to 2.3 assists and 2.4 steals per contest en route to her postseason awards.
“When I got those awards, you know, I just lived in the moment,” Walker said. “’This is awesome, this is amazing,’ But at the same time, like, I didn’t want it to necessarily hinder me because I don’t want to stay there for too long because I knew … . There’s more. There’s definitely more.”
In Walker’s eyes, there was more work to be done. It mattered to her that she improved upon her 3-point shot after making 23.3% from long range in her first season with the Colonels, the first time she took a meaningful number of attempts from beyond the arc. Last season, she saw herself break out as a player who could succeed in driving to the basket, or reliably drain a mid-range shot. Walker knew she had a 3-point shot in her arsenal, but she challenged herself to make it more consistently.
For Walker, that process looked like hours and hours of countless reps in the gym.
“I’m the type of person, I need reps,” Walker said. “If I step away from basketball, you know what I mean, if I don’t do it, I’m bricking shots like crazy. I have to have that routine. I have to have that repetition, and maybe that’s different for some people. But for me, it’s something I have to see. I have to see the ball go in. Things like that to keep my confidence and boost my confidence.”
Walker describes herself as an organized person and player, needing to have her “ducks in a row” in order to stay focused. Thus far, Walker has found a new level of success beyond the arc, making 38.1 percent (24 of 63) from long range.
According to Todd, Walker’s work ethic sets a strong example for her teammates.
“She just is driven so much to be the best basketball player that she can be,” Todd said. “And I think when the other players see that, it definitely is eye-opening, to see a young lady work that hard.”
For Walker, who is pursuing a master’s degree in exercise and science with a concentration in health and wellness and is set to graduate later this year, learning is a necessary part of the process. Just as important is the understanding that, as long as she does the best she can, even a relatively disappointing day on the court can be overcome.
Take the Colonels’ Dec. 17 loss to Chattanooga. In that game, Walker posted nine rebounds, one assist and two steals. She was limited to two points on 1-for-9 shooting from the field. It was her lowest point total since transferring to EKU. Though it frustrated her, she’s found a way to laugh it off and take a new perspective.
“It was definitely difficult, but I would have to say, Antwainette from last year to this year,” Walker laughed, “yes, I couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean, but I had a lot more rebounds. So that’s something I’m trying to work on as far as like, ‘OK, if I’m not scoring tonight, what is something that I can contribute?’ Whether that’s rebounding, assisting, things like that.”
With just a few months remaining in her college career, Walker is carrying that mentality with her every step of the way, along with the team’s goal of getting a (conference championship) ring. But as far as personal goals go, she’s focused on maintaining a good routine and doing whatever she can to help her team.
“Whatever I have to do to aid us,” Walker said, “and be able to give my team the confidence to keep going, keep pushing through games. I’d probably have to say that’s my personal goal: to just be the best player I can.”
Next game
Central Arkansas at Eastern Ky.
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Records: Central Arkansas 11-5, 3-0 ASUN; Eastern Kentucky 12-5, 1-2
TV: ESPN+ (online only)
Radio: WEKY-FM 92.5
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