Walker, 32 others set to walk on Saturday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Saturday, Dec. 15, is a big day on the University of Arkansas campus as students participate in fall commencement ceremonies at Barnhill Arena.  Amidst the hoopla are 33 current and former student-athletes who are earning their degrees including former men’s basketball All-American Darrell Walker who is picking up his diploma 33 years after he enrolled at Arkansas.

Walker was a first-team All-Southwest Conference selection and second-team All-American in 1983 before getting selected in the first round of that year’s National Basketball Association draft by the New York Knicks with the No. 12 overall pick.  In three years in Fayetteville, Walker averaged 14.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and ranks 18th on Arkansas’ all-time scoring list and 10th on the assist charts.  He would go on to play 10 years in the NBA with New York, Denver, Washington, Detroit and Chicago and averaged 8.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. His 1984 Knicks team advanced to the second round of the playoffs, it was one of four playoff runs Walker’s teams made.  Currently, Walker is an assistant coach with the New York Knicks.

Presenting Walker with his degree on Saturday will be his former coach at Arkansas, Eddie Sutton.  Sutton was the Razorback head coach from 1975-85 and in 11 seasons went 260-75 (.776). Sutton’s teams won four SWC titles and advanced to the NCAA tournament nine times including the 1978 Final Four.

Of the 33 student-athletes who are earning their degrees, 15 are from football, five women’s track, three men’s track, two women’s tennis, two swimming and diving, and one each from men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, gymnastics, men’s tennis and volleyball.

Berna, Colby	Football	Criminal Justice
Bigham, Bo	Baseball	Journalism
Breeding, Dylan	Football	Marketing
Brewer, Nicholas	Football	Marketing/Information Systems
Bryan, Cameron	Football	Kinesiology
Butler, La'shawn	Track	Sociology
Carbone, Emily	Women Tennis	Psychology/Communication Minor
Crim, Rudell	Football	Criminal Justice
Crowell, Kareem	Football	Criminal Justice
Deacon, Tyler	Football	Kinesiology
Elliott, Rick	Track	Kinesiology
Flowers, Gwen	Women Track	Apparel Studies
Franks, Nathanael	Track	Chemistry/Physics
Green, Jared	Football	Sociology
Hyter, Bethany	Women Track	Criminal Justice/Sociology
Hyter, Brittany	Women Track	Criminal Justice/Sociology
Johnson, Dennis	Football	Criminal Justice/Sociology
Jones, Patrick	Football	Recreation & Sports Management
King, Marci	Volleyball	Criminal Justice/Sociology
Love, Jermaine	Football	Criminal Justice/Sociology
Lukomskaya, Katsiaryna	Women Tennis	Art
Marshall, Matt	Football	Human Devel, Family Sci & Rural Soc
O'grady, Courtney	Swimming	Finance/Marketing
Siebert, Amanda	Gymnastics	Kinesiology
Stewart, Andru	Football	Human Development & Family Sciences
Townsend, Jamesha	Women Basketball	Journalism/African American Studies
Vance, Kelsea	Swimming/Diving	Biology/Hs
Walker, Darrell	Basketball	Human Resource Development
Walters, Matt	Tennis	Kinesiology
Werner, Rachel	Women's Track	Kinesiology/Exercise Science Pre Prof
Williams, Shelise	Women Track	Human Devel, Family Sci & Rural Soc
Wilson, Tyler	Football	Recreation & Sports Management
Wright, Tenarius	Football	Criminal Justice/Sociology