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It's been a while since I did one of these write-ups. Just haven't felt like it until now.

(14845673)
It was a bumpy ride to the top for Lionel Walker. There were many setbacks, the first of which occurred in the draft, where he was a diamond in the rough, but went almost unnoticed by scouts in the division IV.27 he was set to enter, and thus fell to the 3rd round of the draft. Fortunately though, Walker impressed his new club in off-season practice, and was immediately promoted to the starting line-up of the Craigeburn Eagles for season 13. Playing at shooting guard, he quickly made his impact felt on IV.27, averaging per game, 19.2 Points off 44.1% FG, 41.3% 3PT and 66.7% FT, along with 4.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.3 blocks. He was also the top scorer in the all-star game and won the 3 point shootout. He'd eventually finish 3rd in the MVP race and his team was top of the league in the regular season with a 21-1 record. But then the wheels fell off, his manager stopped caring about the team and his star player, and without his guidance, they would stumble in the conference final (semifinal overall) of the playoffs.

With the manager gone, the other players looked to Walker for leadership and to run something similar to the 'Kobe system', but it takes a manager to save a sinking ship, and Walker had to move on. He entered free agency, and a division III team from Hong Kong called JayJay noticed him and liked his game and potential so much, they paid 1 million dollars in fees to secure the rights to him for the foreseeable future. He was asked to play and learn point guard, and had serious trouble fitting into the team and this role at first, shooting only 20.2% in 6 games, including a 0-16 night: (26612991). JayJay as a team had a poor 8-14 season, but won the relegation playoffs to stay in division III.12.

Lionel Walker settled in properly over the next 2 seasons, playing mostly PG and SG but with the occasional game at SF. He developed a reputation for being a good, but inefficient scorer, the best example of this being in season 16 where he knocked down 23.5 points per game, but only off 37.3% FG and 29.4% 3PT. He was also beginning to become a big fish in a small pond, with JayJay going 11-11 and 8-14 in season 15 and 16 respectively.

Season 17 saw a turn-around in fortunes team success wise as JayJay brought in several players to compliment Walker and win promotion. Walkers overall game improved, with his average match rating jumping to 14.3, from 9.8 the previous season, and scoring 16.7 points a game off 40.3% FG and 28% 3PT. He also posted his best assist and turnover numbers for the club yet, was an All-Star game starter, and finished 6th in the MVP voting. JayJay would finish the regular season a league leading 21-1, and unlike last time Walker was in this position, there was no manager absence stopping them from taking the III.12 league home and moving up to division II.

Lionel Walker's role in the team became point guard once again in season 18, and this time he would handle the role well, dishing out 5.5 assists per game, good for top 10 in the league, whilst still scoring at a good, if inefficient rate himself (14.3 points off 38.6% shooting), leading to him coming 9th in the division II.3 MVP race. This also got him noticed by Australia's senior NT. Walker had failed to make the U21 side two seasons earlier, but had improved in leaps and bounds in the 2 seasons since then. And late in the season, at the age of just 23, Walker made his NT debut, coming on as a sub in a tournament seeding game (that holds little value, but here's the boxscore: (17838)), and appearing two more times in scrimmages before the season was out. Meanwhile, back in this club, JayJay managed a solid 15-7 season, but lost in the first playoff round. But things were looking good for Walker...

To be continued.

Last edited by Jay (OTT) at 9/22/2012 12:02:06 PM

Season 19 was eventful for Lionel Walker in more ways than one. His team asked him to play in a totally different role: Small Forward. The switch of positions turned into a good thing for him, as it allowed him to play against less skillful perimeter defenders and helped him shoot a personal best 53% FG and 42.9% 3PT whilst averaging 15.3 PPG and 5 APG for JayJay that season. Meanwhile, the National Team was in the midst of their AWESOME Season 19 Asian championship campaign. Walker started the tournament as a fringe player, but as the season went on and he improved, found himself starting to gain playing time, with 8 minutes vs Mayalsia being his first taste of true NT basketball: (18632).

Back at his club though, trouble was brewing. The manager was nowhere to be found, and if he didn't return Walker would have to test free agency for the 2nd time in his career. Luckily for the national team at the time, this was not affecting his game shape. This allowed him to earn a permanent spot on the bench for the rest of the tournament. Back at his club, he made his 3rd all-star game appearance (and start) for his career, this time in division II.3. But that still didn't change the fact that no manager = free agent. And sure enough, nearing the end of the season he was available, and clubs were willing to pay the mega bucks to acquire him. The eventual winner of the bidding wars with Whitebeard with a 2.6 million dollar bid. This was a great result for Walker, as not only was he going home, he was heading to a team that had title aspirations in season 20.

Australia went on to win the Asian championship that season, beating the highly fancied China in the final. Walker had an alright tournament overall, but shot badly. His stats were: 7 GP, 14 MPG, 22.6% FG (7-31), 14.3% 3PT (1-7), 83.3% FT (5-6), 1 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.4 TOPG, 0.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 2.9 PPG.

In season 20, any Australians that did not know about Lionel Walker quickly found out who he was. As was the case the previous season, he lined-up for his club as the starting SF for the majority of the season (though he played SG in B3 matches), and this offensive role seemed to suit his playing style perfectly, as he shot very efficiently in his first season in a top division league. Meanwhile in the national team, he came off the bench in 4 out of the 5 world cup games that Australia played that season. Sadly, an unlucky loss to Poland (they TIE'd we CT'd and we still lost? WTF BB?) ended our nations hopes of a good cup run. 9 days after we were eliminated, Lionel Walker played in arguably the biggest game of his career thus far. It was the Battlers Tournament final, versus Lewisham Wombats. A very evenly matched game with the lead changing several times. Whitebeard led at the half, but Lewisham had a 3rd quarter surge to lead by 5 with one period to play. The ending was tense, Birol Yalduz had just slammed it home to give Lewisham a two point lead, but had left 3 seconds on the clock in the process. Whitebeard's players had a choice: go for 2 and overtime or try to win it right there with a 3. They chose the latter, gave to to Walker who rushed to the corner and created some separation from Yalduz... only to brick the three-ball, giving Lewisham the win. Walker had played an alright game overall with 6-15 shooting, 15 points and 2 steals, but couldn't get it done in the clutch.

What separates a good player from a great one though, is how they bounce back from setbacks and failures...

To be continued.

Last edited by Jay (OTT) at 9/22/2012 11:53:36 AM

Lionel Walker didn't let the loss get to him, partly because he's a data file :P. He only had one bad night in his last 5 league games, Which helped him achieve season stats of: 19 GP, 30.9 MPG, 48.4% FG, 31% 3PT, 61.3% FT, 3.7 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1 TOPG, 1.1 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 12.4 PPG and a 14.5 average match rating. Not exactly stats that scream "elite", but as one of 2 national team players on Whitebeard's team, he was expected to play a big role in the playoffs.

But it seemed as though early on, he was more content playing a supporting role, taking only 6 shots in a quarterfinal game where he could have scored at will (blowout, WB won 136-38), though he did grab 6 rebounds and made 3 assists to help his team out. And then a crisis struck in the semi's (conference final). 2 minutes 28 seconds in, Lionel Walker takes a routine top of the key shot, apparently an assisted attempt. But then Marko Sperbert flies in and clotheslines him! Walker goes down and looks injured, whilst fans are angry at the ref for not calling a flagrant foul. Walker sat out the rest of the game, but the injury turns out to only be minor, and he's back for the finals series against Lewisham Wombats.

Game 1 was a fairly routine win for Walker and the team. Lewisham didn't try to win this one, instead saving themselves for the next 2 with hopes to win them both. Walker, playing SG, shot 5-12 including a three-ball for 12 points total, and had 4 assists (but 2 turnovers). But his efforts were still getting overshadowed by the bigs of the team.

Game 2... in two words, BAD NIGHT. Leszek completely shut him down and made him shoot 1-8, and the only highlight of the night for Walker was the 3 assists. Lewisham won and forced a game 3, just as they had planned.

For game 3, Whitebeard moved him back into the position he'd had much offensive success in, SF. The move seemed to work as he found his shooting groove again. But Lewisham were putting up a fight, and pulled away in the 2nd quarter to lead by 7. Whitebeard could only cut the lead by one in the 3rd, and with WB still down 6 in the 4th quarter, Galvin was injured following some rough play by Kremer. But again the ref refused to issue a flagrant foul. When things looked down and out, Lakhin, Diggles and Yunming getting hot was the reason Whitebeard got back into the contest... but that's another story.

Just like in the cup, it had become a one possession game. The final minute was full of clutch moments. Bench player Danny Browne tries to be the hero with an inside shot, and misses. Leszek then shows him how it's done with a baseline jumper to give Lewisham a one point lead. Not to be outdone Lakhin hits a contested jumper from the wing AND leaves enough time on the clock to give Whitebeard a 2 for 1! But then Vidensky slammed it home to re-take the lead and put the pressure back on WB. And that's where Walker came in...

A good pass by Asvestas gave Walker an open lane to drive in and hit a game winning layup. Sounds easy, but that's a CLUTCH layup, not so easy when the game's on the line. Nonetheless, Walker made up for his bricked 3 in the cup by swishing it... but he left 3 seconds on the clock! It was all down to Hahi Bin Awang now, the previous season's finals MVP... but despite only needing two, he attempted a triple... in a season where he only made 8.3% of his three-balls. BRICK! And that was how Walker went from 3rd round draft pick to ABBL champion. (49185946)

What's next for Walker you ask? Well first of all it looks like Whitebeard will repeat this season, so Walker may become part of a dynasty. Secondly, Walker is having an all-star season thus far and could be in the MVP hunt if he keeps this up. Thirdly, he's only 26, who knows how good this player's going to become!

Wow, that took a long time to write...

Last edited by Jay (OTT) at 9/27/2012 4:14:59 AM

Wow! Very good OTT9

A sensational writeup there, well done and like many people I look forward to many more in the future.

This is just too good...

a ball for you.