Ask Caleb Walker to describe his game, and he’ll chuckle a little.
“I’m an exciting player, man,” he said proudly. “When I get out there, I turn it up. I zone out and just play ball.”
Nebraska forward Brandon Ubel has been around his newest teammate for less than a month. After witnessing Walker throw down more than a few dunks in the few pickup game they’ve played this summer, he too grins when asked about the juco transfer’s talents.
“He can jump, that’s for sure,” Ubel said. “He can get up. He floats in the air. He’s a pretty special athlete.”
Less than an hour after the 2009 season ended with a second-round exit in the Big 12 Tournament, NU coach Doc Sadler calmly admitted his team’s biggest need last season was a dynamic scoring guard.
Walker might be just what Nebraska’s looking for.
The 6-foot-4 guard comes from Butler Community College as one of NU’s more decorated juco transfers. The junior college All-American averaged 16.4 points and eight rebounds a game and led Butler to its first NJCAA National Tournament appearance in 13 years.
Walker isn’t afraid of the rebuilding project he’s joining in Lincoln. After helping Butler go from 9-21 to 29-7 in two years, he welcomes the challenge.
“It’s kind of the same situation,” he said. “And I don’t think it’s a bad situation.
“For the last couple season, they haven’t been on the winning track,” Walker said. “I want to help them get back on the winning track and help them get further to an NCAA tournament, to something special.”
And he doesn’t mind putting in the hard work to make that happen. For all the high-flying talent he’s shown off, Walker insists his game isn’t all flash.
“If you need me to score, I can contribute in that way,” he said. “When I’m out there on the floor, though, I take pride in my defense, getting rebounds and passing.”
Walker shot 53 percent from the field and nearly 38 percent from long range, and he’s already devoted much of his summer to honing his shot.
“I’ve been getting up about 500 shots a week,” he said. “I’m just trying to stay consistent.”
Walker doesn’t know what to expect in terms of his role this season, but he can look at NU point guard Lance Jeter for a blueprint of how to make an impact in year one.
Jeter, a transfer from Polk (Fla.) Community College, earned a starting spot in his first year in Lincoln, played a team-high 31 minutes per game and earned Big 12 All-Newcomer honors.
Walker is plenty familiar with his juco counterpart – Jeter took a visit to Butler before picking Polk, and they played a little pickup ball during his stop in El Dorado, Kansas.
“Lance set a real good example here,” Walker said. “I saw how he’s come in and contributed to the team, and I want to fit myself into that kind of role.”
Ubel said Walker has proven himself to be a hard worker in their workouts together this month, and he’s got plenty of competitiveness off the court.
“We play video games a lot, mostly “NCAA Football 11” and “FIFA 10,” Ubel said. “He kills me. He’s a lot better than me, and I’ll admit that. It doesn’t matter who he plays as, he still kills me.”
Walker knows Nebraska’s basketball squad has plenty of skeptics after a rough 15-18 season, but he’s confident better days are ahead. And after turning things around at Butler, Walker hopes he can do that and more in his two seasons in Lincoln.
“I don’t know how many people out there believe in us, but I do,” he said. “I believe we’re going to come in, work hard and get better, and it’s going to be a better year.
“I want to surprise everybody out there who doesn’t believe us.”
Briefly
Sadler may have finally arrived at a decision on where his team will travel next month: the Bahamas. The plans are expected to be finalized today, and his Huskers will begin a special session of 10 practices in the first week of August to prep for the trip.
“I’m excited for it,” Ubel said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to get everybody back and playing. That’s one thing I’ve been getting kind of antsy to do since the season ended: getting five-on-fives going.”