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We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Florida State SR SG MJ Walker. He won a gold medal in 2016, was named a McDonald’s All-American in 2017, and almost made the Final 4 in 2018. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with MJ about trying to break the school record for wins and his expectations for this year.
You played for team USA at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship: what did it mean to you to win a gold medal, and could you have ever imagined that just 4 years later your teammate Trae Young would be top-4 in the NBA with 29.6 PPG/9.3 APG? It was a heck of an experience and we had a lot of talent on that team. Trae is a great guy/great player and is doing his thing in the NBA.
Trae was also your teammate on the West team in a 2-PT win over East at the 2017 McDonald’s All-American Game: what did it mean to you to be named 1 of the best high school players in the country? It does not mean as much now but back then it was a huge accomplishment for me. It was pretty neat and great to be recognized for that but the work continues.
You received a scholarship offer from Clemson to play football: what was it like to get recruited by Coach Dabo Swinney, and did you have any regrets about turning him down after watching the Tigers win a national championship in 2018? It was pretty cool: I should have taken an official visit while I had the chance! My high school QB committed to Clemson so after they came down and saw me they made me an offer. It would have been cool to win a national title so kudos to them.
You play for Coach Leonard Hamilton: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? His genuineness with us and his ability to relate to all of us. He has experienced some trials/tribulations but uses that to connect with us spiritually/emotionally, which makes us want to compete hard for him. He is concerned not just with basketball but about our future and how we will survive in this world while doing the right thing and having great lives. He understands that there is a lot of life after basketball, which is the most important thing.
In the 2018 Elite 8 you had 3 STL in a 4-PT loss to Michigan: how close did you come to making the Final 4 as a #9 seed? We were right there. It was a tight game pretty much the whole way but that just shows you how competitive it gets in March Madness. We learned from that and have continued to get a lot better. It was my 1st time in the NCAA tourney and gave me some great experience.
You were the #1 seed in the 2020 ACC tourney and preparing to play Clemson in the quarterfinals before learning that the rest of the postseason was canceled due to the coronavirus: what was your reaction when you 1st heard the news, and do you think that it was the right decision? I think that it was the right move: we obviously wanted to play but this virus is serious and nothing to play around with. We are blessed to have the opportunity to do it again so we will cherish it the most while we have another chance: life is unpredictable and we will not take it for granted.
You are 27 wins away from becoming the winningest player in school history: I know that winning a championship is the most important thing, but how big a deal would it be to break Trent Forrest’s school record of 104 wins? That would be crazy! It is a heck of an accomplishment just to be in that position but a lot of work will have to be put in and it will be a grind all year. It starts with me giving everything I have and being locked in: I am ready to give it my all.
Your mother Jackie won a national title as a player at Hampton, your father James played basketball at Norfolk State, and your sister Amoni played college basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? It would definitely be me…although my dad would probably argue with that! My sister had a lot of injuries but was pretty great back in the day: we are a very competitive family.
What is it like to be an African-American man in 2020? It is scary and kind of hard to answer. As an African-American athlete I am not in bad situations all of the time but just being Black in general means that you have to deal with a lot of crazy things simply due to the pigment of your skin. We should just love each other rather than focus on the issue of color. I will continue to do my best to spread positivity because I think it is the only way that we will get past it. There is a long way to go and it is not looking too great right now but I have a lot of hope that we can just appreciate one another.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? I want to be All-ACC 1st-team, break the school record for career wins, and win a national title for Coach Hamilton. I want to make history for this school and if we can be the best during this year of adjustments/distractions it would be great: why not now!?