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Men's Basketball Signs Transfer Rondel Walker
6/27/2023 8:49:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DENTON — The UNT men's basketball team signed former four-star prospect Rondel Walker on Tuesday. The 6-foot-5 guard transfers to the reigning NIT champions from TCU where he played in 30 games last season and made five starts for a Horned Frogs squad that nearly made the Sweet 16.
The Midwest City, Oklahoma, native graduated from Putnam City West High School in 2020 where he was a unanimous four-star talent and ranked as the No. 55 prospect in the nation by ESPN.
Prior to joining TCU last season, Walker began his college career at Oklahoma State where he played for two years (2020-22). At OSU, Walker played in 59 games and made 15 career starts for the Cowboys who won 60 percent of all their games over the two seasons and reached the 2021 Big 12 Tournament title game and the 2021 NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
While at Oklahoma State, Walker became a fan favorite for his gritty and defensive instincts that helped lead the Cowboys to 12 wins over AP Top-25 opponents. He snatched up 83 career steals with OSU and averaged 1.4 steals per game over his two seasons in Stillwater, Oklahoma. That ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 during that time. On Jan. 22, 2022, he had a career-high six steals at No. 23 Texas.
Walker is very much also an offensive threat. He scored in double figures 18 times at Oklahoma State, including a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting at Iowa State on Jan. 25, 2021. He scored 15 or more points six times in his two seasons with the Cowboys. He scored 18 points at Kansas State on Feb. 2, 2022.
One of his most notable plays during his time at OSU was on Jan. 12, 2021, when he scored the game-winning "and-1" layup in the final seconds to defeat No. 6 Kansas at home. He finished the game with eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the win over the Jayhawks.
He was also critical in OSU's 61-54 victory over No. 1 Baylor on Jan. 15, 2022 – Oklahoma State's first-ever road win over a No. 1 ranked opponent. Walker had three assists, three steals and three points in 18 minutes off the bench in the seven-point road win. His three steals were a game high.
This past season at TCU, Walker helped lead the Horned Frogs to a Big 12 Tournament semifinal round and a NCAA Round of 32 appearances. TCU defeated six AP Top 25 opponents, including at No. 2 Kansas on Jan. 21 where Walker played 16 minutes off the bench in the win.
In total in his three years of college, Walker has helped defeat 18 AP Top 25 opponents, including road wins against the No. 1 and No. 2 nationally ranked teams. Seven of those 18 nationally ranked wins are against Top 10 teams.
Coming out of high school, Walker held offers from Arkansas, Texas, Kansas State, Virginia Tech among others in addition to Oklahoma State. He was teammates with current Detroit Pistons star and 2021 NBA Draft first overall pick Cade Cunningham with the Texas Titans AAU squad. He averaged 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game on the 2019 EYBL circuit.
At Putnam City West High School, Walker earned the 2020 Jim Thorpe High School Player of the Year award from the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. He was named The Oklahoman's 2020 Big All-City Player of the Year and graduated from his high school as its all-time leader in career points (23.1 ppg) and steals (4.1 spg). He led Putnam to the 2020 Oklahoma 6A State Tournament, however, the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walker is joining a UNT men's basketball program coming off its most successful season in its history. The Mean Green won a program-record 31 games last season to go along with tying the program-record for conference wins (16). UNT earned a bid into the 2023 National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Alcorn State, Sam Houston, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin and UAB in route to its first NIT championship in program history.
North Texas, which has now won a championship trophy in each of the last four seasons, elevated associate head coach Ross Hodge to head coach on April 2 and will make the move to the American Athletic Conference next season.
Walker is one of six newcomers to sign with the Mean Green so far this offseason. He joins newcomers UTSA transfer John Buggs, Ole Miss transfer Robert Allen, NJCAA First Team All-American transfer Jason Edwards, Oklahoma and Big 12 All-Freshman honoree transfer CJ Noland and incoming freshman Alex Cotton
Season tickets for the 2023-24 Mean Green men and women's basketball teams are available now at www.meangreentickets.com. Tickets start as low as $99 for men's and $75 for women's basketball. For more information on tickets, contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or at ticketoffice@unt.edu. Fans can visit the UNT Athletics Ticket Office located at Gate 2 of Apogee Stadium between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Midwest City, Oklahoma, native graduated from Putnam City West High School in 2020 where he was a unanimous four-star talent and ranked as the No. 55 prospect in the nation by ESPN.
Prior to joining TCU last season, Walker began his college career at Oklahoma State where he played for two years (2020-22). At OSU, Walker played in 59 games and made 15 career starts for the Cowboys who won 60 percent of all their games over the two seasons and reached the 2021 Big 12 Tournament title game and the 2021 NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
While at Oklahoma State, Walker became a fan favorite for his gritty and defensive instincts that helped lead the Cowboys to 12 wins over AP Top-25 opponents. He snatched up 83 career steals with OSU and averaged 1.4 steals per game over his two seasons in Stillwater, Oklahoma. That ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 during that time. On Jan. 22, 2022, he had a career-high six steals at No. 23 Texas.
Walker is very much also an offensive threat. He scored in double figures 18 times at Oklahoma State, including a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting at Iowa State on Jan. 25, 2021. He scored 15 or more points six times in his two seasons with the Cowboys. He scored 18 points at Kansas State on Feb. 2, 2022.
One of his most notable plays during his time at OSU was on Jan. 12, 2021, when he scored the game-winning "and-1" layup in the final seconds to defeat No. 6 Kansas at home. He finished the game with eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the win over the Jayhawks.
He was also critical in OSU's 61-54 victory over No. 1 Baylor on Jan. 15, 2022 – Oklahoma State's first-ever road win over a No. 1 ranked opponent. Walker had three assists, three steals and three points in 18 minutes off the bench in the seven-point road win. His three steals were a game high.
This past season at TCU, Walker helped lead the Horned Frogs to a Big 12 Tournament semifinal round and a NCAA Round of 32 appearances. TCU defeated six AP Top 25 opponents, including at No. 2 Kansas on Jan. 21 where Walker played 16 minutes off the bench in the win.
In total in his three years of college, Walker has helped defeat 18 AP Top 25 opponents, including road wins against the No. 1 and No. 2 nationally ranked teams. Seven of those 18 nationally ranked wins are against Top 10 teams.
Coming out of high school, Walker held offers from Arkansas, Texas, Kansas State, Virginia Tech among others in addition to Oklahoma State. He was teammates with current Detroit Pistons star and 2021 NBA Draft first overall pick Cade Cunningham with the Texas Titans AAU squad. He averaged 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game on the 2019 EYBL circuit.
At Putnam City West High School, Walker earned the 2020 Jim Thorpe High School Player of the Year award from the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. He was named The Oklahoman's 2020 Big All-City Player of the Year and graduated from his high school as its all-time leader in career points (23.1 ppg) and steals (4.1 spg). He led Putnam to the 2020 Oklahoma 6A State Tournament, however, the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walker is joining a UNT men's basketball program coming off its most successful season in its history. The Mean Green won a program-record 31 games last season to go along with tying the program-record for conference wins (16). UNT earned a bid into the 2023 National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Alcorn State, Sam Houston, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin and UAB in route to its first NIT championship in program history.
North Texas, which has now won a championship trophy in each of the last four seasons, elevated associate head coach Ross Hodge to head coach on April 2 and will make the move to the American Athletic Conference next season.
Walker is one of six newcomers to sign with the Mean Green so far this offseason. He joins newcomers UTSA transfer John Buggs, Ole Miss transfer Robert Allen, NJCAA First Team All-American transfer Jason Edwards, Oklahoma and Big 12 All-Freshman honoree transfer CJ Noland and incoming freshman Alex Cotton
Season tickets for the 2023-24 Mean Green men and women's basketball teams are available now at www.meangreentickets.com. Tickets start as low as $99 for men's and $75 for women's basketball. For more information on tickets, contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or at ticketoffice@unt.edu. Fans can visit the UNT Athletics Ticket Office located at Gate 2 of Apogee Stadium between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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