Film Room: Boynton and Pastrana on Rondel Walker
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State has had one of the best 2020 recruiting classes in the country since the November signing period when they signed Cade Cunningham, Rondel Walker and Montreal Pena. This past Wednesday, they added three more signatures that vaulted the class to No. 4 in the country according to Rivals: Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Donovan Williams and Ferron Flavors Jr.
Over the past, the Cowboy basketball Twitter account has been sending out videos title ‘Film Room’. Mike Boynton and Erik Pastrana have been breaking down the recruits, as well as some different plays that the Pokes’ run during the season.
We’re going to be taking a look at those and starting with their breakdown of 2020 signee Rondel Walker.
Walker’s a 6-3, 170-pound guard out of Putnam City West in Oklahoma City. He’s a four-star prospect in the 2020 class and checks in as a composite top-100 player in the country. One of the biggest attributes about Walker that we’ve all been told and seen in game footage is that he’s a defensive-minded player.
This is how the coaching staff describes Walker in the video.
- Aggressive in transition – catch & shoot/off bounce
- Moves well off the ball – good floor spacer
- Crafty finisher – takes pride on defensive end
“When you have the athleticism and the intelligence and you’re put in positions where you have good schemes and he’s going to be a really, really good defender, but that’s not the only thing he does well,” coach Boynton said. “He makes shots, he can finish in transition, he can pass really well and as he gets stronger, he’ll be in position to be able to defend multiple positions. He’ll be in position, offensively, to play in different spots as long as his body can physically take it.”
“The one thing that excites me the most about his is he’s an underrated shot maker, without question” assistant Erik Pastrana said. “I love his competitiveness defensively, off the ball, on the ball, takes pride and again, just a competitor. I think that’s a common theme with this class; bringing in a lot of guys, building on past classes and the roster we have: competitiveness.”
Like most signees, Rondel will have changed his body completely throughout the summer and will look totally different come the 2020 season. He’ll need to get bigger and stronger and that’s only going to help him once they get into live games other than inter-squad scrimmages.
I’ve thought from the time he committed to now that Walker would make an impact once he gets on campus, and that thought has only been reinforced listening to Boynton and Pastrana describe his abilities and potential.
