Houston Cougars: Kelvin Sampson’s System Will Ensure Jarace Walker Has NBA Success

While Jarace Walker doesn't necessarily stuff the stat sheet, he's learning to impact winning at the highest level under Kelvin Sampson.

As we enter the new year, the 2023 NBA Draft is just over six months away. One of the top prospects in this class is Houston Cougars forward Jarace Walker, who has a real chance to be selected in the lottery.

It takes really watching Walker play to understand just how impactful he could be at the next level. This is because the box score doesn’t even scratch the surface of what he’s able to do on the floor.

On the season, Walker is averaging just 8.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest. He’s shooing 36.4% from deep and 69.2% from the free throw line.

At the surface, these aren’t numbers you’d expect to see from a lottery pick. However, the system Walker is playing in has to be considered. On a contending Cougars team, he’s not a focal point of the offense which has led to less than eight shot attempts per game. Houston has a guard-oriented system with Marcus Sasser and Jamal Shead in the backcourt.

Although his role isn’t to be the top guy on most nights, Walker is still one of the most important players on the team. He’s built like a football player, but moves with quickness you wouldn’t expect from a 6-foot-8 forward. He’s a versatile defender that has the strength to guard bigger players in the post, but the lateral speed and footwork to stay in front of quicker guards.

This switchability is a huge reason the Cougars have had the best defense in the entire country this season. Walker definitely has his defensive lapses at times given he’s a freshman, but he largely is the anchor of this dominant defense.

“Our program is all about accountability,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson told Draft Digest. “We play unselfish. We have a way we play and they buy into it. We value defense. We’re not going to win championships with offense. Defense, rebounding and playing hard.”

While Walker is flashing that defensive upside that will be valuable at the NBA level, it’s this system that is perhaps masking his offensive talent. Unlike some of the other lottery talents around the country, Walker doesn’t have the green light to go shoot 15 times per game to run his scoring numbers up.

Instead, he’s having to find ways to impact the game in other ways, much of the time doing things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.

This role is actually somewhat similar to the situation he was in as a senior at IMG Academy. As good as Walker was there, he played alongside four other top talents that are also freshman in this class. Walker didn’t get the chance to even be the top offensive option at that level with Keyonte George (Baylor), Jaden Bradley (Alabama), Jett Howard (Michigan) and A.J. Storr (St. John’s) on the roster.

While Walker continues to help Houston win games on their path to what could be a deep postseason run later this year, he’s learning how to play winning basketball. He may not be getting the offensive opportunity other top freshman are across the country, but the principles he’s learning will likely be worth more long-term.

“Jarace is still learning to impact winning when the ball is not in his hands,” said Sampson. “The thing I’ve always took pride in is teaching our kids how to win. That’s the differences in coaches and people that don’t coach. People that don’t coach can tell you did wrong. At some point you have to figure out how you can win. How you can impact winning. That’s what Jarace is learning.”

Walker has been somewhat inconsistent early in the season as he begins to figure things out. Sampson acknowledged this, but knows the best version of him is still to come.

“He’s up and down, but he’s starting to level off. His best days are way ahead of him,” Sampson told Draft Digest. “He looks like Karl Malone a bit with his body. He’s just not as aggressive but we’re on it. It’s coming.”

Walker playing in a system like Houston should be appealing to NBA teams. It proves he doesn’t have to be a primary scorer to make a significant impact on winning at the next level. Furthermore, the fact that the offensive potential is still somewhat untapped means he could have upside on that end that we haven’t been able to see yet. Walker has been a quality 3-point shooter this season, which has only helped his draft stock.

After a season with Kelvin Sampson, 19-year-old Jarace Walker will be an even better NBA prospect than he was entering the year. What he’ll learn in this sole season will elevate his ceiling as a player. 

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