With 10 minutes remaining and his team clinging to a one-point lead, Redbird forward Chase Walker caught a pass on the baseline near the basket, quickly spun past two defenders, and scored on an explosive right-handed reverse layup.
“It caught everyone by surprise … including me,” Walker said. “I felt like I was in the air forever. Then, I went back and watched the film and it hit me, like, ‘Dang, I couldn’t do that a year ago. I’m not even sure if I could do that nine months ago.’”
The powerful, athletic move that helped lift the Illinois State University men’s basketball team (7-4) to a win over the University of Alabama at Birmingham was the result of a challenging, two-year journey for Walker, a 6-foot-9, 270-pound sophomore who once weighed nearly 400 pounds in high school.
A Columbus, Ohio, native, Walker developed a love for basketball at a young age. Some of his earliest memories involve watching his mom, Angela Johnson, play college basketball at NCAA Division III Ohio Christian University.
“She set the record for most rebounds in a game with 22,” Walker said. “I remember that game specifically. She was all over the place. I didn’t understand how good she was until later because I was just like, ‘That’s my mom.’”
Walker grew up playing basketball with his older sister, ZahKyria, who is now a senior on the Wilmington College women’s basketball team in Ohio averaging nearly 10 points and six rebounds per game this season. They also played with and learned from their dad, Charles.
“Basketball was just fun,” said Walker, who was almost always the biggest player on his team. “Everyone could play it. It breaks barriers. You don’t have to speak the same language or like the same stuff. As long as you can shoot the ball, you can play.”
A standout on the St. Charles High School basketball team, Walker averaged 17.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game as a junior. The then 6-foot-8, 360-pound forward caught the attention of college coaches, including Illinois State head coach Ryan Pedon, who also grew up in the Columbus area.
“Chase has always had tremendous skill,” Pedon said. “He could do a lot of different things well dating back to his early high school years. He was just limited to a certain level because he needed growth with his physical conditioning and shape.”
Walker wholeheartedly embraced the self-imposed challenge to become a quicker and more physical athlete by losing nearly 100 pounds through improved nutrition and conditioning.
“My parents did a good job making healthy meals and making sure I stayed disciplined,” Walker said. “I put discipline and want-to in the same category because I feel like if you want to do something, then you’ll have the discipline to be like, ‘This is what I’m going to do, and this is how I’m going to do it.’ It’s going to get hard. But if you really want something, you’re going to lock down and get it done.”
After initially achieving his goal, Walker faced a setback his senior year of high school by breaking his toe in March. He arrived at Illinois State wearing a boot.
Walker credits Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Performance Ryan Swenson and Director of Sports Nutrition Sarah Wright for helping him get back in shape for his Division I basketball debut.
“How Chase has transformed his body in the ways that he has changed the makeup of his body has been unbelievable. I’ve been so impressed,” Pedon said. “I’ve been coaching for 24 years, and I’ve never seen as dramatic of a turnaround physically with a young man as I have with Chase in the time that he’s been here. His buy-in to the strength and conditioning program, as well as nutrition, has really been the catalyst.”
Originally a redshirt candidate during Illinois State’s 2023-24 season, Walker decided to start playing in January because he “wanted to be there for (his) teammates.”
This season, Walker said he feels more mentally prepared and confident. At the midway point of the schedule, he is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Walker was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week December 16 after the left-handed shooter scored a career-high 27 points in a non-conference win over Saint Louis University.
“Chase is very versatile for a guy his size. He can affect the game in many different ways,” Pedon said. “He can really impose himself physically in the paint, and I think that’s very obvious. But his footwork, his skill, his hands, his vision, his ability to pass the ball, and even his ability to shoot the ball, are all things that he brings to the table for our program. He’s able to impact the game and impact winning in so many different ways.”
Walker said he’s grown as a player at Illinois State by learning nuances of the game from the coaching staff. He is also grateful for teammates he considers his best friends.
“They’re all goofballs, and I might be the biggest one,” Walker said. “A lot of times we’re together, and we’re literally laughing about nothing. We just like to have fun, enjoy each other’s presence, and just play basketball.”
To prepare for games, Walker focuses his mind by listening to audiobooks in the locker room, such as Phil Jackson’s Eleven Rings or Carmelo Anthony’s Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised.
“You get so caught up in your thoughts that sometimes you’ve got to just relax, and I feel like books help me,” Walker said.
He also loves interacting with Redbird fans after home games at CEFCU Arena, where Illinois State is 5-1 this season.
“Seeing kids want to take a picture with me, and then seeing their reaction when they go back to their parents afterward, it just makes my day,” he said. “I remember being that kid. It makes me smile.”
Walker and his teammates hope to smile a lot during the always-tough Missouri Valley Conference schedule, which resumes Sunday, December 29, at 4 p.m. against the University of Illinois Chicago at CEFCU Arena.
“At our best, we’re a gritty team. We can battle it out,” Walker said. “I think we’re also multifaceted. Whatever the game calls for we can do, whether it’s a physical paint battle, a low-scoring, defensive affair, or if we’re in a shootout. We can adjust. We have some really good competitors who want to win every time we step out there.”
A sport management major, Walker hopes to play basketball professionally in the future and later become a sports agent.
Now in the best shape of his life, he’s eager to keep improving, both individually and as a team.
“I just get excited to play basketball. Who doesn’t want to play basketball, the greatest game in the world?” Walker said. “Now, we have to focus. We have to take care of business.”
