Nation’s No. 1 JUCO player signs with Dawn Staley, South Carolina basketball
The South Carolina women’s basketball team has landed a major junior college recruit who should play a big role in the paint.
Former Northwest Florida State College forward Sakima Walker, the reigning JUCO player of the year, announced her commitment to coach Dawn Staley and USC on Friday via social media.
“It’s Official, Go Cocks!! 110% #commited,” Walker posted to Instagram. “It’s showtime baby ... Next stop, Columbia, SC.”
The Gamecocks on Friday afternoon confirmed that she had signed with the program.
Walker, who transferred to Northwest Florida State after spending two seasons at Rutgers, averaged 16.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in 2022-23 as her school won the NJCAA Division I national championship. She has two years of college eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-5 center is South Carolina’s second offseason commitment, joining former Oregon guard Te-Hina Paopao, who committed to the team last week. Paopao and Walker will be joined by three incoming Class of 2023 freshmen.
With the departure of No. 1 overall WNBA Draft pick Aliyah Boston, Walker could contribute immediately in a South Carolina frontcourt that also includes 6-7 center Kamilla Cardoso (the SEC’s reigning Sixth Woman of the Year). USC could play a big lineup with Walker and Cardoso as its two post players or bring one off the bench if needed.
Walker’s addition puts South Carolina at 12 scholarship players for the 2023-24 season. The Gamecocks carried 14 last year and could add up to three more if they want, as the Division I women’s basketball maximum is 15.
“We are very excited about welcoming Sakima Walker to our Gamecock family,” Staley said through a school statement. “Kima brings with her championship experience by leading her team to the national JUCO title in March. She scores, rebounds and defends the rim. Gamecock Nation is going to love her 6-5 frame deepening our post crew and she’ll block shots, too.”
USC’s splashy acquisition of Walker was announced a few hours before former DePaul forward Aneesah Morrow announced a commitment to LSU. Morrow had South Carolina as a top three school. She visited the reigning national champions (who’ve already landed former Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith) last weekend and had planned to visit South Carolina this weekend, per ESPN.
Walker signed with Rutgers as a McDonald’s All-American and four-star recruit out of high school in Columbus, Ohio. She averaged 3.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in 15 games as a freshman reserve, and 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore.
Walker only played in 17 of Rutgers’ 31 games in 2021-22 and wrote on Instagram that she was declared academically ineligible midway through the season as she battled mental health issues that season.
“I was in one of the darkest places of my life pretty much all last year battling depression & so many other things,” Walker wrote on Instagram in March, adding “I dug myself into a VERY deep hole that I couldn’t get out of. I fell out of love with the game. I lost myself, didn’t believe in myself, doubted myself. I didn’t wanna be here.”
Walker transferred from Rutgers after the 2021-22 season and signed with Northwest Florida State, a JUCO in Niceville, Florida. She described her 2022-23 season there as a “revival” and something that “CHANGED my life, maybe even saved me.”
Walker thrived with the Lady Raiders, leading the team in scoring and rebounding while shooting 59.8% from the field and starting all 32 games. She also shot 74.6% on free throws and 52.6% on limited 3-point attempts (10 for 19).
Northwest Florida State went 29-4 last season and won the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I women’s basketball championship on March 28. In that overtime win over Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College, Walker had a game-high 23 points as well as 14 rebounds and four blocks.
Walker was named the NCJAA Division I national player of the year after the season and also earned national championship all-tournament team and NJCAA first-team All-America honors. She visited Ole Miss and South Carolina earlier this month, according to her Twitter account, before publicly committing to USC on Friday.
According to a Q&A in her Rutgers bio, Walker has a few fun Gamecocks connections. She said that former South Carolina guard and current WNBA player Zia Cooke was the best player she faced in high school and also listed former USC star A’ja Wilson as one of her favorite pro athletes.
This story was originally published May 5, 2023 at 11:59 AM.
