2017
2018
Nick Walker
Henryville’s senior standout is a team player on and off the court.
O
By Kristin Kleinert | Photos by Darryl Middleton
On Nov. 21, just four days shy of his 18th
birthday, Nicholas “Nick” Briceson Walker will
take the court for the first home game of his final
year of high school basketball.
That night he’s set to hit the 1000-point mark
for career points scored (he’s only nine away)
and, before the season concludes in February,
he’ll most-likely rank in the top five of almost
every basketball stat kept at his high school in
Henryville.
But folks, he doesn’t tell me any of that.
I sit with Nick in a quiet gym on a Thursday
morning during his fall break. Going in, I already
know he’s a huge part of his team’s successes
20 EXTOL SPORTS / NOVEMBER 2017
over the last few years and that he’s expected to
have a great upcoming season. I know there are
multiple colleges interested in him and that he’ll
be working to bolster that interest over the next
few months. But I quickly learn there’s a better
chance of me winning this year’s NBA dunk
contest than getting Walker to boast about himself.
Throughout our time together, he looks me
in the eye and calls me “ma’am.” His listens
thoughtfully to my questions and answers
earnestly, but the word he uses more than any
other is: TEAM. He works it into almost every
sentence. It goes something like:
ME:
“Tell me about your goals for this season.”
NICK: “I want the team to win the sectional
tournament.”
ME: “Ok. But tell me about a personal goal.
Something you want for you.”
NICK: “I want us to win the sectional. My
team and me.”
And the conversation continues in this manner.
I ask questions about the individual, and Walker
gives responses that include his team. He is not
uncooperative by any means, but quietly turns
the conversation toward his team every chance