Goggles Were the Answer for Kentucky’s Walker

Protective goggles are helping Kentucky’s Kenny Walker keep sight of what he wants to do on the basketball court.

The goggles arrived shortly after Walker was accidentally poked last month during a game against Kansas--the third time the 6-foot-8 forward has suffered a minor eye injury playing for the Wildcats.

Walker’s goggles are the same make and model as those worn by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Lakers, who has had numerous scraps with stray fingers during his 16 seasons in the NBA.

Walker says so far, so good.

“They feel comfortable now, but it took some time getting used to wearing them,” he said. “Some people wondered if they would affect my peripheral vision, but they’re clear on the sides so that hasn’t been a problem. I can see fine with them.”

Occasionally, they fog up, he said, usually during halftime or timeouts, and they’ve been knocked off a few times. But that’s better than a thumb in the eye.

“It took me about five games to where they felt OK on my face. But now, everything seems all right when I wear them. They don’t bother me at all,” he said.

Walker’s shooting percentage was slightly below par for five games after he got the goggles; he hit 34 of 66 shots for 51.5%, down from his season percentage of 59.8.

But during the next three games, he hit a sizzling 76.9% of his shots, making 30 of 39.

Part of Walker’s eye problems stemmed from Kentucky’s three-guard offense, which keeps him and 6-7 Winston Bennett close to the basket and close to opposing players who usually are bigger and taller.

“Of the contact under the basket, I have nothing to complain about,” said Walker, who was averaging 20.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game over 14 games. “But I am receiving a lot of attention there. I look at it as a compliment that a team wants to play me that way.”

Kentucky Coach Eddie Sutton has called some defenses “gangster” in the way players try to rough up Walker, who usually has two or three players buzzing around him.

When he plays, the senior from Roberta, Ga., is in continual motion, sliding back and forth across the lane with arms flailing to ward off defenders.

“Kenny takes a great deal of punishment down low,” said teammate James Blackmon.

“Teams use different defenses on me,” Walker said. “But I look at it like it’s definitely going to help me down the road (in the NBA), so I just try to learn from it.”