Walker Tries to Meet High Expectations : Prep basketball: Brea-Olinda star is Orange County’s top scorer, but his coach says there’s room for improvement.

It was an average night for Brea-Olinda High School forward Keith Walker--34 points, eight rebounds and a point-by-point critique from Coach Rick Jones.

Jones wasn’t too happy with Orange County’s leading scorer after a 63-51 victory over Western Wednesday. The 34 points were right on his average, but Walker had more than his share of the Wildcats’ 17 turnovers.

In Jones’ eyes, Walker’s scoring average doesn’t make him exempt from criticism.

“He hasn’t been playing well lately,” Jones said. “He’s got to dig a little deeper. There’s no reason for him to miss shots and fumble the ball like he did. He was doing that kind of stuff as a sophomore.”

Other items on Jones’ checklist of Walker’s mistakes:

--Lack of concentration.

--Not scoring from the outside enough.

--Needs to move more without the ball.

“Maybe it’s part of the grind. He’s not burned out, but he seems like he’s a little bored,” Jones said. “I expect him to really unload one of these days. He’s never had a game where everything goes perfect.”

Walker takes the criticism in stride.

“(Jones) expects a lot from me,” Walker said, “but I expect a lot out of myself too. I had too many turnovers (against Western). I’m still trying to put together a complete game.

“I don’t know if I’m a great shooter or a ballhandler, and I’m not that quick either.”

Whatever weaknesses Walker has, he makes up for them with intensity, Jones said.

“If we have a little shooting contest and he loses, he gets mad,” Jones said. “He’s very much a competitor. He doesn’t like to lose a point when he’s arguing with me.

“But he’s a bright kid and a smart player. He will tell me things that are happening on the floor (during a timeout) and sometimes I’ll try some of his suggestions.”

Walker just shrugs when asked about his temper.

“It used to be I had more of a temper than I do now,” Walker said. “I would get really frustrated and stuff. When I’m mad, I try to channel it into something positive. When I play mad, I play better, as long as I’m under control.”

Walker, a 6-foot-6 senior, must have been in a bad mood when he scored 50 points in a victory over Loyola during the Tournament of Champions last month. He broke the Brea-Olinda scoring record of 46 set in 1985 by his brother, Kevin, now a senior center at UCLA.

Walker scored 39 the next night in a 61-55 quarterfinal loss to Long Beach Poly. He finished with 162 points in four games, a tournament record.

Jones said Walker was at his best in the tournament, and Poly Coach Ron Palmer wasn’t about to argue.

“I was happy to get out of the gym with a win when he was playing,” Palmer said.

Palmer, who has coached in California since 1964, said only one player has scored more against one of his teams. That was Bill Walton, who scored 50 against one of Palmer’s Pasadena High teams in the early 1970s.

“I’ve seen the best players in Orange County over the years, guys like (Troy’s) Mark Wulfemeyer,” Palmer said, “and I feel by far Walker’s the most prolific scorer I’ve seen.

“I was impressed with his scoring ability and poise on the court. He was doing a lot of shooting but he was rebounding well and playing good defense.”

Those are things that Jones stresses in his chalk talk seminars with Walker. But Jones has wondered if Walker is listening.

“I talk to him, and I don’t think he’s absorbing it,” Jones said. “But his reaction to it is positive. I would say to him, ‘You ought to lead the county in scoring this year,’ and he would look at me like I was crazy.

“He’s mentally tough. We’ll have go-rounds where I get after him and embarrass him. He gets over it and bounces back. I can be in his face, and the next day he’ll be all right. He doesn’t hold a grudge. After the game he might be disappointed and be mad at me, but a day later he’s fine.”

Jones’ criticism started during Walker’s sophomore year. Although Walker averaged 14 points a game, his performance often disappointed Jones.

“There were times when all Keith cared about was Keith Walker, the basketball player,” Jones said. “He seemed to have gained some perspective. It’s made him a better player.

“When he was a sophomore, I set my guns to him. I expected big things from him. I was accused by some people for playing him too much as a sophomore, but he deserved to be there.”

Walker thought he deserved more credit after averaging 25.8 points in his junior year. He was an All-Southern Section and all-league selection, but was left off The Times’ All-County team.

“Being left off the all-county team, I felt like I didn’t get much respect,” Walker said. “It might have helped if we had won the (Orange) League.

“I really want to win the league. Brea had a tradition of winning the league, but we haven’t won it the two years I’ve been on the team.”

Jones said, “I thought he was the player of the year in the Orange League last season. When he didn’t get it, it motivated him to be better. He worked pretty hard in the off-season.”

So Walker entered his senior year with something to prove, even though he had already impressed college scouts. UC Irvine, Stanford and UC Santa Barbara had all shown interest, but Walker signed a letter of intent with California before the season started, just as his brother had done with UCLA four years earlier.

Walker was an eighth-grader when his brother was averaging 27.3 points as a senior at Brea-Olinda.

“I remember those playoff games when he was scoring 30 points a game,” Walker said. “I thought that was going to be me when I got to high school.”

When Walker reached high school, fans and coaches had a hard time comparing him to his older brother. Kevin Walker, a 6-11 center, had a good outside touch. Keith Walker drives to the basket more effectively than his brother by using a variety of spins and fakes.

“I’m more of an all-around player,” Keith Walker said. “He’s bigger and more of a shooter. I’m more versatile and hope that will help when I get to college.

Jones was an assistant coach at Brea-Olinda during Kevin’s three years on the varsity and was a neighbor of the Walkers for several years. He said the brothers’ personalities contrast as much as their playing styles.

“Kevin was the type of kid who would walk into the gym and if you asked him to sweep the floor he would,” Jones said. “Keith wouldn’t pick up the mop. It would be like killing him. That’s the big difference between those two.

“If you ask Keith to go shoot free throws, though, he’ll do it. It has been an adjustment for me. I’m used to asking (players) to do something and they do it. Keith doesn’t. That’s the one drawback.”

But a few weeks ago, Jones told Walker he wanted him to be among the county’s leaders in free throw shooting.

Walker got the message. He made his next 36 free throws to break his school record of 26 set earlier this season.

“The thing I’ve noticed about Keith is that he answers a challenge and answers adversity,” Jones said. “He’s stubborn at times and that bothers me. But he can face a challenge.”

WALKER’S STATS

Keith Walker’s game-by-game statistics for 1989-90:

Opponent / Points

Paramount: 45

San Clemente: 32

Whittier: 27

Lynwood: 27

Laguna Beach: 37

Muir: 38

Long Beach Poly: 39

Loyola: 50

Morningside: 35

El Dorado: 41

El Modena: 26

Fallbrook: 24

St. John Bosco: 32

Compton: 47

Sonora: 30

Anaheim: 28

Valencia: 20

Western: 34

Magnolia: 44

Totals: 656

Avg.: 34.6