Jarace Walker is a 6-foot-8 freshman forward from the University of Houston. His two-way versatility and ability to impact the game in various aspects make him a highly touted player entering the 2023 NBA Draft.
Jarace Walker 2023 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Walker had a productive freshman season with the Houston Cougars. He finished as the AAC Freshman of the Year, Second-team All-AAC, and AAC All-Freshman Team. Walker averaged 11.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.0 steals on 47/35/66 shooting splits.
Walker played a massive role in the Cougars’ successful season, where they finished 33-4 overall and a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Houston ultimately fell to fifth-seeded Miami in the Sweet Sixteen but are left to wonder if they could’ve gone further had it not been for the injury to guard Marcus Sasser.
Walker’s two-way versatility was displayed during the March Madness tournament, showing why he’ll be a lottery pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft. In the loss to Miami, Walker had 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and one steal. The round before against Auburn, he had seven points, ten rebounds, two assists, and six blocks.
Walker showed throughout his freshman season at Houston that he’s the type of player that doesn’t need to score a ton of points to impact games positively.
Strengths
Walker is a versatile two-way player that can win games in many ways. However, his primary strength is defense. Walker is an athlete with a muscular 6-foot-8, 240-pound frame. In addition, he’s an elite rim protector.
In the final two March Madness games, Walker totaled ten blocks. But just as importantly, he is excellent at switching out onto smaller guards on the perimeter. Walker averaged over one steal and block in college, showing his defensive switchability and ability to guard multiple positions.
Offensively, Walker shows his potential in the NBA as a Swiss army knife player. He can be used in various ways, whether posting up, rim-running, cutting, spacing the floor, setting screens, or doing dribble handoffs. Walker’s adaptability will allow him to mesh with any team’s system and style of play.
In addition, he’s also a capable floor stretcher, shooting 34.7 percent from three last season. It’s rare in the NBA to find someone that can protect the rim and stretch the floor, making it such a coveted combination of strengths. Not only can Walker shoot threes and block shots, but he also does all the other intangibles well that contribute to winning.
Weaknesses
Walker is only 19, so he will have plenty of time to develop and improve his weaknesses. He needs to become a more reliable free throw shooter; Walker shot only 66.3 percent from the free throw line.
At 6-foot-8, Walker is also a bit of a “tweener.” As a result, NBA teams will wonder whether Walker can still be an elite rim protector at the next level.
One example of someone that has done it is Robert Williams III. Williams is 6-foot-9 and plays center for the Celtics, averaging 8.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks this season. But it also raises a question about Walker’s position and fit in the NBA. Williams is a center on the Celtics, but Walker projects to be more of a power forward with his shooting and quickness.
Is he a good enough shooter and quick enough to keep up with forwards? Is he big and strong enough to hold his own down low against centers? The NBA is becoming increasingly positionless, which will help someone like Walker.
He is a well-balanced two-way player, but Walker needs to find one or two elite skills that will help raise his ceiling in the NBA.
NBA Player Comparison
Paul Millsap. Millsap is a four-time NBA All-Star and made All-Defensive Second Team once in 2016. Millsap averaged 13.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks on 49/34/74 shooting splits in his career.
Similarly to Millsap, Walker doesn’t project to be an elite scorer in the NBA. However, because of his balanced game, he still has the potential to make a few All-Star teams and All-Defensive teams in his career. Millsap is 6-foot-7 and 257 pounds, so both players also have very similar builds.
Millsap was an excellent floor spacer that rebounded and defended, averaging over a steal and block. He was also a good playmaker for his position, much like Walker. Walker played a similar role in Houston, as both were elite “glue guys” that weren’t necessarily the team’s go-to player but always found ways to contribute significantly.
Millsap was a steal in the 2006 NBA Draft, going to the Utah Jazz with the 47th overall pick. He likely fell because teams had the same concern as mentioned in Walker’s weaknesses, being considered a “tweener” that was undersized for his position.
However, Millsap was one of the best draft steals and used his size to his advantage. It made him more versatile and often created mismatch problems. Walker should have a similar opportunity to take advantage of his quickness and athleticism relative to other bigs.
