Walker finds fit at SEC school

Andre Walker found his fit. The Chicago native will take his well-rounded game to Vanderbilt after spending this season at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.

"I liked the way the coach plays his players and I liked how they don't have too many players at my position," Walker, a 6-foot-7 forward, said. "All of their players are serious about getting better individually and as a team and that was really impressive to me."

Walker officially visited the Nashville campus last weekend and he said the trip sealed the deal for him. He picked the Commodores over interest from Seton Hall, Arizona State, St. Louis and Colorado.

"A lot of coaches didn't come out to Illinois to see me play and then I got hurt this summer," Walker said. "They didn't know what to expect from me."

What Vanderbilt saw was a do-everything wing that will be a help to the team from the time he moves to Tennessee and until the time he leaves. Walker, in turn, said he plans on taking advantage of the academics that the SEC school has to offer.

"They used a good analogy with me. They said the compete with the Yales and Harvards of the world during the week and the Floridas and the Tennessees of the world on the weekends," Walker said. "I know that if I don't make the NBA, I'll be fine because a degree from there is second to none. It means a lot."