Why Wichita’s Zyanna Walker, a top 2022 women’s basketball recruit, picked Louisville
Wichita native Zyanna Walker has been recruited by Division I women’s basketball coaches since she was in eighth grade.
On Tuesday, after racking up more than 30 scholarship offers in more than four years of recruitment, the No. 30 overall prospect in the country in the class of 2022 rankings, per ESPN’s HoopGurlz, decided it was finally time to pick a final destination for college.
Walker, a 5-foot-8 guard who is entering her senior season at Heights, announced in a tweet that she is “110% committed” to the University of Louisville and coach Jeff Walz.
“They’ve been recruiting me for a few years now and I’ve been able to get to know the coaches,” Walker told The Eagle. “I took a visit there and I loved it. The coaches were very honest with me in what they saw in me and I really trusted them at the end of the day. It took a lot of time talking to all of the coaches (in recruiting), so it feels good to be done with it.”
Walker has long been considered one of the top girls basketball players to come out of Wichita, although the last year has presented obstacles. Like when she tore her ACL, then later discovered she had also torn her meniscus, which robbed her of her entire junior season at Heights.
After more than a year of rehabilitation of her knee that prevented her from playing in basketball games, Walker said she is planning to make her return to the court later this month when her club team, Kansas United, plays in Alabama and Atlanta next weekend.
“I’m excited to get back out there and see how my knee feels,” Walker said. “It’s been really tough and there’s been people doubting me, but I know what I bring with my game and how hard I work. I know I’m going to come back even better. I just love basketball, so it comes from the heart. That’s why I have a natural work ethic.”
Heights coach Ken Palmer can still remember when Walker first arrived in high school as a freshman. He had seen her dominate at the middle school level at Stucky, but Palmer was blown away by how advanced Walker already was.
“When she first started coming to my workouts, I’m trying to teach her new ways to score the ball and everything I was showing her she just did it so easy,” Palmer said. “It’s like, ‘God dang, is anything hard for you to do?’”
At the high school level, Walker’s complete skill set allows her to play whatever position — from point guard to center — for the Falcons. At the Division I level, she’ll likely settle into a point guard or shooting guard role for a Louisville team that finished with a 26-4 record and reached the Elite Eight of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Palmer said there’s no doubt that Louisville is getting one of Kansas’ finest.
“Zy can do it all for you. She’s got the ball handling, the shooting, the moves, the footwork, the lateral quickness,” Palmer said. “It’s like how when Barry Sanders used to run the football. Every time he touched it, you stood on your feet because you didn’t know what was about to happen but you knew he was going to do something to electrify you. That’s how Zy is with the ball. Every time she touches it, she’s going to do something to electrify you.”
But before heading off to the ACC to play at college basketball’s highest level, Walker has big plans for her final season in high school at Heights, especially after missing out on last season.
“I’ve got really big plans,” Walker said. “It’s the same goal as always and that’s to win state.”
“With her work ethic, I know she’s going to come back even better this next year,” Palmer said. “It’s going to be incredible to watch because she is hungry. She is so hungry after sitting out last year. Oh man, it’s going to be incredible to watch her play this year.”
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 4:02 PM.
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