Interview with Kenny Walker, November 23, 2015

Interview Summary

Walker explains the origin of his interest in basketball as a child, and his later successes in high school basketball. He explains why he chose to attend and play basketball at the University of Kentucky. He also describes his recruiting process. He talks about the first Midnight Madness from his freshman year at Kentucky. He describes each of his four seasons at UK beginning in 1982. He describes his perspective on Joe B. Hall's retirement, and his experience with the hiring process of Eddie Sutton. Walker discusses his NBA draft experience and the pressure of playing for the New York Knicks. He talks about what it was like to play basketball in Europe, return to the NBA, and then play back overseas in Japan. He talks about how he got involved with sports media, and the honor of having his jersey number, 34, retired. He evaluates the state of college basketball today and compares it to when he played.

Interview Keyword

Coaches (Athletics) Coach Joe B. Hall

Interview LC Subject

Athletics--United States Coaches (Athletics) Hall, Joe B. (Joe Beasman) Pitino, Rick University of Kentucky--Basketball College sports--Kentucky College students--Kentucky--Interviews Basketball players--Kentucky

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.