Rondel Walker Has Shined as a Starter With the Absence of Isaac Likekele
STILLWATER – There was certainly some level of worry when it was announced Isaac Likekele wasn’t going to play against either Kansas State or Iowa State. With his foot injury, the rest he got was invaluable, but there’s no question you don’t want to be without one of the best players on the team, no matter if you’re playing the bottom of the league or not.
However, freshman Rondel Walker got the starts in Likekele’s absence and has absolutely shined. In his two starts, Walker has combined for 20 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals and four assists. He’s also been able to limit his fouls and turnovers as he had just three apiece.
It's been said before during the season and it still rings true after 20 games – there aren’t many freshmen in the country that enjoys playing defense as much as they do offense, and Rondel Walker is one of them.
It was very evident when Cade Cunningham signed with Oklahoma State he wasn’t going to be in Stillwater long. He’s destined to go very high in the upcoming NBA Draft and make millions and millions of dollars right of the bat. While the rest of the signing class is incredibly talented and some very possibly could end up in the NBA over the next few years, most will end up being in Stillwater at least two seasons.
The impact the guys who will stay in Stillwater for a few seasons will have is going to be massive, and Walker is at the top of the list. I said yesterday on my radio show on Triple Play Sports Radio that I was most excited about the signings of Rondel Walker and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe because their ceilings are incredibly high and they’re going to bring a huge boost to recruiting during their time here.
"I hope it's given him full confidence that he can be a guy who starts and plays well, also,” said head coach Mike Boynton after the win over Iowa State. “His first two starts he's competed at a high-level; Saturday to turning around and do it two games in a row in the league is pretty significant step forward. I always have to remind people, and I don't like to talk about youth because a lot of times it seems like it’s an excuse, but we're one of the youngest teams in the country and the second youngest team in our league. So, I say that to say, we do expect Cade [Cunningham] to leave, but we got a pretty good core here in his program that has positioned itself to be a pretty strong contender in this league for multiple years to come. I'm excited about it and a big part of that is [Rondel Walker] and guys like Avery Anderson who are just sophomores and the Boone's are just sophomores. If we can continue to put together another recruiting class that can contribute the way we have the last two, I feel really good about the stability long term here."
Fortunately for Likekele, his services weren’t needed against either Kansas State or Iowa State, which allowed him to really rest up his foot.
"Sunday he didn't do much, he practiced a little bit [Monday] and he did go through shoot-around [Tuesday], which was pretty full-go,” said Boynton. “But again, we're not to the point right now where we feel like it was necessary to put him out there. Another day of rest, kind of see how the schedule plays out, what we here from the league in terms of our next game and we'll try to continue getting him rehabbed and back to as close to 100% as we possibly before we get him on the court.”
With the announcement on Monday of the Baylor game this coming Saturday being postponed, that possibly gives Likekele a few more days of rest. However, Boynton said after the game they’re not counting on anything with the uncertainty of the season.
"I don't know what the hell's gonna happen, to be honest. I just don't know. Tomorrow something could change; the league could ask us to go play a game somewhere else. So, we don't know. I'm glad we got [the Iowa State game] out of the way, played well. We were able to rest [Likekele] again, so another opportunity to get him closer to being healthy and a 100% and hopefully the next time we do play, maybe he's even more prepared to actually get on the court."
As of right now, the next scheduled game for the Pokes comes on Big Monday, Feb. 22 in Stillwater against Texas Tech. Random scheduled aside, there’s no question the extra time off for Likekele has been huge. Add the confidence boost Walker’s gotten over the past two games and I really have a lot of confidence in the Pokes’ guard play moving foward.