Play: it’s a word with a meaning that’s easy to lose sight of in the tactical world of collegiate athletics. But it also serves as the central verb in the universe of sports. After all, every sport is only a game, and games are made for playing. But for Binghamton sophomore guard Romello Walker — a theatre major — the style of play that he takes the court with is anything but an act; it’s a lifestyle.
“I started playing [basketball] because it was fun,” Walker said. “So just because I’m at a higher level doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have fun anymore. For me, to transition my energy from off-court to on-court … if you see me hit a shot and then jump in the air, it’s something I would have done if I got an A+ on a paper.”
In last Friday’s season-opening exhibition game against Cobleskill, Walker’s fun side could be seen when he slammed in BU’s first two dunks of the season, or when he got his opponent to crack a smile before the next in-bound. But Walker didn’t just come to play against the Tigers on Friday; he came to play. On his way to being named Player of the Game, the sophomore put up a team-high 20 points in the exhibition, shooting 4-6 from the 3-point range.
These numbers suggest improvement from Walker’s impressive freshman campaign, in which he averaged 8.6 points per game while shooting 35.6 percent from the floor. But for Binghamton head coach Tommy Dempsey, such growth came as expected for a high-potential player like Walker.
“Romello’s a good shooter, even though his numbers don’t dictate that to this point,” Dempsey said. “But over the course of his career, he’s going to be a very good jump shooter. He has a good stroke, he has a lot of confidence.”
Over the course of the offseason, Walker did his part to elevate his game to the next stage, citing himself this year as a smarter and more opportunistic player. After reuniting with last year’s eight returning players over this preseason, Walker was happy to find out that all of his work wasn’t in vain.
“I got to see them come back from the summer and see how much they improved and I was like, ‘Wow, I wasn’t the only one working,’” Walker said. “That showed me their determination to build this thing up and that showed me that I wasn’t the only one working and fighting and who wants to do well for BU.”
With junior guard Marlon Beck putting in 12 points of his own on Friday and sophomore forward Dusan Perovic returning from injury to score eight points over 16 minutes in BU’s 92-53 rout of Division III Cobleskill, it looks like all of the Bearcat returners came ready to play a new game in 2015-16. Dempsey, however, knows that the real test for his young team awaits them in the regular season.
“We’re moving in a very positive direction, but you prove that when the games start,” Dempsey said in an October press conference. “I think that a lot of coaches at this time of year are going to be very optimistic, very positive. And you hope you’re just as optimistic and positive a couple of months from now.”
As for Walker’s role in the Bearcats’ climb this season, don’t expect anything too different: only better.
“My role will still be the same, but I’m just going to fill it better,” Walker said. “Just improving and stepping into my role more than I did last year.”