Catching Up With Former Michigan Basketball Star Derrick Walton Jr.
We caught up with former Michigan basketball star Derrick Walton Jr., who is three years removed from his stellar career with the Wolverines. Walton is in the midst of his most successful season of his pro career, which earned him a guaranteed contract with the Los Angeles Clippers. At the trade deadline, Walton was moved to the Atlanta Hawks before being waived and picked up by the Detroit Pistons on a 10-day contract. He is currently a free agent.
During his time in Ann Arbor (2013-2017), Walton became the only player in U-M history to score 1,000 points, pulled down 500 rebounds and dish out 400 assists in his career. He was a two-time All-Big Ten performer.
Walton spoke about his days at U-M, his journey as a pro, his thoughts on the current Wolverines and more.
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Flipped The Switch
In Walton's senior season, the Wolverines got off to an underwhelming 2-4 start in Big Ten play, before U-M, behind Walton's spectacular play and leadership, turned the season around. The Wolverines went on to win the Big Ten Tournament and make the Sweet 16. Walton was awarded Big Ten Tournament Most Valuable Player. The flip was switched.
"I think, honestly, it just was me getting out of my own way, I think," Walton said of how he was able to help turn the team's fortunes around. "There was no real difference between the beginning of the year and the end of the year, when you think about it as a person. It’s usually a mindset. I think my mindset changed and just allowed me to be who I knew I always could be."
Before the trip to the nation's capital for the Big Ten Tournament, Walton wanted to make it abundantly clear to head coach John Beilein what his intentions were heading into the weekend: to come away as champions.
"I’ve always been somebody that wanted to do something special, do something unique," Walton explained. "Leading back to my high school days … I went to a school that wasn’t really known for sports, and I just wanted to do it my own way all the time.
"That was something Michigan hadn’t accomplished in so long, and I feel like that was one of the things people could always go like, ‘Yo, I put my stamp on things there.’ Overall, I think it was the first opportunity to win a championship. There’s like four opportunities to win a championship in a season. We had won one in New York [at the 2K Classic]. We didn’t win the Big Ten regular season, so it was the next championship available."
That conversation with Beilein came before the team's plane slid off the runway at Willow Run Airport the day before the team's magical four-game run.
While many point to the plane accident as the turning point in the season, Walton set the record straight — U-M had won six of its last eight games heading into the postseason, already trending in the right direction.
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