Letting the Game Come to Her
Nov 19, 2024 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Last year, just three games into her Kansas State career, Zyanna Walker came off the bench and was charged with defending Caitlin Clark. Walker, a redshirt freshman from Wichita and the No. 15 overall player in the Class of 2022 by Prep Girls Hoops, helped hold Clark to 9-of-32 shooting from the floor in 37 minutes, while Walker scored 12 points to help the Wildcats to a 65-58 win at No. 4 Iowa in Iowa City.
Walker, now a sophomore, smiled at that memory in the postgame news conference on Monday after scoring a career-high 16 points against Little Rock at Bramlage Coliseum, understanding, too, that it won't be long before she and her Wildcats will take the court against their first big non-conference opponent of the year: No. 14 Duke in the Ball Dawgs Classic next Monday in Henderson, Nevada.
"I'm very excited, I'm happy," Walker said. "We haven't had that much of a challenge yet, so for them to be our first challenge, I'm excited to get out there. I like the pressure. I like playing under the spotlight."
Unlike a year ago when Walker sprang from the bench eager to see the court, and at times chased around some of the opponent's most talented stars, Walker this year is having no trouble finding the spotlight. The 5-foot-11 point guard has taken the next step as a full-time starting point guard for No. 10 K-State — it improved to 4-0 with a 73-43 thrashing of Little Rock on Monday and faces Milwaukee on Wednesday — while guiding Preseason All-American Ayoka Lee and Co. down the court nightly. It's a natural progression for one of the team's most valued players, who comes off the best summer of any K-State player, and whose latest performance — a career-high 16 points, six assists, two rebounds, one steal and one block in a team-high 32 minutes against Little Rock — came on a night when her teammates needed her consistency due to their own inconsistency in shooting from the floor.
These days, Walker is playing with a type of unabashed confidence that K-State head coach Jeff Mittie refers to as a "dog mentality," a brand of blue-collared tenaciousness a distant world from the days at the YMCA after school in the sixth grade, and from when Maurice Walker, her father, installed a concrete slab behind the family house big enough for Zyanna to work on her midrange jump shot during the COVID pandemic.
It's all systems go for Walker, who should be an integral part of the Wildcats' plans in the super-competitive Big 12 Conference grind (K-State was picked as No. 1 in the Big 12 preseason poll for the first time in history), and who should only continue to pick up steam by March, when Walker and the Wildcats could really be exciting, under the spotlight, seeking to steer their season to the Final Four in Tampa.
"The one thing I see with her now is she's letting the game come to her," Mittie said. "She's able to play through a bad stretch better, and that's the mark of a confident player, where she realizes that if she's doing all the other things, she's going to be allowed to play through mistakes or not shooting the ball well. That comes with maturity and confidence and trust as well. She's certainly put the work in, so I'm proud of her for that."
At least a couple times since September, Mittie, now in his 11th season at K-State, has alluded to catching Walker in the practice gym working on her game and "doing a lot of things right."
"Zy Walker has had as good of a summer as any player on our roster," Mittie said on September 23. "The midrange jumper has been very, very good. Defensively, she's continuing to have that dog mentality. She has continued to grow in that area."
It's on the court that she fuels herself with confidence during an early-morning workout routine that allows her peace in finding her rhythm and knocking down the midrange jump shot, which no doubt must be her ally this winter and spring.
"Every day I wake up with the same routine and make sure I get into a positive mindset," Walker said. "It's very important to us as athletes that we have that confidence instilled in us. I just try to make it a daily routine for me. I wake up, pray, of course, and that usually gets me into the right mindset, and I tell myself positive quotes, like, 'I got this,' and 'I can do this,' and that works for me."
Through four games, she is averaging 10.8 points on 48.5% shooting (16-of-33), including 33.3% on 3-pointers (4-of-12) to go along with 4.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.8 steals in 27.6 minutes.
"Zy is a heck of a player," Mittie said. "Being a more consistent shooter can unlock that potential."
Sitting next to Walker at the postgame podium following the dismantling of Little Rock, Lee nodded her head.
"I think she's really stepped up as a vocal leader this year," Lee said. "She kind of has to be as the point guard, and she's really embraced that role well. It's not an easy role to be in. She's really improved her pullup game and looking for her midrange. She does a great job getting to the rim but hunting the midrange and knowing that's also a really good shot for her has been a really big difference.
"The hustle plays, that's something she continues to do well is give us energy when we need it, and she gives us a lift through how she hustles."
The hustle is a process that began about this time a year ago.
Just ask Caitlin Clark.
Last year, just three games into her Kansas State career, Zyanna Walker came off the bench and was charged with defending Caitlin Clark. Walker, a redshirt freshman from Wichita and the No. 15 overall player in the Class of 2022 by Prep Girls Hoops, helped hold Clark to 9-of-32 shooting from the floor in 37 minutes, while Walker scored 12 points to help the Wildcats to a 65-58 win at No. 4 Iowa in Iowa City.
Walker, now a sophomore, smiled at that memory in the postgame news conference on Monday after scoring a career-high 16 points against Little Rock at Bramlage Coliseum, understanding, too, that it won't be long before she and her Wildcats will take the court against their first big non-conference opponent of the year: No. 14 Duke in the Ball Dawgs Classic next Monday in Henderson, Nevada.
"I'm very excited, I'm happy," Walker said. "We haven't had that much of a challenge yet, so for them to be our first challenge, I'm excited to get out there. I like the pressure. I like playing under the spotlight."
Unlike a year ago when Walker sprang from the bench eager to see the court, and at times chased around some of the opponent's most talented stars, Walker this year is having no trouble finding the spotlight. The 5-foot-11 point guard has taken the next step as a full-time starting point guard for No. 10 K-State — it improved to 4-0 with a 73-43 thrashing of Little Rock on Monday and faces Milwaukee on Wednesday — while guiding Preseason All-American Ayoka Lee and Co. down the court nightly. It's a natural progression for one of the team's most valued players, who comes off the best summer of any K-State player, and whose latest performance — a career-high 16 points, six assists, two rebounds, one steal and one block in a team-high 32 minutes against Little Rock — came on a night when her teammates needed her consistency due to their own inconsistency in shooting from the floor.
These days, Walker is playing with a type of unabashed confidence that K-State head coach Jeff Mittie refers to as a "dog mentality," a brand of blue-collared tenaciousness a distant world from the days at the YMCA after school in the sixth grade, and from when Maurice Walker, her father, installed a concrete slab behind the family house big enough for Zyanna to work on her midrange jump shot during the COVID pandemic.
It's all systems go for Walker, who should be an integral part of the Wildcats' plans in the super-competitive Big 12 Conference grind (K-State was picked as No. 1 in the Big 12 preseason poll for the first time in history), and who should only continue to pick up steam by March, when Walker and the Wildcats could really be exciting, under the spotlight, seeking to steer their season to the Final Four in Tampa.
"The one thing I see with her now is she's letting the game come to her," Mittie said. "She's able to play through a bad stretch better, and that's the mark of a confident player, where she realizes that if she's doing all the other things, she's going to be allowed to play through mistakes or not shooting the ball well. That comes with maturity and confidence and trust as well. She's certainly put the work in, so I'm proud of her for that."
At least a couple times since September, Mittie, now in his 11th season at K-State, has alluded to catching Walker in the practice gym working on her game and "doing a lot of things right."
"Zy Walker has had as good of a summer as any player on our roster," Mittie said on September 23. "The midrange jumper has been very, very good. Defensively, she's continuing to have that dog mentality. She has continued to grow in that area."
It's on the court that she fuels herself with confidence during an early-morning workout routine that allows her peace in finding her rhythm and knocking down the midrange jump shot, which no doubt must be her ally this winter and spring.
"Every day I wake up with the same routine and make sure I get into a positive mindset," Walker said. "It's very important to us as athletes that we have that confidence instilled in us. I just try to make it a daily routine for me. I wake up, pray, of course, and that usually gets me into the right mindset, and I tell myself positive quotes, like, 'I got this,' and 'I can do this,' and that works for me."
Through four games, she is averaging 10.8 points on 48.5% shooting (16-of-33), including 33.3% on 3-pointers (4-of-12) to go along with 4.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.8 steals in 27.6 minutes.
"Zy is a heck of a player," Mittie said. "Being a more consistent shooter can unlock that potential."
Sitting next to Walker at the postgame podium following the dismantling of Little Rock, Lee nodded her head.
"I think she's really stepped up as a vocal leader this year," Lee said. "She kind of has to be as the point guard, and she's really embraced that role well. It's not an easy role to be in. She's really improved her pullup game and looking for her midrange. She does a great job getting to the rim but hunting the midrange and knowing that's also a really good shot for her has been a really big difference.
"The hustle plays, that's something she continues to do well is give us energy when we need it, and she gives us a lift through how she hustles."
The hustle is a process that began about this time a year ago.
Just ask Caitlin Clark.
Players Mentioned
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