“Hey Kar, how would I describe my personality?”
Sophomore guard Karlee McBride doesn’t waste a ?second.
“Goofy.”
McBride pauses.
“She’s very sweet, she’s genuine, she’s smart,” she says. “I’m going to give you a lot of adjectives.”
Walter is a former Michigan Miss Basketball runner-up who, in her first season at IU, has been gradually increasing her role in a guard-heavy lineup. She also has a reputation as the team clown. Whether getting pied in the face on team road trips or launching blogs with her freshmen teammates, Walter seems to be a non-stop source of entertainment for IU.
“She’s one of my best friends,” freshman forward Amanda Cahill said. “One funny thing about her is she doesn’t know her geography very well. Or her left and right. We always laugh about that.”
Cahill said Walter once asked if Rutgers was a state. When Walter is driving, teammates have to point her in the right direction.
Although Walter goofs around when they are hanging out, she works hard at everything else she, Cahill said.
Walter said she gets her sense of humor from her parents, who are also outgoing. Her older brother, though, is more shy, and she said she took it upon herself to get him to open up more.
“I usually try to make people laugh,” Walter said. “I know some days are harder for other people, but I think in the grand scheme of things you have to remember that we are here to have fun with it too.”
Walter describes her affable demeanor as confidence and said self-assurance is important to have on the court. Like most freshmen on a Division I team, Walter said she is used to being the star of her team. She set school records at Midland High School for points, 3-pointers and assists in a single season.
The difficult adjustment for her, Walter said, has been transitioning from the leading scorer to a role player on a Big Ten team. She said this year has been a good test of her confidence.
“It has been a transition,” Walter said. “And it is definitely not the end goal to keep coming off the bench.”
Recently, the young guard has seen her role increase in a lineup that consists of six guards getting ample time on the floor. In non-conference play, Walter was playing just above 12 minutes per game. That number has risen to 20 minutes in Big Ten play.
“Jess has continued to develop,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. “Jess gives us a different pace and tempo ... I thought against Illinois she was playing some really, really good minutes for us. She’s a kid that’s constantly in here working on her game.”
Walter’s improvement can be measured by her performance on and off the floor. When walking out of practice two weeks ago, the first thing Walter said was she just did 10 pullups.
She was full of excitement, because she wasn’t even able to do one when she first came to Bloomington. Working with strength and conditioning coach Tom Morris can do that for a player, she said.
Averaging 7.3 points per game, Walter said Moren asks her to be the spark off the bench and bring aggressiveness when she comes in.
Walter said she will do anything asked of her, and right now that means being a burst off the bench. The guards are always pushing each other, she said, and she is constantly working on her game.
“She’s awesome,” Cahill said. “She cares a lot about basketball, and she just is always giving it her all and working really hard to get better. I think she’s just a really good teammate. She’s always encouraging.”
