Patrick Rogers
Staff Reporter
Every fall, a new group of eager 18-year-old students arrive at McDaniel looking to make an impact here on campus. Some hope to make their mark in the classroom, or the community, or on the court. Ross Walker is one such freshman, with high hopes for his basketball career here at McDaniel.
Ross is a Maryland native. He graduated from Calverton High School, where he had a very successful high school career. In his senior year at Calverton, Walker, who is a point guard (or a shooting guard), was a team captain and earned All-County and All-Conference honors during the season.
Ross first found out about McDaniel when he was being recruited to play basketball. “It started with basketball, that was my first attraction. Then when I came to visit I fell in love with the campus,” said Ross.
When asked about the adjustment from high school basketball to college basketball, Ross explained that the workouts were more intense and demanding. The practice schedule is another big adjustment from high school because of the late practice times and the length of workouts.
“Also, the difference between college and high school is that in college everyone is good,” explained Ross.
One of the harder adjustments to make from high school to college level athletics is being at the bottom of the food chain once again. Instead of fighting this process Ross has learned to embrace it.
“I like working my way up on the team,” Ross stated, “I just have to work hard every day”.
There are a total of 16 players on this year’s men’s team and so far playing with them has been a very positive experience for Ross. He described the team as a “close group of guys,” saying that they “play as a group.” Even off the court Ross has found his niche within the team.
“Everyone is cool with each other,” Ross said, “we are all still a family”.
At the beginning of every season, the teams in the Centennial Conference find out their preseason rank. This year the Terror Men were ranked 8th in the conference.
“We are pretty pissed about the ranking. We don’t like to be at the bottom,” Ross explained.
When asked about what goals the team has this year, Ross answered simply, “We want to be conference champs.” The team believes that this goal is attainable, especially if they continue to keep putting in hard work.
As for himself, Ross just wants to get as much playing time as possible this season as a freshman.
Ross has very simple goals for himself while here. “I just want to keep working hard and work my way up.” So for the next four years watch out for Ross Walker as he tries to make his mark on the court here at McDaniel.
