By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Radford freshman guard Zion Walker of Burlington put together a 30-point game earlier this month when the Highlanders defeated visiting Winthrop 87-67 in a Big South Conference game.
That landed the former Burlington School standout the Freshman of the Week honor in the Big South Conference.
Walker shot 9-for-14 from the field with two 3-pointers and went 10-for-12 on free throws. He also provided four rebounds and four assists.
Walker became the second Radford freshman to reach the 30-point mark in a game in program history and the first to do so in 30 years.
He was coming off an 11-point outing at High Point.
Since the Winthrop game, Walker missed time for undisclosed reasons as Radford officials didn’t respond to an inquiry. He returned in a more limited role last week.
Walker also was the Big South Freshman of the Week in late November after 11 points vs. Southern Virginia and 10 points at Clemson.
Graham graduate T.J. NeSmith has started eight games for Radford (13-7 overall, 3-2 Big South) this season. But mostly the 6-foot-10 redshirt senior forward comes off the bench, averaging 4.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. NeSmith posted a season-high 14 points at South Carolina.
