Assistant women’s basketball coach David Walker is stepping down from his coaching duties after spending the previous five seasons on the Lady Bisons’ bench.
Walker and his family are moving to Dallas to begin a new journey as Walker has taken a physician recruiter position. Walker said this move was more than just about a job, it was about what was best for his family and the road ahead.
“Towards the end of last season, I started to think about where I was with my career and with regards to my family,” Walker said. “Last season was the first season I went through with a child, and you feel different when you’re a dad about time away from your family.”
Walker said there are a lot of decisions that went through his head when figuring out whether or not to leave the job. He said for him there was more to it than just family, but that his wife and child were the biggest factors.
Over the past five seasons, Walker has become invested in the lives of students and athletes at Harding and said he will miss this place, as well as the people here.
“As far as outside of basketball, one of the takeaways was being able to interact on a semi-daily basis with Dr. (Clifton) Ganus,” Walker said. “His example over the years, the presence of the man he is, the way he treats people even with his status, is something I will always take away as an example of a Godly man.”
Walker said the history that was made during the last two years with the women’s basketball team is one of his greatest gifts from his time coaching at Harding, but relationships are what he will miss the most.
Head coach Tim Kirby has had Walker by his side for roughly 150 games and said he will miss Walker’s preseason efforts as a recruiter.
“Coach Walker did a good job coming in here with a lot of energy five years ago and hit the recruiting trail as hard as you could possible hit it, and he loved it,” Kirby said.
Kirby said Walker did a great job finding players who were a talented fit for the team, but did an even better job finding players to fit Harding’s personality as a type of player they want at the university.
After the decision by Walker to resign as assistant coach, Harding announced former Bison basketball player Weston Jameson as the new assistant coach for the Lady Bisons.
“I thought the job was a very exciting opportunity,” Jameson said. “Harding is a place that is very special to my family, and we are happy to be moving back.”
Jameson said he is excited to not only work for Kirby, but also to learn from him and soak up as much as he can during the experience.
Jameson played four years for the men’s basketball team under head coach Jeff Morgan and Kirby said he sees an upside of having an assistant coach who learned his craft at Harding.
“He has a great mentality towards athletics in general, but especially the sport of basketball,” Kirby said. “I think one thing he’s going to give us that we haven’t had here since I took over the women’s program over 10 years ago is an on-the-floor coach. He is going to give us some on-the-floor things that are very valuable.”
Kirby said Jameson is an even keel type person that will help balance out his (Kirby’s) mentality. He said Jameson will be able to teach the game very well.
