Coach Darrell Walker is in his eighth season as Little Rock’s head basketball coach and brings extensive basketball experience to the program. Walker’s background includes success at both the collegiate and professional levels — as a player, assistant, and head coach.
He is the only active coach in the nation with head coaching experience at the NBA, WNBA, Division I, and Division II levels.
Last season, Walker guided the Trojans to a 19-14 record and a trip to the OVC Tournament semifinals, despite a roster impacted by injuries.
In his fifth season at the helm, Walker led Little Rock to the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship, finishing second in the OVC Tournament. He was named 2023 OVC Coach of the Year after guiding the Trojans to a 21-13 record. The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) named Walker its All-District Coach of the Year, while players KK Robinson and Jamir Chaplin earned first and second team All-OVC honors.
In just his second season with the Trojans (2019-20), Walker engineered one of the top turnarounds in the nation. After a 10-21 finish the year before and being picked 11th in the Sun Belt preseason poll, Little Rock captured the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title with a 21-10 record, including a 15-5 conference mark. For his efforts, Walker was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year, becoming just the fourth Trojan head coach to earn that distinction.
Before arriving in Little Rock, Walker spent two seasons as head coach at Clark Atlanta University, compiling a 45-18 overall record and leading the Panthers to back-to-back NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.
In 2017-18, he guided Clark Atlanta to a 25-6 record and a 16-3 mark in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), finishing second in the SIAC East Division. The Panthers advanced to the SIAC Tournament title game before falling to Claflin.
In his first season at Clark Atlanta (2016-17), Walker led the Panthers to a 21-12 record and a share of first place in the SIAC East at 12-5. Clark Atlanta went on to win the 2017 SIAC Tournament Championship, defeating Fort Valley State 64-62 in the title game.
Walker’s time in Atlanta marked his first experience in collegiate coaching following 20 years in the professional ranks. He served as head coach of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors (1996–98) and Washington Wizards (2000), compiling 56 career victories at the NBA level.
His professional résumé also includes head coaching stints with the Rockford Lightning of the Continental Basketball Association and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA. Walker was an NBA assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors (1995–96), New Orleans Hornets (2004–08), Detroit Pistons (2008–11), and New York Knicks (2012–14).
A native of Chicago, Walker played one season at Arkansas-Fort Smith, earning Arkansas Juco All-Conference First Team honors, before transferring to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Under Hall of Fame coach Eddie Sutton, Walker scored 1,325 career points (18th all-time), ranked fourth in steals (230), and sixth in free throws made (524).
He was a consensus Second Team All-American and First Team NABC All-District selection in 1983, helping the Razorbacks reach the Sweet 16 in both 1981 and 1983. Walker was a two-time Southwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year and earned SWC Player of the Year honors in 1983.
Walker was selected 12th overall by the New York Knicks in the 1983 NBA Draft, beginning a 10-year career in the NBA. He averaged 8.9 points, 4.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while playing for five different franchises under Hall of Fame coaches Hubie Brown, Wes Unseld, Chuck Daly, and Phil Jackson.
He earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors in 1984 and nearly averaged a triple-double during the 1989-90 season in Washington (9.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists). Walker capped his playing career as a member of the 1993 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls.
Walker’s accolades date back to Corliss High School in Chicago, where he was named to the 1977-78 All-Section Team, the 1978-79 All-State and McDonald’s All-American Teams, and the 1979 Chicago All-City Team.
He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2003, the University of Arkansas Hall of Honor in 2008, and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2017. He and his wife, Lisa, a former All-American sprinter at Arkansas, hold the unique distinction of being the only husband-and-wife duo inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame. Walker is also a member of the Westark Hall of Fame, Illinois Hall of Fame, and Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.
THE WALKER FILE
PERSONAL
Hometown: Chicago, Ill
High School: Corliss H.S.
College: University of Arkansas-Fayetteville
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
1980-81: Westark Community College (now Arkansas-Fort Smith)
1981-83: University of Arkansas-Fayetteville
1983-86: New York Knicks
1986-87: Denver Nuggets
1988-91: Washington Bullets
1991-92: Detroit Pistons
1993: Chicago Bulls
COACHING EXPERIENCE
1995-96: Toronto Raptors (Asst. coach)
1996-98: Toronto Raptors (Head coach)
1999-2000: Rockford Lightning (Head coach)
2000: Washington Wizards (Head coach)
2000: Washington Mystics (Head coach)
2004-08: New Orleans Hornets (Asst. coach)
2008-11: Detroit Pistons (Asst. coach)
2012-14: New York Knicks (Asst. coach)
2016-18: Clark Atlanta (Head coach)
2018-Pres: Little Rock (Head coach)
