Kentucky football’s Deone Walker hints at basketball dreams with Mark Pope's Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats announced on Friday that they will be hosting an open tryout for the 2024-25 season on Friday, Aug. 30. And it seems like Wildcats football's Deone Walker may be interested in being a two-way athlete.

On Sunday, the defensive tackle quoted Kentucky baseball beat writer for On3, Daniel Hager's post on X about the announcement with one emoji:

"👀"

At 6-foot-6, Walker does have the height for basketball. However, in size, he is also the same as Shaquille O'Neal at 345 pounds when he won his first championship with the LA Lakers. This may slow him in the fast-paced game.

Fans in the comments joked about the possibility of him as a defender on coach Mark Pope's team, as one wrote:

"Those screens are gonna be life altering."

"Only if you can promise me you’ll break and backboard when you dunk it!" another joked.

"One ball screen will send a Louisville player into the afterlife," another wrote.

"No one will drive to the paint," one fan wrote.

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Kentucky Wildcats' roster for the 2024-25 college season

Following the exit of coach John Calipari to the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Wildcats lost almost their entire roster. Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard, Tre Mitchell, Antonio Reeves and Justin Edwards left college for the NBA. Aaron Bradshaw, Adou Thiero, D.J. Wagner, Jordan Burks, Joey Hart, Zvonimir Ivišić and Ugonna Onyenso all entered the transfer portal.

Since he was appointed head coach, Mark Pope has quickly rebuilt the Kentucky Wildcats roster from the ground up. He has added promising talents like Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa, Otega Oweh, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr, Amari Williams and others. This had instilled some hope in the Big Blue Nation about their favorite team.

Mark Pope's overall attitude during practice also pushes players to give their best. In an interview with On3, guard Koby Brea said:

“The confidence that he gives us — he’ll literally stop practice if you don’t take a shot he feels like we should’ve taken. As a player, that’s what you want out of your coach. He’s literally giving the green light and all the ultimate confidence. And he’s not doing it just for me or another player, he’s doing it for the whole group.

“Most of the coaches hold you back a little bit. They want to run their sets. They want to run their plays. He’s kind of just like, 'I’m gonna give you a whole lot of stuff, you guys take care of the rest.'”

Meanwhile, Deone Walker might have to be at his highest level to make the squad. He has been named to the All-SEC second team twice and was a four-star recruit coming out of Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan. While he did play basketball in high school, it might take something special from him to get on coach Mark Pope's roster.

Do you think Deone Walker will make a good basketball player? And what are your predictions for the upcoming season for Kentucky? Let us know in the comments section below.

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