by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton
May 31, 2024
The HBCU announced that its former basketball head coach will be inducted into this year’s Voorhees University Athletics Hall of Fame.
Voorhees University has announced that Shawn Walker, former basketball head coach, will be inducted into this year’s Voorhees University Athletics Hall of Fame.
The coach, who is currently leading the men’s basketball team at Allen University, started his coaching career at Voorhees in 1997. The school recently acknowledged his achievement with a social media post.
“I am very honored and excited to be selected to the Hall of Fame at the institution that gave me my very first opportunity to be a head coach at 25 years old,” said Walker in a written statement. “I am forever grateful for all the lessons I was able to learn at that young age, and I am not where I am today without my experiences at Voorhees.”
Walker started leading the Tigers Men’s Basketball program in 1997 and coached the team for four seasons. While heading the team, they won two regular-season EIAC Championships in 1998 and 2000 and an EIAC Tournament Championship in 1999, winning 81 games in total. The Tigers’ success led to Walker being named the EIAC Coach of the Year during the 1998-1999 season.
“Shawn Walker’s impact at Voorhees University surpasses mere statistics and championships,” said Allen University Director of Athletics Jasher Cox. “At Allen University, we eagerly anticipate celebrating not only his remarkable success and achievements from the beginning of his coaching career but also the lasting legacy he has forged for generations to come.”
After completing his collegiate playing career at Elizabeth City State University, Walker took on several coaching positions at several schools. He was a graduate assistant at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania in 1995. He returned to Voorhees in 1996 as an assistant coach before taking the reins the following season. After leaving Voorhess, he became coach of the women’s basketball team at Elizabeth City State University in 2001 before moving over to coach the men’s team from 2003-2014. He took the same position at Grambling State University from 2014-2017 before returning to Elizabeth City State University from 2018-2022. Shaw University hired him as an assistant coach for the women’s team before he took over the men’s coaching job at Allen before last season.
Walker will be inducted on September 7, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in Denmark, South Carolina.
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