Walker transfers from Curie to West Aurora

Curie junior basketball player Marquise Walker has transferred to West Aurora.

Walker, who plays AAU ball for the Mac Irvin Fire, started classes at West Aurora a week ago.

"I heard he was living out here, and right after I heard he reached out to me," West Aurora boys basketball coach Brian Johnson said. "He was out here for personal, family reasons, things with his life that he's been going through.

"The big thing was finding stability and a place where he could have a great experience as a senior. When we talked it had nothing to do with basketball at all but finding some stability in his life. He's in a situation now where it will help his growth both on and off the court because stability is what all high school kids need."

Walker is a skilled, 6-foot, 180-pound guard. He played two years at St. Joseph and helped lead the Chargers downstate as a freshman.

Walker transferred to Curie for a successful junior season that included a 19-point performance against West Aurora at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. He led Curie to a semifinal victory at Pontiac by hitting a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against Oak Park-River Forest.

Walker joins a group of returning players that helped lead the Blackhawks to a Class 4A supersectional appearance in March. He joins point guard Traevon Brown, who transferred last season to West Aurora from East Aurora, Moshe Rogers and Latrone Kirkwood.

"It's a very good basketball player to add in the mix to a core group of guys that got playing time as juniors," Johnson said. "He can get up and down the floor and put the ball in the hoop."