Nov. 29, 2012
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By Hannah Sedigh
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Freshman point guard Daiquan Walker came to Orlando this summer on a mission - to learn as much as possible so that he could contribute to UCF's success.
Like the rest of his teammates, Walker put in a lot of time and hard work preparing for the start of the season. But just days away from suiting up for his first game as a Knight, Walker suffered a tough ankle injury that would prove to test the point guard early on.
Luckily for the Knights and Walker, the injury didn't completely sideline him from UCF's first road game at USF.
For Walker, the hardest part of the injury was mentally preparing himself to get out and play.
"It was real tough [after an ankle injury]," said Walker. "Because mentally I didn't really believe that I could really play or be out there."
Walker came off the bench to record two rebounds in his UCF debut, and as his ankle continued to improve, so did his game. In UCF's next two games, including the home opener, Walker again came off the bench to record five rebounds, four assists and a pair of 3-pointers.
After an impressive start to the season, Walker continued to come out to practice and give his all. During the final practices leading up to the Nov. 23 matchup at Florida, he felt he was ready to make the first start of his college career.
"Coming into the game I knew I was going to start because in practice I'd been playing well, and my ankle had been getting back and I felt like almost at 100 percent. When coach told me I was going to start I just wanted to come out," continued Walker. "I knew it was a big game, I just tried to be aggressive and just play."
Walker did just that, playing 34 minutes and scoring nine points against No. 7 Florida.
He plans on continuing to improve his game in the coming weeks as the Knights play other in-state teams, including Miami and Stetson.
"I'm going to have to get my body right physically," said Walker. "We'll be practicing a lot, so I'm just going to come in and do what Coach Jones tells me to do."