Rex Andrew Walters Sr. (born March 12, 1970) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player who last served as an assistant coach for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). Previously, he was the associate head coach at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

under

Danny Manning Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾 People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English j ...

. Prior to Wake Forest, he spent time at Nevada under Eric Musselman. He has made head coaching stops with the Grand Rapids Drive (NBA G-League), the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

and

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

. Walters pedigree for coaching began as a player, receiving tutelage from some of the game legendary coaches. Roy Williams at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

and the NBA's Chuck Daly, Larry Brown and

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

all mentored Walters during his years as a player. Walters played college basketball at Northwestern and Kansas. In 1993, he received a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the

. After Kansas, he played professionally for ten years, including seven seasons in the NBA from 1993 to 2000. Walters has been active on Apple Podcasts hosting his own sho
Real Talk Basketball with Rex Walters

Biography

Born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

on March 12, 1970, Walters played high school basketball at Piedmont Hills High School in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, but graduated from Independence High School in

. Walters is

biracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

; his mother is Japanese and his father is

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

. In an interview with Rick Quan, Rex Walters responded to the question of feeling that he was a pioneer for

Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans with Asian diaspora, ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are Immigration to the United States, immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). A ...

. He responded: "I consider myself Japanese-American. I just don't look it. People are always surprised. Now we got a guy like Jeremy Lin breaking barriers, I'd like to think I played a small part in that". He later added, "People ask me who I am? What I am? I am a Japanese-American, I take great pride in that." Walters is known as a hard working, selfless person with a great passion to motivate and lead others. Walters daughter, Addison Walters is currently with the Minnesota Timberwolves staff serving as a Video Associate.

College playing career

Northwestern

(1988–1990) Walters played at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

(1988–1990) and was All Big 10 honorable mention leading the team in scoring.

Kansas

(1990–1993) In 1990, he transferred to Kansas, playing two seasons. In 68 starts under Roy Williams, he averaged 15.6 points per game, leading the Jayhawks in scoring during both his junior and senior campaigns. KU combined to go 56–12 overall in 1991–92 and 1992–93, winning back-to-back Big Eight titles and reaching the 1993 Final Four. Walters was named to the All-Big Eight team both seasons and was Big Eight Male Athlete of the Year as a senior in 1993. As a junior, Walters averaged 16.0 points per game as the Jayhawks went 27–5. In his senior season, KU had a record of 29–7, with Walters scoring at a clip of 15.3 points per game. Walters was an outstanding scorer from all areas of the court at Kansas, shooting nearly 51% from the field, 42% from three-point range and 85% at the free throw line. The 6'4"

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

was selected by the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

with the 16th pick in the

1993 NBA draft The 1993–94 NBA season, 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Pen ...

Playing career (Professional)

Walters’ professional playing career spanned 10 seasons, including seven seasons in the NBA with the

(1993–95),

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

(1995–98) and

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

(1998–2000). He also had stints with Baloncesto Leon (2000), the Kansas City Knights (2000–01; 2002–03) and CB Gran Canaria (2001–02). The New Jersey Nets selected Walters with the 16th overall pick in the

. As a rookie, Walters led the team in field goal percentage (.522) and hit 14 of 28 three-point attempts. His role expanded in 1994–95 and his statistics improved in nearly every category. In 1995–96, Walters was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers and started the last eight games of the season. He played in 59 games for Philadelphia in 1996–97, making 16 starts behind

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson ( ; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as both a shooting guard and point guard. As an NBA rook ...

and Jerry Stackhouse. He led the team in three-point shooting with a .385 mark while averaging 6.8 points a game. He played in 38 games in 1997–98, splitting the season between Philadelphia and Miami, which signed him after he was waived by the Sixers in January of ’98. He appeared in 33 games (13 starts) for the Heat in 1998–99 and averaged 3.1 points a game. After leaving the NBA, Walters played for León and

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...

in Spain. In addition to his playing career, Walters had a minor role in the 1994 film '' Blue Chips'' starring

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (; born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. Known for his leading man roles in both dramas and romances, he has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Nol ...

and

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

Coaching career

(2002–2003) Blue Valley NW High School, Assistant Coach, qualifying for the Kansas Class 6A State Tournament. (2003–2005)

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

, Assistant Coach accomplishing much with head coach Homer Drew. The Crusaders were the Mid Continent Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champions (2004) advancing to the 2004 NCAA tournament. Walters was ranked the 20th best assistant basketball coach in the country at the mid-major level b
The Hoop Scoop online
in 2005. (2006–2008)

, Head Coach. (2008–2016) The University of San Francisco, Head Coach. April 15, 2008 Walters was hired to replace

Eddie Sutton Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball, Oklahoma State) and was a h ...

who was hired to replace Jesse Evans. (2016–2017) On June 29, 2016, Walters was named the head coach of the Grand Rapids Drive. Two players were called up to the Detroit Pistons during his time, Jordan Crawford and Ray McCallum. (2017–2018) On July 1, 2017, Walters was named an assistant coach for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. Working for Stan Van Gundy the

had a defensive rating of 10th in the NBA. (2018–2019) Walters was hired by Eric Musselman as Special Assistant to the head coach at

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. The Wolf Pack were pre-season #5 in the nation,

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

Champions and a 7 seed in the 2018 NCAA tournament. (2019–2020) Walters joined the Wake Forest basketball program in May 2019 as an Associate Head Coach under

. (2020–2021) On November 16, 2020, Walters was hired as assistant coach by the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

. (2022–2024) On August 2, 2022, Walters was hired as an assistant coach by the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 48 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .522 , , .500 , , .824 , , .8 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 30 , , 17.9 , , .439 , , .362 , , .769 , , 1.2 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 0 , , 7.9 , , .364 , , .250 , , 1.000 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 33 , , 8 , , 15.8 , , .426 , , .352 , , .783 , , 1.8 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 59 , , 16 , , 17.6 , , .455 , , .385 , , .790 , , 1.8 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , 0 , , 6.7 , , .379 , , .214 , , 1.000 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 19 , , 0 , , 5.7 , , .542 , , .375 , , .818 , , .8 , , .7 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 13 , , 15.3 , , .368 , , .316 , , .826 , , 1.5 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 0 , , 11.8 , , .418 , , .250 , , .750 , , 1.1 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , .0 , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 335 , , 67 , , 13.7 , , .441 , , .361 , , .809 , , 1.2 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.6

Playoffs

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1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

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, 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , 1.000 , , — , , — , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 4.3 , , .000 , , .000 , , — , , .0 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 4 , , 0 , , 3.5 , , .250 , , .000 , , — , , .0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5

Head coaching record

References

External links

University of San Francisco biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Rex 1970 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Japanese descent Basketball coaches from Nebraska Basketball players from Omaha, Nebraska Basketball players from San Jose, California CB Gran Canaria players Charlotte Hornets assistant coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Detroit Pistons assistant coaches Florida Atlantic Owls men's basketball coaches Grand Rapids Drive coaches Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Kansas City Knights players Liga ACB players Miami Heat players Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball coaches New Jersey Nets draft picks New Jersey Nets players New Orleans Pelicans assistant coaches Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers players San Francisco Dons men's basketball coaches Shooting guards Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball coaches Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen