« Men’s Basketball 2016-17

Derrick Walton Jr.

School
University of Michigan
Position
Guard
Major
General Studies

Classroom

Derrick Walton Jr. continues to maintain a steady path to graduation as he pursues a general studies degree from U-M’s College of Literature, Science & the Arts. He earned U-M Athletic Academic Achievement honors in 2014.

Character

Walton has been a class act since he first stepped foot on campus. A natural leader, he has continue to mature but always has been looked to as a voice of reason and a person/teammate who can be relied on. He is the first person in the gym and the last one out. He always makes time for his teammates and is a “go-to” guy for media. He is extremely thoughtful with his words and truly represents “The Team. The Team. The Team.”

Community

Walton has been a mainstay with the Wolverines in regard to community work. Always making time for fans, he has been involved with U-M Mott’s Children’s Hospital, the St. Louis Center and the You Meet the Athlete program, and has served as a camp counselor at Michigan Basketball Schools. He spoke at an Army/Navy Wheelchair game, participated in U-M Selfie Night, was invited to Michigan Leadership training, and assists with the Chad Tough Foundation as part of Infiniti Coaches Challenge.

Competition

As of nomination time, Walton had played in 89 career games, needing 11 games to become 65th Wolverine to surpass 100 career games. If it wasn’t for injuries sustained as a sophomore, he would be well over 100 career games. He also had 882 career points—needing 118 to become 51st U-M 1,000 point scorer—and 310 career assists, needing 90 to become ninth Wolverine with 400-plus in career. He highlighted his junior year by recording the fifth triple-double in U-M history with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists against Youngstown State (Dec. 19, 2015). He was a Preseason All-Big Ten member, an All-Big Ten Third Team selection (2016, B1G Coaches), All-Big Ten honorable mention selection (2016, media) and Big Ten All-Freshman Team (2014).