On Monday, February 24, 2020 the Alcorn State University (ASU) family lost a true treasure in former student-athlete and former ASU coach, Lonnie Walker.
Before attending Alcorn, Walker attended Fidelity High School in Houston, Texas where he was a 5 sport athlete participating in Football, Basketball, Track and Field, Baseball, and Tennis.
Walker continued his student-athlete mentality once he became a Brave by lettering in Basketball, Baseball, and Tennis from 1964-1968. He was the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s (SWAC) Freshman of the Year in Basketball in the 1964-1965 season and a member of three Men’s Basketball teams that won SWAC Championships in 1965-1966, 1966-1967, and 1967-1968.
Once he graduated, Walker became an Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach under the tutelage of legendary Head Men’s Basketball Coach Davey L. Whitney for 22 seasons where the Braves posted winning seasons for 19 of those which included four NCAA Tournament appearances in 1980, 1982, 1983, and 1984 plus two National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances in 1979 and 1985.
Walker succeeded Coach Whitney and became the Men’s Head Basketball Coach at Alcorn and held that position from 1989-1993.
In 2005, Walker was inducted into the Alcorn A-Club Sports Hall of Fame and in 2011, he became a member of the SWAC Hall of Fame.