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Men's Basketball

Anderson Impressed with @MizzouHoops' Walton

Mizzou Men's Basketball freshman guard K.J. Walton (Brownsburg, Ind.) has only been on the University of Missouri's campus for six short months, but the 6-3 newcomer has already made a huge impression on his head coach, Kim Anderson. On Tuesday (Nov. 10), the Tiger leader spoke highly of the Indiana native's improvement since arriving in Columbia.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Men's Basketball freshman guard K.J. Walton (Brownsburg, Ind.) has only been on the University of Missouri campus for six short months, but the 6-3 newcomer has already made a huge impression on his head coach, Kim Anderson. On Tuesday (Nov. 10), the Tiger leader spoke highly of the Indiana native's improvement since arriving in Columbia.

"I think he has developed as time has gone on over the summer," Anderson said. "He worked really hard over the summer. You never know how fast freshmen are going to develop. K.J. has done a great job transitioning to playing at the college level."

The Tiger guard led the team in scoring on Friday, Nov. 6, in Mizzou's 92-53 exhibition victory over Missouri Western. Walton scored 17 points on perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the field, including 4-for-4 from beyond the three-point arc. That lethal shooting was something Anderson admitted was a surprise.

"He has shot the ball better than what I thought he would. Hopefully, that continues," said Anderson.

Walton, who shot 44.0 percent from the floor as a senior at Brownsburg High School, averaged 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game, leading his team to a 21-7 record and sectional title. Anderson added that the prolific shooting was an added bonus to a well-rounded basketball player they knew Mizzou was getting when Walton picked the Tigers over Cincinnati and Xavier.

"When we recruited him, we knew he could take the ball to the basket, we knew he was athletic, we knew he can guard and rebound," Anderson said. "So far, the bonus has been he has shot the ball well."

Anderson pin-pointed moving without the ball as a contributing factor to Walton's success.

"He has taken good shots and more importantly, he has done a good job getting himself in a position for one of our guards to get him the ball and get good shots."

Walton, reluctant to take credit for his play, thanked his teammates for inspiring him to his team-best scoring performance against the Griffons.

"My teammates just kept me motivated," Walton said. "They cheered so hard, so I was just feeding off them. So I have to thank my teammates for everything."

Walton, who got the start against Missouri Western, should expect to see significant minutes on the court this season. The Tigers have eight first or second-year scholarsip players on their roster. Mizzou begins the regular season with a stretch of three games in five days when it hosts Wofford at Mizzou Arena on Friday, Nov. 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. on SEC Network+.

"The exhibition game was exciting for a lot of us guys, because that was our first time going against another opponent in Mizzou Arena," Walton said. "I can't wait to see it again when we have Wofford in town. It'll be great to get the season going for real."