RICHMOND, Ky. — Former Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball standout Corey Walden will play for the reigning champion Toronto Raptors in the NBA Summer League.
Walden is fresh off an impressive season in which he was named MVP of the Israeli Winner League. The 6-2 guard averaged 18.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists-per-game while shooting over 40 percent from three-point range for Hapoel Holon.
Walden played for the Boston Celtics in the 2015 and 2016 NBA Summer Leagues. He also played for the Celtics’ NBA G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, during the 2015-16 season.
Walden played in Belgium during the 2016-17 season, before signing with Hapoel Holon two years ago.
The Raptors will play in the Las Vegas Summer League starting this Saturday, July 6. They open with Golden State on July 6 at midnight on ESPN, followed by games against Milwaukee (July 8 / 7 p.m. ET / ESPNU), New York (July 9 / 9:30 p.m. ET / NBA TV) and Indiana (July 11 / 6 p.m. ET / NBA TV)
Walden wrapped up a remarkable three-year career at EKU in 2014-15. The native of Daytona Beach, Florida was chosen as a Lou Henson All-American, a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American, first team All-Ohio Valley Conference, OVC Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-District 19 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) following his senior season.
Walden closed out his career as one of the best in program history. In just three years as a Colonel, he scored 1,518 points, the ninth most-ever by a Colonel. The two-time OVC Defensive Player of the Year also broke the EKU career and single season records for steals. His 236 career steals broke Jamie Ross’ mark of 221 and is the fifth most-ever in OVC history. Walden finished the 2014-15 season with 99 steals, which also broke the record of 87 held by Ross and is the second-most ever in one season by an OVC player.
During his senior season Walden averaged 18.6 points, four rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.1 steals per game. He shot 55 percent from the field and nailed 82 percent of his free throws. He was the only player ranked in the top-10 in the OVC in scoring (2nd), field goal percentage (7th), assists (7th) and steals (1st).
As a junior, Walden helped lead EKU to the 2014 NCAA Tournament and a near-upset of No. 2 Kansas.
Walden is one of two Colonels on an NBA Summer League roster. Nick Mayo, EKU’s all-time leading scorer, is playing for the Miami Heat this summer.
