Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler has announced another addition to his staff in veteran assistant Jamall Walker. Walker joins the program as an assistant coach.
“I could not be more happy to welcome Jamall and his family to the Ohio State basketball family,” Diebler said. “Jamall’s recruiting success, his experience in the Big Ten as well as working with a coach like Bryce Drew were all really important intangibles that I was looking for when filling out a staff. He’s got a great defensive mind and a tremendous ability to connect with players. He’s going to be a great asset for our program.”
Walker comes to Columbus after spending four seasons on Bryce Drew’s staff at Grand Canyon. In that four-year span, the Lopes made three NCAA Tournament appearances by winning the 2021, 2023 and 2024 WAC Tournaments.
While at Grand Canyon, Walker was part of a coaching staff that had a record of 94-32 and made the first NCAA Tournament appearances in program history. The staff inherited a team that went 13-17 the year prior to them arriving. In 2023-24, GCU won a program record 30 games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a win over Saint Mary’s.
Prior to GCU, Walker was a member of the staff at Illinois, where he spent eight seasons under head coaches John Groce and Brad Underwood. During the transition from Groce to Underwood, Walker served as the Illini interim head coach for the 2017 National Invitation Tournament, picking up a pair of wins on the home floor over Valparaiso and Boise State to advance to the quarterfinals.
Prior to his stint in Champaign, Walker was an assistant coach at Ball State for two seasons and Ohio for three seasons. He also served one season as the director of basketball operations for Sean Miller at Arizona.
Walker spent the 2008-09 season at Ohio before leaving to join the staff at Arizona for a year and then returning to Ohio for two more years. In his final year with the Bobcats in 2011-12, Walker helped lead the team to a program-best 29-8 record and a trip to the Sweet 16 after NCAA Tournament wins over Michigan and South Florida.
His first four years on a D-I bench came at three different schools in Ball State, St. Louis and Murray State.
Walker was a four-year guard at St. Louis, leading the Billikens to an NCAA tournament appearance in 1998. He racked up 350 career assists, a top-10 mark in St. Louis history. He graduated from St. Louis in 2000 with a degree in secondary education.
Jamall Walker’s Coaching Career
2024-Present Ohio State Assistant Coach
2020-24 Grand Canyon Assistant Coach (4 seasons)
2012-20 Illinois Assistant Coach (8 seasons)
2010-12 Ohio Assistant Coach (2 seasons)
2009-10 Arizona Director of Operations (1 season)
2008-09 Ohio Assistant Coach (1 season)
2007-08 Murray State Assistant Coach (1 season)
2006-07 St. Louis Assistant Coach (1 season)
2004-06 Ball State Assistant Coach (2 seasons)
2002-04 Redlands CC (Okla.) Assistant Coach (2 seasons)
2001-02 Schlagle HS (Kan.) Assistant Coach (1 season)
2000-01 Alston HS (Ill.) Assistant Coach (1 season)
