The Pacers drafted Jarace Walker 8th overall primarily because of his defensive prowess. To test these abilities in a solo workout setting, Pacers Summer League head coach Jannero Pargo was put to the task of going at him in isolation scenarios.
“You know, first possession, he guarded me pretty well,” Pargo said after the team’s final practice before heading to Las Vegas then added with a smirk, “but after that I kind of had my way with him.”
Pargo complimented Walker as one of the best defenders he faced during those workouts.
“He’s very quick and light on his feet laterally and I wasn’t expecting that,” Pargo said. “So I’d try to blow right by him and he’d cut me off. It was kind of like that movie Along Came Polly.”
As seen in the above video, Walker did do at least part of his workout with no shirt so that first time that Pargo got cut off unexpectedly may have been very similar to the iconically gross scene of Ben Stiller running directly into the sweaty chest of his defender.
As long as Pargo isn’t also referencing the movie in regard to Walker’s jump shot being like Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s, we can look at that as continued high praise.
“Just his versatility,” Pargo said about what has impressed him so far with the rookie. “He’s a big guy that can dribble, pass, and shoot. He’s quick, light on his feet, can guard. There’s absolutely nothing that he can’t do on the basketball floor.”
Pargo, Walker, and the rest of the Pacers Summer League squad have their first game on Saturday against the Wizards.
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