DeMya Walker
Encyclopedia
DeMya Chakheia Walker is a professional basketball
player from the United States
.
, where she attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School
and she set school records for career rebounds (851), rebound average per game (14.2 rpg), most rebounds in a game (29), most points in a season (675), and most career points (1,546).
In her senior year, she was named to the 1995 All-America
n first team by Street & Smith
's New Jersey
High School "Female Athlete of the Year", and Parade Magazine All-America
Second Team as a high school
senior.
and played on the women's basketball team (known as The Cavaliers) from 1995 to 1999.
By the time she graduated, she became Virginia's all-time leader in field goal percentage, as well as 330 career blocked shots which at the time was ranked 12th in the NCAA
record books. She averaged 13.0 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game during her career.
Her 1,583 points ranks her ninth in school history.
She was named the "Cavalier of the Year", and was an Honorable Mention All-America selection in her senior year (1998-99 season) after leading the team in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots.
She is also a member of the Zeta Phi Beta
Sorority.
, mainly due to the influx of former players from the just-disbanded American Basketball League (ABL), a rival professional women's league. Several of the ABL's star players were selected in that year's draft.
However, prior to the start of the 1999 WNBA season
, Walker was assigned to the Minnesota Lynx
for its pre-season training camp, but was cut from the team final roster shortly afterwards. Walker spent that summer playing overseas on a professional women's league team in Italy
.
In 2000, she signed a free agent
contract with the Portland Fire
, and played with them for three seasons until the team was disbanded due to financial difficulties.
On April 24, 2003, the WNBA held a Dispersal draft
, where various former players from the newly-defunct Portland Fire
and Miami Sol
teams were chosen by the existing WNBA teams. Walker was selected by the Sacramento Monarchs
as the fifth overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Dispersal Draft.
Walker played the 2003-08 seasons with the Monarchs, and even helped the team win the 2005 WNBA Finals
by defeating the Connecticut Sun
, three games to one.
When the Monarchs folded prior to the 2010 WNBA season
, Walker was selected by the Connecticut Sun
in a dispersal draft.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
High school
Walker grew up in Mount Holly Township, New JerseyMount Holly Township, New Jersey
Mount Holly Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States as well as an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,728. It is the county seat of Burlington County....
, where she attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School
Rancocas Valley Regional High School
Rancocas Valley Regional High School is a regional public high school and school district serving students in grades 9 through 12 from five communities in Burlington County, New Jersey. The district encompasses approximately and comprises the communities of Eastampton Township, Hainesport...
and she set school records for career rebounds (851), rebound average per game (14.2 rpg), most rebounds in a game (29), most points in a season (675), and most career points (1,546).
In her senior year, she was named to the 1995 All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n first team by Street & Smith
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as pulp fiction and dime novels. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks...
's New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
High School "Female Athlete of the Year", and Parade Magazine All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
Second Team as a high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
senior.
University of Virginia
Walker attended the University of VirginiaUniversity of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
and played on the women's basketball team (known as The Cavaliers) from 1995 to 1999.
By the time she graduated, she became Virginia's all-time leader in field goal percentage, as well as 330 career blocked shots which at the time was ranked 12th in the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
record books. She averaged 13.0 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game during her career.
Her 1,583 points ranks her ninth in school history.
She was named the "Cavalier of the Year", and was an Honorable Mention All-America selection in her senior year (1998-99 season) after leading the team in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots.
She is also a member of the Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...
Sorority.
WNBA career
Despite her impressive career in college, Walker was not selected by any of the WNBA teams during the 1999 WNBA Draft1999 WNBA Draft
1999 WNBA Draft - 6 April 1999*On September 15, 1998, two more players were assigned prior to the expansion draft.*On April 6, 1999 a WNBA expansion draft took place.*On May 3, 1999 another round of player allocation took place....
, mainly due to the influx of former players from the just-disbanded American Basketball League (ABL), a rival professional women's league. Several of the ABL's star players were selected in that year's draft.
However, prior to the start of the 1999 WNBA season
1999 WNBA season
-External links:**...
, Walker was assigned to the Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota Lynx
The Minnesota Lynx are a professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1999 season...
for its pre-season training camp, but was cut from the team final roster shortly afterwards. Walker spent that summer playing overseas on a professional women's league team in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
In 2000, she signed a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
contract with the Portland Fire
Portland Fire
The Portland Fire joined the Women's National Basketball Association in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA team the Portland Trail Blazers. They played their games at Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. The team folded after the 2002 season, after just three seasons in the league...
, and played with them for three seasons until the team was disbanded due to financial difficulties.
On April 24, 2003, the WNBA held a Dispersal draft
Dispersal draft
A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team goes out of business, consolidates with another team, or for some other reason ceases to exist. Since most sports drafts are held in North America, this is where most dispersal drafts...
, where various former players from the newly-defunct Portland Fire
Portland Fire
The Portland Fire joined the Women's National Basketball Association in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA team the Portland Trail Blazers. They played their games at Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. The team folded after the 2002 season, after just three seasons in the league...
and Miami Sol
Miami Sol
The Miami Sol was a women's basketball team which joined the Women's National Basketball Association in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena. The team folded after the 2002 season because of financial problems...
teams were chosen by the existing WNBA teams. Walker was selected by the Sacramento Monarchs
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009...
as the fifth overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Dispersal Draft.
Walker played the 2003-08 seasons with the Monarchs, and even helped the team win the 2005 WNBA Finals
2005 WNBA Finals
The 2005 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Sacramento Monarchs, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Connecticut Sun, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, three games to one in a...
by defeating the Connecticut Sun
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season...
, three games to one.
When the Monarchs folded prior to the 2010 WNBA season
2010 WNBA season
The 2010 WNBA season was the 14th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began with a televised meeting between the defending champion Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks in Phoenix, Arizona on May 15. The Connecticut Sun hosted the 10th Annual All-Star...
, Walker was selected by the Connecticut Sun
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season...
in a dispersal draft.
Personal
- Two months after the Monarchs won the title she announced her pregnancyPregnancyPregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
. - In April 2006, after going through an intense four days of laborChildbirthChildbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
, Walker gave a Caesarean sectionCaesarean sectionA Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
birth to her first child, a daughter named Zachara. She went on maternity leave and missed the first 11 games of the 2006 WNBA season, before returning to the Monarchs' player roster. - Earned her degree from Virginia in Government.
- After playing days are over wants to be an attorney in mergers & acquisitions.