Kyree Walker listens to instructions during a break at the Valley Suns tryouts. Walker, once a top-ranked high school recruit, looks to reignite his pro career. (Photo by Spencer Barnes/Cronkite News)
TEMPE – Kyree Walker has more to prove.
The former five-star recruit wants another G League shot to preserve his lifelong dream of earning his way onto an NBA roster.
After the Phoenix Suns became the 30th and final NBA franchise to boast a G League affiliate, the Valley Suns held open tryouts at the Sun Devil Fitness Complex last Saturday to bolster their new pathway program for their inaugural season in 2024-2025.
Walker, who played for Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, California before transferring to Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, was once on a career track that seemed destined for the NBA. Now he is seeking one of the Valley Suns’ coveted training camp spots in hopes of rekindling his pro aspirations.
“I was more in shape than I thought,” Walker said. “I felt more athletic than I did two months ago. A lot of my game is coming together.”
Walker says his high school fame created relationships with many personalities in the basketball space, including Devin Booker and Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns. He credits Booker’s guidance over the years in aiding his development on and off the court.
“They kept tabs with me,” Walker said. “Me and (Booker) have a relationship outside of basketball and with basketball too. We’ve always had a real good bond.
“He’s somebody that I look up to, and I try to take things from his game to put into my game.”
Walker dazzled the high school hoops scene at Moreau Catholic and national powerhouse Hillcrest Prep with his explosiveness getting downhill and fearless play above the rim. The Phoenix native committed to Arizona State University in 2017, even though he was just an incoming sophomore at Hillcrest.
He never suited up for the Sun Devils, however, nor any college program after decommitting in 2018 and deciding to turn pro upon graduation in 2020.
Walker said it was “amazing” to try out under the Suns’ organization.
“I play (with the Suns) on (NBA) 2K all the time,” he said. “For myself, it’s definitely an honor.”
Former Sun Devil guard Holland Woods II was among the group of hopefuls salivating for a G League shot as well. His basketball journey has taken him across the country and the globe, but his eyes have been set on this opportunity as soon as it arose.
“I treat every day like a pro,” said Woods, a Phoenix native who played basketball at Apollo High School. “I’ve been in Miami the last three months grinding … People are here to try and feed their families. You just got to attack every day, go hard and never try to cheat yourself.”
ASU was the second of three stops for Woods in a college career that spanned from 2017 to 2022. He attended Portland State for three years before landing in Tempe for the 2020 season, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryce Drew at Grand Canyon University lured the 6-foot-1 guard for his final year of eligibility, where he started 29 games and was the Antelopes’ second-leading scorer. Woods, who played last season in Dubai, said it would be “a dream come true” to represent the Valley Suns.
There was one 7-footer who was impossible to miss at the tryouts as he towered over his competition. A consensus five-star recruit in 2015, Chase Jeter played under legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski for two years and finished his college career at the University of Arizona.
Jeter brings a versatile skill set on the floor as a ferocious rebounder with soft touch in the paint, but he believes his impact extends beyond basketball.
Kyree Walker drives to the basket during Valley Suns tryouts at Sun Devil Fitness Complex. The former five-star recruit is seeking another shot at his NBA dream. (Photo by Spencer Barnes/Cronkite News)
“Everywhere I go I’m a natural born leader,” Jeter said. “I thank God that I get to work at a basketball training facility, put in the hours, help the kids along the way, continue to inspire people, and use the game of basketball as the means to communicate.
“I love playing basketball, and I’m gifted to be able to play a child’s game professionally.”
There was a time for Jeter where “love” wasn’t associated with basketball anymore. This difficult chapter in Jeter’s life secluded him from the sport that gave him a purpose.
“I actually stepped away from the game of basketball for about a year after I graduated (college),” Jeter said. “I really didn’t love it anymore. What made me remember was my way of going back by coaching. I coached for my AAU organization that I grew up playing for (called) Dream Vision.
“(Playing) AAU basketball was probably when I first realized I love basketball, and upon growing into my manhood, I regained that childhood love by inspiring the youth.”
The Valley Suns’ training camp is fast approaching in preparation for a season that begins Nov. 8, and Walker, Woods, and Jeter are optimistic they can be a part of the organization’s future plans.
They’ve worked their entire lives for an opportunity of this magnitude, to one day have a team like the “Valley Suns” embroidered across their chests.
