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Jimmy Walker, Providence Great and Estranged Father of Jalen Rose, Dies at 63

Jul 3, 2007 – 6:22 PM
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Michael David Smith

Michael David Smith %BloggerTitle%

Jimmy Walker, the great Providence guard who was named an All-American three times and led the nation in scoring in 1967, has died of lung cancer at the age of 63.

Younger fans know Walker mostly because he's the father of Jalen Rose. Walker's name was often mentioned during TV broadcasts of Michigan games when Rose and the Fab Five went to two Final Fours in the 1990s. At one point they held the NCAA Division I record for most career points scored by a father-son duo.

But the TV announcers often glossed over the fact that Rose and Walker didn't know each other. Walker was out of the picture before Rose was born, and in 2005, when Rose surpassed Walker's NBA point total, he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone about the biological father he had never met. Walker and Rose look a lot alike, but the only things Rose got from Walker were facial features and basketball talent.
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