Mike Walker

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; July 24, 2006 - Penn State junior guard Mike Walker (Lewisberry, Pa.) has been selected as a member of the Big Ten Basketball Foreign Tour Team that will compete August 8-18. The Tour is tentatively scheduled to include four games in Australia. Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker will lead the team comprised of 11 student-athletes from 10 different league schools.

Walker (6-2, 180) is the 15th Nittany Lion selected to compete with the Big Ten Touring Team. Junior forward Brandon Hassell (Farmersville, Ohio) represented Penn State last year. Walker averaged 20.1 minutes per game playing in all 30 games last year for the Nittany Lions and was the team's leading three-point shooter with 44 treys on the year. He tied for the fifth-best scoring average on the team with 6.7 ppg and his 2.8 assists per game ranked third on the team and 14th in the Big Ten. Walker's three-point shooting and nifty passing provided sparks in several games for Penn State, but none bigger than his three, three-pointers in the final eight minutes that fueled a 66-65 upset of No. 6 Illinois in Champaign, the highest ranked opponent defeated on the road in program history.

Walker, who has 16 career starts and has played in all but one of Penn State's 60 games over the last two seasons, is one of six guards and two guard/forward combinations on the Foreign Tour roster which also includes two centers and one pure forward. Five seniors, two juniors and four sophomores will compete with the Tour. Wisconsin is the only school not represented on the team. Ohio State senior guard Ron Lewis is the top returning scorer on the roster having averaged 11. 2 ppg last year. See the complete roster: click here