Rex Walters was named the sixth head men's basketball coach at Florida Atlantic University on Friday, April 28, 2006. The promotion from associate head coach came after one season of working side-by-side with Matt Doherty in laying a foundation for college basketball in Boca Raton.

Walters joined the FAU staff on April 20, 2005. One year and eight days later, he embraced the role of head coach for the first time in his coaching career.

He will lead an Owls' roster of 14 student-athletes - including 13 players recruited since his original hire date - into the program's first season in the Sun Belt Conference. He returns five regulars who averaged 4.3 points per game or more last season, including leading scorer DeAndre Rice (16.1 ppg) and A-Sun All-Freshmen honoree Carlos Monroe (11.0 ppg).

With Walters on the sidelines in 2005-06, Florida Atlantic closed its tenure in the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 15-13 record overall and the program's best conference record at 14-6. The 15 victories were a five-win improvement over 2004-05, when the Owls went 10-17 overall.

Prior to Florida Atlantic, Walters' first collegiate coaching job came at Valparaiso, a two-year stint as an assistant under Homer Drew. The 2003-04 Hornets were 18-13 overall and finished first in the Mid-Continent Conference with a record of 11-5.

The following season, Walters' second on the bench, Valparaiso went 15-16, earning third place in the MCC with a 10-6 mark. His coaching career began in 2002-03 in Overland Park, KS, where he served as an assistant coach for a Blue Valley Northwest High School team that reached the Kansas Class 6A State Tournament.

Walters' pedigree for coaching began as a player, receiving tutelage from some of the game's legendary coaches. Roy Williams at the University of Kansas and the NBA's Chuck Daly, Larry Brown and Pat Riley all mentored Walters during his years as a player.

He first made his name known in college, starring for two seasons at Kansas. In 68 starts under Williams, he averaged 15.6 points per game, leading the Jayhawks in scoring during both his junior and senior campaigns.

KU combined to go 56-12 overall in 1991-92 and 1992-93, winning back-to-back Big Eight titles and reaching the 1993 Final Four. Walters was named to the All-Big Eight team both seasons and won Big Eight Male Athlete of the Year as a senior in 1993.

As a junior, Walters averaged 16.0 points per game as the Jayhawks went 27-5. In his senior season, KU had a record of 29-7, with Walters scoring at a clip of 15.3 points per game.

Walters was an outstanding scorer from all areas of the court at Kansas, shooting nearly 51% from the field, 42% from three-point range and 85% at the free throw line. His college career originally began at Northwestern University, where he earned honorable mention from the Big 10 in 1989-90 after leading the team in scoring (17.6 ppg), three-point shooting (47.3%), free throw shooting (79.4%) and assists (125) as a sophomore.

It was during his senior season at Kansas that Walters made his first connection with Doherty, who joined the team as an assistant coach. The two reunited again for Doherty's single season at FAU, opening the door for Walters' move to the top.

After graduating from Kansas in 1993 with a B.S. in Education, Walters was taken by New Jersey as the 16th overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft. He went on to play seven seasons in total with the Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, averaging 4.6 points and 1.7 assists per game in 13.7 minutes.

Walters averaged a career-best 6.8 points per game for Philadelphia in 1996-97 and made 67 career starts in 335 games. His career assist-to-turnover ratio was nearly two-to-one.

He was New Jersey's top three-point shooter in 1994-95 (36.2%) and Philadelphia's top long-range marksman in 1996-97 (38.5%). A constant competitor who is always ready for the game, he averaged 12.8 points and 7.3 assists per game in eight starts for the 76ers to end the 1995-96 season.

Walters' professional career spanned nine seasons in total, ending in 2002 after playing internationally for two years and also winning an American Basketball Association title with the Kansas City Knights.

A native of Omaha, NE, Walters and his wife Deanna have four children: Addison (9), Drew (7), Riley (4) and Gunner (2).

The Walters File

Birthplace: Omaha, NE
Education: University of Kansas (B.S. Education, 1993)
Coaching Experience:
2002-2003, Blue Valley Northwest (KS) HS, Assistant Coach
2003-2005, Valparaiso University, Assistant Coach
2005-2006, Florida Atlantic University, Associate Head Coach
2006-present, Florida Atlantic University, Head Coach
Professional Playing Experience:
1993-1995, New Jersey Nets (traded Nov. 1995)
1995-1998, Philadelphia 76ers (waived Jan. 1998)
1998-2000, Miami Heat (signed Jan. 1998)
2000-2002, Internationally and in the ABA

Source:  Official Athletic Site of Florida Atlantic University