Former Kansas University standout Rex Walters has joined the men's basketball coaching staff at Emporia State.

ESU head coach David Moe said Walters would replace Dutch Johnson, who left to take the head coaching job at Grand Junction (Colo.) High. Walters was a two-time All-Big Eight Conference first-team guard for the Jayhawks. He led Kansas to the 1993 NCAA Final Four and scored 1,064 points in his two years at KU after transferring from Northwestern.

Walters spent seven seasons in the NBA with New Jersey, Philadelphia and Miami. He also played overseas and with the Kansas City Knights of the ABA. He spent last season as a volunteer assistant at Blue Valley Northwest High in Overland Park. This summer he conducted three sessions of the Rex Walters Basketball Academy in the Kansas City area.

"I saw him coaching an AAU team in the offseason," said Moe, whose team was 16-12 overall last season and 12-6 in the MIAA. "That showed me how much this guy wants to get into coaching. He's like all of our coaches in that he just wants to coach basketball. It doesn't matter if it's in high school, college or the pros." Walters, who earned a degree in secondary education at KU, will work on his teacher certification while at ESU.

"Working with coach Moe is a great opportunity," Walters said. "Emporia State had a great season last year, and I'm looking forward to us moving up in the conference and national spotlight."

Source:  KUSports.com  7/16/03