James Walker (April 8, 1944 – July 2, 2007) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'3" (1.91 m) guard, he played nine seasons (1967–1976) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Kansas City-Omaha / Kansas City Kings. Walker was a two-time All-Star who scored 11,655 points in his career. He was also the father of former NBA player Jalen Rose, though he left Rose's mother prior to his birth and took no part in his child's upbringing. Walker died on July 2, 2007, at the age of 63, from complications related to lung cancer. Early life Walker grew up in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Walker attended Laurinburg Institute, a black preparatory school in North Carolina and later earned a scholarship to play at Providence College. College career Walker attended Providence College, where he played under head coach Joe Mullaney. At Providence, Walker's game (much as that of Michigan star Cazzie Russell) was compared to that of the premier player of the era, Cincinnati Royals superstar Oscar Robertson. Walker averaged 23 points as a junior, and led the nation with 30 points per game as a senior. His career high of 50 points came in the 1965 Madison Square Garden Holiday Basketball Festival title game, when Providence defeated Bob Cousy's Boston College Eagles team 91-86 to win the tournament. For his efforts, Walker was named MVP of the tournament. Walker was also named MVP of the 1966 Holiday Festival when Providence defeated Saint Joseph's University and Cliff Anderson in the title game. With the two awards, Walker was the first player to be named MVP in the Holiday Festival two years in a row. He was considered to be the first college players to use the between-the-legs dribble as a cross-over move. Walker led the nation in scoring in his senior year of 1966–67, averaging 30.4 points a game. He caught and passed UCLA's Lew Alcindor in the final weeks of the season. Walker's 2,000-plus career points led Providence for four decades, until his all-time scoring record was broken in 2005 by Ryan Gomes. Walker was able to accomplish this in only three seasons; at the time, freshmen were not allowed to play varsity basketball. Jimmy Walker ended his college career in the quarterfinals of the 1967 NIT in the last basketball tournament held at the third Madison Square Garden, when he