Corey Walden
Torrian Corey Walden (Serbian Cyrillic: Торијан Кори Волден; born August 5, 1992) is an American-born naturalized Serbian professional basketball player for Galatasaray Ekmas of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the BCL. He played college basketball for Stetson and Eastern Kentucky before playing professionally in the NBA G League, Belgium and Israel. Standing at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), he plays at the point guard position. Playing for Hapoel Holon, he was named the 2019 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP.
Walden in 2022 | |
| No. 2 – Galatasaray Ekmas | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard / shooting guard |
| League | Basketbol Süper Ligi Basketball Champions League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | August 5, 1992 Ormond Beach, Florida |
| Nationality | American / Serbian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Seabreeze (Daytona Beach, Florida) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2015: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2015–present |
| Career history | |
| 2015–2016 | Maine Red Claws |
| 2016–2017 | Telenet Oostende |
| 2017–2019 | Hapoel Holon |
| 2019–2020 | Partizan Belgrade |
| 2020–2021 | Crvena zvezda |
| 2021–2023 | Bayern Munich |
| 2023–present | Galatasaray |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
In addition to being a citizen of the United States, Walden also has Serbian citizenship.
High school career Edit
Walden attended Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, Florida where he hit an area-high 57 three-pointers and averaged 28.4 points and four steals per game as a senior, earning four varsity letters in basketball and also back-to-back Volusia County Player of the Year awards as a junior and senior. When he graduated, he was the all-time leading scorer at Seabreeze with 1,647 points and the all-time leader in steals. Among his best performances was the 2008–09 regional finals where he scored 38 points against Melbourne High.[1]
College career Edit
Walden began his college career with Stetson where he started all 24 games he appeared in and averaged 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game and subsequently earned 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman Team honors. Following the 2010–11 season, he transferred to Eastern Florida State but didn't play during the 2011–12 season due to an injury.[1]
After redshirting on his sophomore season, Walden transferred to Eastern Kentucky where he spent his last three college years. In the 2014 OVC Tournament, he averaged 23.3 points, 3.7 steals while shooting 66 percent from the field and was named MVP. However, foul trouble limited his play as a junior. He moved to point guard at the beginning of his senior year.[2] As a senior, he averaged 18.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.1 steals in 34.6 minutes per game earning a spot on the Lou Henson All-America Team and the first team All-Ohio Valley Conference for the 2014–15 season.[1]
Professional career Edit
Maine Red Claws (2015–2016) Edit
After going undrafted on the 2015 NBA draft, Walden joined the Boston Celtics for the 2015 NBA Summer League[3] where he averaged 2.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.5 steals in 16.5 minutes per game. On September 25, 2015, he signed with the Celtics,[4] only to be waived by the team on October 24 after appearing in four preseason games.[5] On October 31, he was acquired by the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Celtics.[6] Walden joined the Boston Celtics again for the 2016 NBA Summer League.
Telenet Oostende (2016–2017) Edit
On July 17, 2016, Walden signed with Belgian team Telenet Oostende.[7] On March 15, 2017, Walden recorded a season-high 25 points, shooting 10-of-11 from the field, along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 95–79 win over Enisey.[8] In 65 games played during the 2016–17 season, he averaged 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 20.5 minutes per game. Walden went on to win the 2017 Belgian Cup and the 2017 Belgian League championship titles with Oostende.
Hapoel Holon (2017–2019) Edit
2017–18 season Edit
On July 26, 2017, Walden signed with Israeli team Hapoel Holon for the 2017–18 season.[9] On December 5, 2017, Walden recorded a season-high 31 points, shooting 9-for-13 from the field in a 94–90 win over EWE Baskets Oldenburg.[10] Three days later, Walden was named Champions League Game Day 7 MVP.[11] In 32 games played during the 2017–18 season, he averaged 10.4 points, 3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Walden went on to win the 2018 Israeli State Cup with Holon, as well as reaching the 2018 Israeli League Final, where they eventually lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv.
2018–19 season Edit
On July 11, 2018, Walden signed a one-year contract extension with Hapoel Holon.[12] On January 12, 2019, Walden recorded a then career-high 32 points, shooting 11-of-15 from the field, along with four rebounds, seven assists and two steals for 46 PIR, leading Holon to an 82–76 win over Hapoel Eilat.[13] On January 31, 2019, Walden was named Israeli League Player of the Month after averaging 24.8 points, 7.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game in four games played in January.[14] On May 13, 2019, Walden recorded a career-high 37 points, shooting 13-of-20 from the field, along with six assists in a 105–102 win over Maccabi Rishon LeZion.[15]
Walden led Holon to the 2019 Israeli League Playoffs, where they eventually lost in four games to Maccabi Rishon LeZion in the Quarterfinals. In 35 Israeli League games played during the 2018–19 season, he averaged 18.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.2 steals, shooting 40.9 percent from three-point range. Walden was named four-time Israeli League Round MVP, All-Israeli League First Team and the Regular Season MVP.[16]
Serbia (2019–2021) Edit
On July 1, 2019, Walden joined the Toronto Raptors for the 2019 NBA Summer League.[17] On July 24, 2019, Walden signed a two-year deal with the Partizan of the ABA League and the EuroCup.[18] He averaged 8.9 points, 3.6 boards and 1.8 assists per game.[19] He parted ways with Partizan on June 27, 2020.[20]
On July 2, 2020, Walden officially signed a two-year deal Crvena zvezda of the ABA League.[21] On February 1, 2021, Walden obtained a Serbian passport and Serbian citizenship.[22] He parted ways with the team on July 14, 2021.[23]
Germany (2021–2023) Edit
On July 30, 2021, Walden signed a two-year deal with Bayern Munich of the Basketball Bundesliga.[24]
Galatasaray (2023–present) Edit
On 10 July 2023 he signed with Galatasaray Ekmas of the Basketball Super League (BSL).[25]
Personal life Edit
The son of Clayton and Lawana, Walden majored in general studies in health sciences.[1]
References Edit
- ^ a b c d "Eastern Kentucky bio". EKUSports.com. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ "EKU's Walden ready to be on point". The Courier Journal. November 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ^ "Celtics Announce 2015 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. July 1, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ "Celtics Finalize Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. September 25, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ "Celtics Waive Jones, Walden". NBA.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- ^ "Red Claws Announce Draft Results, Training Camp Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
- ^ "Corey Walden sign with Telenet Oostende". Sportando.com. July 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
- ^ "Telenet Oostende v BC Enisey boxscore - FIBA Europe Cup 2017". fiba.basketball. March 15, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ "Corey Walden inks with Hapoel Holon". Sportando.basketball. July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^ "UNET Holon v EWE Baskets Oldenburg Box Score". ChampionsLeague.basketball. December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ ""Confident and aggressive" Walden garners MVP of the Week award". ChampionsLeague.basketball. December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
- ^ "קורי וולדן האריך חוזה במחזיקת הגביע". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "מצטיין המחזור ה-14: קורי וולדן". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^ "שחקן חודש ינואר: קורי וולדן". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- ^ "מצטיין המחזור ה-31: קורי וולדן". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ "מצטייני עונת 2018/19 בליגת ווינר סל". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^ "Former Colonel Corey Walden to Play for Toronto Raptors in NBA Summer League". EKUSports.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ Maggi, Alessandro (July 24, 2019). "Corey Walden signs with Partizan". Sportando.basketball. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ Carchia, Emiliano (June 27, 2020). "Corey Walden leaves Partizan, is joining Crvena Zvezda". Sportando. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- ^ "Volden platio obeštećenje i napustio Partizan!". b92.net. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ^ Borghesan, Ennio Terrasi (July 2, 2020). "Crvena Zvezda announces Corey Walden". Sportando. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- ^ "Kori Volden dobio srpski pasoš". b92.net. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ Carchia, Emiliano (July 14, 2021). "Crvena Zvezda, Corey Walden part ways. He will join Bayern Munich". Sportando. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ Maggi, Alessandro (July 30, 2021). "Corey Walden officially signs with Bayern Basketball". Sportando. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ "Corey Walden Galatasaray Nef'te!" (in Turkish). Galatasaray S.K. July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
External links Edit
- Eastern Kentucky bio
- Stetson bio
- Sports-Reference.com profile
- RealGM profile
- USBasket profile