When Shawn Walker Jr. takes the court during Victory Christian’s varsity basketball games, he looks out of place. The diminutive point guard is often dwarfed by taller opponents. But that is to be expected since Walker Jr. is just 12-years old.

That’s right, Walker Jr. is a sixth-grader playing varsity basketball.

“I like it a lot,” Walker Jr. said. “It gives me a chance to play with older people. I wasn’t scared or nervous. I like competition and it’s better academically for me.”

Walker Jr. is the starting point guard for Victory Christian, playing both JV and varsity, having moved over to the private school this season after one year at River Road Middle School. And if his name sounds familiar, it is because his father, who bears the same name, is the head coach for Elizabeth City State’s men’s basketball team.

Walker Jr.’s move to Victory certainly seems basketball related. Even though the league Victory competes in is not as formidable as most public high school leagues in the state, the competition is as strong as it would be at the middle school level.

But there is a lot more to it.

Walker Jr. began school at a young age. While he was an honor roll student in the classroom as a sixth-grader at River Road, he did some “mischievous things,” according to his father. The thought was that he was being influenced negatively by some of the older kids he was sharing classes with.

So the decision was made to send him to Victory, where he entered as a sixth-grader and caught up to kids his own age.

“I didn’t know that he was going to play varsity when he went to Victory,” said Walker Sr. “I wanted to give him an opportunity to develop a little bit more academically. He gets a well-round education there.”

But Walker Jr. is also shining on the court.

On Monday, he set a career high with 20 points and followed that up Tuesday with a 12-point night against Gateway Christian, regarded as the toughest team in the league.

“I can’t go out and dominate everyone, so I have to play more calm,” Walker Jr. said. “Yeah, the guys are bigger and stronger, but it doesn’t bother me much.”

At first, there were some concerns from the coaching staff at Victory about using Walker Jr. as a varsity player, but they were quickly dispelled.

“The first game, he didn’t go with us and the second game, I played him very little because he hadn’t practiced a lot with us,” said Eagles coach Gene Choury. “After I got to see the way he could control the ball, I put him right in there. Our team feeds off each other and he helps set the energy level.”

Walker Jr. has played in eight games for the varsity this season and is averaging about 8 points a game, which has been on the rise after his recent performances. His drives to the basket against much taller opponents elicits “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd.

His fearless style can be traced back to ECSU. He sometimes practices with the women’s team, which is down on numbers and needs bodies some days, and he is a mainstay around the men’s team practices.

Walker Jr. is also a regular participant at open gym sessions at Victory, which are often made up mostly of adults. The court maturity he has learned in those situations shows. On Tuesday, Walker Jr. demonstrated those skills on a fastbreak to the basket. He faked a behind-the-back pass, which got the defender turned around, then went in for an uncontested layup.

“The main thing with Shawn is he has the experience that most of these kids don’t have,” Choury said. “He does have an advantage and we use it to our advantage.”

According to Choury, only one person at Victory has voiced any kind of concern about a sixth-grader playing on the varsity.

“It wasn’t a complaint, but I had one parent come up and say, ‘I’m a little worried about the stress that he would be under,’” Choury said. “In my opinion, these kids can handle stress more than we think they can, if we allow them to do it. We as parents try to shelter them from as much stress as we can. I don’t have any problem with that, but these kids are really adaptable.”

But, with his father’s background, the inevitable question will arise: Is Walker Sr. pushing his son too hard at too young an age?

Walker Sr. responds honestly.

“I am pushing him, but I’m pushing him because he loves it,” he said. “I’m not living my dream through him, I’m allowing him to develop as it relates to what he loves to do. If he says he doesn’t want to play any more, I’ll be upset, of course, but I will respect that and as he gets older and finds something else he loves to do, I’ll push him in that.

“Right now, it’s nothing for him to call me on a Sunday and say, ‘Hey Dad, let’s go work out.’ There’s nothing for him to call me and want to know if the team is practicing and if he can go get some shots up with (players) Marquie (Cooke) and (Quintin) Spady and those guys. At this point, he’s doing what his daddy would want him to do, of course, but he’s doing what he loves to do and I’m happy about that.”

As for his future, that has not been decided. Walker Jr. admits his ultimate goal is to reach the NBA. But he is also a good football player and has found success with the River City Rampage youth football team.

Victory does field a football team, but he will be able to play with the Rampage again this summer as a 12-year old. It will be the last year he is eligible.

Walker Jr.’s participating at the varsity level now will not affect his eligibility if he later decides to go to a public school. According to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, players are only allowed eight semesters of competition at the varsity level. However, that clock does not begin ticking for players in leagues outside the NCHSAA until their ninth-grade year.

In the end though, this time in his life is not about athletics or winning. And for Walker Jr. and his family, things have worked out pretty well so far.

“Victory’s aim there is not sports and that’s a good thing for them,” Walker Sr. said. “At this point we’re enjoying the Victory experience and he’s had a good time there. He enjoys the kids there, the education there. He enjoys the Bible focus there. His coaches and teachers have been wonderful.

“Probably the day is going to come when we’ll have to move out of Victory, but at this point we’ve gotten a lot out of the experience, which is what I wanted for him to develop a little bit more as an adolescent kid.

“We haven’t had any problems with him this year, He hasn’t gotten into any trouble. He’s done well academically and he’s had a chance to play basketball as well. That’s been fun.”