Former Drury Basketball Coaching Great Marvin Walker Passes Away
Marvin Walker, the Drury Panthers’ head basketball coach from 1980-1991, passed away earlier this morning in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania hospital.
Walker, who has been battling a respiratory condition for several years, was in Pittsburgh awaiting a lung transplant when he died. Arrangements for Coach Walker’s funeral, which will take place in Washington, Missouri, are pending.
Coach Marvin Walker was the Panthers’ head coach for 11 seasons. He came to Drury in the fall of 1980 and he retired as head coach at the conclusion of the 1990-91 season.
For all practical purposes, the 1980’s can be called the “Marvin Walker Decade.” During that 11-year period Walker’s teams fashioned a 249-110 overall record and under his watchful eye, his Panther teams won more NAIA District 16 titles than under any other Drury coach in history (5).
Seven of his teams were nationally-ranked and eight times his teams won 20 or more games in a single season. His 249 wins places him second on the Drury all- time list for career wins, trailing only A.L. Weiser who had 316 wins over his 31-year career.
Walker was District 16 Coach-of-the-Year in 1984, 1986 and 1989 and five times his teams made the NAIA National Tournament played in Kansas City with the 1985 Panthers making the quarterfinal round.
While winning basketball, district titles and national tournament appearances was a trademark of Walker’s teams, Walker continued the tradition of “excellence in athletics and academics” during his Drury career as he had a graduation rate of better than 95 percent.
Tom Deffebaugh, who came to Drury as a freshman in 1981 and was a member of the 1985 team said that Coach Walker and his main assistant coach, his wife Marilyn, were a team that made an impact on he and his teammates.
“First and foremost my condolences to his assistant coach and wife, Marilyn, who was with him and at his side in every win, every loss, every twist or turn.” Deffebaugh, now an assistant basketball coach at Tennessee Tech University, continued.
“Coach was probably the best teacher and the most demanding coach that a player could have. If you came in as a freshman and left as a senior you were a better player, and more importantly, a better person. Marilyn and Coach Walker were parents to a team of players and they made it their responsibility to take what were boys and raise them to become young men by the time they graduated.
"When I look back, Coach Walker’s whole idea about coaching was learning more about life than scoring points or winning games. That was important, but he had a bigger smile when he saw us walking across that stage with a degree than he did after any basketball game.”
Tom Stout, a Drury booster and a member of the Drury University Board of Trustees had this to say about his long-time friend. “Marvin was a great friend and he was a tremendous credit to Drury. While he was an intense competitor as a coach, he did care more about his players as people. He was a true competitor in terms of basketball and he expected their best, but those standards applied to all aspects of life.
"He expected his players to meet those standards on the court...and off the court. He never did give up in his battle with his illness and he had to be an inspiration to the doctors and to those who knew what he went through. He will definitely be missed.”
Walker was born in Arcadia, Mo. and graduated from Arcadia Valley High School. In 1962 he earned his bachelor’s degree from Southwest Missouri State University and three years later he earned his Master of Art degree from Drury College. His coaching career included a 10- year prep career with stops at Ellington (Mo.) High School, Festus (Mo.) High School and Union (Mo.) High School. His 1976 Union H.S.
team was a state quarterfinalist and finished 24-5 on the year.
Coach Walker then accepted the head coaching position at East Central Junior College where his 1976-77 team finished 28-3, won its conference title and was ranked 7th nationally. He served as the assistant coach at Southeast Missouri State University for two years before assuming the head coaching position at Crowder Junior College in 1979-80. That team had a 26-6 record.
It was then onto Drury and the “Marvin Walker Decade.”
Coach Walker and his wife, Marilyn have two daughters, Kim Buschman (Husband: Alan) and Jill Bown (Husband: Matt), and four grandchildren (Mary, Abby, Alex, Matt).