Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 2 | October 2018

20 Inside Hokie Sports Summers for student-athletes usually consist of some combination of internships, summer school courses, or workouts, with maybe a few days off sprinkled into the schedule. Nickeil Alexander-Walker certainly spent a portion of his summer doing some of those things, but he also managed to mix in something cooler. Way cooler. Like playing basketball with Kevin Durant. Alexander-Walker received a coveted invitation to participate in the Nike Skills Academy held at The Academy on Aug. 8-12 in Thousand Oaks, California. The Virginia Tech sophomore from Toronto, Canada was one of just 25 college players to receive an invitation and one of just four ACC players. “I was pretty surprised,” he said. “I didn’t expect it.” Each year, Nike invites a small group of college and high school players to attend its Skill Academy, which focuses on skill development, while also offering each player the opportunity to play against some of the elite players in college and in the NBA. The skill development component certainly superseded the games, according to Alexander- Walker. In the past, the Nike camp focused more on positional skills, but a revamping in 2015 resulted in more of a combine experience for the players. They go through off-court workouts, drills, film sessions and life skills training each day before playing any games. “It was not like any other camp I’ve been to,” Alexander-Walker said. “There was training in terms of on the court and then we did yoga off the court. We did a lot of recovery on the NormaTec [an athlete recovery system] and then they had recovery stations. We got to try out the Cryomachine [another recovery system], where you stand and it’s cold. It’s a new technology. There were ice baths for players that wanted to ice baths. “There are a lot of good things there that we’ve also got here at Virginia Tech. They taught us how to take care of our body. They gave us life skills classes before we went to play, and I found that really helpful. … It was really cool seeing different people come out and give their time to us, teach us new things, and I tried to soak up everything.” NBA stars such as Durant, LeBron James, Bradley Beal, Devon Booker and Paul George provided instruction at the clinic, along with former players (and in some cases, former coaches) such as Rasheed Wallace, Kenny Smith, Gary Payton, Ron Harper, Rod Strickland, John Lucas and Greg Anthony. During the evenings, they split the college group into teams, and some of the NBA stars played, though James and George did not. Alexander-Walker found himself playing on Durant’s team a couple of times, while also guarding him on other occasions. “It was surreal at first when you see them,” Alexander-Walker said. “That little kid in you comes out because you remember watching them on TV. I remember watching KD [Durant] a lot. Devon Booker and those guys came when I was a lot older. Just watching them and playing with them, you’re not in awe, but you’re trying to learn so much. You’re trying to take everything because they’re basically giving you first-hand a cheat sheet to the test, finding out ways to get better, to improve and to be the best player that you can be. “I just tried to make the most of the moment, and one day, I aspire to be playing with them and against them. I used the opportunity to grow instead of just to admire.” Alexander-Walker went to the Nike Skills Academy feeling confident in his ability. After all, the 6-foot-5 guard started every game last season and averaged 10.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He came up big several times, too, scoring 17 points in the Hokies’ win over then-No. 5 Duke and hitting a clutch 3-pointer in their stunning win at Virginia. The Skills Academy enabled him to test himself against the best, including against some ACC foes such as Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter and Syracuse’s Oshae Brissett. In addition, he was one of 23 guards from around the country to attend the Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in early August. A slight shoulder injury suffered on the first day limited him, but that camp helped him, too, especially the extensive film sessions with Paul, who wrapped up his 13th NBA season this past June. NBA scouts attended both camps, so they got a feel for the potential of Alexander-Walker, who feels he improved and held his own, but also insists his focus remains on his current team. “I try my best not to look at that stuff because that can come in between my team’s success and my success, and that’s not what I want,” he said. “I want to continue to improve, and I want my team to continue to break records in Virginia Tech history. That’s my main focus. “It’s always going to be a bonus when people think highly of you. You never want them to think you’re bad, but the fact that they do think that [that he has potential], I’m humbled and honored and thankful. But never do I let it sit in my head. I just try to keep moving forward with my team and put myself in a better position to help my team.” IHS extra of summer opportunities ALEXANDER-WALKER makes most The Virginia Tech sophomore attended the Nike Skills Academy and the Chris Paul Elite Point Guard Camp and played with and against some of the world’s best competition by Jimmy Robertso n