Men's Basketball
Rex Walters
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- waltersr@wfu.edu
- Phone:
- 336-758-2738
Rex Walters joined the Wake Forest basketball program in May of 2019 as an Associate Head Coach. Walters joined the program after spending the previous season as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach at Nevada.
Walters has 11 years of head coaching experience, 10 at the Division I level and one in the NBA G-League. He also spent a season as an assistant coach in the NBA. His coaching career followed a 10-year professional playing career, including seven seasons in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat.
Walters spent the majority of his head coaching career at San Francisco, leading the Dons from 2009-16. The 2014 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, he led USF to a school-record 13 WCC wins that season and an appearance in the NIT. In 2012, Walters led the Dons to their first 20-win season in 30 years, the first of two 20-win seasons in three years.
After serving as an assistant coach at Valparaiso from 2003-05 and as the Associate Head Coach at Florida Atlantic in 2005-06, Walters took over the FAU program when Matt Doherty took the head coaching job at SMU. In his rookie season as a head coach in 2006-07, Walters led the Owls to their second consecutive winning season and in 2007-08 guided the team to a school-record 2,367 points.
Walters’ most recent head coaching experience came in 2016-17 with the Grand Rapids Drive, the NBA G-League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons. He led the team to a 26-24 record, the first winning-record for the franchise.
In 2017-18, Walters was an assistant coach on Stan Van Gundy’s staff with the Pistons. That season, he helped the Pistons rank in the top 10 in the NBA in four defensive categories (10th in defensive rating, 8th in scoring defense, 8th in forced turnovers and 2nd in fewest free throws allowed).
In 2018-19, Walters served as Special Assistant to the Head Coach on Eric Musselman’s staff at Nevada. The Wolf Pack went 29-5 and was ranked in the AP top 10 for most of the season. Walters helped Nevada improve from No. 108 in defensive efficiency the year before he arrived to No. 35 last season, a 73-spot move up in the rankings.
As a player, Walters began his collegiate career at Northwestern, leading the Wildcats in scoring and assists during his sophomore season in 1989-90. He transferred to Kansas and after sitting out the 1990-91 season, he twice earned All-Big 8 honors for the Jayhawks. In 1991-92, Walters averaged 16.0 points per game and was named the Big 8 Newcomer of the Year. As a senior in 1992-93, Walters led the Big 8 with 83 3-pointers and averaged 15.3 points per game as the Jayhawks reached the 1993 Final Four. While at Kansas, Walters was a teammate with Wake Forest assistant coach Steve Woodberry.
Walters was the No. 16 overall selection of the 1993 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets and played seven seasons in the league. In his third NBA season, he was traded from the Nets to the 76ers, where he was teammates with Sharone Wright, father of current Demon Deacon guard Sharone Wright, Jr. He played his final three seasons in the league with the Miami Heat before concluding his professional career playing overseas in Spain and with the Kansas City Knights of the ABA.
During his playing career, Walters played for three coaches enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Roy Williams (Kansas), Chuck Daly (New Jersey Nets) and Pat Riley (Miami Heat).
Walters graduated from Kansas in 1993 with a degree in education. He and his wife, Deanna, have five children: Addi, Rex, Jr., Riley, Gunner and Ace. Addi played basketball at Santa Clara and Rex, Jr. plays basketball at Stetson.
Walters has 11 years of head coaching experience, 10 at the Division I level and one in the NBA G-League. He also spent a season as an assistant coach in the NBA. His coaching career followed a 10-year professional playing career, including seven seasons in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat.
Walters spent the majority of his head coaching career at San Francisco, leading the Dons from 2009-16. The 2014 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, he led USF to a school-record 13 WCC wins that season and an appearance in the NIT. In 2012, Walters led the Dons to their first 20-win season in 30 years, the first of two 20-win seasons in three years.
After serving as an assistant coach at Valparaiso from 2003-05 and as the Associate Head Coach at Florida Atlantic in 2005-06, Walters took over the FAU program when Matt Doherty took the head coaching job at SMU. In his rookie season as a head coach in 2006-07, Walters led the Owls to their second consecutive winning season and in 2007-08 guided the team to a school-record 2,367 points.
Walters’ most recent head coaching experience came in 2016-17 with the Grand Rapids Drive, the NBA G-League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons. He led the team to a 26-24 record, the first winning-record for the franchise.
In 2017-18, Walters was an assistant coach on Stan Van Gundy’s staff with the Pistons. That season, he helped the Pistons rank in the top 10 in the NBA in four defensive categories (10th in defensive rating, 8th in scoring defense, 8th in forced turnovers and 2nd in fewest free throws allowed).
In 2018-19, Walters served as Special Assistant to the Head Coach on Eric Musselman’s staff at Nevada. The Wolf Pack went 29-5 and was ranked in the AP top 10 for most of the season. Walters helped Nevada improve from No. 108 in defensive efficiency the year before he arrived to No. 35 last season, a 73-spot move up in the rankings.
As a player, Walters began his collegiate career at Northwestern, leading the Wildcats in scoring and assists during his sophomore season in 1989-90. He transferred to Kansas and after sitting out the 1990-91 season, he twice earned All-Big 8 honors for the Jayhawks. In 1991-92, Walters averaged 16.0 points per game and was named the Big 8 Newcomer of the Year. As a senior in 1992-93, Walters led the Big 8 with 83 3-pointers and averaged 15.3 points per game as the Jayhawks reached the 1993 Final Four. While at Kansas, Walters was a teammate with Wake Forest assistant coach Steve Woodberry.
Walters was the No. 16 overall selection of the 1993 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets and played seven seasons in the league. In his third NBA season, he was traded from the Nets to the 76ers, where he was teammates with Sharone Wright, father of current Demon Deacon guard Sharone Wright, Jr. He played his final three seasons in the league with the Miami Heat before concluding his professional career playing overseas in Spain and with the Kansas City Knights of the ABA.
During his playing career, Walters played for three coaches enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Roy Williams (Kansas), Chuck Daly (New Jersey Nets) and Pat Riley (Miami Heat).
Walters graduated from Kansas in 1993 with a degree in education. He and his wife, Deanna, have five children: Addi, Rex, Jr., Riley, Gunner and Ace. Addi played basketball at Santa Clara and Rex, Jr. plays basketball at Stetson.
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