A conversation with Mo Walker

A year and a half ago, Mo Walker was an overweight and little-used Gophers center with clear potential but not much to show for it.

Now, he's one of four critical seniors heading into the 2014-15 season, and one who stunned the Big Ten by -- along with big man Elliott Eliason -- stepping into the gap left by Trevor Mbakwe and had a highly productive season. He averaged 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds and seemed to become more effective as a post scorer each game.

To take the next step this season, the NIT Champion Gophers will need Walker to continue the upward trend.

I caught up with him to reminisce a little about last season and look ahead to this year:

Are you getting anxious for the new season to start?
I'm excited for the next season, just excited to get back to working out with the team again and getting with the new guys and all that stuff.
When I was home, I took some time to spend with my family and see my friends and stuff, but I knew we were going to get right into it so I did some stuff myself so it wouldn't be as much of a grind when I came back.

Did anyone treat you differently back in Scarborough after that year you had last season?
For some of my friends, it was their first time seeing me in a long time since I lost that weight. So lots of comments and compliments about how I look and my body and whatnot. But my friends and family aren't going to treat me differently, win or lose, good game or bad game.

What did they say to you about your new physique?
My family, they were pretty shocked. My mom was really happy. My grandma would always just look at me and smile and always tell me that I look good. My friends ask me questions like what did I do, how did I do it?

What have you been working on this summer?
I'm a lot more focused on my skill development this summer. Last summer was more about my body, losing weight, getting to that weight that I used to play at. I feel like this summer I'm at the right weight. I just need to work on my skills, getting better on the court. I also need to get stronger. Weight's not really a concern, so I can spend more time on the court instead of on the treadmill or in the weight room.

Do you feel like you've gotten a lot stronger?
Yeah, my weights have definitely increased with my lifts. Coach Brown has done a really good job. Today was pretty much our first lift back and I feel like I'm close to where I should be and I feel good. Last year at this time, I couldn't do a chinup. Now I can do 10 chinups.

Have your weights increased a lot?
Not sure exact numbers. But I remember last year for me to push 225, once, nothing. I can rip off reps of that now. So it feels like a big increase.

What about on the court? What are you focusing on?
Just some go-to post moves. Being more conscious of my hands on the ball. Coach Pitino always complains about me getting the ball slapped out of my hands and stuff like that. So I'm just trying to work on squeezing the ball tight and not losing it.

Does coach Richard Pitino put you through any drills for that?
Definitely, when we do individual workouts and we do post moves, he'll have a manager just trying to strip us or smack the ball away. When we try to finish, we try to finish through contact with pads on and stuff like that. A lot of heavy ball stuff, too, that forces us to squeeze the ball when we pick it up because it's so heavy.

Do you see yourself as having a bigger leadership role this year as well?
I think I might be the oldest one on the team. Losing Austin Hollins, he was pretty much our go-to guy when it came to leadership. I feel like I'm a pretty good influence on the guys and I can be pretty vocal -- more behind the scenes than in the spotlight, but I feel like the guys all have respect for me, we all have respect for each other so I feel like my role as a leader will definitely increase this year.

Last summer, you were in the midst of dropping 60 pounds. How different has this summer felt for you?
It definitely feels different. I feel more comfortable with the new coaching staff. Last year was the first year for us, we didn't know what to expect. This year, I've been through this already and I feel like it couldn't be any tougher than it was for me last year. So this year I feel like I'm ready. I'm excited. I had a pretty good year, I feel like -- a lot of improvement -- and I just want to be more consistent and have a good season.

Has the team talked about collective goals with each other at all?
Briefly. We always have high expectations for ourselves. I know other people don't really talk too much about us. But we like having an underdog mentality and we're going to show that through our play. We expect to be in the top half of the Big Ten this year.

Toughness was a big area Pitino cited trying to improve this season. Do you see any hints that the team might?
We just ran a mile today, our first day back from time off. One of the things coach Brown told us was if you took that time off and you didn't really work on your mile, it's going to be mental for you. You're going to have to fight through it and you're going to have to get your time. The guys fought through it, we ran the mile and it was pretty good.

To mention another sticking point, Minnesota's defensive efficiency was ranked last in the Big Ten a year ago. How much of a focus has improving that effectiveness been in the offseason?
Defense last year was one of our flaws. I think this year, we're comfortable in the style. The new guys are catching on pretty quickly -- the press is going to be more effective than it was last year, we could possibly lead the league in steals (ranked third in steal percentage last year according to kenpom.com) and let our offense be created through our defense.

We didn't really know what to expect of you this time last year. You had a great season. Did you surprise yourself in any way?
I guess I did surprise myself. I knew I had the capability to perform well but I've never been in that situation where I had to perform. And I feel like being thrown in that situation and me performing well really surprised myself. I was glad with the way most of the season went. I had a few off games, I was pretty inconsistent I think, but overall, I think it was just me coming out of my shell and getting recognized.

Do you have any personal goals for this season?
I just want to be more consistent. I just want to have a good game every game, not have any off days. And hopefully through my play and through my teammates play, we'll have a great year.

What about statistics-wise?
I'd love to improve my rebounding. If I could average a double-double I'd be in heaven.

Do you have a favorite personal moment from last year?
I'd have to say Wisconsin wouldn't I? (laughs) I remember a moment -- against Penn State on senior night. I remember getting an and-one in front of our bench and I yelled to the crowd and I looked at my mom and dad in the stands. I was getting excited. That was probably my favorite moment of the year because my parents were there and it was there first time getting to see me play in person when I actually was a contributing factor to the team.

They came to a few games when Tubby was here, and I didn't really play that much under Tubby.
Dad, only game he got to come to. Mom came to a few others. It was just really good to have them both there together, and it was a really special moment for me.