As Brandon Walters was beginning his recruiting visit to Middle Tennessee State a couple of years ago, Reggie Upshaw stopped the former Howard star and then-Walters State Community College player and told him, "There's nothing wrong with being the next guy to come here from Chattanooga."
Two years later, as Upshaw wraps up his outstanding four-year career for the Blue Raiders, Walters is a major contributor off the bench and viewed as a potential star as a senior next winter.
"I'm really looking forward to what we can do with Brandon a year from now," MTSU coach Kermit Davis said last week. "Brandon's got great hands and great feet. He actually leads us in rebounds per minute."
The 6-foot-10, 263-pound redshirt junior is averaging 10.8 minutes a game this season for Middle, which earned a No. 25 ranking in this week's USA Today coaches' poll. He enters this weekend's Conference USA Tournament in Birmingham, Ala., with averages of 4.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game for the 27-4 Blue Raiders.
If he could play against Marshall every game, he might even become an all-conference player. In two games this season totaling 27 minutes of playing time against the Thundering Herd, Walters scored a total of 21 points, pulled down nine rebounds and blocked a shot.
"Redshirting last year really helped me," said Walters, who has lost 35 pounds since arriving in Murfreesboro. "It gave me a chance to see how everything works - practice, academics, everything."
And how working hard to change his eating habits could make both his game and his life so much better.
"I had to cut out cakes and candy, especially Little Debbie Zebra Cakes," he said during a recent phone interview. "I started getting up early and running. I slowed down on the fast food. Started eating more fruits and vegetables."
The transformation has been so dramatic that Davis said, "I don't know that I've ever had a guy make as much progress as Brandon has both on and off the court."
Added Upshaw: "When he's in there, he's the last line of defense for us."
No one is happier to hear such praise than Howard coach Walter "Moose" McGary.
"I always thought he was a diamond in the rough," McGary said Tuesday afternoon. "He's got the best hands of any player I've had. I saw potential in him when he didn't see it in himself. But I was also afraid he might get in over his head."
Instead, Walters now looks like a player who might get into professional ball one day in Europe at the very least.
"What I've done against Marshall this year," he said, "is what I think I can do all the time next year."
Said a proud McGary: "Brandon's right at the top of the list of players I've coached. To see him fulfilling his dreams, to know how hard he's worked to get where he is today is one of the reasons I got into coaching."
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.