COACHES CORNER
Coach Aikens joins the York Prep Patriots bringing extensive basketball experience as both a coach and a player. Coach Aikens was a two-time basketball MVP at Queens University where he averaged 20.1 points per game and scored over 1500 points in his collegiate career. He was the first male at the university to win Athlete of the Year and was the first to be inducted into the Queens University Athletic Hall of Fame. Aiken’s basketball style of play landed him an invitation to try out with the Charlotte Hornets in 1992. He would go on to play professional basketball in Brazil for eight years where he averaged 22 points per game and was a seven-time All-Star.
Upon retiring from professional basketball, Aikens began his coaching career serving as Assistant Varsity Coach at Myers Park High School and Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Harding University High School. During his 21 years coaching, Coach Aikens took his team to state playoffs 12 times and amassed over 240 victories. Most recently, Walter served as Assistant Head Coach at Nations Ford High School.
Coach Aikens strongly believes in the importance of teaching his players to value academics as much as they value their basketball journey. He is proponent of creating opportunities for his players to volunteer as a team to foster a spirit of giving back. Coach Aikens is married to Michele, has two children, Walt Aikens (six-year NFL veteran) and Alexis Aikens, one granddaughter, and two dogs, Thor and Loki.
