Thomas Donley- SIU Sports Information department 

CARBONDALE, IL – Cameron Walter has become a key member of Saluki Football’s ground attack. So there’s a touch of irony to find out that the senior running back grew up dreaming of flying the skies. That dream recently became a reality.

Walter earned his pilot’s license in his second year at SIU. The criminal justice major said his father, Darryl Walter, influenced his love of flying.

“It was always a dream of mine,” Walter said. “My dad used to take me to air shows when I was a kid, and that’s where I fell in love with it.”

Like some of the aerial acrobatics Walter witnessed as a child, Walter’s career as a Saluki has seen its ups and downs. He joined the team as a walk-on. His big opportunity came during his redshirt freshman year in 2014, when injuries in the backfield thrust him into a starting role at Missouri State. He rushed for 210 yards on 37 carries and earned The Sports Network National Freshman of the Week honors. 

The Greenville, Ill. native hoped to build on that performance in 2015, but his season-opening 34-yard performance at Indiana was the pinnacle of his season, as he earned just 38 more yards the rest of the year.

“It sets you back and makes you humble,” Walter said. “It teaches you to stick with what got you to that point, and it makes you hungry.”

Walter began 2016 so low on the depth chart that his primary contribution was special teams work, until his first touches of the season came in the Salukis’ third game. In the fourth quarter of a 50-17 blowout of Murray State, he ran the ball five times for 64 yards.

Walter had a breakout performance in Game Six, a 31-28 loss at Illinois State, in which he was the team’s leading rusher with 72 yards. Walter made his first start of the year the following week against Indiana State.

Despite the hurdles he faced early in the year, Walter ended the season as SIU’s leading rusher with 335 yards, giving him 730 for his career. Not bad for a guy who had to try-out for the team..

“He exemplifies what you want in a football player,” coach Nick Hill said. “He waited his turn… He came to work every single day. He’s just a workhorse. He does the things that you’re supposed to do, and I’ve learned in my short time in the business that those guys are the guys that will play for you and win you games. He’s a steady player and a steady guy.”

Heading into his senior season, the 5-foot-8 Walter is considered the leader of the Salukis’ backfield, that includes talented backs such as Daquan Isom and Jonathan Mixon. 

“Younger guys can look at him and see you’ve got to do your work,” Hill said. “He’s a leader for us because he goes out there, and young guys can see that buying in to special teams is important. It just proves that if you do things right and buy into what we’re trying to do in this culture, then things pay off.”

While Walter is on the smaller side physically, he brings a big personality to the Salukis. He loves to make people laugh, such as when he jokes about the size he was predicted to reach as a child.

“I was supposed to be 6’4 and I wear size 13 shoes…but I’m still waiting to grow into them,” he laughed.

Tom Weber – Southern Illinois University Media Services

CARBONDALE, IL  — Southern Illinois men’s basketball coach Barry Hinson announced the program has signed a pair of junior college transfers — guard Eric McGill and center Kavion Pippen — to bring an immediate infusion of court-ready talent for the 2017-18 season.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, McGill (6-3, 185) played his freshman season in 2016 at SEMO, where he saw action in 27 games and averaged 7.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He made 13 starts for the Redhawks and shot 32 percent from 3-point range. In 2017, McGill played for Panola College, where he averaged 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists per contest. He shot 39 percent from 3-point.

“This is a young man who has played Division I basketball and who scored 20 points in a game against Murray State as a freshman,” Hinson said. “We felt like we needed to add an athletic guard who can not only pass, dribble and shoot, but who can get to the rim. We wanted a guard who realized the importance of being unselfish and distributing the basketball.”

Panola College, which is located in Carthage, Texas, finished the season 26-9 and won the NJCAA Region 14 North Division. McGill was named honorable mention All-Conference. The Ponies advanced to the NJCAA tournament, where McGill was named to the Region 14 All-Tournament team. He gives SIU two Panola College alums, joining senior Jonathan Wiley, who transferred to Southern last spring. Assistant coach Brad Autry was the lead recruiter on both players.

Hinson said next year’s team will have multiple options at the point guard position, including Saint Louis transfer Marcus Bartley, sophomore Aaron Cook, and McGill.

“I’ve always said, if we could ever get to a point in a basketball game where we play three point guards at one time, and you can find these guys with any size and length, that’s what your ideal basketball team would look like,” according to Hinson. “My thought process is we don’t put numbers on our kids. We don’t want to put limitations on them.”

If the name Pippen sounds familiar, that’s because Kavion is the nephew of NBA great Scottie Pippen. A native of Hamburg, Arkansas, Kavion is also the cousin of one of SIU’s all-time great volleyball players, Taylor Pippen. 

“Taylor was a wonderful ambassador for our university,” Hinson said. “She was able to draw upon her family relationship with Kavion. This was a great example of how a sport crossed lines to help another sport. She was just wonderful.”

The 6-foot-10, 220-pound pivot played in 27 games and made 17 starts for Three Rivers Community College last season. Located in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Three Rivers finished 25-8 and advanced to the NJCAA District 4 playoffs. Pippen averaged 10.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots per game. 

“I go to church on Sunday and I’ve got everybody asking me if we’ve got a big man yet,” Hinson joked. “We had a specific need on the interior. We feel like this young man can come in and contribute immediately and make an impact on our program.”

Assistant coach Anthony Beane, who himself played at Three Rivers for head coach Gene Bess, was the lead recruiter on Pippen. 

“We haven’t had a guy in our program in a long time, a true center, that can play with his back to the basket, can defend and score around the basket,” Hinson said. “We think Kavion’s upside is absolutely incredible.”

SIU returns eight lettermen and three starters — Armon Fletcher, Sean Lloyd and Thik Bol — from last year’s team that finished 17-16, but must replace the production of its top two scorers and assist leaders in Mike Rodriguez and Sean O’Brien. The composition of the 2017-18 roster is brimming with upperclassmen — three seniors, seven juniors, one sophomore and one freshman on scholarship. Five of the 10 upperclassmen are transfers from either a junior college or four-year institution.

“With the mass transfer exodus that’s gone on in college basketball in recent years, we’ve really put a heavy emphasis on junior college players,” Hinson said.