Sept. 16, 2006
Former University of New Mexico men’s basketball standout Mark Walters has signed a professional contract to play basketball in Hungary for the upcoming season. Walters, a 2006 1st Team All-Mountain West Conference selection, has signed with Atomeromu S.E. in Paks, Hungary. Atomeromu has won two of the last three championships in the Hungarian A Division.
Walters leaves for Hungary on Tuesday, Sept. 19, and will begin playing as soon as he arrives in Paks with his new team. “This was a good step for me coming out of college,” stated Walters. “They have a good team and I can get some valuable experience playing with a good squad. I also get to see another part of the world and still play basketball, so that was definitely something that interested me.”
Walters was a three-time All-MWC guard during his playing career at UNM. He played in 116 career games with 94 starts and scored 1,200 career points. He became the 24th Lobo to crack the 1,000-point barrier, scoring a career-high 26 points at Wyoming on 1-14-06. He currently ranks 17th in career scoring at UNM and his 153 career steals is eighth all-time at UNM. Walters is also one of only four Lobos all-time to collect 1,200 points, 450 rebounds, 220 steals and 130 assists. The others are Hunter Greene (1984-88), Charles Smith (1994-97) and Lamont Long (1997-2000).
Walters is one of six Lobos to play under head coach Ritchie McKay and go on to a professional basketball career after UNM. Danny Granger (’05) is playing in the NBA for the Indiana Pacers, while Ruben Douglas (’03) has played all over Europe since his days of leading the nation in scoring as a Lobo. Troy DevVries (’05) spent last year in Germany, Javin Tindall (’04) played in the ABA and in Brazil and Alfred Neale (’05) was with the Dakota Wizards last season in the CBA.
“I just want to thank the Lobo coaching staff and especially coach McKay for preparing me for this opportunity,” stated Walters. “I’ve earned my degree from UNM, so if basketball doesn’t work out, I have something to fall back on.”