Former Kansas State big man Wally Judge has now visited Maryland and Rutgers and may still trip to Washington this coming weekend.
“I was supposed to but I’m not sure if I’m going to take that visit,” Judge said Monday morning by phone. “Washington’s still on my radar.”
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Washington, D.C., native took an official to Maryland this past weekend and ran in an open gym with the team.
“I went down there this weekend,” he said. “Enjoyed myself, got to see my family and see the campus. I went to high school 5-10 minutes away from there [Bladensburg in Prince George’s County]. I grew up in that area all my life. I got family all over that area.”
As for how the Maryland staff would utilize Judge, he said, They would “basically put the ball in my hands and let me be the same player I was there coming out of high school. Allow me to step out and show my perimeter skills and be a face-up four man instead of a five man.”
Judge also has ties to Rutgers because he has known associate head coach David Cox since he was in “ninth or 10th grade” when he played with DC Assault.
“It’s a major thing,” he said. “It’s always nice to have somebody at a place where you can trust him, who understands how you are on and off the court.”
Judge knew Rutgers guard Austin Carroll going in and said he felt a bond with the Rutgers players.
“I feel like a lot of the guys on the team was city guys,” he said. “That’s a breath of fresh air. Basically they were off the East Coast just like me. A lot of things like team chemistry we can relate. They have guys from all over. At the same time, it’s on the East Coast. The whole city has a comfortable surrounding.”
Wherever he goes, Judge wants to feel “comfortable” and “able to continue my life as being a good student but also progressing my basketball game and getting better and showing everybody that I’m not a bust.”
Judge averaged 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 15.2 minutes at Kansas State. He played in 17 games (11 starts) last season after averaging 3.3 points and three rebounds in 36 games as a freshman.
“Life never goes on a straight road,” Judge said of his time at Kansas State. “You gotta take some turns to get where you’re going
“I love Manhattan, Kansas, I love Kansas State. Me making this move is just another turn in my life on the road to my destination.”
