Al Walker begins his first year as assistant coach for the Buffalo women's basketball team.

Walker spent the last five seasons as the advanced tactical scout for Stan Van Gundy and the Orlando Magic.  Prior to that, he spent 19 years as a head coach on the men’s side, including seven years at Binghamton where he helped guide the Bearcats in their transition from Division II to Division I.  He has a 234-279 record all-time as a head coach, having also spent time at Colorado College, Cornell and Chaminade.  In 2005-06, he led Binghamton to a 16-13 record and a 12-4 mark in the America East, finishing second.  Prior to being a head coach, Walker was an assistant at Cornell and East Carolina, as well as an assistant for the junior varsity team at North Carolina under head coach Roy Williams.

At Chaminade University Walker served as head basketball coach and athletic director from 1996-2000. He also coordinated the nationally-televised Maui Invitational — one of the nation’s premier college basketball tournaments. Walker’s Division II Silverswords played Syracuse, Duke, Iowa and Purdue as the lone Division II team in the field each year.

Prior to his stint at Chaminade, Walker was the head coach at Cornell University, steering the Division I Big Red for three seasons (1993-96). His teams faced Syracuse, Maryland, Michigan State, Stanford and Notre Dame among others. Under Walker’s watch, Cornell rose from eighth to fifth in the Ivy League, and his 1994 recruiting class was ranked among the “Top 50” in the nation.

Walker graduated magna cum laude from SUNY Brockport in 1981, and earned his master’s degree from the University of North Carolina in 1984. At Brockport, he ranks fifth all-time in rebounds (706) and 20th in scoring (856) despite playing just three seasons. After graduation, he helped the United States capture a gold medal at the Maccabiah Games and then played one year of professional ball in Israel.

Walker began his head coaching career at Division III Colorado College in 1988, steering that program to a 22-5 record and first NCAA tournament appearance in 1991-92. That win total remains the highest in 104 years of basketball at Colorado College.