Bruce Arena Identifies Upcoming Prospects All that said, Arena couldn't help but be impressed by what happened Sunday night. And the fact is, he has been able to identify some new national team prospects: "I would say [New England's] Pat Noonan, from what I've seen the last month or two. Brian Mullan is an interesting player. And the kid Jamil Walker had a fantastic game last night. He's a walking advertisement for the league. We're often critical of the league, but you look at this kid who came in at the beginning of the year and was really raw, inexperienced and not ready to play, and he got a goal last night and was dangerous. It's pretty noticeable that he's made considerable improvements throughout the year." Arena was at last night's "California Clasico" and made these remarks to Grant Wahl following the game. Not that Jamil needed any more reassuring after the best game in MLS history, but coming from Arena, that's about as good as it gets.
I bet you'll see Walker in the December South America camp and tour. Mooch ain't dumb. If the boss likes a kid, you should like him too. So, if Bruce speaks highly of Walker, odds are Mooch, if he hadn't decided to do it on his own - and I'm not saying he wouldn't - is going to call him in. As I said on another thread, he's a longshot to make the team at forward but you have to love the kid's pace and, one thing is for sure: he makes a difference.
From watching Walker on TV a few times, I think he did pretty well for a first year player. I rate him higher than a few seasonal MLS players, like Ed J (Dallas) and Brien West (Crew).