M.J. Walker came to Florida State as a five-star McDonald's All-American.

His journey to Senior Night has been filled with ups and downs (mostly ups), over 1,000 points scored, and a whole lot of winning. Tonight at 9 p.m. ET, he will play his final game in the Tucker Center when the No. 11 Seminoles take on visiting Boston College.

On Tuesday night, FSU's leading scorer gave his "Senior Speech" to the rest of the FSU men's basketball team at the Seminoles' training facility.

A few minutes later, he talked exclusively to Warchant's Corey Clark about his recruitment, his time in Tallahassee, Leonard Hamilton, not worrying about expectations, and his all-time favorite moment at the Tucker Center.

*** Don't miss our exclusive FSU sports coverage. 30-day Free Trial***

Q: So, looking back on your recruitment, who else was in the running for you?

A: My Top 5 came down to Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, UCLA and then Florida State obviously.

Q: Was it close? Was it hard to say 'no' to any of those schools?

A: It was, kind of. I remember going on my visit to UCLA. Beautiful campus. Facilities were amazing. And I think the biggest thing about them was they already had a lot of guards at my position that had already committed. ... I think Florida State just kind of gave me that home away from home. I wanted to go to Georgia Tech as well, but I kind of wanted to get away from home, but not too far. So, that kind of went into my decision. And just the loyalty from Florida State from my freshman year in high school all the way to my time to commit, they were the most consistent.

Q: Do you remember your first interaction with a Florida State assistant?

A: That was my freshman year in high school, [Charlton Young] came to one of our basketball practices. That was actually the first time a college coach had been there.

Q: When you were becoming a high school star, when you were starting to focus solely on basketball instead of football, how many shots would you get up a day?

A: A thousand was usually the number I would try to get to, especially when I would go late night. My coach gave me access to the gym. He gave me the key, and I would try to get close to 1,000. Whether I'd start in the morning, and then we'd have practice, and then I would try to shoot at night to try to get to 1,000. That was like the minimum, especially in the summer.

Q: I know this is impossible to answer, but I'm going to ask it anyway: Who is your all-time favorite teammate?

A: Oh, man. I don't know if I can answer that. I've played with some great players, man. That's a really hard question. I think I'm going to say the walk-ons. ... I mean, their mindset is always that they don't care about the credit or whatever. They're just trying to do whatever they can to make the team better. That's our whole mentality, and they help breed that tremendously. That's why I feel like they deserve more credit. If you would watch them in practice, you would think they're us, just a smaller version. There's no dropoff. It's crazy, man. Those guys are special.

Q: When you got to Florida State, considering all your accolades, did you think you were going to be a one-and-done? Was that an expectation?

A: It was definitely an expectation. I think the biggest thing is when you see your friends being one-and-done, and you're still in college. It's amazing to watch ... But you can't really think like that. Coach (Stan) Jones uses a quote, "Comparing is the enemy of joy." And I think that's the biggest thing that I've learned just from being here. When you get into the comparing game -- and why you're not there, why you're not a one-and-done or a two-and-done, stuff like that -- you start to take away the joy and enjoying each moment you have in practice, each moment to celebrate every day, play a game, meetings, all types of stuff. You take away the joy from it. You don't really enjoy it.

Because it goes quick. I'm a senior. I literally have a month left of college basketball, which is crazy, but I can say I enjoyed the process. And you battle it. When I was young, I definitely battled it. Is it something I'm doing wrong? Is there something I'm missing? Because I competed against those guys before, and I know that I can play on that same level. But at the same time, you have to understand what God has got for you is for you, and maybe I have to go through this process to mature and get to that level. I wouldn't want it any other way. I'm thankful. I'm walking out with my degree. I'm a four-year guy. I learned so much on and off the court. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Q: What was your welcome-to-college-basketball moment? Where you realized this wasn't high school or AAU anymore?

A: I had a couple of those moments. I feel like my first couple of pickup games, playing in the summer with those guys, the physicality is completely different than it was on a high school level. It's just the pace of the game, and how in shape you need to be. ... That's like the biggest thing I've probably learned.

Q: When you get to college, you think you're in good shape. And you are, for like regular humans, but not maybe for elite college basketball?

A: There's another level you have to take it to. Not everybody can do it.

Q: Can you name the games you've lost at home in your career?

A: I think so? I want to say it was UNC my freshman year?

Q: Nope! You won that one. Barely (the final was 81-80).

A: That was Joel Barry, right?

Q: Yep, he went off that game (scoring 20 of his 28 in the second half), but you guys still won.

A: That's right. I don't think I even played a lot that game (he scored 7 points in 22 minutes). I know for sure UCF this year. Last year was ... we didn't lose at home last year. There was Duke (the Cam Reddish buzzer-beater in 2019). And is that it?

Q: You also lost to UVA at home your freshman year. You guys had a pretty good lead, but they came back in the second half and Kyle Guy made some ridiculous shots. And you guys dropped a tight one to Louisville as well that year.

A: That's right. Yeah, that's who it was. I know we haven't lost many.

Q: Staying on that subject, heading into your final game inside your home arena, what is your all-time favorite moment from the Tucker Center?

A: I'd have to say the Louisville game last year. That's the most fun college basketball game I've played in.

Q: Good answer. And I know you had a dunk like a possession later, but that left-handed, cross-court pass to Trent (Forrest) for the dunk on Jordan Nwora has to be a moment you will absolutely never forget.

A: For sure. I knew after I passed it, he was just on an island by himself. And I know the way Trent is. He doesn't dunk a lot, but when he dunks, he's going for it all. He's going in to tear somebody's head off. So, yeah that play, I remember when it happened, I was screaming my lungs out on the other side of the court. And it was so loud. That's the loudest the Tucker Center has ever been since I've been here.

Q: If you could tell everybody reading this what it's like to play for Leonard Hamilton, what would you tell them?

A: There's so much I could say. it's almost like your dad motivating you before a game. And you get out on the court and just play free, because you know he believes in you. You know everything he's done for you up to this point is for the good of you and the team. You play with that free swag, you have the utmost confidence because he trusts us and believes in us. He just preaches to us so much about giving it our all. ...

Just playing for him, man, it's fun. It's really fun. Especially learning the game from one of the best college coaches in the country. I definitely don't take it for granted. My four years here, I wouldn't trade this experience for any other coach in the country.

---------------------------

Discuss FSU basketball with fans on Warchant's Seminole Hoops message board