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C. J. Walker (basketball)

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Not to be confused with CJ Walker (basketball).
C. J. Walker
Walker with UCF in 2020
No. 21 – UCF Knights
PositionPower forward
LeagueAmerican Athletic Conference
Personal information
Born (2001-03-29) March 29, 2001 (age 23)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school
College
Career highlights and awards

C. J. Walker (born March 29, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the ECU Pirates of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). He previously played for the UCF Knights and Oregon Ducks.

Early life

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Walker lived in Bayside Queens, New York until age 11, when his family moved to Sanford, Florida. Due to Walker's height, in 5th grade his father decided to make him play with the 7th and 8th grade AAU Panthers traveling team.[1] As a freshman, Walker played basketball for Seminole High School in Sanford. For his next two years, he transferred to Orlando Christian Prep in Orlando, Florida, where played with five-star recruit Nassir Little and won back-to-back Class 3A state titles and won MVP honors in both championship games.[2] After his junior season, Walker emerged as a top player in his class with his travel team, Each 1 Teach 1.[1] As a senior, he began playing for Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, averaging 15.8 points, 13.8 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. Walker was named Orlando Sentinel Player of the Year and Class 9A Player of the Year and was the runner-up to Vernon Carey Jr. for the Florida Mr. Basketball award.[3][4][5] He was selected to play in the Jordan Brand Classic in April 2019.[6]

Walker was heavily recruited by most of NCAA's top schools after back to back state championships and a breakout summer with E1T1 Elite. On November 21, 2018, Walker committed to play college basketball for Oregon over his other top offers, LSU and Miami (Florida).[7] He was considered a five-star recruit by ESPN and Rivals and a four-star recruit by 247Sports.[8]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
C. J. Walker
PF 		Sanford, FL Oak Ridge (FL) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Nov 21, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 92
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 32  247Sports: 25  ESPN: 23
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Oregon 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  • "2019 Oregon Ducks Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.

College career

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Oregon

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Walker with Oregon in 2019

On December 7, 2019, Walker made his first career start, due to a leg injury to Shakur Juiston, and scored a freshman season-high 18 points in an 89–64 win over Hawaii.[9] He suffered a back injury against Alabama State on December 29. Walker played in his next game versus Colorado, before being sidelined with back and knee injuries until January 16, 2020.[10] As a freshman, he averaged four points and 2.5 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game.[11] On July 1, Walker announced that he was transferring from Oregon to be closer to home.[12]

UCF

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On July 6, 2020, Walker announced that he was transferring to UCF. He made the decision to be closer to elderly and ailing family during the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] He was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility on November 23.[14] Walker became the first five-star recruit to ever play for UCF.[15] As a sophomore, Walker averaged 7.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. He declared for the 2021 NBA draft, but ultimately opted to return to UCF.[16]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Oregon 28 7 14.9 .381 .290 .486 2.5 .3 .4 .5 4.0
2020–21 UCF 21 15 25.7 .444 .143 .581 5.0 .9 .9 1.7 7.0
2021–22 UCF 30 19 25.2 .479 .371 .582 5.7 1.0 .3 .9 8.3
2022–23 UCF 4 0 19.0 .368 .333 .500 3.5 .5 .8 .8 5.0
Career 83 41 21.5 .439 .302 .562 4.3 .7 .5 1.0 6.4

References

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  1. ^ a b Collings, Buddy (July 19, 2018). "C.J. Walker soars as NCAA basketball prospect". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  2. ^ Collings, Buddy (September 19, 2018). "C.J. Walker went from state champ OCP to another: Oak Ridge". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  3. ^ Carnahan, J. C. (March 21, 2019). "Oak Ridge senior C.J. Walker named FABC Class 9A player of year". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Collings, Buddy (March 23, 2019). "C.J. Walker tops All-Area basketball list". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  5. ^ Collings, Buddy (March 28, 2019). "Vernon Carey Jr. tops C.J. Walker for Florida Mr. Basketball". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  6. ^ Gordon, Sam (April 19, 2019). "Jordan Brand Classic all-star game features best prep players". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  7. ^ Borzello, Jeff (November 21, 2018). "Five-star forward C.J. Walker announces commitment to Oregon". ESPN. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "C.J. Walker". University of Oregon Athletics. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  9. ^ Crepea, James (December 7, 2019). "Payton Pritchard's double-double, C.J. Walker's season-high 18 lead Oregon Ducks men's basketball past Hawaii". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  10. ^ Crepea, James (January 8, 2020). "Ducks Oregon Ducks freshman forward C.J. Walker likely out 'a few games'". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  11. ^ Welter, Pat (May 24, 2020). "Unfinished Business: Oregon's C.J. Walker". News 13. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  12. ^ Gershon, Josh (July 1, 2020). "Former five-star forward CJ Walker entering transfer portal". 247Sports. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  13. ^ Gershon, Josh (July 6, 2020). "Former five-star Oregon transfer CJ Walker commits to UCF". 247Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  14. ^ Brener, Jeremy (November 23, 2020). "CJ Walker deemed eligible for '20-21 season". Black & Gold Banneret. SB Nation. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  15. ^ Helwig, Brandon (July 6, 2020). "Former five-star C.J. Walker commits to UCF MBB". Rivals. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  16. ^ "C.J. Walker Back with the Knights in 2021-22". UCF Knights. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
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