Who's the condiment now? Away from Mayo, Walker's the dish

Bill Walker insists he'll still enroll in college next year despite recent developments that, on the surface, seem to provide a decent case to fight for early entry into the NBA Draft.

Taking him at his word, it's reasonable to expect Walker's next move will be to at some point over the next few weeks -- or few months, if he really wants to drag things out -- stare into a slew of television cameras and disclose the university at which he'll be dribbling and dunking come November 2007.

Bill Walker has received second billing throughout high school. He shouldn't get used to it. (AP)

It might be Kansas State, because of Bob Huggins.

It might be Cincinnati, just because.

Frankly, it doesn't matter. Any of those choices seem fine so long as young Bill does one very important thing.

Separate from O.J. Mayo.

Please.

"Their friendship will be for life, but I do think they need to breathe," said summer basketball godfather Sonny Vaccaro. "They've been playing together since what, seventh grade? It's been a long time. So I think it may be good for both of them to breathe some."

Take that statement, and interpret it in the most literal sense. Vaccaro said Mayo and Walker -- rising seniors at North College Hill High in Cincinnati and teammates with the D-1 Greyhounds on the AAU circuit -- need to "breathe some," which suggests they aren't currently breathing at all. That's called being smothered. And really, it must often feel that way for Walker, whose longtime role as "Mayo's sidekick" carried him to New Jersey last week for the Reebok ABCD Camp.

The bright red T-shirts the prospects wore while walking around read simply, "Five Days in July," a slogan representing a period many deem to be most important in the recruiting game. For those five days, Walker was nothing short of amazing, dunking over anybody who dared stand near the rim before later showing a surprisingly accurate pull-up jumper that is the product of lots of early morning workouts.

Or early afternoon workouts.

Whatever.