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The Sports Xchange

OVERVIEW

A childhood friend of Southern California guard O.J. Mayo, both grew up in Huntington, West Virginia, playing AAU and high school basketball at Huntington and North College Hill High School. After missing most of his rookie season art Kansas State with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, Walker would form a devastating tandem with freshman sensation Michael Beasley in 2007-08.

Walker teamed with Beasley to form the fourth-best scoring tandem in the nation at 42.3 points per game. They were one of just four duos nationally to combine for 40 or more points. The 42.3 points per game average was also the best in both Big 12 Conference (surpassing Texas Tech's Cory Carr and Tony Battie) and school history. He was also just one of five players in the conference to rank in the top 12 in scoring (5th- 6.1 ppg), field goal percentage (10th- 46.5%) and rebounding (10th-6.3 rpg).

Walker's high school career at North College Hill ended in controversy. After leading the team to its second straight Ohio state championship as a junior, rumors began to swirl that the high flying wing had actually played in 16 games as a freshman for Rose Hill Christian in Kentucky during the 2002-2003 season. The Ohio High School Athletic Association rules state that once a player enrolls in high school, his eligibility clock begins running and lasts for eight semesters.

Walker hired present West Virginia head coach (formerly at Kansas State and recruited Walker to play there) Bob Huggins' attorney, Richard Katz, to represent his case. They claimed that the paperwork submitted by Rose Hill Christian was altered, and that Walker was indeed in his proper grade. In August, 2006, the OHSAA denied the senior's appeal, and he stated that instead of transferring elsewhere out of the state of Ohio to play basketball, he would remain at North College Hill to finish his academic career.

A three-year starter at North College Hill High School, Walker was rated the sixth-best prep player in the country by Rivals.com and ranked eighth by Scout.com. Both services rated him the second-best small forward in the nation. He earned All-American honors from Parade, EA Sports and USA Today. He also garnered All-State recognition from the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association and the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Walker helped North College Hill to back-to-back Ohio Division III state titles, as he etched his name in the school record books. He ranks second in team annals in most points (50, vs. Holmes, 2/12/06) and rebounds (25, vs. Holmes, 2/12/06) in a game, fourth (318; 2004-05) and sixth (230; 2005-06) in most rebounds in a season, fifth (550; 2004-05) and sixth (522; 2005-06) in most points in a season and eighth in career points (1,090).

He led the school to a 26-1 overall record during the 2005-06 season, which included the Division III state title and third place final ranking in the USA Today Super 25 High School rankings. He averaged 21.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a junior and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 Ohio Division III state tournament.

Walker averaged 19.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore, as the team compiled a 27-1 overall record during the 2004-05 season, which included the Division III state title and 17th place final ranking in the USA Today Super 25 High School rankings. He once again performed well in the state tournament, averaging 17.0 points and 12.5 rebounds.

A member of the of Team USA, Walker helped the USA White team to a perfect 5-0 record at the 2005 USA Youth Development Festival in San Diego, where he played alongside Ohio State freshman Greg Oden and Kansas freshman Darrell Arthur. He ranked second in the tournament in field goal percentage (.633; 31-of-49), ninth in scoring (15.4 ppg) and 20th in rebounding (4.8 rpg). He was also the only three-time Most Valuable Player at the summer Reebok ABCD camp held in Teaneck, New Jersey.

On Dec. 16, 2006, Walker officially joined the Kansas State team, the first day that a mid-year student-athlete could become eligible for athletic aid, practice and competition. He played a day later vs. Kennesaw State (12/17), going on to averaged 11.3 points on 40 percent shooting (26-of-65) with 4.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.7 steals in 23.2 minutes per game in six contests. But, Walker ruptured his left knee anterior cruciate ligament vs. Texas A&M on Jan. 6. He had successful surgery Jan. 19 and began the rehabilitation process only eight days later.

In 2007-08, Walker earned Freshman All-American third-team honors. He started 28 of 31 games, including the last 25 contests for the Wildcats. The Kansas City Star second-team All-Big 12 Conference choice averaged 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 27.9 minutes of action per game. He shot .737 from the free throw line and .465 from the field, making 181-of-389 field goals. He also doled out 59 assists and had 27 steals while blocking 17 shots.

ANALYSIS

Positives: Athletic and versatile player with the ability to man the small forward or shooting guard position ... Outstanding dunker with great elevation and long arms that he uses well to get to the boards for the rebound ... His elevation and ease of movement hanging in the air for so long has drawn comparisons to the Nets' Vince Carter ... His power moves to the rim remind old time scouts of Adrian Dantley ... Has the best leaping ability (44 inches) of any small forward in this draft, bringing the crowd to its feet with his ability to explode off the ground, hang in the air and draw contact on the way to the basket ... When he does draw that contact, he has shown very good elbow mechanics at the foul line ... Has natural hands to catch the ball and simply drive to the rim ... Very comfortable playing as a combo forward, where he has a nice arc behind his shot and a quick release ... Has no problems attacking the basket in tight quarters, as he can put the ball on the floor for a few dribbles to slash by the defender ... Has excellent leg strength and leaping ability, doing a very good job of creating his shot off the dribble ... Plays with true aggression, fighting hard for the put-backs or when needed on help defense ... Has the quick feet and crisp stop-and-go action to pull up and fire off a mid-range jumper when his man fails to come out and defend him ... While he is more comfortable with his face-to-the-basket game, he is strong enough to score with his back to the basket, especially when he neutralizes the defender with hesitation moves ... Can put down the emphatic dunk or back off and fade away to fire in a lay-up ... Has a good feel for the game and despite lacking the ideal size for a frontcourt defender, he has the power base to push opponents out of the paint and get to the boards with authority ... Can score at will when he puts the ball on the floor and drives to the rim ... For a wing player, he is very good at securing the rebound ... Has a good feel for taking his shot off the dribble ... Has a quick baseline spin move and does a good job of using it when powering his way to the rim ... Very comfortable operating from the left side of the rim, where he does a nice job of going to the opposite side to deliver a smooth reverse move ... His release on his shots is much quicker since he learned how to square his shoulders ... Has a good drop step, using his elevation and explosion to post up ... On defense, he uses his strength well to get position on the block and seal off his man ... Will intimidate smaller shooters on the perimeter, getting right in their face while keeping his arms active to impede the shooter's shot vision ... Has the long arms to reach around and dislodge a guard from the ball, especially off a high dribble ... Decent shot blocker vs. the bigger opponent, as he has the long arms and leaping ability to alter shots when operating down low ... Quick enough to come out of position and crash the boards ... Does a very good job of breaking down the opponent off the dribble and even with more physical big men in front of him, he has very good success as a slasher, thanks to his body control and explosiveness going to the rim ... His court vision and range allow him to generate steady points from the perimeter, where he has NBA three-point range with his jumper ... Such an explosive scorer, whether attacking inside or bouncing outside, that he can literally carry the offense on his back ... Very good at firing the long jumper from beyond the arc.

Negatives: Has injured his left knee twice within the last year, undergoing surgery that robbed him of some of his freakish explosion he showed before his injury (still quick and is slowly returning to the form he showed, but is still not back to the form he had in high school) ... Has long-range ability, but needs to set his feet better, as he is too inconsistent shooting from the perimeter, as defenders don't seem to bite on his cross-over and he does struggle with his footwork when starting his drive from the outside (can compensate with his hang time going to the rim) ... Needs to refine his shooting mechanics from the outside, as he tends to get a bit off balance and will execute a low release point instead of firing the ball over his head ... Poor ball handler and passer who will see the ball roll right off his hands when he tries to push it too hard ... Can put the ball on the floor for a dribble or two, but it must be lower to the ground, as he gets the ball too far from his body, resulting in a high dribble that a quick defender can steal ... Also must work on keeping his emotions in check, as he will get taken out of his game when he reacts wildly to an opponent trying to get physical with him ... When on the rare times he tries to push the ball up the court, he has been called for quite a few travels, especially when playing on the perimeter (handles the ball too loosely) ... Gets too caught up in the action in the trenches and when he gets out of control trying to draw contact on the way to the rim, it only results in offensive fouls ... Not really consistent with his shot selection, and while he has some decent success, his fade-away jumper is not as efficient when he pulls up to shoot.

Compares To: VINCE CARTER-New Jersey ... Walker was definitely a Carter clone before his knee injury, but is slowly rounding back into that form. He gets excellent elevation going to the rim and has great face-the-basket skills. He gets into foul trouble due to his inability to contain his emotions, as an opponent knows that if they take him out of his element on just one play, he will tank it for the rest of the game. Because of his injury, he will go later in the draft than his talent base dictates, as he really did not start playing with consistency until the end of the season.

CAREER NOTES:

In 37 games at Kansas State, Walker started 33 contests, scoring 566 points (15.3 ppg), shooting 207-of-454 field goals (.456) and 117-of-161 (.727) free throws, as he also hit on 35-of-123 three-point tries ... Hauled down 223 rebounds (6.0 rpg), including 87 from the offensive glass ... Fouled out of four games, as he totaled 118 personal fouls and 92 turnovers ... Collected 64 assists with 31 steals and blocked 17 shots.

2007-08 SEASON

Third-team Freshman All-American selection by CBS Sports.com and CollegeHoops.net ... Kansas City Star All-Big 12 Conference second-team pick, adding third-team honors from the league's coaches and Associated Press ... Earned All-District VI recognition from the U.S Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and was a second team All--District XII choice by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) ... Walker and company helped Kansas State post a 21-12 overall record in 2007-08, including a third-place finish in the conference, the team's best finish since the inception of the league in 1988-89 ... The Wildcats advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly 12 years and captured their first NCAA Tournament win since 1988 with their 80-67 victory over Southern California in the first round of the Midwest Regional ... Averaged 16.1 points on 46.5% shooting (181-of-389), including 30.7% (35-of-114) from three-point range, and 73.7% from the free throw line (101-of-137) for a total of 498 points ... Averaged 6.3 rebounds per game, coming up with 196 boards, including 79 from the offensive glass ... Dished out 59 assists (1.9 apg), as he had 27 steals (0.9 spg) and 17 blocks (0.5 bpg) while averaging 27.3 minutes per game ... Ranked second to power forward Michael Beasley in nearly every statistical category, including scoring, double-digit scoring (25), 20-point games (nine), double-doubles (four), rebounding, blocks, field goals, free throws (101) and free throw percentage (73.7) ... His averages were even higher in Big 12 play, where he averaged 16.6 points on 47.2% shooting with 6.1 rebounds in 27.6 minutes per game ... Did not play in the season opener vs. Sacramento State due to a jammed thumb and sat out the Central Florida clash with a left knee hyper-extension.

2007-08 GAME ANALYSIS

Made his 2007-08 debut with 11 points and three steals in 16 minutes vs. Pittsburg State ... Scored 14 points with eight rebounds and blocked two shots, made just 6-of-18 field goals vs. Western Illinois ... Shot just 4-of-10 from the field, finishing with 14 points, as he also grabbed 10 boards vs. Rider ... Had one of his worst games of his short career on the court and on the sidelines vs. Oregon, as he scored only four points on 2-of-6 shooting in 26 minutes of action, but also drew the ire of courtside fans when he was filmed relieving himself into a towel during the contest ... Made only 7-of-22 field goals, but connected on 14-of-16 free throws for 30 points, as he came up with 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass, as he had two assists and four steals vs. California ... Poured in 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting, grabbing 10 boards while blocking three shots in only 25 minutes on the court vs. Xavier ... Totaled 22 points with three assists, but managed just one rebound vs. Oklahoma ... Followed with 19 points, three assists, two steals, two blocks and four boards vs. Texas A&M ... Added eight rebounds and 18 points vs. Colorado and chipped in 22 points and five rebounds in the Kansas contest ... Grabbed nine boards to go with 17 points vs. Nebraska and had 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, collecting three boards vs. Texas Tech ... Was 6-of-9 for 18 points and nine rebounds while kicking out four assists vs. Missouri ... In 38 minutes vs. Baylor, he completed 13-of-21 field goals for 31 points, as he also tallied 11 rebounds ... Misfired on all 14 field goal tries, finishing with just one point vs. Texas (2/25) ... Bounced back with 9-of-14 field goals and 25 points while grabbing six boards in the second meeting vs. Colorado ... Pushed in 22 points, as he had five rebounds and two assists vs. Southern California in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament ... Closed out the season with 18 points and six boards in a loss to Wisconsin.

2006-07 SEASON

Saw action in just six games with five starts as a true freshman...Suffered a season-ending rupture of the anterior crucial ligament (ACL) in his left knee vs. Texas A&M (1/06)...Underwent successful surgery Jan. 19 and began the rehabilitation process on Jan. 27...Officially joined the team Dec. 16, the first day a mid-year student-athlete could become eligible for athletic aid, practice and competition, and played a day later vs. Kennesaw State (12/17)...Averaged 11.3 points on 26-of-65 shooting from the field (.400) and hit on 16-of-24 free throws (.667), but missed on all nine three-point attempts ... Grabbed 27 rebounds (4.5 rpg), as he was credited with five assists and four steals ... Was charged with 17 personal fouls and 11 turnovers.

2006-07 GAME ANALYSIS

Posted eight points vs. Xavier with seven rebounds in 33 minutes...Dropped in 13 points in the title game of the Findley Toyota Las Vegas Holiday Classic vs. New Mexico with a season-high eight rebounds in 25 minutes...Poured in his best effort vs. Southern California, with a season-high 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting in a season-best 36 minutes, as he went 7-of-8 from the free throw line vs. the Trojans and scored nine unanswered points to start the second half to give K-State the lead for good...Turned in 11 points in his first career start vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore to go with five rebounds and two steals... Began his career by collecting 15 points vs. Kennesaw State on 6-of-10 field goals in 22 minutes after just two practices under his belt... It was the most points by a true freshman in his debut since Marques Hayden scored 20 points vs. Brigham Young on Nov. 23, 2002.

INJURY REPORT

2006-07 Season: Suffered a season-ending rupture of the anterior crucial ligament (ACL) in his left knee vs. Texas A&M (1/06/07). Underwent successful surgery Jan. 19 and began the rehabilitation process Jan. 27.

2007-08: Sat out the season opener vs. Sacramento State (11/09) with a jammed thumb ... Missed the Central Florida contest (11/23) with a left knee hyper-extension.

TEAM USA

A member of the of Team USA, Walker helped the USA White team to a perfect 5-0 record at the 2005 USA Youth Development Festival in San Diego, where he played alongside Ohio State freshman Greg Oden and Kansas freshman Darrell Arthur ... Ranked second in the tournament in field goal percentage (.633; 31-of-49), ninth in scoring (15.4 ppg) and 20th in rebounding (4.8 rpg) ... Was also the only three-time Most Valuable Player at the summer Reebok ABCD camp held in Teaneck, New Jersey.

HIGH SCHOOL

Three-year starter at North College Hill (Cincinnati, Ohio) High School, playing basketball for head coach Jamie Mahaffey ... Rated the sixth-best prep player in the country by Rivals.com and ranked eighth by Scout.com ... Both services rated him the second-best small forward in the nation ... Earned All-American honors from Parade, EA Sports and USA Today ... Garnered All-State recognition from the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association and the Cincinnati Enquirer ... Helped North College Hill to back-to-back Ohio Division III state titles, as he etched his name in the school record books ... Ranks second in team annals in most points (50, vs. Holmes, 2/12/06) and rebounds (25, vs. Holmes, 2/12/06) in a game, fourth (318; 2004-05) and sixth (230; 2005-06) in most rebounds in a season, fifth (550; 2004-05) and sixth (522; 2005-06) in most points in a season and eighth in career points (1,090) ... Led the school to a 26-1 overall record during the 2005-06 season, which included the Division III state title and third place final ranking in the USA Today Super 25 High School rankings ... Averaged 21.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a junior and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 Ohio Division III state tournament ... Averaged 19.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore, as the team compiled 27-1 overall record during the 2004-05 season, which included the Division III state title and No. 17 final ranking in the USA Today Super 25 High School rankings ... Also performed well in the state tournament, averaging 17.0 points and 12.5 rebounds ... Played in 16 games as a freshman for Rose Hill Christian in Kentucky during the 2002-2003 season.

PERSONAL

Undeclared major ... His jersey number (12) was also worn by former Kansas State greats, Mike Evans (1974-78) and Lon Kruger (1971-74)...Evans and Kruger had their jerseys retired last year...Born William Henry Walker on 10/09/87 in Huntington, West Virginia.