CJ Walker (basketball)

Not to be confused with C. J. Walker (basketball).
CJ Walker
Walker with Ohio State in 2020
Personal information
Born (1997-03-24) March 24, 1997 (age 27)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolArsenal Tech
(Indianapolis, Indiana)
College
NBA draft2021: undrafted
Playing career2021–2022
PositionPoint guard
Number11
Career history
2021–2022Phoenix Hagen

CJ Walker (born March 24, 1997) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles[1] and the Ohio State Buckeyes.[2]

Early life

Walker was raised in Indianapolis, Indiana and attended Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis.[3] During his senior season, he won the Indianapolis Coaches Association Player of the Year.[3] His senior season averages were 24.3 points, 5.6 assists and three steals per game.[3]

Walker committed to Florida State on June 20, 2015, over offers from Walker's future head coach at Ohio State Chris Holtmann at Butler, Illinois, and Cincinnati.

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
CJ Walker
PG 		Indianapolis, IN Arsenal Tech (IN) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jun 20, 2015 
Star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 81
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 124  247Sports: 185  ESPN: —
  • 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:

  • "Florida State 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  • "2016 Florida State Seminoles Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 31, 2016.

College career

Florida State

Walker played in 33 games off the bench during his freshman year, averaging 4.9 points, 1.3 assists, and 0.6 steals per game.[4] His season-high in points during the season was 13, against Illinois and Wake Forest.[5] He started every game except for one during his sophomore season at Florida State, averaging 8 points, 2.4 assists, and 1 steal per game.[4] He started every game of Florida State's Elite Eight run during the 2018 NCAA tournament, averaging 17.5 minutes per game.[6] Following the season, on March 27, 2018, he transferred from Florida State.[7]

Ohio State

Walker committed to Ohio State on April 8, 2018.[8] Walker sat out the 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer rules.[9] He had a solid season during his junior season, averaging 8.7 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.[4] He scored a season-high 18 points in a game against Nebraska on January 14, 2020.[10]

Walker missed four games during mid-January due to a nagging hand injury.[11] In Ohio State's Big Ten tournament championship loss, Walker scored 16 points and made a buzzer-beating three-pointer, although the three-pointer did not affect the result of the game as Illinois won the game by three points.[12] He averaged 9.5 points, 4.4 assists, and 0.9 steals per game.[4] His free throw percentage of 94.0% ranked second in the country.[13]

Walker declared for the 2021 NBA draft on April 12, 2021, forgoing his option to return to college by hiring an agent.[14]

Professional career

On August 13, 2021, Walker signed his first professional contract with ETHA Engomis of the Cyprus Basketball Division A.[15] However he parted ways with the team before playing a game. On September 27, Walker signed with Phoenix Hagen of the German ProA.[16]

Career statistics

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

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Florida State 33 0 12.5 .397 .304 .655 1.4 1.3 .6 .1 4.9
2017–18 Florida State 35 34 23.2 .412 .355 .732 2.5 2.4 1.0 .1 8.0
2018–19 Ohio State Redshirt Redshirt
2019–20 Ohio State 31 29 29.0 .427 .321 .812 3.1 3.5 1.3 .1 8.7
2020–21 Ohio State 27 12 30.0 .410 .265 .940 3.2 4.4 .9 .1 9.5
Career 126 75 23.3 .413 .321 .799 2.5 2.8 .9 .1 7.7

Personal life

Walker has a daughter, Summer, in 2019 from a previous Relationship. He is married to Taylor Ramey in 2022 and they had a son in 2023, Skylar.[17] Walker serves as an assistant coach for the Girls Varsity basketball team at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana.

References

  1. ^ Darney, Caroline. "Florida State's Elite Eight run is shocking. This is how it's happened". SB Nation.
  2. ^ Jardy, Adam. "Florida State Seminoles express admiration for Ohio State transfer CJ Walker". BuckeyeXtra.
  3. ^ a b c "Arsenal Tech's C.J. Walker Selected as Indianapolis Coaches Association Player of the Year". MyIPS.org.
  4. ^ a b c d "CJ Walker College Stats". Sports Reference.
  5. ^ "CJ WALKER". Florida State Athletics.
  6. ^ McGahee III, Wayne. "C.J. Walker given release to transfer by Florida State". Tallahassee Democrat.
  7. ^ Visser, David. "C.J. Walker to transfer from Florida State basketball program". Tomahawk Nation.
  8. ^ Jardy, Adam. "Ohio State men's basketball: Florida State transfer CJ Walker commits to Buckeyes". The Columbus Dispatch.
  9. ^ Helwagen, Steve. "Watch: CJ Walker biding his time waiting for next season". Bucknuts.
  10. ^ "Nebraska vs. Ohio State - Basketball". ESPN.com.
  11. ^ Gulick, Brendan. "Ohio State Senior C.J. Walker to Miss Time With Torn Ligaments in Right Hand". Buckeyes Now FN.
  12. ^ Baird, Nathan. "Ohio State's C.J. Walker thrills, kills bettors with bad beat 3-pointer at Big Ten tournament buzzer". Cleveland.com.
  13. ^ "NCAA College Basketball Statistics". NCAA.com.
  14. ^ Lind, Andrew. "Ohio State Guard C.J. Walker Declares For NBA Draft". Buckeyes Nation FN.
  15. ^ "CJ Walker signs first pro deal with Etha Engomis Nicosia". Sportando. August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  16. ^ Poerschke, Daniel (September 27, 2021). "Hagen tabs CJ Walker, ex Etha". Eurobasket. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  17. ^ Jardy, Adam. "Men's basketball | Ohio State's CJ Walker enjoying down time to be a dad". The Columbus Dispatch.
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