Tracking the College Basketball Stars of the Future=====

ECU & C-USA Hoops Recruiting Report Monday, April 14, 2003 By Thad Mumau Special Correspondent

N.H. guard set to sign; 7-1 'stringbean' in the wings?

©2003 Bonesville.net

East Carolina is expected to get Mike Cook’s autograph early in the spring signing period, which opens on April 16. The 6-3 shooting guard from New Hampton (NH) School committed to the Pirates in the middle of March after visiting Greenville back in the fall.

Unlike the November period, which lasts only one week, this signing time for basketball players extends for a month. High school seniors and junior college transfers may sign after May 15, but letters of intent signed after that date are not binding.

The ECU hoops recruiting class for 2003 now stands at two, with 6-8 power forward Keith Foster of Winston-Salem (NC) Reynolds having signed with the Bucs in November.

Bill Herrion and his staff continue recruiting for this class and are likely to sign at least one more prospect.
One name circulating the rumor mill is C.J. Walker. There are published reports that the stringbean center from Raleigh has been offered a scholarship by East Carolina, but Kobie Joyner said that is inaccurate.

Joyner coaches basketball at Raleigh (NC) Sanderson High, where Walker is a senior. He stands 7-1, but weighs just 205 pounds, leaving the impression that he is not ready to wage hardwood war on the Conference USA level.

"That’s probably true right now," Joyner said, "but C.J. has what I think is the highest upside of anybody in his class in North Carolina. He is willing to work hard and is very coachable. He wants to learn.

"He blocks a lot of shots, but is not strong enough to go against some of the big guys he would be facing. He needs a red-shirt year or perhaps a year of prep school to mature physically.

"We went to team camp at East Carolina last summer," Joyner said, "and the (ECU) coaches were impressed with his potential. They expressed some interest, but I think it would be stronger if C.J. would prep a year."

Walker averaged nine points, eight rebounds and eight blocked shots for Sanderson, which finished 9-14 this season. He set a tournament record with 16 rejections against Suffolk (VA) Nansemond River in the December GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational.

He also blocked 16 shots vs. Cary (NC) High School, making it a triple-double that night with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He scored a season-high 19 points to go with 10 boards and 10 blocks against W.G. Enloe (Raleigh), got 10 points, 10 rebounds and 13 swats vs. Durham (NC) Riverside and had 13 points, 13 boards and 14 blocks against Wake Count (NC) Wakefield.

After averaging just four points, five boards and five blocked shots as a junior, Walker showed tremendous improvement this season. Joyner feels his big man will continue to make huge strides.

"C.J. was on a lifting program last summer," Joyner said, "and also did agility drills to improve his footwork around the basket. He has some post moves and knows when to execute them; it’s just a matter of getting strong enough to do it.

"He has a really nice nook shot in the middle of the lane and has a nice shooting touch from 15 to 18 feet. College coaches have been pleasantly surprised at just how soft a touch he has shooting the basketball. He can drop-step on the baseline and has learned to elevate and finish. He will get much better as he gets stronger.

"C.J. is willing to put in the time to get better and he knows it’s not going to come overnight. He gets impatient with himself sometimes, but that’s understandable."

Standing 6-8 in the eighth grade, Walker has had a tough time getting his skills to catch up with his rapidly growing body. He played junior varsity ball as a freshman and came off the bench for the varsity as a sophomore, averaging three or four blocks in 8-10 minutes a game.

"One thing he has learned," Joyner said, "is how to recognize defenses and make good passes out of double-teams. He drew them all the time and made some nice passes, both to teammates spotting up for threes and to cutters who found open lanes to the basket because of the defensive attention C.J. was attracting."

Although Walker could decide on prep school, he might not since Charleston Southern and South Carolina State have both offered scholarships with the idea of playing him as a true freshman.

"That’s what coaches from those schools indicated," Joyner said. "Some other schools would like C.J. to walk on for a year or two."

Academics are no problem as Walker is fully qualified. He has a 2.5 grade-point average and has scored 920 on the SAT.

"He has a tremendous wing span and tremendous potential," Joyner said. "He just needs some experience and some pounds."

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02/23/2007 02:40:04 PM
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