CJ Walker (basketball)
CJ Walker (born March 24, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Phoenix Hagen of the German ProA. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles[1] and the Ohio State Buckeyes.[2]
 Walker with Ohio State in 2020 | |
| No. 11 – Phoenix Hagen | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | ProA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 24, 1997 Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Arsenal Tech (Indianapolis, Indiana) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2021: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2021–present |
| Career history | |
| 2021–present | Phoenix Hagen |
Early life and high school career
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]
Recruiting
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.
| 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 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 124 247Sports: 185 ESPN: — | ||||||
Sources:
| ||||||
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
| 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 | ||||||||||
| 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. Has a Wife Taylor Ramey (2022). Had a son in 2023, Skylar. [17]
References
- Darney, Caroline. "Florida State's Elite Eight run is shocking. This is how it's happened". SB Nation.
- Jardy, Adam. "Florida State Seminoles express admiration for Ohio State transfer CJ Walker". BuckeyeXtra.
- "Arsenal Tech's C.J. Walker Selected as Indianapolis Coaches Association Player of the Year". MyIPS.org.
- "CJ Walker College Stats". Sports Reference.
- "CJ WALKER". Florida State Athletics.
- McGahee III, Wayne. "C.J. Walker given release to transfer by Florida State". Tallahassee Democrat.
- Visser, David. "C.J. Walker to transfer from Florida State basketball program". Tomahawk Nation.
- Jardy, Adam. "Ohio State men's basketball: Florida State transfer CJ Walker commits to Buckeyes". The Columbus Dispatch.
- Helwagen, Steve. "Watch: CJ Walker biding his time waiting for next season". Bucknuts.
- "Nebraska vs. Ohio State - Basketball". ESPN.com.
- Gulick, Brendan. "Ohio State Senior C.J. Walker to Miss Time With Torn Ligaments in Right Hand". Buckeyes Now FN.
- Baird, Nathan. "Ohio State's C.J. Walker thrills, kills bettors with bad beat 3-pointer at Big Ten tournament buzzer". Cleveland.com.
- "NCAA College Basketball Statistics". NCAA.com.
- Lind, Andrew. "Ohio State Guard C.J. Walker Declares For NBA Draft". Buckeyes Nation FN.
- "CJ Walker signs first pro deal with Etha Engomis Nicosia". Sportando. August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- Poerschke, Daniel (September 27, 2021). "Hagen tabs CJ Walker, ex Etha". Eurobasket. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- Jardy, Adam. "Men's basketball | Ohio State's CJ Walker enjoying down time to be a dad". The Columbus Dispatch.