Bill Walker (basketball)

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For the former college player embroiled in a point-shaving scandal, see Bill Walker (Toledo basketball).
Bill Walker
No. 5 – New York Knicks
Shooting guard / Small forward
Personal information
Born October 9, 1987 (1987-10-09) (age 24)
Huntington, West Virginia
Nationality American
High school Rose Hill Christian HS (Ashland, Kentucky)[1]
North College Hill HS (North College Hill, Ohio)
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
College Kansas State (2006–2008)
NBA Draft 2008 / Round: 2 / Pick: 47th overall
Selected by the Washington Wizards
Pro career 2008–present
Career history
2008–2010 Boston Celtics
2008–2009 →Utah Flash (D-League)
2009 →Maine Red Claws (D-League)
2010–present New York Knicks
Career highlights and awards
  • All-Big 12 Third Team (2008)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

William "Bill" Henry Walker[2] (born October 9, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), 220 lb (100 kg; 16 st) small forward was selected out of Kansas State University by the Washington Wizards with the 47th overall pick in the second round of the 2008 NBA Draft, but was traded shortly thereafter to the Boston Celtics in exchange for cash considerations. He was acquired by the Knicks in a deal sending Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry to the Celtics for Walker, Eddie House and J. R. Giddens.

Contents

[edit] High school career

Walker was a three-year starter at North College Hill High School in North College Hill, Ohio, where he was a consensus Top 10 high school recruit[3][4] and a teammate of future NBA lottery pick O. J. Mayo. His achievements include:

As a sophomore and junior in 2005 and 2006, Walker helped North College Hill to back-to-back Ohio Division III state titles and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 State Tournament. In 2006, North College Hill finished third in the USA Today Super 25 High School rankings,[8] with Walker averaging 21.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He was selected the USA Today National Player of the Week on March 27, 2006. In the fall of 2006, Walker graduated early after it was ruled that he had used all of his high school athletics eligibility the previous year.[1]

Walker also helped the USA White team to a 5–0 record at the 2005 USA Youth Development Festival in San Diego, California, where he played alongside Ohio State freshman Greg Oden and Kansas freshman Darrell Arthur. He was the only three-time Most Valuable Player at the Reebok ABCD Camp in Teaneck, New Jersey.

[edit] College career

After receiving interest from many NCAA teams, including Cincinnati, Connecticut, Illinois, Syracuse, Southern California and Texas, Walker enrolled at Kansas State University as a part-time student in order to be eligible to play on December 16, 2006, the start of the second semester.[6] He had an immediate impact on the team, averaging 11.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in his first six games. However, he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee early in a game against Texas A&M on January 6, 2007, which required surgery and abruptly ended his freshman season.[9] This was the second time he suffered this type of injury, going through surgery and rehab in his right knee in 2003.[9]

In the 2007–08 season, Walker averaged 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 31 games. He tied his career-high with 31 points in a 92–86 loss at Baylor on February 23, 2008, and combined with teammate Michael Beasley to score 75 of the Wildcats' 86 points in that game. On April 14, 2008, Walker announced along with Beasley that he would enter the 2008 NBA Draft and thus forgo his last three years of eligibility.[10]

[edit] Professional career

Many considered Walker a lottery pick,[11] but he suffered the third knee injury in his career during a workout at the Golden State Warriors facility on June 15, 2008.[12] He remained in the draft despite the injury,[13] and was selected on June 26, 2008 by the Washington Wizards with the 47th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, but was subsequently traded to the Boston Celtics for cash considerations after visiting the Celtics three days earlier.[14] He was expected to have minor surgery in July that would keep him out for three to four weeks.[15][16]

In November 2008, Walker was sent to the Celtics' NBA Development League affiliate, the Utah Flash,[17] and was recalled on January 8, 2009. On November 21, 2009, the Celtics assigned Walker to the Maine Red Claws in the NBA Development League.[18] On December 23, 2009, Walker was recalled from the Red Claws by the Celtics.

On February 18, 2010, Bill Walker along with J. R. Giddens, Eddie House and a future conditional second round draft pick were traded to the Knicks for Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry.[19]

[edit] NBA 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

[edit] Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008-09 Boston 29 0 7.4 .621 .000 .696 1.0 .4 .2 .1 3.0
2009-10 Boston 8 0 3.6 .500 .000 1.000 .6 .4 .0 .0 1.0
2009-10 New York 27 13 27.4 .518 .431 .787 3.1 1.4 .8 .1 11.9
2010-11 New York 61 1 12.9 .441 386 .705 2.0 .6 .3 .1 4.9
Career 124 14 14.1 .494 .404 .741 1.9 .7 .4 .1 5.7

[edit] Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008-09 Boston 4 0 2.5 .000 .000 1.000 .0 .0 .5 .0 .5
2010-11 New York 4 0 22.3 .300 .273 .667 3.3 1.0 1.2 .0 5.8
Career 8 0 12.4 .281 .273 .800 1.6 .5 .9 .0 3.1

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Ohio rules prep hoops standout Bill Walker ineligible, Associated Press, July 10, 2006.
  2. ^ NBA.com – Bill Walker Draft 2008 Profile
  3. ^ Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting - 2007 Prospect Ranking
  4. ^ ScoutHoops.com - 2007 College Basketball Recruiting
  5. ^ PARADE Magazine | All-America Teams
  6. ^ a b c d Walker eligible to compete for K-State mid-year, Kansas State Collegian, November 3, 2006.
  7. ^ 2006 EA Sports Boys All-American Team
  8. ^ Final Super 25 boys' basketball rankings, March 27, 2006
  9. ^ a b Andy Katz, Walker's season comes to an end with ruptured ACL, ESPN.com, January 9, 2007.
  10. ^ Howard Richman, Beasley, Walker declare for NBA draft, The Kansas City Star, April 14, 2008.
  11. ^ Mark Murphy, Danny Ainge again busy late, Boston Herald, June 27, 2008.
  12. ^ Gary Parrish, K-State's Walker injures knee in draft workout, CBSSports.com, June 16, 2008.
  13. ^ Walker stays in draft, despite knee; UCLA's Mbah a Moute, too, ESPN.com, June 16, 2008.
  14. ^ Julian Benbow, Taking a shot with J.R., The Boston Globe, June 27, 2008.
  15. ^ Marc J. Spears, Walker looking to trade in his run of bad luck, The Boston Globe, June 29, 2008.
  16. ^ Marc J. Spears, Walker to have surgery, The Boston Globe, July 1, 2008.
  17. ^ Walker sent to D-league
  18. ^ Celts assign Walker to Maine. Retrieved on November 21, 2009.
  19. ^ "Knicks Acquire Eddie House, J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker". NBA.com. 2010-02-18. http://www.nba.com/knicks/news/celtics_trade1002.html. Retrieved 2010-02-19. 

[edit] External links

1 Stoudemire | 2 Fields | 5 Walker | 6 Chandler | 7 Anthony | 8 Smith | 9 Jeffries | 16 Novak | 17 Lin | 20 Bibby | 21 Shumpert | 23 Douglas | 44 Jordan | 55 Harrellson | 85 Davis

Head coach: M. D'Antoni | Assistant coaches: Williams | Weber | D. D'Antoni | Woodson | Atkinson
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