Bill Walker (basketball)

Infobox NBA Player
name = Bill Walker
profile = bill_walker
nickname =

---

caption =
nationality = USA
position = Small forward
height_ft = 6
height_in = 6
weight_lb = 220
league = NBA
team = Boston Celtics
number = 12
birth_date = birth date and age|1987|10|9
birth_place = Huntington, West Virginia
highschool = Rose Hill Christian HS
(Ashland, Kentucky), [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/2006-07-10-walker-ineligible_x.htm Ohio rules prep hoops standout Bill Walker ineligible] , "Associated Press", July 10, 2006.]
North College Hill HS
(North College Hill, Ohio)
college = Kansas State
draft = 2nd round, 47th overall
draft_year = 2008
draft_team = Washington Wizards
career_start = 2008
awards =

William Henry Walker [http://www.nba.com/draft2008/profiles/BillWalker.html NBA.com – Bill Walker Draft 2008 Profile] ] (born October 9, 1987 in Huntington, West Virginia), commonly referred to as Bill Walker, is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The height|ft=6|in=6|wiki=yes, convert|220|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on 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.

High school

Walker was a three-year starter at North College Hill High School, where he was a consensus Top 10 high school recruit [ [http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewrank.asp Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting - 2007 Prospect Ranking] ] [ [http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=1152019 ScoutHoops.com - 2007 College Basketball Recruiting] ] and a teammate of O.J. Mayo. His achievements include:
* 2006 PARADE All-America Boys Basketball Second Team [ [http://all-americans.parade.com/2006_boy_basketball/2006_boys_basketball.html PARADE Magazine | All-America Teams] ]
* 2006 USA Today All-USA High School Boys Basketball All-Junior Team [http://media.www.kstatecollegian.com/media/storage/paper1022/news/2006/11/03/News/Breaking.News.Walker.Eligible.To.Compete.For.KState.MidYear-2438557.shtml Walker eligible to compete for K-State mid-year] , "Kansas State Collegian", November 3, 2006.]
* 2006 EA Sports High School Boys Basketball First Team [ [http://ssbasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1132&CID=537673 2006 EA Sports Boys All-American Team] ]
* Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association All-State First Team
* Cincinnati Enquirer All-State First Team

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, [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/2006-final-super25.htm Final Super 25 boys' basketball rankings] , March 27, 2006] 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.

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.

College

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. 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.Andy Katz, [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2724691 Walker's season comes to an end with ruptured ACL] , "ESPN.com", January 9, 2007.] This was the second time he suffered this type of injury, going through surgery and rehab in his right knee in 2003.

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 teammate Michael Beasley that he would enter the 2008 NBA Draft and thus forgo his last three years of eligibility. [Howard Richman, [http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/575088.html Beasley, Walker declare for NBA draft] , "The Kansas City Star", April 14, 2008.]

NBA

Many considered Walker a lottery pick, [Mark Murphy, [http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/2008_06_27_Ainge_again_busy_late/srvc=celt&position=2 Danny Ainge again busy late] , "Boston Herald", June 27, 2008.] but he suffered the third knee injury in his career during a workout at the Golden State Warriors facility on June 15, 2008. [Gary Parrish, [http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10867597/rss K-State's Walker injures knee in draft workout] , "CBSSports.com", June 16, 2008.] He remained in the draft despite the injury, [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/news/story?id=3446626 Walker stays in draft, despite knee; UCLA's Mbah a Moute, too] , "ESPN.com", June 16, 2008.] 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. [Julian Benbow, [http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/06/27/taking_a_shot_with_jr/?page=2 Taking a shot with J.R.] , "The Boston Globe", June 27, 2008.] He was expected to have minor surgery in July that would keep him out for three to four weeks. [Marc J. Spears, [http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2008/06/29/his_next_stop_brooklyn/?page=3 Walker looking to trade in his run of bad luck] , "The Boston Globe", June 29, 2008.] [Marc J. Spears, [http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2008/07/walker_to_have.html Walker to have surgery] , "The Boston Globe", July 1, 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Bill-Walker-552/ Bill Walker Player Info] @ DraftExpress.com
* [http://www.kstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3087&SPID=213&DB_OEM_ID=400&ATCLID=726619&Q_SEASON=2008 Bill Walker – Kansas State Player Bio]
* [http://www.nba.com/draft2008/profiles/BillWalker.html Bill Walker Draft 2008 Profile] @ NBA.com
* [http://www.billwalker.org/ Official Website]