The Recruiting Guy

Arkansas recruiting forward C.J. Walker hard makes visit possible

CJ Walker

— Arkansas keeps highly recruited forward CJ Walker’s phone busy, and that’s playing a big part in him considering a visit to Fayetteville.

Walker communicates with coach Mike Anderson and assistant coach T.J. Cleveland.

“They text my phone at least once or twice a day,” Walker said. “Hopefully, I’m going to take a visit over there and I’m going to evaluate it and pay attention and see if I like it there.”

Walker, 6-8, 183 pounds of Orlando, Fla., Christian Prep, has more than 40 scholarship offers from Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, Texas, Florida State, Texas A&M, Georgetown, LSU, Louisville and others.

He’s playing for Florida-based 17-under E1T1 at the FAB 48. The constant contact is the reason for his interest in the Hogs.

“They show a lot of interest in me,” Walker said. ”I’m interested in whoever is interested in me. They text me, they text my parents and they keep in contact. I’m not going to choose a school that doesn’t talk to me, of course.”

Walker, who plans to narrow his list after this weekend, led Orlando Christian Prep to a 48-13 record and back-to-back Class 3A state championships the past two seasons while earning MVP honors in each game. He averaged 14.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.2 block shots a game as a junior.

With more than 40 schools pursuing him, Walker admits the recruiting process can be somewhat overwhelming.

“Yeah, it is,” Walker said. ”It’s a process, but at the end of the day I’ll chose one school. It’s crazy because people think you get a lot of offers, you’re all this, this and that. Every school wants you, but at the end of the day, you’re only going to choose one school.”

ESPN rates Walker a 4-star prospect and the No. 10 power forward. He's ESPN's No. 45 overall prospect in the nation.

Walker’s parents made their way to Las Vegas to support their son. They have input, but are letting Walker make his college decision.

“They want to make sure I’m comfortable with it,” he said.”They have a lot of say in what school they want for me, but at the end of the day they know it’s my decision. They’re cool with whatever I say."