Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
NEW YORK — It’s not hard to imagine several of the players in Saturday’s Franchise Classic playing professionally down the road.
Kyle Anderson, Archie Goodwin, Shaq Goodwin and Omar Calhoun are all potential pros.
But of all the players in the game, perhaps none has more pro potential than 6-foot-9 Chris Walker.
Although Walker has to continue to develop his shot and his face-up game, his physicality, athleticism and ability to score near the basket are virtually unmatched at the high school level.
The 2013 star from Bonifay (Fla.) Holmes County is still mulling his college options, but says he plans to visit several powerhouses unofficially in the coming weeks.
“Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State and Florida, for right now,” he told SNY.tv early Sunday morning after scoring 18 points in Team USA’s 146-138 loss to Team New York at the South Bronx Job Corps. “Probably Kansas also.”
Still, Walker listed one school as his “favorite.”
“I’d say Ohio State is my favorite right now,” he said. “I like Ohio State a lot.”
He said he will visit the Buckeyes “on a weekend pretty soon.”
Walker said Kentucky coach John Calipari also called him recently but he wasn’t able to pick up the phone.
“Coach Calipari called me two days ago, but I didn’t pick it up,” he said. “I had no service.”
He visited Florida recently and met big man Patric Young, and plans to go back again.
“Ever since then, we’ve been real cool,” he said.
Every Division 1 program in Florida has offered him and hopes to keep him home, but Walker also lists UConn, Memphis, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Baylor and others.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
NEW YORK — It’s not hard to imagine several of the players in Saturday’s Franchise Classic playing professionally down the road.
