Henry Walker (basketball)

Henry Walker
No. 6 – Sioux Falls Skyforce
Position Small forward / Shooting guard
League NBA Development League
Personal information
Born (1987-10-09) October 9, 1987
Huntington, West Virginia
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school Rose Hill Christian
(Ashland, Kentucky)
North College Hill
(North College Hill, Ohio)
College Kansas State (2006–2008)
NBA draft 2008 / Round: 2 / Pick: 47th overall
Selected by the Washington Wizards
Playing career 2008–present
Career history
2008–2010 Boston Celtics
2008–2009 →Utah Flash
2009 →Maine Red Claws
2010–2012 New York Knicks
2013 Austin Toros
2013 Trotamundos de Carabobo
2013–2014 Sioux Falls Skyforce
2014 Alaska Aces
2014–2015 Sioux Falls Skyforce
2015 Miami Heat
2015–2016 Cedevita Zagreb
2016 NLEX Road Warriors
2016–present Sioux Falls Skyforce
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

William Henry Walker (born October 9, 1987) is an American professional basketball player for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA Development League. Previously known as Bill Walker,[1] the 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall player 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 and traded shortly thereafter to the Boston Celtics in exchange for cash considerations.

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[2] 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,[6] 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.[7]

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 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.[4] 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.[8] This was the second time he suffered this type of injury, going through surgery and rehab in his right knee in 2003.[8]

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.[9]

Professional career

Many considered Walker a lottery pick,[10] but he suffered the third knee injury in his career during a workout at the Golden State Warriors facility on June 15, 2008.[11] He remained in the draft despite the injury,[12] 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.[13] He was expected to have minor surgery in July that would keep him out for three to four weeks.[14][15]

In November 2008, Walker was sent to the Celtics' NBA Development League affiliate, the Utah Flash,[16] and was recalled on January 8, 2009.[17] 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.[19]

On February 18, 2010, 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.[20]

Walker was released by the Knicks on April 20, 2012.[21]

On February 19, 2013, Walker was acquired by the Austin Toros.[22] On March 25, he was waived by the Toros. On April 3, he was acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce.[22] However, he never played a game for Sioux Falls.

On May 20, 2013, Walker signed with Trotamundos de Carabobo of Venezuela.[23]

On October 31, 2013, Walker was reacquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce.[24] In April 2014, he signed with the Alaska Aces for the 2014 Governors’ Cup.[25]

On November 3, 2014, Walker was again reacquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce.[26] On February 21, 2015, he signed a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat.[27] He then signed a second 10-day contract with the Heat on March 3,[28] and for the rest of the season on March 13.[29] On July 27, 2015, Walker was waived by the Heat.[30]

On November 7, 2015, Walker signed with the Croatian club Cedevita Zagreb for the rest of the season.[31]

On June 8, 2016, Walker signed with the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association as the team's import for the 2016 PBA Governors' Cup.[32]

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

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 .9 .1 11.9
2010–11 New York 61 1 12.9 .441 .386 .705 2.0 .6 .3 .1 4.9
2011–12 New York 32 8 19.4 .398 .319 .850 2.5 1.2 .6 .2 5.9
2014–15 Miami 24 13 26.2 .345 .341 .778 3.4 1.2 1.0 .4 7.3
Career 181 35 16.7 .446 .369 .760 2.2 .8 .5 .1 6.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009 Boston 4 0 2.5 .000 .000 1.000 .0 .0 .5 .0 .5
2011 New York 4 0 22.3 .300 .273 .667 3.3 1.0 1.3 .0 5.8
Career 8 0 12.4 .281 .273 .800 1.6 .5 .9 .0 3.1

Personal life

Having been known as Bill for most of his life, in January 2014, Walker began going by his middle name, Henry.[33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NBA.com – Bill Walker Draft 2008 Profile". NBA.com. Retrieved November 3, 2008.
  2. ↑ "ScoutHoops.com - 2007 College Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved November 3, 2006.
  3. ↑ "PARADE Magazine – All-America Teams". Parade.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2006.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Breaking news: Walker eligible to compete for K-State mid-year". KStateCollegian.com. November 3, 2006. Archived from the original on May 13, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2006.
  5. ↑ "2006 EA SPORTS Boys All American Team". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 10, 2006.
  6. ↑ Lawlor, Christopher (March 27, 2006). "Final Super 25 boys' basketball rankings". USAToday.com. Retrieved March 27, 2006.
  7. ↑ "Ohio rules prep hoops standout Bill Walker ineligible". USAToday.com. July 10, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2006.
  8. 1 2 Katz, Andy (January 9, 2007). "Walker's season comes to an end with ruptured ACL". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
  9. ↑ Richman, Howard (April 14, 2008). "Beasley, Walker declare for NBA draft". KansasCity.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved April 14, 2008.
  10. ↑ Murphy, Mark (June 27, 2008). "Danny Ainge again busy late". BostonHerald.com. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2008.
  11. ↑ Parrish, Garry (June 16, 2008). "K-State's Walker injures knee in draft workout". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
  12. ↑ "Walker stays in draft, despite knee; UCLA's Mbah a Moute, too". ESPN.com. June 16, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
  13. ↑ Benbow, Julian (June 27, 2008). "Taking a shot with J.R.". Boston.com. Retrieved June 27, 2008.
  14. ↑ Spears, Marc J. (June 29, 2008). "His next stop, Brooklyn". Boston.com. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  15. ↑ Spears, Marc J. (July 1, 2008). "Walker to have surgery". Boston.com. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Walker sent to D-league". Boston.com. November 21, 2008. Retrieved November 21, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Celtics Recall Giddens, Walker from Utah Flash". OurSportsCentral.com. January 8, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  18. ↑ "Celtic Bill Walker Assigned to D-League". CTNews.com. November 21, 2009. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  19. ↑ "Celts recall Walker from Maine". BangorDailyNews.com. December 24, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Knicks Acquire Eddie House, J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker". NBA.com. February 18, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Amare back, Gadzuric added". ESPN.com. April 20, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  22. 1 2 "2012-13 Transactions". NBA.com. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Trotamundos de Carabobo sign Bill Walker, Summers". Sportando.net. May 20, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Skyforce Announces Initial 2013-14 Training Camp Invitees". NBA.com. October 31, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  25. ↑ "After falling short of repeat, Alaska to tap NBA vet Bill Walker for Governors' Cup". Interaksyon.com. April 27, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Skyforce Announces Full Training Camp Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. November 3, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  27. ↑ "HEAT Signs Henry Walker". NBA.com. February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  28. ↑ "HEAT Signs Henry Walker". NBA.com. March 3, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  29. ↑ "HEAT Signs Henry Walker for Season". NBA.com. March 13, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  30. ↑ "HEAT Waive Henry Walker". NBA.com. July 27, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  31. ↑ "NBA forward Henry Walker is coming to Cedevita". Aba-liga.com. November 7, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  32. ↑ Giongco, Mark (June 9, 2016). "NLEX taps Bill Walker, Rodrigue Akl as imports". Sports-Inquirer.net. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  33. ↑ "The Story Behind Henry (Formerly Bill) Walker's Name Change". DLeagueDigest.com. January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.

External links

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