Lonnie Walker, a 6-foot-5 wing from Reading, Pa., made the first cut for the USA U18 National Team and is hoping to be one of the 12 finalists chosen for the FIBA Americas U18 Championship July 19-23 in Valdivia, Chile.
“It would mean a lot, that’s a blessing,” he told SNY.tv by phone from Colorado Springs, Colo. “Especially where I’m coming from, I’m from Reading, not too many people even make it out of Reading. So just working my way up and being where I am, I’m beyond blessed. So even to make the team, I don’t even know how I would react honestly.”
Walker is currently ranked No. 21 in the nation by 247 Sports, and is averaging 16.7 points per game on the Nike EYBL Circuit for Team Final for a team that is 10-6 heading into next month’s Peach Jam.
On the recruiting front, Walker said several schools are working hard, including Syracuse, Miami, Villanova, Florida State, Alabama and Kentucky.
Kentucky offered the shooting guard out in early May.
“It’s usually the assistant coach [Kenny Payne] telling me that Coach [John] Calipari wants to talk to me over the phone,” Walker said. “And we chat just a few minutes, not even about basketball, we’re just trying to grow a little bond between us. He usually tells me how much he appreciates my game and the type of person I am.”
He added: “It means a lot. It shows how you are among the elite talent.”
Reigning NCAA champion Villanova is currently the leader in Walker’s Crystal Ball on 247 Sports.
“We usually don’t talk about basketball that much,” he said. “I really have a great bond with Coach Jay Wright himself. He’s been since Day One. He’s literally one of the first schools to offer me, and he is still here stronger than anyone else most likely. They’re still recruiting me like I’m a new player or something, they still really like my game.”
Syracuse is also in the mix.
“It means a lot,” he said. “Jim Boeheim came to my school a few times. I talked to him, and I have a very close bond with the assistant coach Gerry McNamara so it’s definitely a blessing to have Syracuse around, talking to you.”
The Reading native most recently picked up an offer from Arizona, and he says that the offer is very significant.
“It would mean a lot,” Walker told SNY.tv in a previous interview. “Coach [Sean] Miller is a great coach, he’s had a lot of great players come through. That offer means a lot.”
Walker currently holds offers from Alabama, Arizona, UConn, Florida State, Holy Cross, Indiana, Kentucky, Miami, Oregon, Villanova, Penn State, Syracuse and Virginia.
He also mentioned that Virginia’s Tony Bennett and Miami’s Jim Larranaga are great coaches, and that Florida State and Alabama are “up and coming in a way.”
“It’s a lot of different perspectives on certain schools and a lot of different factors that I like about certain schools,” he said.
Walker will be looking at cutting his list later this summer.
“I definitely want to cut my list in August, right after Peach Jam and all the camps are over,” he said. “And I’ll take my visits hopefully in October or November, and hopefully I’ll make my decision either before the season or right after the season to get it out of the way.”
NLonnie Walker, a 6-foot-5 wing from Reading, Pa., made the first cut for the USA U18 National Team and is hoping to be one of the 12 finalists chosen for the FIBA Americas U18 Championship July 19-23 in Valdivia, Chile.
