Pirates Announce Signing Of C.J. Walker

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina Men's Basketball has officially announced the signing of forward C.J. Walker on Thursday afternoon.

The Sanford, Fla. native will join the Pirates for his sixth collegiate season after spending his previous four seasons at UCF where he averaged 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest in 19 games played last year and averaged 9.4 points over his final eight games played.

In 2021-22, Walker averaged career-highs in points per game (8.3), rebounds per game (5.7), field goal percentage (47.9) and three-point percentage (37.1). He posted single-game career marks with 19 points against Tulsa and 12 rebounds at Temple. During his sophomore campaign, Walker led The American with 1.7 blocks per game, which ranked 47th in the nation and his 1.6 offensive rebounds per game were 14th best among AAC players.

"C.J. is a proven veteran, playing in over a hundred career games at the highest levels of college basketball, including the AAC," head coach Michael Schwartz said. "He will instantly bring experience and productivity to our program. He has the right mindset going into his final year of college basketball and has already shown great enthusiasm for his new teammates."

Walker spent his freshman season at Oregon, where he averaged four points and 2.5 boards per contest in 28 games played. In the Battle 4 Atlantis, Walker averaged 10 points and four rebounds in 23 minutes per game off the bench over the course of the three-game tournament.

"C.J.'s offensive skill, athleticism and competitiveness are what stood out to our coaching staff," Schwartz added. "He can guard multiple positions playing aggressive defense on the perimeter, while also protecting the rim. We are excited about C.J.'s overall versatility as a basketball player and winning mindset he brings to ECU".

Prior to playing for the Ducks, Walker was a five-star recruit and was ranked 19th in the 2019 recruiting class per ESPN's Top 100. He was named the Orlando Sentinel Boys Basketball Player of the Year and Class 9A Player of the Year after averaging a double-double with 15.8 points and 13.8 rebounds as a senior for Oak Ridge and was selected to compete in the Jordan Brand Classic Game. Walker also led Orlando Christian Prep to back-to-back state championship titles as a sophomore and junior, recording 14 points and snaring eight rebounds in the title game his junior season.

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