<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -- Former Ohio high school basketball star Bill Walker has been admitted to Kansas State, the school said Wednesday. Walker teamed with O.J. Mayo to win two consecutive Division III state championships at North College Hill High School in Cincinnati, where he is now a senior but has been ruled ineligible to play. He has close ties with Kansas State coach Bob Huggins, the former University of Cincinnati coach who took over the program in March. Pat Bosco, associate vice president/dean of student life at Kansas State, said Wednesday that Walker was admitted about two weeks ago but had not yet enrolled. The 6-foot-6 Walker averaged 21.7 points and 10.1 rebounds last season and was considered one of the top high school players in the country. The Ohio High School Athletic Association ruled Walker ineligible for the 2006-07 season in August, saying that he had already completed the maximum eight semesters of eligibility.</div> http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/bask...r.ap/index.html
Conference play means a hell of a lot more than nonconference play in the selection committee's eyes, and for a team that could possibly win the Big 12 tournament like Kansas State, adding Walker, even for just conference play, could mean the difference between a disappointing or a successful season. If you think about it, he'll be playing at about the same time, or even before, Greg Oden suits up for the first time. Kansas State plays a pretty easy nonconference schedule too. Looking at it, they've only got four games that seem loosable: at New Mexico (11/21), at California (11/29), at Southern Cal (12/22), and at Xavier (1/3). Really, I'm not even confident he'll be ineligible for the Southern Cal and Xavier games. I guess it all depends on when they rule that the second semester begins. With their nonconference schedule and the talent they'll bring in for conference play, this team could wind up seriously overachieving and being a #2, 3, or 4 seed.
Kudos to Bob Huggins landing a top recruit in Billy Walker. I hope KState gets some TV exposure, because I've always felt Billy Walker was the better player than OJ Mayo.
So did he graduate then from High school? I guess Billy Walker could be another player to make a difference in this year's frosh class.
