10/3/2019 basketball Edit

Former Indianapolis star didn't hear from IU, is ready to play for Holtmann

Taylor Lehman • TheHoosier

Staff

Ohio State transfer guard CJ Walker is ready to begin his first season with head coach Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes after having not heard from Indiana in high school or when transferring out of Florida State in 2018.

Former Arsenal Technical standout CJ Walker played in the Elite Eight with Florida State before transferring to Ohio State in 2018 and sitting out a year due to transfer rules. Now, he's ready to play for the Buckeyes and against the Hoosiers after never hearing from Indiana during his recruitment. (USA Today Images)

There is plenty of reason for Ohio State basketball to face high expectations this season, as it returns Kaleb Wesson, continues to develop Duane Washington Jr., Justin Ahrens and Bloomington-native Musa Jallow, as well as introduce freshmen E.J. Liddell, D.J. Carton, Alonzo Gaffney and Ibrahima Diallo to the Big Ten.

With the talks of all the assets at head coach Chris Holtmann’s disposal and the recent third-place preseason prediction by Big Ten beat writers, one name that has not been mentioned as often, in terms of added production, is Indianapolis product C.J. Walker.

With two years of eligibility remaining, Walker has had an interesting road to Columbus, and it's rooted in his relationship with his new head coach.

“In life, you learn lessons about not burning bridges,” Holtmann said Wednesday at Big Ten Media Day. “I’ve not always been great at that. I think in recruiting now, that’s become more and more important because if you burn a bridge, you might not have a chance with the kids afterwards.”

Going into the 2019-20 season, Holtmann is thanking himself for maintaining a positive relationship with Walker after the former Arsenal Tech star and Indianapolis Player of the Year announced his commitment to Florida State during an official visit June 20, 2015, just a week before he was scheduled to visit Butler officially too.

Walker said Holtmann, the former Butler head basketball coach, never expressed anger when the No. 113 recruit made the decision, and that left the door open when Walker decided to transfer out of Florida State in March 2018.

“There was never bad blood that I made that decision not to go to Butler,” Walker said. “Once my release got out that I was transferring, I was able to talk to him again, and it just felt right, just to be able to play for him. I knew what he stood for, and I knew how he was coaching. I just knew that I couldn’t miss on the opportunity again playing for a coach like him.”

Walker was on the same high school team as top 2014 Indiana recruit and current Denver Nugget Trey Lyles, as well as eventual Ball State guard Jeremie Tyler, but Walker seemed to be the most-likely commitment if Butler was to get any of the three. Walker was the No. 4 prospect in a 2016 Indiana class that included eventual Virginia star and national champion Kyle Guy (No. 1 in the state) and eventual Butler contributor and current Indiana forward Joey Brunk (No. 3).

He helped lead the school to a Class 4A state title as a sophomore and had committed to Purdue, but, as he moved into his junior year averaging more than 23 points per game and improving at a rate he didn’t anticipate, he said he felt like there were other opportunities and de-committed.

Indiana, who had recruited Lyles, never extended an offer to Walker, and eventually, Walker committed to Florida State over Illinois and Butler.

“Not at all,” Walker said about hearing from Indiana during his recruitment. “I didn’t get any scholarship offer or anything, not in high school or when I was transferring, I never really talked to them much.”

At Florida State, Walker played in 33 games as a freshman and then started 34 games as a sophomore on a Florida State team that played in the Elite Eight in 2018. He averaged eight points per game and just more than two assists and two rebounds while shooting 41 percent from the floor that season.

Then he sat out last year with Ohio State due to transfer rules.

“The advantage of sitting out is just seeing basketball from a different perspective,” Walker said. “Being in a different conference as well, just seeing the style of play, the reps, the environment, the coaching.”

What truly linked Walker and Holtmann might seem obvious to any sports fan but was a special connection between the two – winning.

Holtmann said Walker is “about the right stuff” and that the "right stuff" is winning. The Ohio State head coach even said he sees a future in coaching for Walker. Walker feels the same way about Holtmann, who was tutored by Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens and was named Coach of the Year by two conferences in 2017 and 2018 – the second being the Big Ten Conference.

“He wins,” Walker said. “That’s what I came here to do, and that’s what he does. That speaks for itself.”