CJ Walker (born March 24, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for

Phoenix Hagen Phoenix Hagen is a German professional basketball club that is based in Hagen, Germany. After withdrawing from the Basketball Bundesliga in November 2016, Phoenix Hagen re-launched its basketball team for the 2017-18 ProA season. The ProA is Germ ...

of the German

ProA Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for native Austronesian ships in European records during the Colonial era indiscriminately, and thus can confusingly refer to the ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the Florida State Seminoles and the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...

Early life and high school career

Walker was raised in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

and attended

Arsenal Technical High School Arsenal Technical High School, commonly referred to as Tech or Arsenal Tech, is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, which is run by the Indianapolis Public Schools district. The school is located on a , multiple buildin ...

in Indianapolis. During his senior season, he won the Indianapolis Coaches Association Player of the Year. His senior season averages were 24.3 points, 5.6 assists and three steals per game.

Recruiting

Walker committed to

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

on June 20, 2015 over offers from Walker's future head coach at

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

Chris Holtmann Christopher Adam Holtmann (born November 11, 1971) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at Ohio State University. Holtmann grew up in Nicholasville, Kentucky, and started his college playing career in-state at ...

at Butler,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

College career

Florida State

Walker played in 33 games off the bench during his freshman year, averaging 4.9 points, 1.3 assists, and 0.6 steals per game. His season-high in points during the season was 13, against

and Wake Forest. He started every game except for one during his sophomore season at

, averaging 8 points, 2.4 assists, and 1 steal per game. He started every game of Florida State's

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

run during the 2018 NCAA tournament, averaging 17.5 minutes per game. Following the season, on March 27, 2018, he transferred from

Ohio State

Walker committed to

on April 8, 2018. Walker sat out the 2018–19 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He had a solid season during his junior season, averaging 8.7 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He scored a season-high 18 points in a game against

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

on January 14, 2020. Walker missed four games during mid-January due to a nagging hand injury. In Ohio State's Big Ten tournament championship loss, Walker scored 16 points and made a buzzer-beating

three-pointer A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

, although the three-pointer did not affect the result of the game as

won the game by three points. He averaged 9.5 points, 4.4 assists, and 0.9 steals per game. His free throw percentage of 94.0% ranked second in the country. Walker declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA u ...

on April 12, 2021, forgoing his option to return to college by hiring an agent.

Professional career

On August 13, 2021, Walker signed his first professional contract with ETHA Engomis of the

Cyprus Basketball Division A The Cypriot Basketball Division A is currently the top-tier level men's professional basketball competition of the Cypriot basketball league system. It is run and governed by the Cyprus Basketball Federation. Format At present, six clubs compete ...

. However he parted ways with the team before playing a game. On September 27, Walker signed with

of the German

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 0 , , 12.5 , , .397 , , .304 , , .655 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .1 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 34 , , 23.2 , , .412 , , .355 , , .732 , , 2.5 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 29 , , 29.0 , , .427 , , .321 , , .812 , , 3.1 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 12 , , 30.0 , , .410 , , .265 , , .940 , , 3.2 , , 4.4 , , .9 , , .1 , , 9.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 126 , , 75 , , 23.3 , , .413 , , .321 , , .799 , , 2.5 , , 2.8 , , .9 , , .1 , , 7.7

Personal life

Walker has a daughter, Summer, in 2019. From a previous Relationship. Has a Wife Taylor Ramey (2022). Had a son in 2023, Skylar.

References

External links

Ohio State Buckeyes bioFlorida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, CJ 1997 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople American men's basketball players Basketball players from Indianapolis Florida State Seminoles men's basketball players Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players Phoenix Hagen players