Top Prep Prospect Bill Walker Ruled Ineligible for '06-07 High School Season

Bill Walker, the top rated player (by scout.com) at this year's ABCD camp and teammate of O.J. Mayo at North College Hill (Cincinnati High school) and the D-1 Greyhounds (Cincinnati based AAU squad), has no predecessor. Nobody has first-hand experience of what to do in his situation. There is no book written on what to do for the select few that have already participated in 8 high school semesters of varsity basketball by the end of their "junior years", thereby becoming ineligible to play in their senior seasons, after the new "no high schoolers allowed" rule was ratified in the NBA.

There are two issues at hand.
One is whether or not he should be draft-eligible in 2007. To clarify, the "no high schoolers allowed" rule was something that was included in the new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), signed last July. David Stern and his cronies wanted to include this clause in order to effectively eliminate the flow of prep-to-pro prospects to the NBA, a phenomenon that was beginning to flood rosters with callow talents. The section of the CBA that I am referring to reads something like this: "(i) The [domestic] player (A) is or will be at least 19 years of age during the calendar year in which the Draft is held... at least one (1) NBA Season has elapsed since the player’s graduation from high school (or, if the player did not graduate from high school, since the graduation of the class with which the player would have graduated had he graduated from high school)," according to nbapa.com. This rules high schoolers that take the traditional route through school eligible for the NBA draft only after their freshman years of college.

As far as Bill Walker is concerned - superficially, it does appear as if he should be draft eligible in '07. He will be 19 years old - according to multiple sources, Walker's birth date is October 9, 1987. The grey area is the "if the player did not graduate from high school, [one NBA season must have elapsed] since the graduation of the class with which the player would have graduated had he graduated from high school" segment. Walker was technically a "senior" this past year, but was taking classes as a junior due to a transcript error made when he changed schools a few years back. Commissioner of Ohio State Athletics, Dan Ross, explains, "Based on the information we have received, Bill has exhausted his eligibility because he has participated at the high school level for eight semesters, which is the maximum permitted according to our bylaws." Therefore, it looks like he could be eligible for next year's ('07) draft.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank believes that the NBA has a legitimate case in trying to keep Walker out of the 2007 draft. He says, "It's when you graduate (or when your class would have graduated), not when your eligibility is up," Frank said via e-mail. "So just because Walker is ineligible [to play high school basketball], he still hasn't graduated, so his class is the 2007 class." Still, though, it is debatable when Walker "should have" graduated.

Michael McCann, a Harvard Law School grad, offers this on the subject: "An honest interpretation of the CBA dictates that conclusion: His high school class would have graduated, and he would satisfy the requirement that he be at least 19 years old during the calendar year in which the 2007 NBA Draft is held. I believe that the NBA would ultimately recognize the expertise of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (which presumably knows its schools better than the NBA), because if it doesn't, it may unwittingly invite Walker to challenge the age restriction in court, something which the NBA likely wants to avoid."

The second issue at hand is what Walker will do between now and the 2007 draft (or college... instead of entering his name in the draft, as long as he "qualifies," he will be able to go to college - he has heavy interest in Kansas State). He has a few options to consider, none of which are proven to be better than the other (remember, Walker has no predecessor). The likely options are as followed:
1) Go to a prep school (NCAA does not count "5th year" prep schools as high schools), such as South Kent Prep (Ct.) or the Patterson School (N.C.)
2) Train on his own or at a specialized facility, such as Florida's famed IMG Academy
3) Play in a domestic lower level pro league such as the CBA
4) Go overseas

It will be interesting to see which route Walker chooses to go, for it will set the precedent for those who will run into a similar situation after him. O.J. Mayo (born 11/5/87 according to a few different sources) is already considering attempting to get into the 2007 draft as well (he has "soft-verballed" to USC, though sources say he will make the jump to the NBA if the opportunity is there); he was left back a year in (supposedly) 7th grade (I can not confirm the year). Mayo's case is much weaker than Walker's, as he was held back long ago; Walker actually had enough credits to be a high school senior last year, whereas Mayo did not.

We will now stand by and watch how the story unfolds.

Special thanks to Michael McCann & "Sports Law Blog" for supplying helpful information for this article!

Knicks Summer League Coverage: Day 2 vs. the Suns

The Knicks' encore to their stellar performance in their first summer league game was almost as bad as the first game was good. The team looked like last year's Knicks, as they were out-hustled and out-muscled (thanks, Clyde) by a surprisingly spry Suns squad (how's that for alliteration). David Lee was the lone Knick to consistently play with heart, and for the stat-lovers, it showed in the line (10/13 FG, 21 pts, 13 boards).

Channing went through the motions in the first half, and then sprained his ankle while running up court (he stepped on a Sun's foot) in the second. Nate showed flashes of hustle, but overall not the type of performance we have grown accustomed to from the dunk champ. Similar story with Renaldo Balkman; he was still more lively than average, but he needs to have the type of aggression that will inspire a team. Yesterday, he did not. Mardy Collins looks like he is having no fun when he is playing, and it is causing him to simply run through the motions and therefore not do much of anything. He is not making bad plays, good plays, any plays... he is just there.

Off the bench, Ime Udoka (6'5" Wing) and Walker Russell, Jr. (6' PG) are the only two guys getting much P.T. The duo is playing fairly well when they step out on the court, however it is likely that only Ime will make the team (he spent part of last season on the team after he was called up from the NBDL). Otherwise, 6'10," 250 lb. Paul Miller from Wichita State has shown ability to hit from the outside in his limited minutes.

Pay attention to parentheses, stat lovers... As far as Phoenix is concerned, Amare (24 pts.) looked great. However, not the type of great you expect out of Amare. He did have 3 dunks, but they were all simple; human, if you will. His half court offense has almost completely transformed, or at least for the summer league. Whether he lost the explosion in his legs due to the micro-fracture surgery or if he just doesn't want to push it too hard in the summer league, Amare is utilizing a gorgeous stroke spanning all the way out to a couple of feet inside the NBA 3 line. Rather than jumping over people in the post, he now uses crafty post moves and little scoops to score on the block. Defensively, he also looked very strong (3 blocks). That being said, he finished the game with 1 (one) rebound. I would think it is safe to say that won't be a common occurrence, though.

Final score: 89-70, Phoenix

Coverage of Knicks Summer League

Special Treat - Balkman's posterization

There are seemingly two types of Knick fans these days:
1) The hopeful, forward thinking breed
2) The kind who subconsciously don't want the team to succeed, as their very being revolves around Knick-bashing.

Congratulations, group 1 faithful (group 2, time to move on to the Yanks). Yesterday's summer league game against the Cavs looked to be a solacing prognosis for the Knicks. From the special features (which included footage of Knick practices) to the outstanding play of Renaldo Balkman, the Knicks looked good.

Balkman, as advertised, brought great intensity to the court. He picked up steals, saved multiple balls from going out of bounds, and filled lanes on the break beautifully. I would go as far to say that he was the best player on the court in the first half. Unfortunately in the second half, he tweaked his ankle. He was still effective, though not semi-dominant as he was in the first half. Clyde Frazier, the Knicks' announcer, pointed out that Balkman's out-muscling and out-hustling was a forgotten element of the game for the Knicks, and that it really helped invigorate the Knicks to do some serious "wheeling and dealing"... or maybe it was to give them some "fire and desire"... or maybe "movin' and groovin'"... Well either way, Renaldo Balkman was a sight for sore eyes yesterday afternoon.

Another point of intrigue was Channing Frye and his improved physique. The word was that he had bulked up to 260 lbs. (listed at 248 last year), and he certainly made it look like this was true. He appeared to be much sturdier on top. He also says that the knee sprain that he suffered towards the end of last season is a non-issue; he was not even wearing a brace in the game.
The only negative I noticed was that Channing did not look like his balance in the post had improved much; not too long after I noticed, the announcers mentioned that they had talked to Mark Aguirre, the Knicks' big man coach, and they said he made a point to tell them that he is working on Channing's balance in the post. Outside of the balance issue, he developed a very nice jump hook from about 8-10 feet out.

David Lee looked good as well, and no I'm not just talking about the 'do he sported - which was a throwback to his dunk contest winning high school days. He brought the hustle that his followers have grown accustomed to, but he also developed the range that he was lacking last year. He was 2/2 from the college 3-point line. The shots did look pretty mechanical, but he looked somewhat comfortable taking them at the same time. Otherwise, he overpassed a little bit, but overall a very solid performance.

Nate was put at the point, though he did not do a great job at setting up his teammates. He was supposedly focusing on doing just that, however if you watched the game he was obviously looking for his own shot. He was bombing a lot from deep and only looked to pass a couple of times on the break - both were bad passes that were stolen. That being said, Nate certainly did not play a bad game. He did a nice job of putting the ball in the peach basket himself. He scored 23 points and played with his usual enthusiasm.

Last year, it could be said that overall, the Knicks played basketball like it was a job and they were just showing up to earn a paycheck. In an interview, Isiah said that his #1 concern for this year is to get his players to love the game again.

Final score: 95-71, New York

Roster:

Num   Player   Pos   Height  Weight  Birthdate  College   Years Pro
04   Nate Robinson   G   5-9   180   5/31/84    Washington   1
07   Channing Frye   F/C   6-11   245   5/17/83    Arizona   1
08   Ime Udoka   G/F   6-6   215   8/9/77     Portland State 2
09   Brian Greene   F   6-7   225   8/30/81    Colorado State R
14   Walker Russell, G   6-0   170   10/6/82    Jacksonville State R
20   Olu Famutimi   G   6-4   207   2/21/84    Arkansas   R
21   Kenny Adeleke   F   6-8   250   2/10/83    Hartford   R
25   Mardy Collins   G   6-6   220   8/4/84     Temple   R
32   Renaldo Balkman F   6-8   208   7/14/84    South Carolina R
42   David Lee   F   6-9   235   4/29/83    Florida   1
50   FrankoKastropil C   7-0   265   5/8/84     Croatia   R
55   Paul Miller   C   6-10   250   11/12/82   Wichita State R

Follow up on Allan Ray

Danny Ainge decided to listen to my pleas... " BOSTON – The Boston Celtics announced today that the club has signed free agent guard Allan Ray."

Respect to Danny for having the savvy to sign Allan.

O.J. Mayo to commit to USC

Informational:
The #1 ranked prospect in the class of 2007 isn't going to be playing his (one year of) college ball at West Virginia, where he is from. He won't be the face of the 07-08 Hugginsless Cincinnati Bearcats, who play their home games not too far from North College Hill, the phenom's present school. He may not even be following Huggins, who apparently has a very good relationship with the 6'4," 190 lb. guard, to Kansas State. O.J. Mayo will announce within the next few days at the ABCD camp that he will be playing his college basketball at the University of Southern California - a school not exactly famed for its achievements on the hardwood.

O.J. apparently factored this into his decision; he does not want to be just another player going to a school with a big name (in basketball, that is). O.J. says that he wants to turn a program around, and after 4 years of being told that he is the best player in his grade (he is a year older than most 2007 grads), he has the hubris to believe that he can accomplish such a feat.

Mayo does, however, remind us that he reserves the right to change his mind. "A verbal's just a verbal... I still want to visit Florida and Kansas State before I make a final decision"

Introducing... "The Air up There"

The following videos are complemements of Taurian Fontenette, who goes by his And 1 issued sobriquet of "The Air up There." The 6'2," 185 pounder calls Hitchcock, Texas his home.
Not much to say about this one... just "wow" and "if you didn't know, now you know." "The Air up There" on the And 1 mixtape tour.


The 720:




The highlight tape where he lets everyone know that he "may be the top dumper in the United States (1:08)." I would say he is also the best dunker...