Chris Walker leaves Florida Gators for NBA Draft

Florida Gators sophomore forward Chris Walker has decided to forego the rest of his eligibility and declare himself eligible for the NBA Draft.

Walker joins Michael Frazier II as underclassmen who will leave the program in hopes to be drafted this June.

“I want to thank the coaching staff, my teammates and everyone at Florida for my experience here,” Walker said. “I’m excited to continue pursuing my dream of playing professionally.”

Walker came to Florida as a heralded five-start prospect and McDonald’s All-American but leaves after a disappointing career at Florida. Walker averaged just 4.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game on 53.8% shooting. He played just an average of 14.6 minutes per contest last season, starting just six games and coming off the bench in 25 more.

“Chris has been a pleasure to coach,” Donovan said. “He is a great kid with a lot of potential, and everyone here wishes the absolute best for him.”

Potential is the word that gets tossed around most with Walker. In two years, the athletic forward never really realized that potential or bought into the program that Donovan ran. He spent a semester ineligible due to NCAA rules and was ruled ineligible for another six weeks for receiving impermissible benefits dating back to when he was a prospect.

Walker hasn’t exactly boosted his draft stock these past two years but his departure at this time makes sense given that he was unlikely to raise his stock next season.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC

2 COMMENTS

    • Perhaps he will become some sort of contributor in the NBA. In his less than two seasons at UF he demonstrated that he is not good enough to play as a regular in the SEC. This illustrates once again the need for a developmental league for the NBA. Chris Walker is a sad example of a young man with little or no academic interest or ability, who would not have gain entry to any accredited university in the USA but for his potential to generate money for various and sundry administrators who make seven-figure incomes while exploiting these so-called ‘student-athletes’. The entire concept of amateur college sports is nothing more than a farcical exploitation of many young men. College sports should be recognized as the multi-billion dollar sport empire that it is and it should operate accordingly.