NC State recruiting talented unsigned senior Antwan Walker
NC State is looking at all avenues to upgrade its roster for next year and has targeted an unsigned senior, who took advantage of the two April evaluation periods.
Senior small forward Antwan Walker averaged 16 points per game in helping Washington (D.C.) Woodson High to a 33-0 record. The first-team All-Met performer joined adidas-sponsored Team Loaded VA, played in Dallas, Texas, in front of NCSU assistant coach Butch Pierre, and earned an offer from NCSU April 19. Walker followed up by playing this past weekend in Atlanta, an event attended by NC State head coach Mark Gottfried and assistant coach Orlando Early.
“I think from Coach Pierre’s standpoint, they just look at him as a ballplayer,” Woodson coach Trey Mines said. “He can play the three, and if he had to start the fast break, he could. They are really intrigued by his versatility. He isn’t a kid that has to be at one spot on the floor.”
The 6-foot-8, 210-pound Walker finished the first two legs of the adidas Gauntlet averaging 9.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, and shot 44.2 percent from the field. He earned new offers from NC State, Old Dominion, La Salle, Virginia Tech and Saint Louis, following the first leg in Dallas.
Walker will get another showcase opportunity in the prestigious Capital Classic All-Star Game at 8 p.m. tonight, Thursday, April 27.
“Antwan was one of the main reasons,” said Mines on how his team went undefeated. “Just that presence he provided with his shot-blocking ability and rebounding, and inside presence on the offensive end.”
Mines said Walker is also able to stretch the floor, and some view him as a combo forward on the next level.
“He can knock down three-pointers, and he has great overall athleticism,” Mines said. “He played a really, really vital role for what we did last year.”
The 17-year-old Walker played for Team Loaded 16s at one point last spring and summer, but was hurt from the end of May through the last weekend in July. He’s starting to make up for lost time on the recruiting front.
“It has gotten real crazy this month, with a lot of schools coming in now,” said Mines, who also is an assistant coach for Team Loaded VA. “They are seeing what we knew all along. We just knew it would be a matter of time before they’d see his growth. Not playing in July last year hurt a lot.”
NC State, South Carolina, Miami, Texas, Providence and Virginia Tech are some of the colleges that have put forth offers. Walker would like to officially visit a few schools this spring, and the Wolfpack are in the thick of receiving one of them. Walker has five official visits to use at his disposal.
“There isn’t anything officially set up, but he is in talks to take some,” Mines said. “I think he’ll take at least three before he makes a decision made for 2016.”
What will be interesting is that Walker could ultimately end up doing a post-graduate year and become a member of the class of 2017, but he’s weeks away from making that decision.
“I’ve been talking to Coach Gottfried and Coach Pierre a lot,” Mines said. “Coach Gottfried actually extended the offer himself. Coach Pierre came up and visited with him last week before it went to a dead period.
“He really likes them and is really intrigued. [NC State redshirt freshman point guard] Dennis Smith is a Team Loaded guy, which is the organization that we are a part of. He knows of Dennis, and that has a lot of appeal to him.”