Throughout the recruiting process, five-star shooting guard M.J. Walker has managed to keep a low profile despite his lofty ranking and McDonald’s All-American selection. Schools all over the country are still holding out hope they can convince the No. 20 prospect in the 2017 Rivals150 to sign with their program.
Right now, Walker says California, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Maryland, Ohio State and UCLA are still involved in his recruitment. Florida State is the only school to host Walker on an official visit, but Georgia Tech has had him on campus for an unofficial visit.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
We caught up with Walker following a region tournament semifinal win to get the latest on his recruitment and his thoughts on the programs recruiting him.
Florida State: “It was nice. I had feel with the coaching staff there. I felt really comfortable with players and I just enjoyed it there.”
Georgia Tech: “Coach (Josh) Pastner, he’s a big energy guy. He brings a lot of energy. They are doing pretty well there. Josh Okogie is playing well and a lot of the young guys are playing well.”
Kansas: “They stay in contact. They talk mostly with dad, so I haven’t personally talked with them much.”
Ohio State: “That’s a nice a school. I like their coaching staff. I talk to all of their coaches.”
UCLA: “They are on me pretty hard. They’ve been by the school. They have been trying to get me out there for a visit. They like how I play and think I’d be a good fit there.”
WHAT'S NEXT?
Walker doesn’t appear to be in any rush to make a decision. He still has four official visits left to use and he plans to use all four of them. He hasn’t decided which schools he wants to see with those trips nor does he know when he’ll use them. The state tournament starts for him next weekend and his team will likely make a deep run, so don’t expect any official visits to happen before mid-March. A decision likely won’t come until April or possibly into May.
RIVALS' REACTION
Walker doesn’t tip his hand much during interviews. If you wanted to put the names of all seven schools involved into a hat and draw one out, you would have just as good of a chance of getting it right as anybody else. Florida State is clearly a contender as the Seminoles had him on campus, and Georgia Tech has his attention as well. He’s always been intrigued by the idea of going to school in California, so it’s hard to eliminate California and UCLA. Kansas can never be counted out for anybody, and Maryland and Ohio State have been the two schools in this one the longest.
