Walker Named Jordan Brand Classic All-American

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami signee Lonnie Walker has been named a 2017 Jordan Brand Classic All-American, as announced on Jan. 27.

Walker is Miami’s first signee to be named to both the McDonald’s and Jordan Brand All-American teams.

Next fall, Walker will be the third Jordan Brand All-American to play at The U, joining Durand Scott (2009) and current Hurricane Bruce Brown (2016). He will also become the fifth McDonald’s All-American to play at Miami, joining Dewan Huell (2016), Darius Rice (2000), Steve Edwards (1992) and Tito Horford (1985).

Walker is a 6-foot-5-inch shooting guard ranked No. 18 in the ESPN Top 100, Miami’s highest-ranked recruit in the three-player class of top-100 signees and its highest in the last 15 years. He joins Chris Lykes, ranked 46th in the country, and Deng Gak, ranked 92nd, in Miami’s class of 2017.

Walker attends Reading High School in Pennsylvania, where he led the Red Knights to a 29-4 record and a trip to the PIAA Class 4A state semifinals last season. Walker, who averaged 16.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, was the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior under the guidance of coach Rick Perez.

While playing on the EYBL AAU circuit in 2016, Walker averaged 16.6 points per game, knocking down 45.5 percent of his shots. He also tallied 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per outing for coaches Rob Brown and Aaron Burt of Team Final from the Philadelphia area, the same AAU program current Canes Ja’Quan Newton and Davon Reed played for.

Walker, who has great vision and ball-handling skills, can shoot from the outside or penetrate and finish at the rim. He is a long defender with a 6-foot-10-inch wingspan who causes havoc for opposing guards. He chose Miami over offers from Kentucky, Arizona, Villanova and Syracuse.