MANHATTAN, Kan.—Kansas State forward Bill Walker appears confident about his NBA draft status despite suffering a knee injury during a recent workout with the Golden State Warriors.
In a written statement on Monday, Kansas State said Walker opted to remain eligible for the draft.
Walker’s adviser, Chris Rivers of Reebok, told several media outlets that Walker suffered a partially torn meniscus during a weekend workout with Golden State. Rivers did not immediately return phone and e-mail messages seeking comment Wednesday.
It was a setback for Walker, who isn’t a first-round lock because of known knee issues. He has previously torn the anterior cruciate ligament in both knees, the first of which happened in 2003. He missed most of the 2007 recovering from the second ACL tear.
NBAdraft.net has Walker slotted as the 34th overall selection in the second round going to Minnesota and DraftExpress.com has him going 36th overall to Portland. Second-round picks are not guaranteed contracts.
Walker, a 6-foot-6 small forward, averaged 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds last season for Kansas State and helped the team to its first NCAA tournament win in 20 seasons.
Walker joins Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley as the second Wildcat player in the draft. Beasley is expected to be one of the first two players selected.
