With Keeshawn Barthelemy exiting Boulder through the transfer portal while the remaining underclassmen are set to return for the Colorado men’s basketball team, the Buffaloes’ 2022-23 roster is almost set, beyond at least two forthcoming spring additions.
Yet there remains a big uncertainty amid that equation, one that puts a capital ‘X’ into the phrase X-factor.
This week the Buffs began their offseason conditioning program, and they did so with the status of star sophomore forward Jabari Walker still up in the air. On Wednesday evening Walker, a first team All-Pac-12 selection and the Buffs’ leading scorer and rebounder, announced via social media his intention to enter the NBA draft while maintaining the option to return to CU.
Certainly it wasn’t an unexpected turn of events for head coach Tad Boyle’s program. Yet Walker’s final decision is one that will recalibrate the expectations for the 2022-23 Buffs one way or another.
“I think Jabari is in a situation where he’s going to look at all angles,” Boyle said. “He’s definitely going to test the waters to see where his draft stock might be. He’s doing it judiciously and kind of step-by-step. Quite frankly, I don’t know if we’ll know anything in terms of what direction he’s going until mid-April at the earliest. Could be later. We’re just going to take it one step at a time with him.”
No doubt, the 6-foot-9, 215-pound Walker is an NBA-caliber prospect. The son of former NBA veteran Samaki Walker, CU’s versatile forward averaged 14.6 points and a Pac-12-best 9.4 rebounds while starting all 33 games. After shooting 52.3% from 3-point range in a limited reserve role as a freshman, Walker struggled with his shooting touch out of the gate during the 2021-22 season but recovered late, shooting 47.6% (20-for-42) on 3-pointers over CU’s final 11 games. He led the Pac-12 with 17 double-doubles.
Walker’s current draft prospects, however, are murky at best. The 2022 mock drafts that include Walker don’t typically have him listed higher than the middle of the second round. One NBA scout described Walker to BuffZone during a December home game as a “high-hipped” athlete who often struggles to get into a solid stance at both ends of the floor. Walker led the Buffs in turnovers at 2.3 per game but improved down the stretch, averaging 1.9 over the final eight games.
Walker finished with an overall field goal percentage of 46.1% while shooting 34.6% on 3-pointers and 78.4% at the free throw line.
Performances like the one on Dec. 10, when Walker salvaged a Buffs win by taking over down the stretch against a certain NBA draft pick in Milwaukee’s Patrick Baldwin Jr., offered glimpses of Walker’s vast potential. Yet Walker, who doesn’t turn 20 until late July, also seemingly is an example of a player who could readily play his way into at least the middle of the first round of the 2023 draft.
Players have until April 24 to declare for the draft, and have until June 1 to withdraw while maintaining NCAA eligibility. A good indicator of Walker’s draft prospects will be whether he receives an invitation to the NBA draft combine, scheduled for May 16-22 in Chicago.
“Jabari and I had a real good, frank discussion and I know where he stands, and he knows where I stand,” Boyle said. “Whatever the best decision for him is going to be, he’ll make. At some point he’ll have to make it, but right now he doesn’t have to make it. So we’re kind of leaving it open-ended.”
