K-State's Walker Injures Knee In Workout

Representatives for Kansas State redshirt freshman Bill Walker were scrambling to secure a commitment from a team drafting late in the first round after Walker injured his right knee during a workout in Oakland this weekend, as reported by ESPN.com.

Multiple sources close to Walker, and at least one who attended the workout, said Sunday night that Walker would undergo another MRI on his knee Monday. Walker was one of 24 players at the Warriors' facility to work out in front of representatives from 21 NBA teams.

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A couple of injuries early on changed the dynamics of the workout early, including a very unfortunate setback to Bill Walker at seemingly the worst moment possible. Walker hurt his knee during the three man weave early on and was unable to make it past stretching, forcing him to pull out. An MRI conducted later (which is now circulating amongst teams) concluded that he has a partial tear in his meniscus, which will force him to sit for at least three weeks and not allow him to work out for any more NBA teams from now until the draft. There is reportedly no structural damage to the knee, but concerns could very well still linger considering that the 20-year old freshman already suffered two separate ACL tears in his short career, making teams possibly even more nervous about what the future may hold in store for him.

Walker declined to participate in the NBA pre-draft camp in late May and decided to pull out of two workouts with Houston and New Orleans last week. Up until now, he has only managed to visit the Toronto Raptors (where he looked extremely nervous and was tentative, but checked out just fine on his physical) and Detroit Pistons (where he was reportedly outstanding), meaning NBA teams will have much less information to go off on draft night than they would likely prefer.

Ironically, the injury was suffered just 48 hours prior to the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw their names from the draft. Walker, who has yet to hire an agent for this exact reason, will take the decision down to the absolute last minute, and as of right now could still return to school. He will likely be looking for assurances that he will be taken by the Detroit Pistons (where he fills a legitimate need and is likely the best SF on the board), because otherwise, he will almost certainly fall into the second round.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 06-16-2008 10:04 AM]

That's too bad!

Posted by VDesai:

He should pull out of the draft.

Yeah, he should. I was hoping we might be able to get him if we acquired a second round pick. The kid is supposed to have top-10 talent but his past knee injuries are scaring teams off.