The Recruiting Guy

Rondel Walker goes in-depth on Thursday's Arkansas visit

ESPN 4-star Rondel Walker and his parents pose with Coach Eric Musselman.
ESPN 4-star Rondel Walker and his parents pose with Coach Eric Musselman.

Highly regarded guard Rondel Walker visited Arkansas on Thursday and left with an offer after a talk with Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman.

“We were just talking about the overall plan for me moving forward and how I would fit in their program and how both parties could benefit from my time at Arkansas, and then he said I have an offer from there and he would like to get me down there again soon,” Walker said.

He was accompanied by his mother and father, who is a body builder.

“They loved it just as much as I did,” Walker said.

Walker, 6-4 1/2, 165 pounds, of Oklahoma City Putnam City West High School, also has scholarship offers from schools such as Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, SMU, Tulsa and others.

He said the trip was educational while also getting the relationship going between him and the coaches.

“They gave me much more knowledge about the program and their plan for me moving forward and me knowing what I would be getting into and them getting to know my family,” Walker said. ”It’s just us getting a better a relationship and that was the start of it.”

Walker, who averaged 23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and 5.3 steals per game for his high school team, had a previous relationship with associate head coach Chris Crutchfield. Meeting the coaching staff was one of the highlights of the trip.

“Just how down to earth the coaches were and how honest they were and upfront,” Walker said. “Just how they welcomed us from the beginning. Just honest from the jump with everything and how they went in-depth with my game and how I would fit."

He averaged 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the Nike EYBL regular season for the Texas Titans. Walker stood out at the Peach Jam championships while playing for the Texas Titans. He averaged 14.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, four assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 53 percent from the field and 45 percent beyond the 3-point line.

ESPN national recruiting director Paul Biancardi currently rates Walker a 4-star prospect, the No. 14 point guard and the No. 70 overall recruit in the nation for the 2020 class. Biancardi said Walker’s Peach Jam performance gave him a good chance of getting a bump when the ratings are updated this month.

Walker is planning official visits to Kansas State on Sept. 7 and Virginia Tech on Sept. 13. He plans to visit his sister in Orlando before making any other decisions in his recruiting process.

“We haven’t really decided yet,” Walker said of Arkansas getting an official visit. “We’re basically going to enjoy this week because I’m going to Florida this weekend, so we’ll probably resume all my college stuff when I get back.”

He added he planned to release his top eight schools on September 5.

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