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Walker signs financial aid agreement with Kansas State
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=7><SPACER height="1" width="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR><TD class=yspsctnhdln>Walker signs financial aid agreement with Kansas State</TD></TR><TR><TD height=7><SPACER height="1" width="1" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>By STEVE BRISENDINE, AP Sports Writer
November 3, 2006
Former Ohio high school basketball star Bill Walker, one of the players Bob Huggins pursued during his yearlong hiatus from coaching, signed a financial aid agreement with Kansas State on Friday and will join the team next month.
Walker, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound small forward, was considered one of the nation's top high school players last year.
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<!-- /SIG=12itgfmh5/M=562746.9603991.10339795.1806201/D=sports/S=95862030:LREC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1163770750/A=4126243/R=0 --><IFRAME marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://servedby.advertising.com/site=728555/bnum=1163763550349706/size=300250/tags=1/optn=1" frameBorder=0 width=300 scrolling=no height=250></IFRAME></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><SCRIPT language=javascript>if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object();window.yzq_d['NHdiCM6.Irc-']='&U=13a7npm9a%2fN%3dNHdiCM6.Irc-%2fC%3d562746.9603991.10339795.1806201%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d4126243';</SCRIPT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>"I think you'd have a hard time going anywhere and saying Bill's not the best athlete on anybody's team," Huggins said during a conference call Friday.
Walker, who earned his high school diploma this fall through an accelerated program, has already enrolled at Kansas State as a part-time student.
The 19-year-old will be eligible to join the team on Dec. 16, meaning he could play the next day against Kennesaw State in Manhattan, in the first game of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic. That will be the 10th game for the Wildcats, who open their season Nov. 11 at home against William & Mary.
Walker is prohibited from working out with the team or with Kansas State's strength coaches until he becomes eligible.
"He's going to have to play himself into shape," Huggins said. "He's been running on his own, but that's not the same thing."
Walker, a native of Huntington, W.Va., became a high school star in Cincinnati, where he helped North College Hill win state championships in 2005 and 2006. He was a three-year starter and averaged 21.7 points and 10.1 rebounds as a junior.
This would have been his senior season, but Ohio athletic officials ruled he was ineligible because he had played one season as a freshman in Kentucky before enrolling at North College Hill as an eighth-grader.
Huggins took over at Kansas State in March, after being fired at Cincinnati in 2005. Because he was not affiliated with any school during his time away from coaching, he was not bound by NCAA rules limiting recruiting contacts.
Updated on Friday, Nov 3, 2006 4:04 pm EST
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Huggins spent 3 years recruiting both of these guys Mayo is the one he really wanted
The 6-foot-5 guard, ranked by several prep publications as the nation's top senior, transferred to Huntington High in September from Cincinnati's North College Hill High.
"Coach (Tim) Floyd has been an NBA coach and at the next level, and the city of Los Angeles is a great marketing city," Mayo said. "Hopefully, if everything goes well, I can market myself better for the next level."
The Trojans already have signed top-ranked players Davon Jefferson of Los Angeles, Leonard Washington of Lake Charles, La., and Marcus Simmons of Alexandria, La. Mayo, a Huntington native, is a two-time Associated Press Mr. Basketball for Ohio and was tournament MVP of this summer's national champion AAU 17-and-under team. He averaged more than 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists per game last season at North College Hill.