2018 NBA Draft: Checking back in on Lonnie Walker

After an extremely slow start to the year, Miami’s Lonnie Walker is starting to flash the potential he showed in high school.

When Miami’s Lonnie Walker played his first several games, he didn’t look like himself. He did not look like a McDonald’s All-American. Through his first 15 games his minutes were inconsistent, which didn’t help. Walker wasn’t playing with confidence and his shot wasn’t falling. It’s hard to get into a rhythm when all of those things are true.

It’s even harder to get into rhythm when you take a step back and look at the whole picture for Walker. Not only was the freshman coming off of a major knee injury, but Miami was flooded with guard talent. That group was led by potential first round pick Bruce Brown Jr.

Head coach Jim Larranaga wanted to win and he didn’t have time for Walker to not hit the ground running. He had veteran guards and that played into Walker’s inconsistent playing time. Then right as Walker was starting to come along, Brown Jr. went down to injury. After doors of opportunity closed for Walker, a bigger one opened. Since Jan. 13, Walker has played at least 29 minutes in all but one game. He’s started to look like himself again.

Over that 14-game stretch, against elite ACC competition, Walker is averaging 14 points per game, and has hit nearly 39 percent of his 3s on 93 attempts in that span. It’s not just the numbers, however. Walker is working with the ball in his hands more, he’s making great reads for teammates and playing strong defense.

In a game against Florida State on the road, Walker played 41 minutes, hit big shot after big shot and sent the game to overtime with an incredibly athletic block. He finished that game with 23 points, five assists and four rebounds.

It was the type of performance that could lead to lottery hype. He has incredibly quick feet and a great profile for a 2. With an elite wingspan, Walker can wreak havoc defensively and get his shot off against nearly any wing player.

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In addition to that, his passing is encouraging and so is his shot-making. He’s no Mikal Bridges when it comes to shot diversity, but Walker isn’t just a 3-and-D prospect. Walker has shown an ability to hit shots both on the move, standing still and off the dribble. Does that mean he’s the next Paul George? No. But that shot-making ability matters a lot when comparing him to other potential wings in the 2018 class.

Now, he’s still not a perfect player. He takes plays off defensively. Walker has a ways to go in becoming a good team defender, but he absolutely can get there. The biggest areas of improvement are finishing at the rim and ball-handling. Walker is creating a lot of offense at the rim for himself, which is great, but he’s finishing less than 57 percent of the time, per Hoop-Math. 

That needs to be better. It can get better by improving his handle too. Walker can make things happen at the college level, but his handle is too loose. In the NBA, that ball will get knocked away and stolen a lot. Becoming a better ball-handler will open his game up even more. It’ll allow Walker to get into the paint more, which can unlock his passing. That will also pay dividends in his ability to shoot off the dribble more.

Next: 2017-18 Week 20 NBA Power Rankings

Walker has a long ways to go, but he’s already come so far from November. He looks confident and he’s showing positive attributes. Walker’s even showing some things we didn’t know he had in him. This is a kid absolutely worth monitoring and someone with a strong first round case in June.