Chris Walker has been admitted into the University of Florida, but the freshman forward is not yet eligible to play for the Gators, the school announced Saturday morning.
After missing the first six weeks of the season due to academic eligibility issues, Walker will practice with the team for the first time Saturday as the UF fall semester has reached its conclusion. He now awaits an NCAA decision after months of completing the necessary coursework online.
Walker should add a boost to No. 19 Florida’s frontcourt. The Gators have center Patric Young, forward Will Yeguete and Dorian Finney-Smith playing most of the minutes down low this season, but they are missing center Damontre Harris, who has not practiced with the team in more than a month.
A 6-foot-10, 220-pound five-star forward out of Bonifay, Walker is the No. 6 player in the Class of 2013, according to Rivals.com. He will wear No. 23 for the Gators.
But it is now unclear when Walker will make his debut for Florida. According to a Gator Country report from last week, Walker could serve a suspension of about 2-3 games for an unofficial visit to Kansas paid for by his former AAU coach, Matt Ramker of the Florida Rams.
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On his first day practicing with the Gators, freshman forward Chris Walker (23) is greeted by coach Billy Donovan (left) and assistant coach Matt McCall on Saturday morning.
