Meet the Hurricanes’ highest ranked basketball recruit in a decade
They sent all four coaches and a private jet to seal the deal
The Miami Hurricanes basketball team recently signed their highest-ranked signee since 2007. In a Hurricanes’ first, all four coaches flew to the recruit’s hometown in a private jet to show their strong interest in him and make a final push for signing. He’s a 5-star recruit. He’s ranked No. 19 on ESPN’s Draft Class of 2017 Top 20. Excited yet?
So who exactly is Lonnie Walker?
He’s 6’5 and weighs right around 200 pounds. His strongest abilities lie in speed, three-point shooting, defense and extraordinary dunking. He put up very impressive numbers last season, averaging 16.6 points for his high school varsity team while shooting an outstanding 39/54 from 3-point range. He led his team to a 29-4 record. He’s also ranked the No. 1 shooting guard in the state of Pennsylvania. Lonnie was most recently nominated for the McDonald’s All-American Game. Aaaand, he’s only 18 years old…
Head Coach Jim Larrañaga had this to say about the rising star: “Lonnie is not just a recruit, he is a great role model to kids in his hometown, a local celebrity because he is a great student, good person, and a smiley young man the little kids look up to.”
Walker chose Miami over other offers from top basketball schools such as Arizona, Kentucky, Florida State, Duke and plenty others. And he announced his decision in the most Miami way possible:
Hurricane fans, expect to see more of this next year:
With the current record sitting at 12-4, Miami fans can rest assured that next season will be a very promising one.
Go Canes!
Feature Image: Hurricanesports