SANFORD, Fla. — You don’t have to watch C.J. Walker long to see his talent.  Marcus Robinson spotted it the minute he put him through a drill in 6th grade.

“I see a tall kid, shirt leaning off, I think one shoe was untied, I was like alright tie your shoe up I have some cones down,” Robinson remembered.  “C.J. goes through the cones like bah, bum, buh, bum, bop.  I’m like where your mom at.”

Walker joined Robinson’s youth travel team and the two have been by each other’s side ever since.

“His parents I owe it all to,” Robinson said.  “They didn’t know me from a to z they just took the word of their cousin to say hey coach Marcus is a good person, C.J. is in good hands.”

Robinson works for Seminole County school district and is the program director of the Boys and Girls Club at Westside Community Center in Sanford, Fl.  Since that day he’s been mentoring and helping Walker through his basketball a journey.  A journey that has him currently preparing for the NBA draft.

“I’ve had this dream for awhile,” Walker said.  “Now that my time is finally coming, not too much of a surprise, I’ve just got to seal the deal.”

Walker moved from New York City to Sanford in the 6th grade.  He played high school basketball at Seminole High School, Orlando Christian Prep and Oak Ridge.  He considers the Westside Community Center in Sanford his home gym.

“This is the crib, this is the house,” Walker said during an interview on the community center court.  In the corner there are several pictures of Walker on the wall.  “I work out here like twice a day, I come to these open gyms, I know the kids here.  It’s just always good to work out in an environment like this to where you’re comfortable.”

Comfortable is one of the reason’s why Walker transferred back home to UCF after his freshman season at Oregon.  During the pandemic he started training at the Boys and Girls Club and began to realize everything he was missing at home.

“Just being back home was a real good experience,” Walker said.  “I never played college basketball for my own hometown, so just that alone was real exciting.”

Walker averaged 7.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and an AAC high 1.7 BPG.  After the season he declared for the draft, but is maintaining his eligibility with UCF.

“I feel like everybody needs a player like me that is willing to do whatever it takes,” Walker said.  “I feel like once I show who I am as a basketball player it will all come together.”

Walker’s defense and versatility are his calling card.  His work outs are designed to help him develop a NBA ready shot.

“Guy like him at 6’9 you’ve got to knock down the corner three consistently in the league,” Carlos Morales said.  Morales is the founder of IBT (International Basketball Training) and is a player development coach.  He runs Walker’s basketball work outs.

“His athleticism, his natural talent, his natural ability is like over that 1%,” Morales said.  “We are trying to showcase and prove that he’s more than just an athlete.”

Morales is helping Walker understand the finer details of the game like reading the defense, moving without the ball, and slowing down once he has it.

“All that stuff, he didn’t have that yet, he hadn’t been taught that yet,” Morales said.  “I think his game has evolved a lot in the past month that we’ve been working.”

When Walker isn’t shooting, he’s lifting at Competitor Performance Academy in Winter Springs.

“Bench is actually my favorite thing,” Walker said as he lays down preparing to put up a few reps at 225 lbs. “That’s some pounds, I feel like Dwight Howard in here,” Walker jokes.

“You know when we are talking just straight physicality the ability to move, the ability to jump, his strength, his fitness level… I mean he’s at a very high level,” Jeff Higuera said.  Higuera is the owner and head performance coach at Competitor Performance academy which trains high school to professional athletes.

“Part of being that great of an athlete is being able to help him control that athleticism,” Higuera said. “You do that a lot just through getting stronger.  Getting stronger will help him gain more control and be more explosive in the long run.”

The NCAA allows athletes to sign with a NCAA certified agent while still maintaining their eligibility.  Based on feedback Robinson has received they are going to continue to explore the process while leaving the door open to return to UCF.

“At the end of the day we have to do what’s best for C.J.,” Robinson said.  “If it makes sense and there’s not enough feedback that say hey we are going to stay in the draft then like we told UCF in the beginning we’ll be back next year and are going to try to make a run for the NCAA tournament.”

When the time comes to decide Walker will sit down with Robinson and his parents.  He believes he’ll know the right thing to do.

“I don’t think I can tell you right now how I’ll feel,” Walker said.  “I feel like when that time comes I’ll be like just talking with agents, and my parents, I’ll know when that time comes.”

Regardless of which path he chooses to take, he knows experiencing this process will make him better.

“I know that like all these work outs I’m doing right now they aren’t going to waste,” Walker said.  “Later on down the road if I’m playing for UCF it’ll show.”