NCAA Basketball: Where will 4-star combo guard Kerwin Walton end up?

Kerwin Walton is down to a handful of power-7 conference NCAA Basketball teams and has now set a decision date.

Four-star 2020 shooting guard Kerwin Walton will make his college decision on April 25, according to Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers. Walton is deciding between Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Creighton, North Carolina, and Arizona.

“[I’m looking with my parents and coaches at] my initial role on the team as a freshman,”

Walton said Inside Carolina.

“Who am I going to be playing with? Is it going to be a situation or environment where I can develop as a player because hopefully, I’m looking to make a big impact right away when I show up on campus, that’s pretty much the goal. I’m pretty confident I can do that. I’ve put in a lot of work along the way. I’ve had some successes and failures, and that’s just bred confidence.

Known as an elite shooter, Walton is much more than that as he possesses good length and size as well as decent athleticism. He has great handles, and he is an excellent finisher when he goes to the hole, especially in traffic.  The 6-5 guard also has an outstanding mid-range game and sees the floor well.  Additionally, Walton is a plus on-ball defender as well as an outstanding rebounder.

Walton averaged 26 points along with 11 caroms at Hopkins (MN) High School this past season while leading the Royals to a 4A Class section title. The Hopkins native is ranked among the top in the class by Rivals and 247Sports, however, ESPN does not have him rated at all. Rivals has him at No. 89 in their rankings while he is No. 96 in 247Sports Composite rankings and 142nd in 247 Sports settings.

So, where will Walton end up?

Arizona: Arizona has four scholarships left to give out as the Wildcats look to fill out their 2020-21 roster. But the Cats have had a lot of turmoil lately with the Sean Miller scandal, to having several players leaving school early to turn pro — though that is necessary not a bad thing with Nico Mannion, Zeke Nnaji, and Josh Green departing early this year — along with them missing out on several top prospects recently. Five-star prospects Daishen Nix, Caleb Love, Josh Christopher, and Ziaire Williams were among the players that chose not to play in Tucson — each of the players received an offer from Zona.

On the positive side for the Wildcats, Walton was a high school teammate with Nnaji. Miller has brought in four-star wing Dalen Terry,four-star wing Benedict Mathurin, along with transfers Terrell Brown Jr. and James Akinjo as part of his 2020 recruiting class. Walton officially visited Arizona on Sept. 26.

UNC: The Tar Heels had a scholarship open up recently with Brandon Huffman deciding to transfer. Walton took an official trip to Chapel Hill on Oct. 25.

“They’ve been consistent,” Kewin Walton’s father told Inside Carolina “They’ve said from the beginning they want Kerwin to do at UNC what he’s done for Hopkins and with D1 Minnesota (on the Adidas grassroots circuit). Coach Roy said, ‘the same shots you knocked down for them for championships, I want you to make at UNC.’ They’ve always been clear and firm on that.”

Coach Roy Williams has signed the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation with three five-star recruits Caleb Love, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Walker Kessler. Four-star wing Puff Johnson, along with four-star combo guard RJ Davis are the other two members of the class.

Creighton: Creighton has known Walton for a couple of years, and he has taken unofficial visits to the Omaha campus. The Jays currently have two scholarships available for its 2020-21 roster with 7-foot center Ryan Kalkbrenner, being the only member of the class. CU went 24-7 and tied for the Big East regular-season crown with Seton Hall and Villanova at 13-5 last season. While the Bluejays return a lot of talent this upcoming year, Walton is expected to plenty of time if he ended up at Creighton.

Georgetown: Georgetown didn’t offer Walton until January. While Walton didn’t get to visit Georgetown because of the Coronavirus, he and Patrick Ewing met when Ewing saw him play on Feb. 24.

Ewing has been busy on the recruiting trail since the end of the season, having reeled in several recruits, including grad transfer Jalen Harris. The Hoyas have at least one more scholarship available, and that could increase if Omer Yurtseven leaves and Mac McClung remains in the NBA Draft. Georgetown currently has the No.37 rated class in the country, which is led by four-star forward Jamari Sibley.

Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt struggled last year as the Commodores dealt with several injures and finished the season at 11-21 overall and 3-15 under first-year head coach Jerry Stackhouse. Stackhouse won’t have star Aaron Nesmith as he has left for the NBA Draft, and Saban Lee may follow suit though at this time, he is just testing the waters.  Vandy has two scholarships left, having already signed three-star power forward Myles Stute and securing commitments from three-star guard Tyrin Lawrence and Kansas transfer Isaac McBride.

Minnesota: Minnesota is very familiar with the hometown product.  Walton attended several Gophers games this season to see how he might fit in Richard Pitino’s system.

“[Watching the Gophers] definitely gives me a good insight on who I would be playing with and how they play,” Walton told Marcus Fuller of the StarTribune. “Being able to see that so many times was very helpful. I don’t feel too much pressure about it. I think it’s pretty cool and interesting for how much love and support I would get from the hometown.”

Minnesota has one scholarship left to give out in 2020. Four-star point guard Jamal Mashburn Jr. leads a four-man recruiting class that includes two transfers.

Projection: I believe that Walton will probably ultimately end up at UNC though the Tar Heels are the only place he won’t likely start immediately. Arizona and Creighton are probably the top other options, with Minnesota being the wildcard. So, I’m going 1. Carolina followed closely by Arizona and then Creighton. The Gophers are fourth followed distantly by Vanderbilt and Georgetown.