UM’s Lonnie Walker cleared to play following surgery

University of Miami’s highly-touted freshman Lonnie Walker, who had surgery for a torn right meniscus in July, was cleared for competition and will be eased into practice this week, Coach Jim Larrañaga confirmed. The season opener is Nov. 10 at home against Gardner-Webb.

Walker is a 6-5 incoming five-star recruit from Reading, Pa. He has been projected by some experts to be a first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. On Tuesday, he was one of 20 players named to the Jerry West Award Watch List, given to the nation’s top shooting guard. KeVaughn Allen of the University of Florida and MJ Walker of Florida State also made the list.

Walker was a McDonald’s All-American last season, won Mr. Pennsylvania Basketball and was co-winner of the Jordan Brand Classic MVP. Larranaga has described him as “a high-octane open court player.”

Walker is part of UM’s Top 10 recruiting class for 2017. Other freshmen to watch are point guard Chris Lykes, center Deng Gak, and Sam Waardenburg from New Zealand.

When Walker injured his knee, UM coaches were pleased with his response.

“He’s handled it like a real professional,” Larrañaga said at the time. “He’s upbeat. Obviously, when he got hurt, he was very, very disappointed. But his willingness to do whatever he’s been asked to do has been tremendous. Our trainer and physical therapist are very, very excited about how he appears after the surgery. Sometimes, strength is a real problem for guys after surgery, but his strength seems to be very good.”

Miami is coming off a 21-12 season, and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Michigan State.

This story was originally published October 17, 2017 at 2:36 PM with the headline "UM’s Lonnie Walker cleared to play following surgery."