RIP Winfred Walton

[BonaCuse]

I am seeing reports online that Winfred Walton passed away this morning.


Todd Burgen posted a tribute on his Insta as well.

 

[grepal]

Terrible news, I was so excited when he signed with Cuse and crushed when he was not able to play for us.

 

[RF2044]

Tragic, if true. He's awfully young.

What a shame we never got to see this kid in Orange. He was a STUD who would have excelled playing for JB. Someday, I hope the story comes out about his SAT score.

 

[sutomcat]

I am seeing reports online that Winfred Walton passed away this morning.


Todd Burgen posted a tribute on his Insta as well.

Sorry to hear. He entered college at the wrong time. He could have played at Syracuse or anywhere else with problems with today's rules in place.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[cayugacuse]

Very sad. Back in an era when we were often involved with the best players in the country. Ben Wilson, Marcus Liberty, Alonzo Mourning ect. He passed way to soon. RIP.

 

[RF2044]

Very sad. Back in an era when we were often involved with the best players in the country. Ben Wilson, Marcus Liberty, Alonzo Mourning ect. He passed way to soon. RIP.

Walton and Karlton Hines go down for me as huge missed opportunities -- for them AND us.

Wasted potential. Sad.

 

[SU94]

Walton's name comes up with some degree of frequency on this board, the 'what could've been posts,' that often include the likes of ...

Winfred, Keith Hughes, Boo Harvey, Mark Konecny, Earl Duncan ... there are others. Kevin Huerter is a modern-day example. How about those 27 minutes Mike Jones from South Carolina spent on campus before leaving to go back home.

Some long-timers might forget that Walton -- who I believe was a Prop 48 casualty -- played college hoops at Fresno State, for one season, during Tarkanian's relatively brief stint with the Bulldogs:
Winfred Walton College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

I remember watching a game or two and he was a bit (not grossly) out of shape, but you could see he had some serious game. Not sure why he fizzled out, my guess would be academics, but who knows? The CBB landscape was different back then (not better, ... different).

 

[orangefog]

Walton's name comes up with some degree of frequency on this board, the 'what could've been posts,' that often include the likes of ...

Winfred, Keith Hughes, Boo Harvey, Mark Konecny, Earl Duncan ... there are others. Kevin Huerter is a modern-day example. How about those 27 minutes Mike Jones from South Carolina spent on campus before leaving to go back home.

Some long-timers might forget that Walton -- who I believe was a Prop 48 casualty -- played college hoops at Fresno State, for one season, during Tarkanian's relatively brief stint with the Bulldogs:
Winfred Walton College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

I remember watching a game or two and he was a bit (not grossly) out of shape, but you could see he had some serious game. Not sure why he fizzled out, my guess would be academics, but who knows? The CBB landscape was different back then (not better, ... different).

Tark brought in some real filth to that Fresno State program. Avondre Jones and Kenny Brunner come to mind.

 

[miamicuse]

Was he supposed to come in the year after John Wallace left? He wore a 44 too right?

 

[RF2044]

Was he supposed to come in the year after John Wallace left? He wore a 44 too right?

Yes to both.

He was a stud out of Detroit, who was poised to follow in DC's / JDub's footsteps as the next great 44 in program history. He was both a Parade AA and a McD's all-american as a senior in HS, and a top 10 recruit overall.

But he was borderline academically, and hadn't been able to achieve a high enough qualifying score on the SAT after numerous tries.

Then, he finally passed, and was cleared to enroll at SU. He did, but by October the NCAA flagged his score for being suspicious due to how much it had improved relative to the first couple of times he'd taken the test. In the end, it appeared that somebody else had taken the standardized test, pretending to be him. Walton denied those allegations, and was given another chance to take the test to prove that he could get a qualifying score. He didn't, and had to leave SU as a prop 48 casualty.

STAR SYRACUSE RECRUIT TO MISS SEASON BECAUSE OF TEST SCORES

Winfred Walton, the star recruit who was expected to start at power forward for No. 12 Syracuse, must sit out the season because of poor scores on his college entrance

greensboro.com

What might have been...

 

[orangefog]

Yes to both.

He was a stud out of Detroit, who was poised to follow in DC's / JDub's footsteps as the next great 44 in program history. He was both a Parade AA and a McD's all-american as a senior in HS, and a top 10 recruit overall.

But he was borderline academically, and hadn't been able to achieve a high enough qualifying score on the SAT after numerous tries.

Then, he finally passed, and was cleared to enroll at SU. He did, but by October the NCAA flagged his score for being suspicious due to how much it had improved relative to the first couple of times he'd taken the test. In the end, it appeared that somebody else had taken the standardized test, pretending to be him. Walton denied those allegations, and was given another chance to take the test to prove that he could get a qualifying score. He didn't, and had to leave SU as a prop 48 casualty.

STAR SYRACUSE RECRUIT TO MISS SEASON BECAUSE OF TEST SCORES

Winfred Walton, the star recruit who was expected to start at power forward for No. 12 Syracuse, must sit out the season because of poor scores on his college entrance

greensboro.com

What might have been...

That recruiting class was Eton Thomas, Winfred Walton, Jason Hart, Lasean Howard and Rock Lloyd. Now THAT is a killer class.

 

[Dcuse]

Walton's name comes up with some degree of frequency on this board, the 'what could've been posts,' that often include the likes of ...

Winfred, Keith Hughes, Boo Harvey, Mark Konecny, Earl Duncan ... there are others. Kevin Huerter is a modern-day example. How about those 27 minutes Mike Jones from South Carolina spent on campus before leaving to go back home.

Some long-timers might forget that Walton -- who I believe was a Prop 48 casualty -- played college hoops at Fresno State, for one season, during Tarkanian's relatively brief stint with the Bulldogs:
Winfred Walton College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

I remember watching a game or two and he was a bit (not grossly) out of shape, but you could see he had some serious game. Not sure why he fizzled out, my guess would be academics, but who knows? The CBB landscape was different back then (not better, ... different).

No, it was better.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Walton's name comes up with some degree of frequency on this board, the 'what could've been posts,' that often include the likes of ...

Winfred, Keith Hughes, Boo Harvey, Mark Konecny, Earl Duncan ... there are others. Kevin Huerter is a modern-day example. How about those 27 minutes Mike Jones from South Carolina spent on campus before leaving to go back home.

Some long-timers might forget that Walton -- who I believe was a Prop 48 casualty -- played college hoops at Fresno State, for one season, during Tarkanian's relatively brief stint with the Bulldogs:
Winfred Walton College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

I remember watching a game or two and he was a bit (not grossly) out of shape, but you could see he had some serious game. Not sure why he fizzled out, my guess would be academics, but who knows? The CBB landscape was different back then (not better, ... different).

Don’t bemoan Boo, he begat Sherm.

 

[JustPherU]

No, it was better.

It was better for me!

 

[CusefanATL]

I am seeing reports online that Winfred Walton passed away this morning.


Todd Burgen posted a tribute on his Insta as well.

wow.. sad to hear.

RIP Winfred. Went to a practice in like 97 when he was ineligible and saw him play horse with a kid.

that could have been our top recruiting class ever had he gotten through.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Walton looked so smooth in that burger game, I had him penciled in as our next great do it all forward.

And then he wasn't.

RIP

 

[OttoinGrotto]

That recruiting class was Eton Thomas, Winfred Walton, Jason Hart, Lasean Howard and Rock Lloyd. Now THAT is a killer class.

I think Ryan Blackwell came in as a transfer too.

 

[orangefog]

I think Ryan Blackwell came in as a transfer too.

Yep, he had to sit that year, but he was a redshirt soph with them the next year. Not too shabby. Walton went to the same high school as Burgan I think, Pershing. It's sad to see that he has passed. I don't think life was easy for him. He was blessed with NBA talent, but never got on the right path.

 

[swish7]

So sad. I share in everyone's sentiments above. His is a name I've never forgotten, even though he never played here. His nickname was 'The Weapon' as I recall.

 

[MGDCuse]

Tark brought in some real filth to that Fresno State program. Avondre Jones and Kenny Brunner come to mind.

Didn't Chris Herron end up there too?

 

[orangefog]

Didn't Chris Herron end up there too?

Yep

 

[Cuse1055]

I remember calling the Syracuse Herald Journal phone number repeatedly to hear the update from Mike Waters on if he got the qualifying test score.
That team picture shows the talent we had. Imagine the 98-2000 teams with Hart, Blackwell, Etan AND Walton. Wow.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I remember calling the Syracuse Herald Journal phone number repeatedly to hear the update from Mike Waters on if he got the qualifying test score.
That team picture shows the talent we had. Imagine the 98-2000 teams with Hart, Blackwell, Etan AND Walton. Wow.

I remember the news article about it was kinda weird. It was told from the mom's perspective where she said everyone knew he'd been struggling with his qualifying score, and the letter with his latest score was waiting for him when he came home from school. I distinctly remember the story was that he went to his room to read it himself privately first, and his mom said she heard him yelling in excitement that he got his qualifying score.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Yes to both.

He was a stud out of Detroit, who was poised to follow in DC's / JDub's footsteps as the next great 44 in program history. He was both a Parade AA and a McD's all-american as a senior in HS, and a top 10 recruit overall.

But he was borderline academically, and hadn't been able to achieve a high enough qualifying score on the SAT after numerous tries.

Then, he finally passed, and was cleared to enroll at SU. He did, but by October the NCAA flagged his score for being suspicious due to how much it had improved relative to the first couple of times he'd taken the test. In the end, it appeared that somebody else had taken the standardized test, pretending to be him. Walton denied those allegations, and was given another chance to take the test to prove that he could get a qualifying score. He didn't, and had to leave SU as a prop 48 casualty.

STAR SYRACUSE RECRUIT TO MISS SEASON BECAUSE OF TEST SCORES

Winfred Walton, the star recruit who was expected to start at power forward for No. 12 Syracuse, must sit out the season because of poor scores on his college entrance

greensboro.com

What might have been...

What kind of idiot takes the test for you and then doesn’t throw some questions to make the score realistic ?