Former UConn forward Samarie Walker to play at Kentucky

After days of speculation about whether or not former UConn forward Samarie Walker would play for Kentucky after transferring to the school recently, the head coach of the Wildcats announced that she would begin playing for his team following the fall semester of the 2011-12 season.

“I am very happy that Samarie has joined the Kentucky program,” said Matthew Mitchell in a statement. “She is a fine young woman who I got to know well while recruiting her during her high school career. Samarie is a talented player who will have an excellent opportunity to make a significant impact at Kentucky on and off the basketball court.”

Walker is from West Carrollton, Ohio. She played in 17 games for UConn this season, averaging 6.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game. She averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a senior at Chaminade-Julienne High School in Dayton, Ohio. She was the the No. 10 ranked  overall prospect and No. 5 among forwards on the ESPN Hoopgurlz lists.

A blog post on the Kentucky Athletics website explained how Walker ended up joining Kentucky. After the Wildcats received a release last Thursday night that she was leaving UConn, they contacted her right away.

"We were on the phone with her that day as soon as we got the release," said Mitchell. "It moved pretty quickly after that. She was at a spot where she had to make a pretty quick decision, so we were fortunate that we already had a relationship with her, she had been on campus, it’s close to her home and she had a comfort level with us."