There were over 30 NBA scouts at the CU Events Center on Friday night as the now 8-3 Colorado Buffaloes took on the Milwaukee Panthers. They came to watch Milwaukee’s star freshman guard Patrick Baldwin Jr., a former five-star recruit who at 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds has plenty of NBA potential.
What they got instead was a standout performance from Colorado’s own Jabari Walker as his second half performance carried the Buffs to a 65-54 victory. Walker missed all six of his shot attempts from the field in the first half, but what followed in the second 20 minutes was an impressive display of his skill and heart.
Mike Schmitz, an NBA draft analyst for ESPN, took notice of Walker’s performance on Twitter.
Great late-game stretch for Jabari Walker to put the game away. Attacked Patrick Baldwin in space, ripped him on the perimeter & turned it into an And 1 dunk, splashed a pick and pop 3 in his face. Showed character. Rough night for Baldwin: 12 PTS, 5 REBS on 3-13 shooting. https://t.co/ytUvRqgEVb
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) December 11, 2021
Walker finished the game with 14 points, all of which came during his dominant second half. Six of those points came during Colorado’s 11-0 run during the final four minutes of play, which sealed the win.
Baldwin was held to just 12 points as he went 3-for-13 from the field and 2-for-10 from behind the arc. It wasn’t his best night in front of the scouts and Walker took advantage.