UC IRVINE NOTES : Walker Transferring From Cal to Play Basketball for Baker

Keith Walker, the leading boys’ basketball scorer in Orange County two seasons ago, says he will transfer to UC Irvine after one season at California.

“It was mainly because of the new coach, Rod Baker. I felt really comfortable with him,” said Walker, who appeared in nine of Cal’s 28 games last season and decided to leave at the end of the school year.

“It seems like (Baker is) going to turn the program around, and I wanted to come in the building stages. Coming out of high school, (Irvine) was my second choice anyway.”

Walker, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound shooting guard, averaged 32.6 points for Brea-Olinda High School in 1989-90.

At Cal, he averaged about five minutes in his nine appearances. He made seven of 17 shots, with a season-high nine points against U.S. International.

Walker, who has accepted Irvine’s scholarship offer and is in the process of officially transferring, must sit out next season under NCAA transfer requirements. He will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning with the 1992-93 season.

Walker also considered attending Cypress College or Rancho Santiago College, but said he would prefer to play three seasons at a four-year school rather than only two. He will also take advantage of the upcoming redshirt season to have a bone spur removed from his left foot.