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The Oregon Ducks will likely be without forward C.J. Walker when they face the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday, head coach Dana Altman told reporters Wednesday.
Walker has been dealing with back and knee injuries, according to Steve Mims of the Register-Guard. The 6-foot-8 freshman has appeared in 14 games this year (seven starts), averaging 5.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game.
Oregon has had a rotating list of missing bigs this season and will be shorthanded once again against Arizona on Thursday with C.J. Walker expected to miss the weekend. https://t.co/vKT3X2oNCb
— Steve Mims (@SteveMims_RG) January 8, 2020
On a per-minute basis, Walker is Oregon’s No. 1 shot blocker and fifth-best rebounder. He did not play in Saturday’s win at Utah.
The Ducks (12-3, 1-1 Pac-12) have rarely been at full strength this season. Freshman big man N’Faly Dante was ineligible for the first 10 games, while UNLV transfer forward Shakur Juiston recently missed five games with a knee injury.
Now it’s Walker who appears to be out for at least a couple more games.