Hometown: Bronx, NY
Birthday: 08/05/1990
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 172lbs
Position: Point Guard
High School: Rice
Team: Connecticut
Class: Junior
#15 Kemba Walker | G
Strengths Weaknesses
Right handed
Excellent athlete
Elite-level quickness & speed
Explosive force with the ball in his hands,
scoring both inside & out
Vocal leader
Proven defender; active hands, full-court
pressure
Can use one-dribble move (often going to his
low-crossover) to create separation between
him & his defender, keep them off balance &
attack
Perimeter jumper
Can weave through defense & get to the rim
Heart
Toughness
Fearless with the ball
Can score in the paint
Draws fouls
Height & size
Court-vision
Score-first Pass-second
NBA Comparison: Tim Hardaway/Bobby Jackson
Strengths Weaknesses
Amazing speed; as fast as they come. Can
ignite a fast break completely on his own
Quickness
Ability to change direction
Slick with the ball in his hands; ability to blow
by practically anyone
Become a better spot up shooter
His pull-up jumper off the dribble is what will
propel him to become & effective guard at the
next level. Has a smooth & fluent motion
Has a good feel for the pick & roll
Very effective getting into the paint, which not
only opens up opportunities for himself, but
his teammates as well
For his size (5'11), he finishes pretty well
around the rim
Explosive, & has a quick first step
A terrific rebounder for his size, Walker often
out leaps big men for boards & takes the ball
coast-to-coast
Above average vision with the ball, showing
the ability to hit the open man, open up the
floor, or thread the needle
Aggressive nature enables him to shoot 6 free
throws per game
Has the ability to pull up off a pick-&-roll &
knock down a contested 3 pointer
A dynamite athlete
Shows good instincts & court vision when he
gets into the paint
Excellent free throw shooter
Defensively, he plays in your face on the
perimeter. His quickness allows him to keep
his man in front of him
Potential to be a quality point guard
Ability to read passing lanes
His pull-up game, quickness & playmaking
ability however can make him into an effective
player, regardless of his size
Strong on-ball defender
Plays with tremendous passion
Vocal leader
Shot isn't fully there yet
Size
Poor decision making; occasionally takes bad
shots, & forces the issue
Gets his shot blocked too often
May struggle to convert in traffic
Tends to force up shots or unrealistically
attempt to draw fouls in the paint, when he
should look to penetrate & kick it out
Sometimes has his mind set on his next move
before he sees what's given to him
Turnover prone
Lacks consistent range on his jumper
Lack of size at the next level will allow other
guards to shoot/pass over him
Lack of strength might allow others to push
him around against taller, stronger guards
Should look to add a better floater in the lane
instead of penetrating in so far every time
Size might scare off some GMs
He will need to learn to let the game come to
him better
Gets caught trying to do too much; many of
his turnovers are the result of over dribbling
or making an extra pass when it isnt needed
Lacks experience
Can be a bit erratic with the ball
Strengths Weaknesses
Winner
Tough
Character
Blinding speed
Competes
Confident
Size
Score first
Takes contested shots
Volume shooter
Connecticut's Walker already had fans before leading the Huskies to five wins in five days earlier this
month to capture an improbable Big East title, but that incredible performance only solidified his
standing as one of the country's best scorers. Of all the point guards coming out, Walker gets the
most votes as the one who could step in immediately & contribute. With the NBA rules against contact
out front, hell be incredibly difficult to cover with his quickness & bounce, though his size (6-
foot-1) will give him trouble at the defensive end.
Walker's had the better year (than Knight), he's got the buzz, he had the great Big East tournament,
but he's probably 5-foot-10, a veteran personnel man says. If you look around the NBA, it doesn't
mean you can't play. Earl Boykins proved you can play. But how many guys come into the NBA &
dominate under six feet? That doesn't mean the guy can't play. I don't see him playing with the
toughness of a Kyle Lowry, but I could see him coming in & being as effective as him.
Said a Central Division personnel director: I'd be concerned with his size as a point, not as a
two. In terms of the Draft, he's going to be the second point guard taken. There's only scoring point
guards now that start. From everything I've heard he's a great kid.
Walker may not be a starter immediately, but at the worst, he could be a third guard right away, even
for the better teams.
Said a Pacific Division personnel man: You look at Ty Lawson & what he's done & he's a little more
dynamic than Ty. He has more of a defensive mindset than last year & he's kind of evolved into the
kind of guy that can get his shot. Splitting pick & rolls, stopping on a dime & shooting the
floater. You see NBA players make those plays.
"He has tremendous balance, his body is always totally under control & it starts with his
feet."
But by leading UConn on an incredible run through the Big East & NCAA tournaments, Kemba has
made a name for himself as a Guy Who Wins Big Games.
At the start of the season some doubted that he could play in the NBA. After UConn jumped out to a
100 start, including a win over Michigan State & Kentucky, it became obvious that Walker would be a
pro. Still, some doubted what kind of impact hed have at the next level. But with UConn in the Final
Four & Walker playing the best basketball of anybody in the country, hes proven he has what it takes
to play in the NBA.
Walkers a great scorer & already, he has a step back that would be hard for even Kobe Bryant to
guard.
What makes Walker really attractive for NBA scouts is his strength & foot speed.
Walker will be able to cover NBA guards right from the get go & it's defense that determines which
rookies play & which ride the pine. Walkers a top 10 pick.
Projected Pick: Top 10
Strengths Weaknesses
Fast
Athletic
Finishes around the rim
Explosive first step
On-ball defense
Extremely quick
Gifted at creating own shot
Not as strong as normal point guards
Size
Stubborn; tends to force things
Decision-making
Outside shooting
In a wild college basketball season that saw the clear-cut favorite (Duke) become a question mark due
to the loss of Kyrie Irving, consensus contenders like Michigan State unravel & a program like San Diego
State explode, one thing has been constant: Kemba Walker reigns supreme. The 6-1, 172-pound point
guard has been a scoring giant in the NCAA & single-handedly lifted his UConn team time after time. It
all started with the Maui Invitational in November, when the Bronx native had a performance that was
legendary to say the least. Floaters, buzzer beaters, dimes & clutch threes forecast highs for Kemba &
lows for his opponents this season. The first game against Wichita State I was in foul trouble & they
started to pull away, says Walker, who scored 31 against the Shockers. We have a young team so I
knew once I got back in, I had to take over.
He hasnt looked back since. For a player who was not recognized as a pre-season All-American,
Kemba has put this UConn team on his back so often that his nickname should be JanSport.
Now in his junior season, Walker has proven to be not just a point guard, but a dominant
player in every aspect of the game. He averaged UConn-high per-game numbers of 23.9 points,
4.5 assists & 1.9 steals (& grabbed 5.3 rebounds for good measure).
Although Walkers limelight is the brightest this season, he was bred to be the pulse of a relatively
young Huskies team prior to ever suiting up in a UConn uniform. The instinct of any great New York City
point guard is, when given the chance, show out, & that is exactly what Kemba has done by fully
accepting his role as a New York City hoop prodigy turned big-time go-to guy. Long before the weekly
scoring showcases & National Player of the Year talk, Kemba Walker was a star at Rice High in New
York City.
Its a storyline familiar to the Mecca of big-time hoops, but Walkers the result of an Empire State
basketball factory that hasnt seen much production as of late. The pressure of being a New York City
point guard is intense, with a hoop Mt. Rushmore that includes the likes of Mark Jackson, Stephon
Marbury, Kenny Smith & Rod Strickland. Walkers well aware that all eyes are on him, but he feels no
stress to perform: Being from the city is a special feeling. There hasnt been anyone in a while but I
dont feel any pressure. I just play ball.
Walker has brought the excitement back to borough natives who had the pleasure of watching him get
it done with the Gauchos AAU program & on the summer circuit by being arguably the most exciting
player in college basketball this season. And he says he feels the love more than ever: Its great when I
come home & people show me so much love. Kids say I inspire them to work harder. Its great.
Walkers success is a result of a mixture of raw talent moulded by experience from hard work & having
the type of hustle owned only by a basketball player set to graduate in three years. He has the special
ability to observe by playing behind someone (as Kemba did as a frosh behind current Pacer AJ Price)
learning something from them & immediately incorporating it into his game. Playing behind someone
gave me a path to get better, Walker says confidently. When its my time to go, I make sure Ive
improved & am ready to work.
Aside from playing a secondary role early in his college career, he learned from some of the NBAs elite
this summer while playing on the college USA Select Team. Preparing the USA Basketball team for the
FIBA World Basketball Championships gave Walker an opportunity to take notes from the Leagues best
point guards. I learned a lot from Russell Westbrook & Derrick Rose, says Walker, who projects as a
sure-fire Lottery pick if he comes out after this season. Just the pace of the game, changing speeds &
switching gears has really helped me this season.
With March & Tournament time here, Walker has his team into another gearoverdrive. The Big East
games have definitely prepared us for March, he says. Its crazy. Theres no night off in the Big East.
Its helping prepare us as a team. Anybody can win; its the same way when the Tournament comes.
Walker is solely focused on keeping his UConn team alive & winning, but he cant shrug off his
competitive nature when asked about an impending future in the NBA. I know I can be a quality point
guard in the NBA, Walker says confidently. People question my size but Ill be fine. Height has nothing
to do with anything. I have a lot of heart.
That heart beats for an entire team & will keep the crown on Kemba Walker; where its rightfully
deserved.
Ive never seen a guard dominate a game -- I'm talking about inside & out -- as Kemba
has.
The 6-foot-1 junior from the Bronx connected on fall-away jumpers, nifty scoop shots, &
13 of his 14 free throws. In the process, he shattered the Big East tournament scoring record. In
fact, Walker's 111 are the second-most points in any Division I conference tournament in the past 15
years.
And he still has Saturday night's championship game versus No. 3 seed Louisville to play.
After the game, Walker wouldnt reveal how fatigued he feels as he faces the prospect of playing a fifth
contest in five days.
"It's tough, but we're ready for the challenge," Walker said. "We're mentally tough, & we're just
gonna stay together."
Walker's week calls to mind the performance of another diminutive guard who took this tournament &
this metropolis by storm five years ago: Gerry McNamara of Syracuse.
In a course of four days in March 2006, McNamara put on a show that instantly became the stuff of Big
East & Big Apple legend. His Syracuse team -- the No. 9 seed, just like this year's UConn squad -- had to
win four games in four days to win the Big East title. In fact, they needed a deep run in the Big East
tourney just to earn an NCAA tournament bid.
And McNamara made it his own personal highlight reel. In the first game, he hit a running one-handed
3-pointer with a half-second left to beat Cincinnati by a single point. Next, McNamara had 17 points &
13 assists -- including a 30-foot trey to send the game into OT -- in a win over UConn. The third time
around, he drained five 3-pointers in the second half as the Orange came back from 15 down at the half
to defeat Georgetown.
He finished it off with 14 points & six assists in a championship game victory over Pittsburgh.
And it just so happens that McNamaras now a graduate assistant for the Orange, working for his old
coach, Jim Boeheim.
"I could have never imagined the way that week played out," McNamara said about 90 minutes before
tipoff on Friday night, taking a break from helping the current Syracuse players warm up. "But it
certainly was one of the most memorable four days of my life."
McNamara watched a good chunk of UConn's thrilling win over top-seeded Pitt on Thursday from a
couple rows behind the team benches. And he had a front-row seat for the 45-minute virtuoso instant
classic by Walker on Friday night.
"A lot of people are fast, but his ability to change directions is probably among the elite
in the country," McNamara said of Walker. "The way he changes directions & changes speeds is
really as good as I've seen."
McNamara was asked if he sees any of himself in Walker.
"His will to win," McNamara said. "He's intense, & he's intense every play of the game. ... I
admire how hard he plays, & I admire his will to win. And any time you have a player that's
talented but [also] wants to win more than anybody on the court, it's a great
combination."
Funnily enough, Calhoun said almost the exact same thing about Walker to a group of reporters after
the game.
"I think what wears [opponents] down is you can't get him to slow up. He's gonna try to outwill
you," Calhoun said. "We talk a lot about that with our team. If you're really good you can outwill
another team.
"Kemba is probably the personification of that. ... You know what? If I could have every player find what
he finds, then we wouldn't even be talking about us not being the Big East champion or winning the
national title. It's the greatest gift a player can have."
When asked after Friday night's game if he remembered McNamara & Syracuse's magical run in 2006,
Walker smiled& said he did. When asked to compare his own four-day run to that one, Walker said, "I
don't know -- we just winning. That's really all it is. I don't try to compare my play to other guys.
I'm just playing basketball & trying to win games for my teammates. That's really it."
When prodded further, Walker laughed & said, "Yeah, it was impressive. We tryin' to make a run, too."
That 2006 season did not end well for Gerry McNamara & Syracuse. With McNamara injured (he played
that Big East tourney with a stress fracture in his leg) & the team worn out by all the games in New
York, the fifth-seeded Orange were upset by No. 12 seed Texas A&M in the first round of the Big Dance.
But McNamara said Friday that he wouldn't trade those four days in New York for anything. He said
people bring it up to him all the time.
"Every year when I get to come to the Big East tournament now, it's a whole different animal,"
McNamara said. "Just to be a part of the history & to play in this [tournament] was a great experience.
But to be a part of the bigger picture -- to have had one of those great performances among all the
great ones here -- it's just a great feeling."
McNamara never made it past the preseason in the NBA. And who knows what kind of career Walker
will have at the next level.
But Gerry McNamara will always be a part of Big East and Madison Square Garden legend. And
whatever happens on Saturday night & the rest of March, Kemba Walker will be, too.
"He is as special as any player I've ever coached. No one's going to surpass him. They
may equal him but no one is going to surpass him. ... Five games in five days, he's
amazing."
"This is what I work for the whole summer," he said. "All that hard work is paying off. If
the refs call it, it's a foul. I'm not Michael Jordan. I'm Kemba Walker."
"He'll smile at the referee, & smile at the opponent & then run you over," Calhoun said.
"That's who he is."
Hes Allen Iverson-esque, a generously listed 6-foot-1 squirt who drives his body into the
forest of big men with little care. When hes not splitting a defense, hes sprinting down
court leading the offense.
