NEW YORK � The NCAA tournament may not seem all that daunting to Connecticut, given the path the newly-crowned Big East champions and prolific guard Kemba Walker took in getting there.
By Chris Trotman, Getty Images
"He's as special as any player I've ever coached," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun says of Kemba Walker. "No one is going to surpass him. They may equal him, but no one is going to surpass him."
By Chris Trotman, Getty Images
"He's as special as any player I've ever coached," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun says of Kemba Walker. "No one is going to surpass him. They may equal him, but no one is going to surpass him."
"This is the best league in the country right now. For us to come out on top in this league, our confidence is high right now," said Walker.
His tournament-record 130 points led the ninth-seeded Huskies (26-9) on an unprecedented run of five victories in as many days, culminating in Saturday night's 69-66 victory against Louisville.
Now, Connecticut is seeded third in the NCAA West. A young team that struggled at times to find its way during the regular season opens NCAA play Thursday in Washington, D.C., against 14th seeded Bucknell with the belief that it has finally all come together. The school abruptly ended a six-game Big East Tournament losing streak in earning its first title since 2004.
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Jim Calhoun, in his 25th season as coach, called the procession of victories against DePaul (97-71), Georgetown (79-62), top-seeded Pittsburgh (76-74), Syracuse (76-71 in overtime) and Louisville "as moving for me as anything I could possibly think of. Whatever we asked of them, they did."
Connecticut's progress is as dramatic as it is easy to measure. Its 9-9 regular-season mark in what is widely viewed as the nation's premier conference this year included losses to Pittsburgh and Syracuse and a pair of defeats against Louisville.
With a starting lineup composed of three freshman, one sophomore and a lone junior in Walker, the Huskies did not seem a likely candidate to enter the NCAA tournament after such a magical run. But they are.
"You don't have to have seniors," Walker says. "All it takes is work, and that's what we do."
Walker, generously listed at 6-1, 172 pounds, shows the way. His buzzer-beater closed out Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals. His game-high 33 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and six steals dispatched Syracuse. His penetration and sweet dish to emerging freshman guard Jeremy Lamb for a layin provided the winning basket against Louisville with 33 seconds left.
"We tried to double him every chance we could, but he's very difficult," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. "He's as good a player as there is in college basketball right now."
Says Calhoun, "He's as special as any player I've ever coached. No one is going to surpass him. They may equal him, but no one is going to surpass him."
Louisville coach Rick Pitino grew so exasperated after watching the electric guard penetrate and either convert or draw a foul, that he was overheard shouting to the officials, "He's not Michael Jordan!"
He is not, of course. But just as Jordan discovered paths to the basket that seemed to be nonexistent and possessed the explosiveness to capitalize on the slightest opportunity, so does Walker.
"That's instinct. That's God-given talent, I think," he said. "All my life I was able to do crazy layups. I know how to get to the glass."
Walker averaged 11.7 points per game before this season. He cites increased opportunities and experience he gained last summer for his ability to raise his game to great heights. He was one of 10 college athletes named to the USA Select Team that trained with the U.S. National team in preparation for the 2010 World Championships.
"The USA thing changed my life," he said. "The way those guys guarded me, nobody guarded me like that in my life. Playing those guys made me realize how good I was on this level. It made me see things slower."
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