Kemba Walker: A College Basketball Legacy

Kemba Hudley Walker, born on May 8, 1990, is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Before transitioning to his current role as a player enhancement coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Walker carved out a notable career as a player. Drafted ninth overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2011 NBA draft, he also played for the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and the Dallas Mavericks, before finishing his career with AS Monaco. However, it was his college career with the Connecticut Huskies that cemented his status as a basketball icon.

Early beginnings

Walker's basketball journey began at Rice High School in Harlem, New York City. During his junior year, Walker played once at Madison Square Garden against Simeon Career Academy and senior guard Derrick Rose in a 53-51 victory. Over his senior year, he posted 18.2 points and 5.3 assists per game, earning him a spot on the prestigious McDonald's All-American Team. He was able to play in the elite New York City Gauchos, the premier AAU basketball program for youth, and was joined by fellow Big East Conference talents-to-be Jordan Theodore, Darryl Bryant, Liam Herman, and Liam Arazi. Walker's team finished No. Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Walker was listed as the No. 5 point guard and the No.

Freshman year

During his freshman year at the University of Connecticut, Walker played in every contest and was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team. He helped the Huskies achieve a number one seed in the 2009 NCAA tournament. It only took two games into Kemba Walker's college career for him to break the 20-point mark. He had 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals against Hartford. In his next game, Walker dropped 23 points and four assists against La Salle. As a freshman at UConn, Walker scored at least 20 points twice in his first three games, but just twice in his next 33 games. Walker started just twice all season as a freshman but he moved into a full-time starting role as a sophomore.

Sophomore Year

During the Huskies' 2009-2010 season, Walker started in all 34 of their games and contributed an average of 14.6 points. He also led the team in scoring for the eighth time in the last nine games of the season, with 18 points at Virginia Tech. That's when his scoring average climbed from 8.9 per game to 14.6 per game. Surprisingly, Walker had the same number of 20-point games as a sophomore as he did as a freshman: four. He set a new career-high with 29 points, along with nine rebounds, on the road against Villanova.

Junior Year: A star is born

Walker rose to national prominence in his third year at Connecticut. This was because, twelve games into his junior campaign, he distinguished himself as the leading scorer in the nation, posting 26.7 points per contest; in addition, Walker averaged 5 rebounds and 3.8 assists. His play crescendoed as a junior. He opened the season on fire, scoring a career-high 42 points against Vermont in the second game of the season, followed by 31 against Wichita State, 30 against Michigan State, 29 against Kentucky and 30 against New Hampshire. His next game? In that third year at UConn, Walker showed he could single-handedly carry the Huskies.

Big East Tournament MVP

In the 2011 Big East tournament, Walker hit the game-clinching shot at the buzzer to beat Brad Wannamaker and the Pittsburgh Panthers, ranked No. 3 overall, thereby advancing the Huskies to the semifinals. Walker led UConn to victory in the ensuing Big East Championship against the Louisville Cardinals and earned tournament MVP honors in the process. Over five games in as many days, Walker tallied an unprecedented 130 points, a record of points scored for not only the Big East but for any conference tournament in the past 15 seasons.

Accolades and Recognition

Basketball Writers Association named Walker First Team All-American with only Fox Sports picking him to the Second Team. His heroic performance in the 2010-11 season also made him a finalist for the Association's college player of the year honors, the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Despite finishing second to national sensation Jimmer Fredette for this award, at least several journalists held that it was rather Walker who deserved the distinction of best player that year. Among other accolades bestowed on him, Walker claimed the Bob Cousy Award for college basketball's top point guard in the nation.

NCAA Champion

On April 4, 2011, Walker, with 16 points himself, rallied and led the University of Connecticut to win the Division I Championship, while he won the honor of NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player. The Huskies won their last 11 games of the season, all elimination games in the Big East or NCAA tournaments. After dropping four of its final five regular-season games, UConn entered the Big East Tournament at 21-9 overall (9-9 in conference), desperately needing wins to improve its NCAA Tournament chances.

Tournament Statistics

28 points, six rebounds, three assists against No.
24 points, five rebounds, five assists against No.
33 points, 12 rebounds, five assists (with six steals!) against No.
19 points, two rebounds, three assists against No.
18 points, eight rebounds, 12 assists against No.
33 points, six rebounds, five assists against No.
20 points, four rebounds, seven assists against No.
18 points, six rebounds, seven assists against No.
16 points, nine rebounds against No.

Upon the team's return from Houston, at a pep rally to celebrate the National Title, Walker was added to the Huskies of Honor. Walker graduated from UConn in three years.

Legacy

During his three seasons at Connecticut, Kemba Walker produced countless unforgettable moments. He played on two teams that reached the Final Four, contributed to two 30-win seasons, and led the nation in scoring during his junior year in 2010-11. That scoring prowess earned him All-American recognition and placed him on course to become a top-10 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. The heart and soul of the team. Kemba Walker improved more than any point guard in the senior class this summer. A future All-Big East point guard.

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NBA Career

On December 11, 2011, he signed the rookie scale contract with the Bobcats, and with the injury of point guard D. J. Augustin, he became their starting point guard for the lockout-shortened season. Walker participated in the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend. Kemba finished the 2012-13 season with averages of 17.7 points, 5.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2 steals per contest. On December 18, 2013, Walker hit a buzzer-beating jump shot over Jonas Valančiūnas in overtime to beat the Toronto Raptors. He finished the night with 26 points and 5 rebounds on 10/18 shooting from the field. On February 19, 2014, Walker recorded 23 points, 5 rebounds and a career-high 16 assists in a 116-98 win over the Detroit Pistons. Five days later, he was awarded the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, having averaged 22.5 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.5 rebounds in the span of seven days. Playing against the Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs and with teammate Al Jefferson unable to play due to a Plantar fasciitis injury, Walker had an exceptional game four: he finished the game with a playoff franchise-high 29 points, along with 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.

In the newly renamed Charlotte Hornets' opening game against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 29, Walker led an impressive comeback in an overtime 108-106 victory. The Hornets had been 24 points down by the fourth quarter when they staged a comeback; Walker scored a three-pointer with 1.6 seconds left to force overtime and later hit the shot that clinched the game as well. He finished with 26 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds. The following day, he signed a four-year, $48 million contract extension with the Hornets. On December 5, 2014, Walker hit his second game-winner of the season in a 103-102 win over the New York Knicks. On December 27, in a 94-102 loss to the Orlando Magic, he scored a then career-high 42 points and set a Charlotte Hornets franchise record for most points scored in a half with his 35 points that he posted in the second. On January 3, against the Orlando Magic, Walker scored 30 points to pass Kendall Gill for 10th place on the Charlotte Hornets all-time scoring list with 4,160 points. In three back-to-back games played between the January 3 and 7, Walker scored 30, 33, and 31 points in victories over the Orlando Magic, the Boston Celtics, and the New Orleans Pelicans respectively; he thereby joined Larry Johnson, Glen Rice, and Kelly Tripucka as one of four players in Charlotte Hornets' franchise history to have three or more consecutive games of scoring 30-plus points. Walker also hit his fifth game-winner of his career and his third of the season on January 7 in the 98-94 victory over the Pelicans. On January 12, he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, January 5, through Sunday, January 11.

On November 23, 2015, Walker scored a then season-high 39 points in a 127-122 overtime win over the Sacramento Kings. On January 18, 2016, Walker set a career-high and a franchise-record with 52 points in a 124-119 double overtime win over the Utah Jazz. He made 16-of-34 from the field, including 6-of-11 three-pointers, and was 14-of-15 from the free throw line, breaking the team mark of 48 points set by Glen Rice in March 1997. On March 9, in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Walker became just the third Hornets player to make 500 career three-pointers, joining Dell Curry (929) and Glen Rice (508). Five days later, he earned his fourth career Player of the Week award, and second of the 2015-16 season (first coming on January 25), becoming just the sixth Charlotte player to win the award multiple times in the same season. The Hornets finished the regular season as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 48-34 record.

On November 4, 2016, Walker scored a season-high 30 points in a 99-95 win over the Brooklyn Nets, helping Charlotte improve to 4-1 for the first time since 2000. He topped that mark on November 11, recording 40 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 113-111 loss to the Toronto Raptors. On December 29, with 22 points against the Miami Heat, Walker recorded his 7,000th point with the Charlotte franchise when he hit a three-pointer with 4:16 left in the first quarter. He became the fourth player in franchise history to reach that mark, and became the second-quickest by doing so in his 396th game-Larry Johnson passed the mark in his 355th career game with the Hornets. On January 2, 2017, Walker recorded 34 points and a season-high 11 rebounds in a 118-111 loss to the Chicago Bulls. On January 26, he was named an Eastern Conference All-Star reserve for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. Two days later, in a loss to the Sacramento Kings, Walker moved into third place in franchise history in field goals made (2,586), passing Gerald Wallace. On January 31, he scored 22 points against the Portland Trail Blazers and moved into third place on the team's career scoring list. On March 6, he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, February 27 through Sunday, March 5. On March 31, 2017, he scored a game-high 31 points in a 122-114 win over the Denver Nuggets.

On December 4, Walker scored 29 points and made all 14 free throw attempts (tying a career-high) in a 104-94 win over the Orlando Magic, becoming the first player in franchise history with 200 career 20-point games. On January 10, 2018, he had 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting in a 115-111 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. On January 15, he scored 20 points in a 118-107 win over the Detroit Pistons, thus reaching 9,000 career points. On January 24, in a 101-96 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, Walker became only the second Hornets' player with 900 career 3-pointers, joining Dell Curry (929). On January 31, he set franchise and career-highs with nine 3-pointers and scored 38 points in a 123-110 win over the Atlanta Hawks. On February 4, in a 115-110 win over the Phoenix Suns, Walker scored 18 points and broke the franchise career record for 3-pointers with 930, surpassing the record of 929 held by Dell Curry. On February 8, Walker was named as the replacement for the injured Kristaps Porziņģis in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, marking his second consecutive All-Star selection. On March 22, Walker scored 46 points with 10 3-pointers in a 140-79 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. It was his ninth 40-point game of his career and third-highest scoring game of his career, as he helped the Hornets record the sixth-largest win in NBA history. On March 28, he scored 21 points in a 118-105 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, surpassing Dell Curry (9,839 points) to become the franchise's career scoring leader. Walker also established a new team record with his 44th consecutive made free throw.

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On October 17, 2018, Walker scored 41 points in a 113-112 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, setting a franchise record for points scored in a season opener. It was his 10th 40-point game of his career, tying Glen Rice for the franchise record for 40-point games. Three days later, he scored 39 points, including the game-winning free throw with a half-second left, to lift the Hornets to a 113-112 win over the Miami Heat. On January 24, Walker was named a starter for the Eastern Conference in the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, joining Glen Rice as the only players to represent Charlotte in three All-Star Games. Walker also became the third Hornets player to start an All-Star Game, along with Larry Johnson (1993) and Eddie Jones (2000). On February 6, he had 30 points and a season-high 11 rebounds in a 99-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. On February 9, he hit a season-high nine 3-pointers and scored 37 points in a 129-120 win over the Atlanta Hawks. With 32 points, seven assists and three rebounds against the New Orleans Pelicans on April 3, Walker recorded his 26th 30-point game of the season, passing Glen Rice for the franchise record for 30-point games in a season. Coming off a frustrating 2018-19 season, the Boston Celtics would go on to lose franchise centerpieces Kyrie Irving and Al Horford to free agency, opening the door to start a new chapter with a new max-salary player. Walker made his Celtics debut on October 23, 2019, against the Philadelphia 76ers; he put up 12 points on 18 shot attempts from the field in 34 minutes of play during the 107-93 loss. On November 22, during a game against the Nuggets, Walker went down with a neck injury after colliding with teammate Semi Ojeleye. He was taken off the court on a stretcher. He was first diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms, and then later diagnosed with a sprained neck. On January 20, Walker recorded his first head-to-head win against LeBron James, after having begun his career 0-28 against him. The 2019-2020 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the season resumed, Walker helped the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference Finals, where the team was defeated by the Miami Heat. In the 2021 playoffs, Walker missed games four and five of Boston's first-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets due to a bone bruise in his left knee.

Personal life

Walker is the son of Paul and Andrea Walker. His parents met in his father's native Antigua, while his mother is originally from St. Walker is also a dancer. On June 21, 2011, Walker released a mixtape in collaboration with DJ Skee and Skee Sports. In 2011, Walker signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Under Armour. In 2015, Walker's contract with Under Armour expired.

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