Kemba Walker's leadership has helped UConn win when it has mattered most. The Huskies played nine elimination games in 19 days and came away with wins in all of them. Jack Wehman/The Daily Cougar
Connecticut’s ticket to Houston was punched last summer.
The Huskies missed the NCAA Tournament with an 18-16 record the previous season. That encouraged junior guard Kemba Walker, the Huskies’ captain, to take ownership of the team and its performance.
“We came off of a terrible season and I didn’t want to have another season like that,” Walker said. “Donnell (Beverly) and I called the guys, called the freshmen and we told those guys to come and come ready to work — and they did. Now all of that hard work is paying off for us.”
Getting the team together over the summer was integral to the Huskies coming together and developing their chemistry that has pushed them this far.
“We’re having a lot of fun,” Walker said. “Our chemistry is extremely high and we love each other, so it shows on the court.”
The Huskies win total jumped by 12 this season as Walker made himself a National Player of the Year candidate, raising his scoring output to 23.9 points per game.
“I haven’t witnessed many guys like him,” head coach Jim Calhoun said. “Certainly in the aspects of the way he’s handled the leadership role. I think that his first year, Final Four, we were 31-5, lost to Michigan State in Detroit and he was a part of that team. But we had A.J. Price. We had Hasheem Thabeet and of course Jeff Adrien, so it wasn’t really his team.”
The difference in success between Walker’s freshman season, a deep tournament run, and his sophomore season, missing the tournament entirely, was the catalyst behind taking more initiative in being the leader of the Huskies.
“(This season) he took charge of the team,” Calhoun said. “We had some ups and downs as a team this young would playing in a great league, but by the end of the season, it looked like we got it. In the Big East, that isn’t bad, five (wins) in five days. That nine in 19 days is as special as you’re ever going to get — and his leadership, clearly, there’s no question that Kemba’s leadership has been that special.”
Walker has been the closer at the end of games for the Huskies, and now looks to close a magical season with two victories in Houston to earn UConn its third national championship since 1999.
“We know that it’s one and done,” Walker said. “We don’t want to be finished at all. We want to finish it off the right way.”
-Joshua Siegel
