After finishing up watching the Connecticut Huskies beat Syracuse in OT (not six of them this time), it is now clear in my mind. Yes, I have jumped on the Kemba Walker bandwagon.
"Julian, why didn't you like him before?'- Well, being a Pitt fan for life, I didn't like seeing him single-handedly dismantle the Panthers as the buzzer went off yesterday. (If you didn't see the play, Walker stepped back and hit an impressive shot from the top of the key, shaking Pitt big-man Gary McGhee out of his jock).
Now, I can come clean and admit that I was wrong for yelling "break Kemba's legs!" at the TV last night (while watching the replay, keep in mind). Here's my solid reasoning behind this new revelation:
1. UConn has now played FOUR games in FOUR days. That's the Big East Tournament for ya'. But Kemba hasn't let it bother him one bit. He has scored 111 points so far in the Tourney (best in the tournament's history), averaging over 27 PPG.
2. He led his team across the board in almost every category tonight: points (33), rebounds (12), assists (5), and steals (6).
3. I am pretty sure that I saw a stat during tonight's game that he has played 157 out of the 160 minutes in the team's four contests. He needs a break.
4. He has completely stolen the spotlight from Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough, who won the Big East Player of the Year. Kemba, you're in the spotlight.
5. He still managed to give a humbling post game interview.
Walker and the Huskies will play the winner of tonight's match between Notre Dame and Louisville. I would love to see ND and UConn battle it out tomorrow night. Hansbrough vs Walker. (And finally, I'm rooting for you Kemba).
