| Kemba Walker |
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| All Tweets | DeShawn Sims, we'll see you in Portsmouth. Kemba Walker again totally out of control, looking less & less like 2010 should be his draft year
2010-01-22 14:46:33 | | Next 5 TV Dates |
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| College Road Report: Connecticut vs Pittsburgh
March 11, 2009
Walker has put together a very solid freshman season, playing behind senior point guard A.J. Price. He ranks 6th amongst freshman point guards in assists per 40 minutes and 3rd in rebounds per 40 minutes, an impressive feat given that he is playing point for only half of the time he is on the hardwood usually.
Though Walker won’t wow anyone physically in terms of size, length, or strength, he is a very quick player who completely utilizes his speed to every facet of his game. He appears to be a very smart player, running the helm for one of the top programs in the country as a freshman. Many times throughout the season when UConn was beginning to unravel, coach Calhoun would put Walker at the point and slide A.J. Price over to the shooting guard spot, showing his confidence in his young playmaker.
Walker’s offensive game primarily centers around his ability to get to the rim. Comfortable going both left and right, he possesses a devastating change of direction dribble that can collapse a defense in a heartbeat. His relatively slender frame does not deter him from finishing at the rim amongst the trees, even though he stands only a hair over six feet tall. The kid is simply fearless when going to the rim, while also maintaining the poise to run an offense and not forcing the issue. And in the cases that he is not able to score, he shows absolutely gorgeous court vision, especially in terms of drop off passes to big men.
The main problem with Walker’s offensive game centers around his ability to shoot the ball. While he is not an awful shooter, most defenders opt to play off of him and make them beat him with his jumper. This is the primary area of his game that he will need to improve upon if he hopes to establish himself as one of the elite point guards in the country for next season. He’s also a little bit turnover prone at this point in his career, although with added experience and having the keys to his team full time next year, this could change.
Walker really excels on the defensive end, playing tough on the ball defense and also great team defense. When not pressuring the ball, he did a very nice job of rotating and even tried taking a few charges against bigger Pitt players. Not only was it clear that Walker has the physical ability to defend, but he also understands HOW to defend, which makes him even more appealing as a prospect.
With A.J. Price graduating, the Huskies will be Walker’s team for the 09-10 season, where he will likely enter as one of the top point guard prospects for 2010. Obviously it’s a bit premature to start talking about his pro prospects, but draft fans should remember a player who should be one of the top playmakers in the collegiate game next season when watching the conference tournaments. His lack of size will always be considered a hindrance on both ends of the floor, but he seems to show the type of intangibles you look for to make up for that.
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Jordan Brand Classic Scrimmage (Day Two)
April 19, 2008
Kemba Walker is one player we noticed the previous day but didn’t receive a write-up, as he just never really got going with his own offense, playing more of a facilitator role in the intrasquad scrimmage. That was not the case at all in the intersquad scrimmage, as he was probably the game’s leading scorer, doing it in a very flash-free, efficient manner. He hit an incredible 5-for-5 on his three-pointers, including one straight pull-up and two pull-ups off crossover dribbles. He set up open shooters on his team, showed some nice misdirection abilities on passes, and made good decisions overall, running his team’s offense. It’ll be interesting to see where he fits in UConn’s point guard rotation, but he looks like someone who could make an impact immediately if given the opportunity.
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Nike Super 6 High School Invitational at Madison Square Garden
January 15, 2008
In the mold of so many other New York area point guards before him, Walker’s game is all about speed and flashiness; both were on display in his team’s match up with top ranked St. Benedict’s. Like Samardo Samuels, the other major marquee player in this game, Walker had a slow first half, scoring just six points, and struggling with turnovers. The future Husky came alive in the second half though, particularly in the fourth quarter where he wowed the crowd with several dynamic finishes around the basket.
At this level, Walker is definitely a scoring point guard, relying mainly on his slashing ability. He is devastatingly quick off the dribble, and combined with his excellent ball handling skills; Walker seems to be able to get into the lane almost at will. Even next year in a talent rich Big East Conference, he will still be one of the fastest players on the floor on a nightly basis. He exhibits great body control and can change speeds very well, which further helps him to shake defenders, but he did run into trouble at times against the massive front court players of St. Benedict’s. Walker showed nice touch and was able to finish some acrobatic shots around the hoop, but these clearly are not high percentage shots that will drop on a consistent basis.
As far as being a scoring threat goes, Walker has two issues facing him. First is his size; his 6’2” listing is probably a bit generous, and we did see that he struggled at times to finish in traffic against bigger, longer players. The other major concern is Walker’s perimeter shooting. He only attempted one three-point field goal during the game, despite having plenty of open looks; and it seems that Walker doesn’t have a tremendous amount of confidence from this range. He showed some nice potential shooting off the dribble from mid-range and has nice touch, but his release point was somewhat inconsistent, which hampered his shots from falling on a regular basis.
Clearly the appeal in Walker’s game is his playmaking ability. His ability to get into the lane and create open shots for teammates is very impressive, and his court vision is fantastic. Walker did everything from drive and kick to open teammates for perimeter shots on the weak side, to penetrating the lane and drawing defenders leaving teammates open for uncontested lay ups. Walker was only able to record two assists in this particular contest, because of a lot of missed opportunities by Rice on the offensive end.
On the defensive end there is plenty to like about Walker. He is a tough defender, and though he gets beat occasionally by fast perimeter players off the dribble, he does a great job of recovering quickly. He seems to have a knack of knowing where to be and generally seems to anticipate well. One cause for concern again is his height, which could allow taller guards to shoot over him at the next level.
Jim Calhoun is getting himself a speedy playmaker next year. While his scoring totals may not be very high initially, with the amount of talent that will be surrounding him, Walker’s assist numbers should be. As far as a future at the professional level, Walker’s size will always be a strike against him and his perimeter shooting will certainly need to improve a lot, but he clearly has the quickness, court vision and IQ to be an elite point guard.
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