The Player's Tribune- Caron on Kemba: Why Kemba Walker is an All-Star

[Mike Honcho]

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/kemba-walker-caron-butler-all-star-hornets-2016/

Cool article.

TBT: "NBA All-Star voting can feel like a sport of its own. The Players’ Tribune asked a handful of current NBA players to go to the mat for a fellow player who’s never made an All-Star team."

Caron: "I’m not just praising Kemba because we’re both UCONN alums. But actually, that’s how he first came to my attention. I remember we were playing in New York and UCONN had a game at the Garden. Coach Calhoun invited me back into the locker room. He always liked former players to meet the current players. This was early in the 2011 season, Kemba’s junior year, and UCONN was struggling. If you remember, it turned out that their only shot at the tourney was to win the Big East Tournament. Outside expectations weren’t very high. But inside that locker room, I saw Kemba’s quiet leadership. I saw his killer instinct. Later in the season, he took that team right into the tournament and surprised a lot of people when UCONN won the title. It’s a healthy underdog mentality that you see still in his game."

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I only disagreement I have with the article is in 2011 UConn did not need to win the Big East Tourny for a bid.
They were undefeated OC and Maui Champs
They had a disappointing conference at about .500
The win gave us a great seed and we took advantage of it.
Kemba gets disrespected because of where he plays.

 

[intlzncster]

I only disagreement I have with the article is in 2011 UConn did not need to win the Big East Tourny for a bid.
They were undefeated OC and Maui Champs
They had a disappointing conference at about .500
The win gave us a great seed and we took advantage of it.
Kemba gets disrespected because of where he plays.

Exactly, if they had won 4 in a row, and blew the last game, they'd have definitely gotten a bid, no questions asked. 1st round loss? They'd have been out. Where exactly the line was, I've no idea.

 

[Walker11]

The team was ranked 21st in the country going into the Big East tournament. Link. That didn't stop posters from speculating that we could end up on the wrong side of the bubble with a loss to Depaul. But it was totally false. They were likely a 6/7 seed who had a ceiling of 3 and a floor of 8/9. Not close to the bubble.

 

[jibsey]

Nice job Caron.

 

[bballgrda]

Exactly, if they had won 4 in a row, and blew the last game, they'd have definitely gotten a bid, no questions asked. 1st round loss? They'd have been out. Where exactly the line was, I've no idea.

If my memory serves me correct, we were #22 in the AP poll coming into the tourney. Doubtful even a first round loss puts us out of the dance that year.

EDIT: Just looked it up, we were #19. Our 2nd round opponent, Georgetown was #22.

 

[Waquoit]

The team was ranked 21st in the country going into the Big East tournament. Link. That didn't stop posters from speculating that we could end up on the wrong side of the bubble with a loss to Depaul. But it was totally false.

Not totally. DePaul was horrible and we were a team on the decline those last 10 games. A loss would have put us close to, if not on, the bubble.

 

[Walker11]

Not totally. DePaul was horrible and we were a team on the decline those last 10 games. A loss would have put us close to, if not on, the bubble.

That didn't stop posters from speculating that we could end up on the wrong side of the bubble with a loss to Depaul.

I knew I wasn't imagining that there were some out there.

 

[nomar]

We weren't on the bubble but we were a team in decline and REALLY needed to play well against DePaul to give our players some confidence going forward. We were starting to look like a 1-and-done team.

 

[Silk31]

We weren't on the bubble but we were a team in decline and REALLY needed to play well against DePaul to give our players some confidence going forward. We were starting to look like a 1-and-done team.

Disappointed in you Caron and disappointed in every1 else who thinks we weren't firmly in the field at that point in the season

I recall leaving the senior night game vs ND at Gampel when we blew a big lead while Hansborough had fouled out early and said to my friends that it was a fun season while it lasted but we were a 1 and done tourney team...I don't think even the most optimistic of fans would have foreseen what Kemba and our squad had in store for us

 

[Tenspro2002]

Nah, we were an NCAAT lock going into the BET.

IIRC, we were about a 6 seed in the Bracketology. A loss to DePaul probably left us a 7-8 seed, and each win was worth about a seed line on top of that. But we were never in bubble territory, even after an absolutely dreadful stretch in February.

 

[Walker11]

Nah, we were an NCAAT lock going into the BET.

IIRC, we were about a 6 seed in the Bracketology. A loss to DePaul probably left us a 7-8 seed, and each win was worth about a seed line on top of that. But we were never in bubble territory, even after an absolutely dreadful stretch in February.

Year after year, we are amazed at how weak the bubble is. There just aren't 64 (or 68) or how every many good teams in the country. A team ranked in the top 25 is not going to slip on the wrong side of the bubble. Preposterous.

 

[champs99and04]

The Big East got 11 bids that year, I believe. There was no way we were going to be left out for going .500 in conference given what we did OOC.

The following year was a different story. We again opened with DePaul, and if we had lost that game, we might have been out.

 

[Kembacity]

Can't we all agree that that doesn't really matter? Are you guys really getting riled up because someone doesn't remember enough of the pre-big east tourney reputation for you to be happy with them?

They won the championship, just enjoy that. I understand being peeved when someone writes "Nappier" or "Boatwright" or "Bridah", but can we stop competing for "top fan"? It's like watching a few 12 year olds in a shoving match

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Year after year, we are amazed at how weak the bubble is. There just aren't 64 (or 68) or how every many good teams in the country. A team ranked in the top 25 is not going to slip on the wrong side of the bubble. Preposterous.

SMU 2 years ago?

 

[CallMeBruce]

SMU 2 years ago?

He should have said "A Big East team ranked in the top-25."

 

[Mazhude]

Good for Caron. Nice to see him sticking up for another UConn alum!

 

[intlzncster]

The team was ranked 21st in the country going into the Big East tournament. Link. That didn't stop posters from speculating that we could end up on the wrong side of the bubble with a loss to Depaul. But it was totally false. They were likely a 6/7 seed who had a ceiling of 3 and a floor of 8/9. Not close to the bubble.

Yeah, you're right. Totally misremembered that. I feel like we did that one year, but maybe it was just the negativity of the board that is (dis)coloring my recollection.

 

[champs99and04]

Can't we all agree that that doesn't really matter? Are you guys really getting riled up because someone doesn't remember enough of the pre-big east tourney reputation for you to be happy with them?

They won the championship, just enjoy that. I understand being peeved when someone writes "Nappier" or "Boatwright" or "Bridah", but can we stop competing for "top fan"? It's like watching a few 12 year olds in a shoving match

^ Guy is clearly just mad he's not in the running for top fan.

 

[Bill Sussman]

Random UConn fans reaction:

http://onionsanddimes.com/2016/01/1...the-top-5-underrated-moves-by-former-huskies/