Kemba Walker

Kemba Hudley Walker (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague.

He became the first men's basketball player to receive the distinction since the inaugural class was announced in December 2006.

Walker graduated from UConn in three years.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Walker was listed as the No. 5 point guard and the No. 14 player in the nation in 2008.

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.

Despite starting in only two games, he averaged 25.5 minutes per contest, easily far more than any regular non-starter.

He also helped the Huskies advance to the 2009 Final Four with a 23-point effort in the Elite Eight versus Missouri.

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.

Walker was named by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) to the First Team All-District.

In their 2010–11 season, Walker was the nation's second-leading scorer and was named consensus first-team All-American; he also led the Huskies to the 2011 NCAA championship and claimed the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.

Walker is a four-time NBA All-Star.

Walker attended 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, Devin Hill, and Danny Jennings.

Walker's team finished No. 1 in the nation.

Connecticut clinched a 4-seed in the NCAA's 2010 National Invitation Tournament only to fall short to Virginia Tech and finish the relatively disappointing season going 18–16 (7–11) in conference play.

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.

It was then that he appeared on one of the six regional covers of Sports Illustrated magazine.

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 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.

Walker was picked ninth overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2011 NBA draft.

He played college basketball for the Connecticut Huskies.

In the 2011 Big East tournament, Walker hit the game-clinching shot at the buzzer to beat 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.

UConn thus became the first school to win five games in five days and earn a conference championship.

On March 14, 2011, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association named Walker First Team All-American with only Fox Sports picking him to the Second Team.

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.

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

Accordingly, he entered the 2011 NBA draft and was selected ninth overall by the Charlotte Bobcats.

Walker signed a multi-year shoe deal with Under Armour, the first rookie from the 2011 draft class to do so.

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.

On January 28, 2012, in a home game against the Washington Wizards, he achieved the greatest game in NBA history with 110 points, 32 assists, and 50 rebounds, as the only Bobcat in team history to record one.

Walker participated in the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend.

However, the Charlotte Bobcats only managed to go 7–59 in the lockout season.