NBA Draft 2011: Rating Every Aspect of Kemba Walker's Game 2K11 Style
Kemba Walker led his Huskies on one of the most ridiculous runs in the history of college basketball this past season. He did so with more than just his scoring.
He's a solid distributor, an underrated rebounder and he works hard on defense.
On the season, he averaged 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
He's not a very efficient scorer (43 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range), but he has a hunger that may be unparalleled in this draft class.
He's proven to be a great leader, and his success in March could very well get him drafted in the top five.
This article will examine every aspect of Kemba's game. I'm going to give him a score that can range from 25-100 on each of the attributes players have in the popular basketball simulation, NBA 2K11...
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Vitals
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College: Connecticut
Age: 20
Dominant Hand: Right
Position: Point Guard
Play Style: Scoring
Secondary Position: Shooting Guard
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 172 lbs.
A lot of people wonder whether or not Kemba Walker can become a traditional NBA point guard. Right now, his skill set may be more suited to playing shooting guard but he's not big enough for that position.
His competitive edge should help him develop whatever skills and abilities he needs to be successful at the position his body would suggest he should play. That position is point guard.
I don't think it's a stretch to think that Walker can be every bit as effective as Brandon Jennings at point guard, as early as next year.
They're similar in terms of their games and their builds, and both have the potential to be very good NBA starting point guards.
Shooting
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Shot Inside: 75
With his great quickness and solid handles, Walker was able to get to the rim quite a bit in college. When he gets inside, he's pretty good at runners, leaners, etc.
Shot Close: 76
This refers to shots from around the 5'-15' range. Walker is decent from here, but needs to be more consistent.
Shot Medium: 72
Walker is decent from about 15' to the three-point line. He hit some big shots around this range, but still needs a lot of work here.
Shot 3PT: 71
Like every other shot, he needs to become a lot more consistent from outside. He shot 33 percent from the three-point line this past season.
Shot Low Post: 40
Right now, Walker is way too small to be posting anyone up at the next level. I doubt we'll see many shots from a post-up over the course of his entire career.
Free Throw: 79
He's a pretty good free-throw shooter, and that is one skill that should translate directly to the next level.
Layup: 83
Despite being undersized, Walker can finish at the rim about as well as any guard in college.
It'll take some time to adjust to bigger and better defenders, but he's creative enough to find ways to finish in the NBA as well.
Dunk: 50
Walker is pretty explosive, but almost never plays above, or even at the rim.
Standing Dunk: 25
We'll never see a standing dunk from Walker in the NBA.
Shoot Off Dribble: 72
Walker sets up his shots off the dribble extremely well. In fact, most of his shots came off the dribble this past season.
The thing is he missed a lot of them. He has some room to improve here.
Shoot in Traffic: 66
Because he took a ton of shots, and opposing defenses paid him a lot of attention, he took a ton of shots in traffic.
Taking so many difficult shots contributed to his poor shooting percentages, and against NBA defenders, it's only going to get more difficult.
Point Guard Skills
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Ball Handle: 88
Walker's handles might be as good as anyone in this year's draft class. This will be one of his biggest strengths as a rookie.
Off-Hand Dribbling: 83
His good handles aren't exclusive to his dominant hand. He can go both directions with speed, quickness and control of the ball.
Ball Security: 80
Considering how much time he spent with the ball in his hands, Walker's 2.3 turnovers per game are very impressive. He takes good care of the ball.
Pass: 70
He's a decent passer, but needs to improve his court vision and increase his willingness to distribute the ball.
Hands: 88
This refers to a player's ability to catch the ball. Walker will be fine here.
Defense
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Block: 27
Walker had a total of 28 blocks in three years of college basketball. He will be up against bigger, better players next year.
Steal: 66
He had a respectable college career average of 1.7 steals per game (including 1.9 this past season). His attitude and effort could have him averaging a steal a game in the NBA as early as his rookie year.
On-Ball Defense: 63
Against college players, Walker was a decent on-ball defender. While he'll still be quicker than some of his opponents, the gap won't be as big as he's used to.
Plus, he'll have a lot of trouble with the bigger, stronger point guards like Deron Williams, Jason Kidd, etc.
Rebounding
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Offense Rebound: 46
He averaged 1.3 offensive boards a game this past season. That's pretty good for a 6'1" point guard.
His coaches in the NBA will probably want him to get back on defense instead of crashing the offensive glass, and it will be harder for him to rebound over bigs at the next level.
Defense Rebound: 61
Walker's average of 5.4 rebounds a game made him the second-leading rebounder for the Huskies this year.
He won't ever be second on an NBA team in rebounding, but he should be a decent rebounding guard for his entire career.
Low Post
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Offense Low Post: 35
As an NBA player, we're not going to see Kemba Walker spending much time on the block with his back to the basket.
Defense Low Post: 29
He plays with a lot of heart and great effort, but bigger point guards are going to want to post him up. He will really struggle down low defensively.
Awareness
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Offense Awareness: 68
Walker understands offensive basketball very well—at least at the college level. The NBA is a different game, and he's going to go through a significant learning curve.
Defense Awareness: 60
It will take him some time to adjust on this end of the floor as well.
Clutch
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Offense Clutch: 55
It seemed like Walker came through in every big moment for Connecticut this past year.
He thrives on big moments, and depending on what team he plays for, he may have a couple last-second chances next year.
Defense Clutch: 30
He probably won't be guarding the go-to guy in critical moments, at least not at the beginning of his career.
He may still come up with a few big plays on defense.
Consistency
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Consistency: 45
This may be the area where Walker needs the most work.
He's a decent shooter, but needs to improve his shot selection and shooting percentages. Those things will probably dip over the next couple years, but as he adjusts to the NBA game, he may improve.
Athleticism
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Stamina: 91
Walker averaged nearly 38 minutes a game this past season, and went 40 or more minutes several times. Even still, he rarely looked tired. He is in great condition.
Speed: 90
He has great end-to-end speed, and could be a nightmare for a lot of players when he's in the open court.
Quickness: 94
Walker has a very quick first step, and moves side to side very well. This could be a great strength for him throughout his career.
Strength: 48
Walker is just 172 lbs., and will probably get tossed around a little bit when he first enters the league.
He can definitely improve here. With his frame, he can probably gain 10 lbs. without losing any speed or quickness.
Vertical: 72
In terms of his speed and quickness, he's a very explosive player; however, he doesn't have a very vertical game.
Intangibles
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Hustle: 82
Whether he's on offense or defense, Walker seems to be working as hard as he can for every second he's on the floor.
Durability: 85
Despite facing tons of pressure and physical defense, he never had any serious issues with injuries while playing for Connecticut.
Potential: 65
Walker will improve or hone several aspects of his game, but I actually don't think there is a ton of overall development left for him.
That may sound like a knock on him, but you can look at it as a positive as well.
Being closer to a finished product than some other prospects, he can be an instant-offense guy like Jason Terry or J.R. Smith right away.
Emotion: 60
He plays very hard and with his heart on his sleeve. He'll show his emotion on the floor, but I don't think it will ever get him into trouble.
Overall
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Overall: 70
Kemba Walker is a great player with a great attitude, and could very well be a top-five pick in this year's NBA draft.
I think whatever team selects Walker will be very happy with what it gets out of him during the 2011-12 season.
More on the Draft
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