UConn Huskies' Kemba Walker: College Basketball's Best Player

Usually, there's always one player in each basketball season who's the best. This season, it's been a toss-up between two players: Jimmer Fredette of Brigham Young and Kemba Walker of Connecticut.

Both players helped their teams all season long to high-seeded berths in the NCAA Tournament.

Now, entering the Final Four, only one of them is still standing.

Enter junior Kemba Walker.

Perhaps the most electrifying player in all college hoops, Walker has willed the Huskies to their fourth Final Four appearance, all since 1999.

But it's the manner that the Huskies, mostly Walker, did it in.

At the end of the regular season, the Huskies sat at 9-9 in the Big East, placing ninth in the conference. They had to practically win the conference tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

On March 8th, the Huskies matched up against DePaul, the worst team in the conference (1-17). They dominated, winning 97-71. Walker led the Huskies with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The following day, Walker and Co. took on the Georgetown Hoyas in a second-round matchup. Walker once again led the Huskies to victory, 79-62. He scored 28 points and added six rebounds and three assists.

On March 10th, UConn took on Pittsburgh, the best team in the conference and an eventual No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Walker carried the Huskies throughout the game, but the best part came at the very end. With the contest tied at 74, UConn called a timeout with roughly 18 seconds left.

The junior held the ball for the majority of the remaining time, and just before the buzzer Walker heaved up a jumper after stepping back on a defender. The shot went in, and the Huskies won the game 76-74.

Walker led UConn with 24 points and five assists. It was their third win in three days.

In the fourth round, the Huskies took on the Syracuse Orange, one of the top teams in the NCAA throughout the year.

And Walker had his best game of the Big East Tournament.

In the thrilling 76-71 overtime win, Walker scored 33 points and brought down twelve rebounds. He also assisted on five baskets and had six steals.

With four wins in four days, the Huskies were finally matched up against Louisville for the conference crown.

Walker left no doubt he was the MVP of the tournament, as he rallied Connecticut to a 69-66 win. Although he had his worst game of the tournament, no other player matched his abilities throughout its entirety.

Walker scored 19 points and added three assists and two rebounds in the championship game. For the tournament, the junior averaged 26 points and was given the Big East Tournament MVP Award.

The win gave UConn an astounding five wins in five days, and they advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Now, with wins over Bucknell, Cincinnati, San Diego State and Arizona, the Huskies are in the Final Four for the first time since 2007.

And it's mostly due to Walker.

He has truly been the best college basketball player this season. Although Fredette scored more points, the Huskies' star meant more to his team than Fredette did.

All it takes is a look at BYU's loss to Florida. Fredette spent all game throwing up shots, hoping they'd fall in. That's not how you win games.

One player can't do it all by himself, but Fredette sure thought he could.

Yes, he did score 32 points, but it took him a ton of shots to do it. He went 11-29 from the field, including 3-15 from three-point range. Not so good, especially in his last collegiate game.

So, when it comes down to it, the last man standing is also the NCAA's best player. Walker kept his team in games, despite UConn boasting just a 22-9 regular season record.

He worked a lot of magic to get to where the team is right now. With the performances he has given, there is no doubt in my mind Walker should receive the Naismith Award.

He's been the best player, and if anything, he's showed it since the Big East Tournament began.