Connecticut's Kemba Walker continues to amaze and astound the collective basketball community. After seven games - all UConn wins - he continues to lead the nation in scoring, at 29.1 ppg, while others behind him gradually peel away. Besides Anatoly Bose of Nicholls St. (27.4) and Appalachian State's Donald Sims (26.8), the only players from major conferences within shouting distance are Mississippi State's Ravern Johnson (25.4), followed by Xavier's Tu Holloway and Seton Hall's Jeremy Hazell, both at an even 24.0 ppg. Even the reliable Jimmer Fredette of BYU is far back at 23.1.Now, Walker may be slowing the pace of his scoring down a bit, but in the Huskies' 93-61 romp over UMBC he may have had his best overall game of the season, scoring a mere 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting (2-of-3 3-pointers), though he did haul in 5 offensive rebounds and 8 more on the defensive end for a total of 13, and dished out 10 assists for the rare triple-double, all accomplished in just 30 minutes of floor time. Walker's totals were game highs in each of the three categories. For good measure he also made a steal and blocked a shot. Pretty amazing.
Even though the outlandish totals were accomplished against somewhat of a pushover team - after all, UMBC is the University of Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers - Walker's been doing it to competitors at all levels. It should be worth watching how he fares once Big East play gets underway, beginning December 27 at Pittsburgh. In the meantime, Walker should be able to pad his stats in three upcoming home games, when the Huskies will host Farleigh Dickenson, Coppin State and Harvard.
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