Star Power Won the Day

The Honda Center in Anaheim was filled with college basketball star-power Thursday night. The two Sweet 16 match-ups from the West bracket featured teams that were one-man shows as well as underdogs. Standing in the way of those teams were favorites whose strengths lied in the power of overall team play. Star-power won the day.

In the first game of the night, the 3rd-seeded University of Connecticut Huskies took on the 2nd-seeded San Diego State Aztecs. As the lesser-seeded, and yet more experienced Huskies built an early lead into the second half, the Aztecs then came around and benefitted from having a home crowd. The present tide of the fansmanship willed them back into the game. The Aztecs had their late run, but in the end, the star-power shined too bright for San Diego State to remove themselves from its shadow.

Husky guard Kemba Walker finished the contest with 36 points – 22 of which came in the second half. Down the stretch, he was the Connecticut offense. Walker is the consummate college guard, a 6′ 1″, 180 lb flash of a scorer. All of his collegiate accolades aside, one has to believe a star like Walker has aspirations for the next level. When considering this, the first thing that comes to mind is that NBA point guards need handles, and Derrick Rose, Walker is not. They need to recognize something outside themselves, and it is imperative that they be ‘world-class’ at distributing the ball to others in optimum scoring situations. Walker may lack somewhat in this regard. He can come off screens and shoot with the best of them in the college game, but at his size and overall skill-set, he is realistically no more than a poor-man’s Jimmer Fredette.

This pro-level judgment shouldn’t be the encompassing and long-term opinion of Walker, as the skills of game management and getting everyone on your team involved can ultimately be developed at the next level. Kemba is a talent that can come into his own if given the space and patience to fit into a pro system and find his niche. Regardless of the future, Walker showed he can put a team on his back and carry them to the next playoff checkpoint. We’ll see on Saturday if the checkpoint after that can be achieved.

In the second game of the night, the “whole enchilada from La Mirada,” and the biggest single force remaining in the NCAA tournament, Arizona’s Derrick Williams, showed why he is projected as a top 5 NBA draft pick. Standing 6′ 8″ and weighing 241 pounds, he literally does everything a true forward is expected to do, and does it exceptionally well for a 19-year-old. He has the rebounding hustle of Charles Barkley in his prime. He can finish around the rim with the tip-in-dunk-skills of Blake Griffin. He can hit the 20-foot jumper consistently like David West. He can step outside the 3-point line like Dirk Nowitzki. He can take you off the dribble freakishly for his size like Michael Beasley. NBA general managers who are looking to have a high lottery draft-slot should be drooling over this kid.

On Thursday night versus Duke in the Sweet 16, Williams drained a 40-foot 3-pointer with two hands in his face and legs walking under him from Duke’s 6′ 11″ Ryan Kelly as time was expiring in the first half. This shot brought the Wildcats to within six of Duke, and I believe was essential in creating the second half avalanche Arizona put on the Blue Devils en route to victory. Williams basically carried his team in the second half, finishing with a career-high 32 points, as well as pulling down 13 rebounds. He showed off a display or rim attacking, acrobatic “and-1’s,” as well as cross-over dribbles that morphed into pull-up jumpers on the perimeter. The way this young man can finish around the rim, with either hand, while he negotiates contact, is more that just simply remarkable. He is the All-American forward that can do it all.

The end-result of all that Thursday’s excitement had to offer pits Kemba Walker’s Connecticut Huskies against Derrick Willaims’ Arizona Wildcats in the elite 8, the final game of this year’s NCAA West bracket. Williams’ high school is ten minutes away from where the game will be held. One thing is for sure, the crowd will be pro-Wildcat and pro-Pac-10. Will that be enough to spring a 5-seed upset over the 3-seed?

A Final Four bid is on the line. The star versus star match-up tips off at 4:05pm for us here on the West coast. The impending rain should more than keep you indoors and glued to the TV. You won’t want to miss it, because star-power will win the day again and it won’t disappoint.