The Return of Cardiac Kemba

Kemba Walker’s homecoming is both a great signing and a showcase of strong team culture from the New York Knicks

Do you have a bucket list? You know, one of those lists of things you’d like to do or places you’d like to visit before you die? Well, when I was 10 I found a bucket list item that has been on my list ever since. You see, I have always loved college basketball but in particular, I loved watching the Big East tournament. This conference tournament took place at Madison Square Garden every year and was an unofficial precursor to March Madness. As someone that grew up in New York City, this tournament just felt incredibly New York back then. With two schools in the tournament from the state of New York (St. John’s and Syracuse) and a host of local talent playing for these schools, it was pure basketball theater.

One tournament, in particular, that is always in my memory is the Big East tournament in 2011. This tournament became the coming-out party and springboard for Kemba Walker, a slightly undersized point guard from the Bronx, NY. Walker willed the Huskies to greatness in the tournament and eventually to the national championship as well. I remember being so mesmerized by his skill set, a quick-twitch handle paired with a lethal stepback jumper that you just felt was always going in. Watching him play it just felt like New York City manifested into a…