Kemba Shoots Hoops With Fallon

The NBA Draft is Thursday, and there isn't much left for Kemba Walker to do other than wait. The combine and the team workouts are behind him, and for the next 24 hours or so, it's all out of his hands.

The mock drafts will make their best guesses, and the TV talking heads will debate who should go where and why, all while Kemba sits and watches. It's a position he isn't accustomed to. To distract himself,  Walker has done things like given ESPN's Andy Katz access to his family and hometown.

And last night, Walker appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" to -- you guessed it -- shoot hoops with Jimmy Fallon, and perhaps fill the hours until the draft.
 



As for what fate awaits Walker, here are the latest educated guesses:

* Sean Deveney, The Sporting News: No. 5 to Toronto
* Tom Ziller, SB Nation: No. 5 to Toronto
* Aran Smith, HoopsHype.com:No. 8 to Detroit
* Sam Amick, SI.com: No. 5 to Toronto
* NBAdraft.net: No. 8 to Detroit

After some talk that Walker might last until pick No. 13, it now appears that expert opinions are converging and Walker will likely go off the board between picks No. 5-8.

The Connecticut Post's Neill Ostrout thinks Walker's
a lottery pick, and The Dagger's Jeff Eisenberg lists Walker as the second-best playmaker in the draft after Kyrie Irving. "Those questioning whether Walker is a true point guard are neglecting the role he played prior to this season," Eisenberg writes. "The junior morphed into a 20-point scorer because that was what it took for a young Huskies team to win."

NBA will be nothing like college. As his former coach Jim Calhoun said recently, the transition to the next level comes down to two words: "decision making." If history is any guide, Walker will be fine.

Contact Us