Rice Guard: "Just Want To Help The Team Win"

Reporter Mike Sullivan was at Madison Square Garden last night for the game ...

It wasn't the way Kemba Walker wanted to finish his career at Madison Square Garden as a high school player after his team's 124-114 loss in the Jordan Brand Classic National game. But he realized soon he was to begin another career with ample opportunities to play again in the world's most famous arena.

Walker will begin competing for playing time next season at Connecticut and he seemed eager for the challenge. "They have won a lot over the years," he said. "They expect to win. When I played here (Rice) we expected to win too."

And this is in a nutshell the strength of Walker's game. He possesses a desire to win every basketball game and play hard on every trip down the court.

The energetic point guard battled against some of the best players in the country. But heck, he's been doing that his whole career for Maurice Hicks at Rice High School.

"There were great players all over the court tonight," he said. "I like the challenge against playing the best."

Walker knows the rigors of the Big East Conference are something he will have to get used to but he's ready. "The only thing I try to do is work hard, defend hard, try to get my teammates involved and when the opportunity comes to score."

Kemba has done this his entire career for Rice High School. And he's helped the Raiders win more than their fair share of games. "Every night I try to do that," he stated. "I just try to help my team win the game in any way I can."