ANAHEIM, Calif. ? Shortly after Arizona stormed back to take the lead with six minutes left in its Elite Eight showdown with Connecticut, Kemba Walker told Jim Calhoun the last thing you'd expect a star player to say with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Instead of calling for the ball, Walker said UConn should put it in the hands of a freshman.
Of course, the freshman was Jeremy Lamb, the sleepy-eyed but cold-blooded guard who has emerged as the most trusted member of Walker's supporting cast. And Lamb made Walker look smart for putting the ball in his hands, delivering when the Huskies needed him most just like he had in Thursday's narrow victory over San Diego State.
On the first two Connecticut possessions out of the timeout Lamb sank jump shots assisted by Walker to enable the Huskies to reclaim a one-point lead. He later choked off a passing lane with his long arms, swiped the ball and finished with a two-handed dunk, capping a 10-0 run that gave Connecticut just enough breathing room to escape with a 65-63 victory.
"Jeremy was big-time today," Walker said. "Honestly, we needed everything that he did for us. He did everything perfect, one, he scored the baskets for us. He got big stops. He grew up today."
If Connecticut's previous Final Four teams were veteran-heavy juggernauts that expected to make deep NCAA tournament runs before the season, this Huskies team certainly doesn't fit that mold. Many thought Connecticut might miss the NCAA tournament for a second straight season since Walker's supporting cast consisted mostly of freshman who had talent yet weren't certain to make an instant impact.
Walker has received most of the publicity for his clutch shots and scoring barrages, but a big reason the Huskies have now won nine straight postseason games in 19 days is the maturation of the freshmen. Lamb has emerged as a capable secondary scoring option, Roscoe Smith has helped Alex Oriakhi clean up the defensive boards and point guard Shabazz Napier has helped take some of the ball-handling burden off Walker.
"This unique group of young guys have just given me a thrill beyond compare," Calhoun said. "Emeka Okafor is in our locker room right now and his team was a powerful, older
team that rolled through. We had one tough game against Duke, but won a national championship and that was special and the first one was obviously very special. But our march in the past nine games, I haven't experienced anything like this."
The Huskies wouldn't still be playing without Lamb, now averaging 18.25 points per game in four NCAA tournament victories. He finished with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting against Arizona, seemingly providing a huge basket whenever Arizona was in the midst of a run.
The soft-spoken Lamb acknowledges what he's accomplishing hasn't truly hit him yet.
"I don't like to think about where we're playing and how big the stage is," Lamb said. "Right now, I'm just having fun playing basketball."
The way Calhoun sees it, Lamb owed him for some past heartbreak. Rolando Lamb, Jeremy's father, sank a last-second jumper in the second round of the 1984 NCAA tournament to propel Virginia Commonwealth past Calhoun's Northeastern team.
Said Calhoun, "I told him he owed me one and he certainly has paid me back 10 fold."
Adrianne Curry Jennifer Gimenez Katie Cassidy Estella Warren Cinthia Moura
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