How Kemba Walker’s goodbye to hoops can spur a flood of WVU, Big East memories

Around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, four-time NBA All-Star Kemba Walker announced his retirement from basketball.
And it made me smile. Walker had a terrific career. I’m happy for him.
But it also brought back some nice memories.
Nice memories of the Big East, and West Virginia University’s time in the conference.
Of course, WVU made huge waves in the Big East in football and other sports. But the league was and always will be known for its hoops.
I was living in Pittsburgh in 1985 and covered the Big East at its pinnacle, when the conference had three of the Final Four teams – Georgetown, Villanova and St. John’s. I could go on and on about that magical year way before I joined Wheelhouse Creative LLC marketing and advertising.
But that smile Tuesday afternoon was because of the mix of Walker, WVU and the Big East.
For instance, did you know that on March 2, 2011, West Virginia played Walker’s No. 16 UConn team at the Coliseum with the Mountaineers coming out 65-56 victors?
Walker played every minute that game, shot 8-of-23 (4 of 7 from 3-point land) and had 22 points for the Huskies. Reserve Shabazz Napier was the only other UConn player to hit double digits.
And guess who led WVU in scoring.
Yep, none other than Joe Mazzulla, the now-NBA championship coach of the Boston Celtics. Joe had 18, while Kevin Jones added 15.
And get this: On Tuesday, right after Walker posted his retirement on X, Boston reporter Chris Forsberg of NBCS tweeted this: “Not sure the Celtics collect themselves as quickly as they did in the post-Kyrie (Irving) dust storm without the way Kemba embraced the younger players. His trade got Al (Horford) back here.”
Forsberg continued.
“Kemba was close with Mazzulla. Don’t know if he’d ever want to coach, but his positivity would lift anyone.”
Of course, UConn and WVU went back and forth in those days. On Feb. 22, 2010, when the Mountaineers were ranked No. 8 and destined for the Final Four, the Huskies won at the XL Center 73-62 with Walker scoring 21.
The 2010 season was also memorable for West Virginia because the Mountaineers won the Big East tournament by defeating Georgetown 60-58 on March 13 at Madison Square Garden.
I’ll always remember Da’Sean Butler’s running jumper with four seconds left to win that game. I’ll remember the scene on the floor as the team celebrated while “Take Me Home, Country Roads” blared through the sound system.
Walker’s UConn team was not in the conference tournament picture that year, losing to St. John’s in the opening round with Walker having an off night (12 points).
Yet that’s the great thing about sports. A simple story, an announcement, like that of Kemba Walker retiring, can bring back a flood of memories. Obviously, it can spur lifelong friendships like, apparently, that of Walker and Mazzulla.
Memories, friendships and, definitely, smiles.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.