It’s crazy that it’s already been 15 years to the day when one of the most iconic shots of recent college basketball shaped a run for the national title for UCONN. March 10th marked the 15th anniversary of the “Cardiac Kemba” shot against Pittsburgh in the 2011 Big East Tournament Quarterfinals.
This shot not only created the legend of Kemba Walker and that run for the 2011 UCONN Huskies to the National Championship, but also created a bunch of UCONN and Walker fans for years to come down the line everywhere in the country that year, including a junior in high school in Fishersville, VA at the time. Anyways, with the reminiscent memories out of the way, let’s dive into the play and the impact of the play itself.
The Shot Itself
So here’s the situation: the game is tied at 74 late in the second half of the Big East Quarterfinals, and UCONN has the ball in the final seconds of regulation. The ball ends up in Kemba Walker’s hands, and he would get a screen to set up the mismatch against Gary McGhee of Pittsburgh. Then the rest goes into the history books… “Kemba Walker, Step Back, Walker, CARDIAC KEMBA DOES IT AGAIN, UCONN WINS AT THE BUZZER!” That play-by-play call from ESPN’s Dave Pasch is probably one of my personal favorite calls of all-time because of the impact of that play and the enthusiasm of the call.
This shot is going to go down as one of the most crucial shots of all time in the game of College Basketball because of what it spawned for the Huskies the rest of that March.
The Impact of “Cardiac Kemba”
The impact of “Cardiac Kemba” is two-fold, it not only kept that season alive for the Huskies in the Big East Tournament, but it gave them the confidence to finish the magestical run that they already were on having to win every game in the Big East Tournament to have a chance at March Madness because of a sub regular season in the Big East at 9-9 that season. They would beat the Syracuse Orange and the Louisville Cardinals in the last two games of the Big East Tourney, with Walker winning the Big East Tournament MVP.
Then the UCONN Huskies would propel that run all the way to the National Championship after a master class by Walker, as he would become the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four that year. This was one of the most iconic runs in recent memory because they went from the bubble to Big East Champion, to National Champion in a span of a month.
Arguably, this wouldn’t have happened without the iconic moment in the quarterfinals from Walker, but you have to look at the landscape of that moment in MSG that day of Cardiac Kemba. As the Mecca of the Basketball world, MSG makes legends, and on March 10, 2011, it created another legend in college basketball in Kemba Walker.
How Cardiac Kemba Impacted UCONN AS A Program
As I said before, UCONN would win the National Championship in 2011, but UCONN would also win another National Championship three years later, thanks to Shabazz Napier, who was a youngster on this 2011 squad. I would like to think that this shot impacted Napier, as he learned a lot from Walker in that season, and he was able to carry it to his own run in 2014.
Cardiac Kemba created a lot of great memories for Storrs, Connecticut, along with the rest of the country that season, and that shot will live in the lexicon forever and ever. So, as 15 years of that moment pass, I want to say thank you, Kemba Walker, for creating that moment.
