Lamb proves to be productive sidekick to Walker

ANAHEIM, CALIF.—The skinny, long-armed teenager from Norcross, Ga., showcased himself brilliantly in the shadow of a bigger star.http://beautifulweddingdress.webblogg.se

Connecticut’s 6-foot-5, 185-pound freshman guard, Jeremy Lamb, and the rest of his teammates have been playing just outside the spotlight of do-everything point guard Kemba Walker this season. But when the lights were at about their brightest, Lamb stepped into it alongside Walker.

Lamb tied a career-high with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the West region semifinal against San Diego State on Thursday, including a critical 3-pointer off an offensive rebound that swished through to give Connecticut a 68-64 lead with just more than a minute to play. Lamb found himself wide open on the left wing as the Aztecs scrambled for the rebound and to locate Walker.

“I get easy shots playing off Kemba because if they don’t throw two or three people at him, he’s going to make them pay,” Lamb said. “So I get open shots and all I can do is try to knock them down and I was able to do that.”

Lamb followed that with a defensive gem, leaping to snatch a post-entry pass with his long arms, starting the break and then getting the ball back for an emphatic two-handed dunk to seal the victory.

Back at the hotel, Lamb fell asleep early but noted, “of course I watched highlights first.”

“It was real cool,” said Lamb, who also had 24 against Marquette in January. “Just growing up watching the NCAA Tournament and then playing in it, it feels real good to excel in it.”

Lamb is the son of Rolando Lamb, the man who drained a buzzer-beating shot for Virginia Commonwealth and sent Jim Calhoun and Northeastern packing out of the 1984 NCAA Tournament.

Now Calhoun is coaching the younger Lamb to the brink of a Final Four berth.

“There is something ironic about this whole situation,” Calhoun said, “and I couldn’t be more thrilled as a coach.”

While Walker outshined his younger teammate, he knows Lamb’s ceiling is high. And now he knows Lamb is a capable sidekick on the biggest of stages.

“Jeremy has been playing some great basketball for a long time now,” Walker said. “I know it’s a big stage but he’s had 24 before. He had one stretch in the beginning of the season where he was unstoppable.

“I’m happy he had a big game because we definitely needed it from him.”