Retirements are hard. Kemba Walker was all over the internet when he announced his retirement on Tuesday. He had an impressive career ever since being drafted in 2011 by the Charlotte Hornets (then-Charlotte Bobcats). However, in this river of nostalgia, there was one fact that would have cheered Walker when he made an appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast with Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero.

On the podcast, the 34-year-old talked about everything from how Michael Jordan mentored him to his NCAA Championship-winning campaign in 2011 with the University of Connecticut. As interesting as taking a trip down Walker’s memory lane was, one revelation by Carmelo Anthony caught everyone’s attention. That was when the former Nuggets man revealed the one team he could “never beat.”

“I can’t beat UConn. I remember we lost to UConn three times,” Anthony stated on the 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast. Notably, Anthony played for Syracuse from 2002-2003, and that year, he started all 35 games, averaging 22.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 1.6 steals. He may have led the team to its only NCAA Championship in 2003, dropping 33 points in the Final Four and a double-double in the title game. But on the road to the title, Anthony couldn’t emerge on the winning side against UConn.

Syracuse has been famous for its rivalry against UConn, which was prevalent from 1979 to 2013. The competition peaked as two Hall of Famer coaches – Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun – were part of the teams. In the 2002-2003 season, Syracuse played the Huskies twice (even though he said thrice) and lost both. In the first game in early February, the Orange lost by a 75-61 margin. And in their second encounter in mid-March, the Huskies trumped their rivals 80-67.

That season, for his efforts in the NCAA Tournament (especially his 20 points and 10 rebounds in the finals), Carmelo Anthony got the Most Outstanding Player Award. In fact, head coach Boeheim even said that Anthony was “by far, the best player in college basketball. It wasn’t even close. Nobody was even close to him last year in college basketball.” Despite that storied one year in Syracuse, the only thing that still hurts him is his losses to the Huskies, so much so that he admitted to hating them.

Earlier in the podcast, when Anthony, Walker, and The Kid Mero discussed jerseys and kits, the Syracuse legend exclaimed, “I’m a UConn hater,” adding, “I never beat UConn. Never.” Listening to that, even though Walker played for UConn from 2008-2011, Anthony’s true admission came as a moment of pride for Walker, especially because he was the one to lead the Huskies to the 2011 championship title. That said, overall, the Orange leads the series 56-39, and despite Anthony losing both games, Syracuse has proved its mettle as a formidable opponent against UConn.

However, the past couple of seasons have been all about the Huskies, who achieved a two-peat after winning the NCAA Championship in 2023 and 2024. Considering the dominance of the team with Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, Donovan Clingan, and Stephon Castle, there were discussions over whether the Huskies could compete in the NBA. Who was the first to quash those claims? Carmelo Anthony.

“These guys are pros, man. Let’s not get it twisted,” Anthony said on an earlier episode of 7PM in Brooklyn. “The NBA is a man’s league, no matter how young guys come into the league. It’s still a man’s league. It’s like no boys allowed.” He may hate UConn, but he didn’t hesitate to give credit where credit was due. “UConn is a phenomenal team. But ain’t no college team is going to compete in the NBA. So, let’s stop the bullsh**.”

Coming back to Kemba Walker. As he says goodbye to playing professional basketball and moves on to becoming a player enhancement coach for the team that gave him his break in the NBA, let’s take a look at his journey.

Kemba Walker’s exceptional basketball career

Kemba Walker, as mentioned, won the NCAA Championship with the Huskies in 2011. He was also named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player of the Year that season, apart from making it to the First All-American team. He also clinched the Lute Olson and Bob Cousy Award that year. Overall, he averaged 16.1 points and 4.1 assists per game, which proved that he was as good an alpha as he was in his playmaking skills.

As for his NBA career, Walker made it to the All-Star 4 times consecutively from 2017 to 2020. All this made him a star in his own right, even though he couldn’t win an NBA ring. Nonetheless, when Walker looks back at his career, it seems like he’ll definitely miss the Syracuse-UConn rivalry. And he might also find happiness in the fact that a legend like Carmelo Anthony could never beat the Huskies.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.