As a kid growing up at the Sack-Wern apartment complex in the Bronx, Kemba Walker used to go outside and almost always be one of the smaller players on the basketball court.

He had to find a way into the games as well as a way to stay competitive. So Walker, who even now is generously listed as a 6-foot-1 sophomore at Connecticut, found an unusual way to establish himself.

“I was always fast,” Walker said. “So I had the ability to pick up guys full court. Growing up, I wasn’t really much of an offensive threat so defense is what got me by a lot. I always loved to do (defense).

“Guys would ask me ‘Do you love playing D?’ I’d be like ‘Yeah, I love playing defense.’ That’s probably the best part of the game.”

So it is somewhat fitting Walker ended up at Connecticut, which visits Michigan today at 1:30 p.m. (CBS-TV). He’s the latest in a long line of Huskies guards who have been a pain for almost every opponent they’ve faced.

Walker learned a season ago as a freshman from A.J. Price. The lineage stretches back, seemingly forever, from Ben Gordon to Marcus Williams to Khalid El-Amin. Walker seemingly fits in perfectly.

He’ll be everywhere on the floor due to that speed honed at Sack-Wren. He’ll slide with any point guard in the country with his footwork, undoubtedly helped by dancing skills so good that he performed at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem when he was young.

It wasn’t until his junior year of high school, though, when he replaced Edgar Sosa at Brother Rice in New York that he became a player with a diversified offensive game.

It attracted the attention of Connecticut, which brought him in last year to eventually take over for Price. Now, in his first year as a starter and floor leader for the Huskies, he’s been more of a complete player averaging, 12.5 points, 6.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals.

“He’s a little point guard that nobody ever likes to guard,” Michigan sophomore guard Stu Douglass said. “He’s really good with the ball. … A.J. was more of a scorer. He’s more of a point guard.”

Douglass could be the next guy Walker digs into.

The sophomore lives to press, something he’s always done as a self-described “pesky defender.”

“As long as I’ve been in basketball, I’ve always been on teams that have played that way, pressing,” Walker said. “My high school team pressed the whole time. My AAU team (the New York Gauchos), I had a couple players alongside of me that played the exact same way.”

In taking over for Price, it became a smooth transition. Price offered advice and mentorship a season ago. And even in times Price struggled last year, Walker would help him out.

“Watching and playing against him every day and him telling me when I’m doing things wrong and when I’m doing things right helped me a lot, gave me a lot of confidence,” Walker said. “He was always the one to tell me when I made a mistake.

“He’d tell me it’s gonna be all right, it’s gonna be good.”

So far in his first season as a start at Connecticut, it has been.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.