Jim Calhoun would always find his way back home at least once a year to check out his Celtics, usually during training camp. But now that Kemba Walker is wearing Green, it’s a lock the visits will be more frequent.

Calhoun coached Walker at UConn – a job he very successfully sandwiched between stints at Northeastern and, now, Division 3 St. Joseph in West Hartford – and it’s clear he still has some things to teach.

“He wants to know where Dorchester is,” Calhoun said after the Celts’ Wednesday practice, making a point to pronounce it the proper local way, DAW-chestah. “And now he’s going to live in Brookline. Even though he lives there, he had no idea where it was. We have to explain him the geography and try to understand how we talk.”

Said Walker later through a wide smile, “Yeah, I’ve got to get that accent down.”

The Celtics’ new All-Star point guard was very much expecting and looking forward to seeing the familiar face that led him and the Huskies to the 2011 NCAA championship – beating, ahem, Brad Stevens and Butler in the national title game – once he chose here as his free agent destination.

“I knew as soon as I signed here that he’d be here,” Walker said a while after the two had a courtside reunion. “I knew it. That’s my man. That’s my man right there.

“You know, we’ve been through a lot together over the course of my college career. Of course, we won a championship together. So it was nothing but joy to see him here.”

It was the same for Calhoun, who ribbed Walker for a some airballs, repeating Stevens’ line that “the wind was blowing against him all day.”

More to the serious point, Calhoun said of Kemba, “Once he gets his reads … I think he’s going to bring, like every player, what he does well. What Kemba does well is lead. Even though he’s only an eight-year veteran, he’s a hungry guy. He wants to win.

“I know talking to him the end of last season, ‘What’s going to make your mind up? Because it’s your decision, certainly not anybody else’s.’ And we talk a lot, and he says, ‘Winning. I want to win. I’m at that point in my career. God’s been good, and I’ve made money, but I want to win.’

“And he’s here to win, and that’s his whole goal is to win. Even when he came back from China, he was sneaking over here (to the Celtics’ practice facility) a lot more than a lot of guys would have after a whole NBA season and a month and a half playing for Team USA. He was over here trying to play the best he can.”

Expanding on Walker’s free agent call, Calhoun said, “He balanced the factors. He knew about Brad. I knew about Brad, coached against Brad. He knew who the coach was, he knew Danny (Ainge), he knew what the Celtics represent. And most importantly, I guarantee, I don’t care what anybody could have offered him, that was the No. 1 thing he kept mentioning, winning.

“I told both (Ainge and Stevens) when I talked to the guys before the trade came about, or his signing came about, that they’re going to get a special player. I coached 50 years and had 30 NBA players who’ve played at least four years, and he’s as special as anybody I’ve ever had in the sense of leadership, caring and has incredible confidence with humility, which is a really hard thing to have.”

The Braintree-born-and-raised Calhoun might have an even closer connection to the Celtics now, but he’s always followed them. That meant he was paying attention to more than just Walker Wednesday – and the Hall of Fame coach was happy with what he saw.

“I see things I like today,” he said. “I like Gordon Hayward making shots. That’s a good deal. I think Gordon Hayward, a couple of years ago when I saw him as an All-Star before he got to Boston, he’s a great player and he really knows how to play. From a coaching standpoint, you like to have a guy like that on every team. And then (Jaylen) Brown and (Jayson) Tatum can really play. Some of the young kids – I like the feistiness with Carsen (Edwards) from Purdue. I like feisty guys. (Enes) Kanter will rebound.

“I’m not making evaluations, just that I’ve always wanted the Celtics to be good as far back as (Red) Auerbach’s camp as a camper/counselor. And then Bill Russell – I don’t know how he ever did it – cut me down at Camp Milbrook,” he added with self-deprecating sarcasm. “So when I see Auerbach’s picture, I think differently than you guys do.

“But my point being I’m a Bostonian, still love the Celtics, still want them to do well. I always follow my kids, and it’s a nice bonus to have the team I grew up with and love have one of the best players I certainly ever coached and people I ever coached, Kemba, being here.”