SHABAZZ NAPIER EXCITED FOR THE FUTURE

by Chris Spatola

July 24, 2012

In an off-season that saw four of their top six scorers (56% of point production) and four of their top five rebounders (55% of rebound production) leave the program, and with a 2013 postseason tournament ban on the horizon, optimism is not necessarily the sentiment of the hour in Storrs, Connecticut. 

Don’t tell that to University of Connecticut standout guard Shabazz Napier. “We’ve moved on.  The guys that are here want to be here and want to keep our program at the highest level.”

With the NBA departures of Jeremy Lamb and Andre Drummond, and the transfers of Alex Oriakhi (Missouri), Roscoe Smith (UNLV) and Michael Bradley (Western Kentucky), UConn is left with what will be one of the top backcourts in the Big East in Napier and Ryan Boatright, but little else.  Of the remaining holdovers from last year’s roster (Tyler Olander, Deandre Daniels, Enosch Wolf, and Niels Giffey) only forward Tyler Olander returns with any meaningful experience.

“Loyalty is important to me,” says Napier on his decision to return to UConn amidst the off-season exodus.  “Coach [Calhoun] is a Hall of Fame coach and he wants to see me get better.  I couldn’t turn my back on him and this program.”  

The Huskies do add Holy Cross transfer R.J. Evans and New York high school Player of the Year Omar Calhoun, both of whom will factor heavily into UConn’s rotation.    

Napier welcomes what will surely be not only a basketball challenge, but also, and more important, a leadership challenge.  “Playing with Kemba [Walker] for that year prepares me for a year like this.  He basically put us on his back and I learned a lot from that.  He definitely put me under his wing.” 

Napier is a National Champion. But he was also second on last year’s team in scoring (13.0) and logged over 35 minutes a game.  While he battled inconsistency at times during the year, Napier showed an ability to take and make big shots for a team that struggled to find an identity coming off its National Championship in 2011. Napier’s fearlessness, experience and ability to score will carry UConn in the coming year.

“We’ve had a good summer,” Napier says when asked about the team’s outlook for the coming season.  Though Napier spent six weeks of the summer in a walking boot designed to help heal a sore right foot that bothered him during much of last season, Napier remains upbeat.  “Our team’s excited for the year.  We’re disappointed we can’t play in the Big East or NCAA tournament, but that’s the way it is.  We’re trying to win every game we do play in.”

QUICK HITTERS

·         * Of North Carolina’s NBA departures, no player will be missed more than Kendall Marshall.  Marshall’s ability to push tempo, deliver the ball on time and create offense for the other four guys on the floor was uncanny and ultimately convinced the Phoenix Suns to take him with their 13^th pick in the 2012 NBA draft.  Even with the arrival of McDonald’s All-American Marcus Paige, look for Dexter Strickland (coming off ACL surgery) to spend a lot of time at the point for the Tarheels.  “I expect to play the point guard way more than I did last year,” Strickland told Tarheel.com during a summer update.  Strickland, a natural combo-guard, has spent the off-season watching tape of guys like Ty Lawson, Chris Paul and Tony Parker.  “That’s one of the things I’ve been focusing on a lot, watching film on different players to try to get that point-guard mindset.”

·          *Three of the lead candidates for, and with a real shot at winning, National Player of the Year honors in the coming season are three guys playing in mid-major conferences.  Doug McDermott (Creighton), Isaiah Canaan (Murray State) and C.J. McCollum (Lehigh) all made huge impressions at the recent Lebron James Skills Academy.  McDermott, in particular, was a scout favorite.  NBA Draft expert Joe Kotoch remarked, “There may not be a more complete player than Doug McDermott...[he] was deadly from outside and looks poised to lead his team well into March.”

·          *Duke wing player Alex Murphy, who red-shirted last season for the Blue Devils, spent the last six weeks competing for the U-20 Finnish National Team in the FIBA U-20 European Championships in Bulgaria (July 12-22).  Murphy's Finnish roots come from his mother, Paivi, who played on Finland's National Team.  While Finland only managed a 2-5 record in the tournament, Murphy did not disappoint, leading the team in points (17.4), rebounds (6.6), and minutes (31.0), including 30- and 29-point outings against Poland and Belgium, respectively.  “My redshirt year was invaluable in terms of getting stronger, getting to practice every day,” says Murphy.  “But I needed games; I needed to take game-shots, compete with refs, be in game situations.  This gave me that opportunity before we start our season at Duke.”  With a need for size on the perimeter, and the departure of Austin Rivers, there’s a real chance for Murphy to start this year.  Murphy was a top-15 recruit in the class of 2012 before reclassifying to 2011 and enrolling early at Duke.

·          *Rather than focus on the supposed “deterioration of novelty” with respect to three games to be played on aircraft carriers this coming Veteran’s Day (Nov. 9), let’s instead applaud the message college hoops is sending to the military, and the example the experience sets for NCAA student-athletes participating in these games. The games highlight and celebrate the incredible service that has marked our nation’s history.  Syracuse will play San Diego State in San Diego, CA; Marquette will play Ohio State in Charleston, SC; and Florida will play Georgetown in Jacksonville, FL.  These games will all be played aboard aircraft carriers and all on Veteran’s Day.  Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins says about their game, “Not only is this a chance to thank our military, but what an incredible learning experience for our players – they will remember this game forever.”  In addition to these three carrier games, Michigan State and UConn will open their seasons against each other in Germany playing on Ramstein Air Force Base.  Four games in four different military venues.  The only group that should be complaining is the Army – I’m sure they want their shot to host a game.