Jim who?
Kemba who?
It’s all about Kevin Ollie and Shabazz Napier in the Nutmeg State after UConn booked its ticket to North Texas at the raucous and rocking pro-Husky Garden behind the play of Napier, the sensational and clutch senior lead guard, and Ollie, his-second year head coach.
Seventh-seeded Connecticut upset favored Michigan State, the fourth seed, 60-54, in the East Regional final in front of 19,499 at the Garden to reach its fifth Final Four and first since 2011, when Kemba Walker and Jim Calhoun won the school’s third national title.
“I know about these guys’ heart, and that’s what got us through,” Ollie said. “It was the heart of a champion, heart of a lion, and I love these guys.”
The Huskies will meet top overall seed Florida, a rematch of the Gators last loss Dec. 2 on a Napier buzzer-beater, Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Napier was a freshman on that 2011 team and Ollie an assistant coach, but the two are the faces of the program now. Napier is an NBA prospect and Ollie a rising star after reaching the Final Four in just his second season.
Ollie stepped into a difficult situation replacing Calhoun, who built UConn into a national power. His first season, the Huskies weren’t eligible for the postseason because of poor academic results. They still won 20 games, and Ollie’s presence persuaded Napier, along with fellow stars Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels, to stay in Stoors.
“They suffered. They were hurting, but they stayed here,” Ollie said.
It paid off for everyone Sunday afternoon, with a berth in the sport’s greatest stage that few saw coming. When it was Ollie’s time to snip the final strand of the net off the Eighth Avenue basket he did so methodically, egging on the UConn crowd as he cupped his ear and waved his left arm.
“It’s a great time when you can get on that ladder, but I was really taking my time,” Ollie said. “One step at a time. And that’s what you got to do to get up top of the ladder. You can’t skip no steps. And the last two years we didn’t skip no steps. We took one step at a time.”
Napier scored a game-high 25 points and added six rebounds and four assists. He made one clutch play after another down the stretch, from his right elbow jumper with 1:45 remaining to three free throws to extend the Huskies’ lead to five with 30.6 seconds left, and the clincher, a baseball pass to beat the press that led to a Phillip Nolan dunk, and sent Storrs East — also known as Madison Square Garden — into delirium.
“His swagger, his confident arrogance of how good we are, transfers to everybody on this team,” Calhoun said of the East Region’s Most Outstanding Player.
It was a UConn lovefest in midtown Manhattan, with famous alums such as Andre Drummond, Rip Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin, Ricky Moore and Huskies fans flooding MSG. There were even UConn chants before the opening tip, thunderous applause and deafening sound after each made Huskies hoop.
“It’s kind of unfair,” Napier said, with a sly smile. “We come here and we plant a lot of seeds here. And our fans come here and, as we always say, it’s like our third home.”
The Huskies’ (30-8) swarming, smothering defense was just as critical to the thrilling victory. It forced 16 Michigan State turnovers, basically closed off the paint, forcing Adreian Payne and Co. out onto the perimeter. The Spartans attempted 29 3-pointers as a result, making 11, got to the free-throw line only eight times and converted only seven two-point field goals.
Michigan State (29-9) led 32-23 early in the second half after a Payne jumper, forcing Ollie to use a timeout before the game got of hand. Napier took it upon himself from there, sinking a key left-wing 3-pointer and hitting four free throws in a 12-0 run to swing momentum back to the Huskies, who led 35-31 after a Daniels 3-point play with 11:47 left.
“They made their run and it was time for us to make ours,” Napier said. “And when Coach looks at me in a certain way, I just know I got to be more aggressive.”