Sports

Upstart guard Samuel unlikely key to UConn’s Sweet 16 date

There is a system at UConn in which there are star players and then there are players waiting to be illuminated. Everyone knows about the glow surrounding Shabazz Napier, but few suspected Terrence Samuel was next in the line of succession.

Without Napier, the Huskies would not be where they are, headed to the Sweet Sixteen after winning two battles with Philadelphia schools in Buffalo, edging St. Joseph’s in overtime and dominating Villanova in the second half of a 77-65 triumph on Saturday night in a scrum of former Big East combatants. Without Samuel, a freshman guard from Brooklyn, playing valuable minutes against Villanova with Napier in foul trouble, UConn would not be making the trip from their cozy Storrs, Conn., campus into Manhattan to face Iowa State on Friday in an East Regional matchup at the Garden.

“That’s one of the reasons Terrence played so well. … He was really trying to go home for a little bit,’’ joked senior Niels Giffey.

A year ago, Samuel led South Shore to a second consecutive PSAL Class AA quarterfinal berth. This season, the 6-foot-4 guard played in 25 games (no starts) at UConn and averaged 1.8 points. His career high had been eight points, which is why no one really expected him to pick up the scoring slack when Napier — the American Athletic Association’s player of the year — was limited to four points and eight minutes in the first half against Villanova, saddled with two fouls.

At the time, UConn trailed 19-9. Samuel replaced Napier and made a difference. He made two free throws, came up with a steal, hit a jump shot and passed to DeAndre Daniels for a wide-open 3-pointer, which he drilled.

Samuel’s contribution to a 14-1 run without Napier was vital to UConn taking a 25-24 halftime lead. In the second half, Samuel continued his solid play and finished with a career-high 11 points in 21 minutes.

“[Samuel] was great defensively,’’ Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “He got up in our guards. He had good size. He drove the ball. He was good. Made free throws. I thought he did a great job making up for Napier.’’

Samuel follows a long line of New York guards making their way to UConn, from A.J. Price to Taliek Brown to Kemba Walker. Napier took to heart the mentoring of his younger backcourt mate and said he was not surprised when the lead grew while he was on the bench and Samuel was on the court.

“He just matured so much,’’ said Napier, who buried Villanova with 21 of his 25 points in the second half. “As a freshman coming in, in high school you play so many minutes. The biggest thing is you want to do the same thing when you get to college but when you have great guards in front of you it’s kind of hard. He kept his head. He understands he’s a big role player on this team.’’

That role will change exponentially next season, when Napier is gone and Ryan Boatright as a senior steps into the lead-guard shoes — shoes Napier wore so elegantly after he succeeded Walker. Samuel moves up a notch in the rotation. UConn coach Kevin Ollie has said Samuel reminds him of himself when he came to the Huskies as a pass-first guard not known as a deadly outside shooter.

“Terrence is maturing and he’s a great competitor, but he’s also a great teammate,’’ Ollie said. “He’s going to be a great basketball player for us.’’

That’s for the future. The Huskies might not need Samuel to come off the bench for as many minutes as he played against Villanova. However long they remain in the NCAA Tournament, it will be up to Napier to show the way. A skinny 6-1, he is going to have to transition into a pint-sized guard in the NBA but first things first. There’s a trip to Madison Square Garden awaiting Napier and the Huskies.

“We’re going to write our own story,” Ollie said as he advances in his first NCAA Tournament as a head coach. “We’re not going to let anybody write it for us.’’