As Shabazz Napier recounted his forgettable sophomore year, you could hear the frustration in his voice, the regret of how that season went.
Connecticut began 2011-12 ranked fourth in the country, coming off its third national championship the year before. Its loaded roster included NBA players Jeremy Lamb and Andre Drummond, NBA D-Leaguer Alex Oriakhi and UNLV rebounding machine Roscoe Smith. Despite all that, the Huskies lost their NCAA Tournament opener in Jim Calhoun’s final season, finishing a disappointing 20-14.
“I didn’t know how to be a leader out there at that point,” Napier said Saturday in advance of Sunday’s East Regional final against fourth-seeded Michigan State, his voice full of remorse. “I isolated myself a lot when things were down. I was quite flustered most of the time.”
That team broke up quickly, amid the news UConn wasn’t postseason eligible because of poor academic results. Calhoun retired. Lamb and Drummond made the jump to the NBA. Smith transferred to UNLV, Oriakhi to Missouri.
Napier, however, stayed.
“I felt I didn’t play to my capabilities that year and I wanted to show my teammates, show the fans, show the coaches, that I’m going to come back strong and come back better,” the 6-foot senior and Roxbury, Mass. product recalled. “That’s the reason why I didn’t transfer. I felt like I owed [Connecticut] something. That’s why I came back.”
He has come back and performed at such a high level, with so much consistency, poise and maturity, that season of underwhelming play seems like a mirage.
This run began in earnest last year, when the postseason was out of the question. The AAC Player of the Year enjoyed a solid junior campaign, leading the Huskies to what would have been an NCAA Tournament berth had they been eligible, and now has them in the Elite Eight, 40 minutes from the Final Four.
Napier, a fringe NBA prospect after last year, said he returned for his senior year to earn his degree, a promise he made to his mother, Carmen Velasquez. He said he gets his toughness from her, a single mom who raised all three of her children on her own.
He has played through injuries, mentored the program’s underclassmen and put the Huskies on his back when called upon, leading them in points (17.9), rebounds (5.9), assists (4.9) and steals (1.8).
Overall top seed Florida’s last loss, Dec. 2, is courtesy of UConn, on a Napier buzzer-beater. He set the tone against Iowa State on Friday night at the Garden by hitting his first four 3-point attempts, and was content to watch his teammates carry the offensive load the rest of the evening in an eventual 81-76 victory.
Freshman Terrence Samuel credits Napier with instilling confidence in him when he couldn’t get off the bench. It’s Napier who makes sure he is not falling behind in his classes and is on top of everyone getting to the weight room. It was Napier who eased enigmatic forward DeAndre Daniels’ nerves Friday after a slow start, leading to the junior’s brilliant 27-point, 10-rebound performance, force-feeding him the ball once Daniels got hot.
“Like I’ve said many times, he’s my unpaid assistant coach and I love him to death,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “He has a wonderful gift, and now he’s giving away his gift.
“He’s not secluded and not trusting anybody. Now he’s all right to say, ‘I made a mistake and look at me, I’m going to correct it.’ And before he wasn’t able to come to that realization that ‘I made a mistake’ or not give away his gift. He’s encouraging guys to be better. He’s encouraging himself to be better.
“The first battle is within. And he’s conquered within. Whenever something comes up, he goes to the next play. He recovers better now than he did in his sophomore year.”
It has been a memorable season for Napier, full of highlights and honors. Sunday’s game against Michigan State, however, is really what matters to him, a chance to get UConn back to the Final Four, where he feels it belongs.
“I want to be known as a guy, at the end of the day, him and his team was triumphant through the wars,” Napier said. “I want my teammates to be on top.”