Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be examining some pressing issues facing the 2013-2014 UConn Huskies as the new season approaches. Today, we give Shabazz Napier’s career some historical context. So far we’ve covered UConn’s big men, the importance of Niels Giffey, the potential pitfalls of having three players with something to prove, and a chat with CBS writer Matt Norlander.
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The UConn Huskies will step on the court tonight against a real, live opponent. Expectations around the program are high following a strong showing last season. The unquestioned leader of the team is senior guard Shabazz Napier.
After backing up some guy named Kemba during a championship-yielding freshman year, Napier struggled with his leadership role in his sophomore effort. Over the course of his junior season last year, Napier refined his game and harnessed his unique control of both in-game tempo and off-court headship, capturing the heart of a drifting fanbase and setting a promising tone for the upcoming 2013-2014 campaign.
While Napier will be focused on leading his team into another NCAA Tournament this season, he has the potential to accomplish some individual goals that would place him amongst the elite in UConn history.
The obvious place to start is points. An exact replica of last season’s total (478) would leapfrog Napier over some giant names into 8th place on UConn’s all-time scoring list, right behind Kemba Walker. Keep in mind; Napier’s 478 points are without any Big East of NCAA Tournament games. As a hypothetical, at last year’s rate of 17.1 ppg, four additional tournament games this season would best Kemba’s career total by two points.
If you’re keeping track, 544 points catches Kemba for 7th place. Just twelve more (556) would match Ben Gordon for 6th place. Fifteen on top of that would equal Corny Thompson’s total for the 5th best in UConn history. It’s within the realm of possibility – especially if Napier can lead his team on a deep tournament run.
If you’re more interested in diversity, a conservative estimate of 100 rebounds and 102 assists would make Napier the first player* in UConn history to amass at least 1,500 career points, 500 career assists and 400 career rebounds.
Napier won’t come near Scott Burrell’s career steals per game record of 2.6 (insane), but with a slight uptick this season, he should easily capture third place (around 1.8/game). It would take a fairly amazing defensive season, but Doron Sheffer’s second place standing at 1.9/game could also be in jeopardy.
Abandoning statistics for a moment, an improbable Final Four trip would put Napier in elite company as one of only a handful of UConn players to play in two Final Fours. Walker is one, along with his immortal teammate…Kyle Bailey, who “played” on both the Final Four team of 2008-2009 as well as the championship team of 2010-2011. Napier was Walker’s backup during the 2011 season. His current teammates Niels Giffey and Tyler Olander would also fall into this category – although it’s a safe bet neither would be viewed historically in the same vein as Napier and Walker.
These added subplots are worth watching as Napier’s senior season rolls along, but more importantly, they add context to how historically important he has been to the UConn program. When his collegiate career finally wraps – hopefully in Dallas – statistics will only tell half the story. A great final chapter will forever paint Napier in fans’ minds as the player most responsible for righting UConn’s ship when it easily could have sunk. When you watch Napier this year, take a moment to appreciate the greatness of Shabazz, and marvel at how far he’s come.
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*Disclaimer: All math subject to me being bad at math
