Shabazz Napier drove the lane, kicked to an open Ryan Boatright. Boatright looked at the hoop, pumped…and passed, resetting the possession. Napier yelled, “get me that assist!” Apparently Napier’s awareness on the court is paralleled by his awareness of the stat sheet, as he was sitting on nine assists, needing the tenth to complete a rare triple-double.
The intrigue would last until 1:44 was left in the game, when Napier threw a long pass, hitting Terrence Samuel in stride for a layup.
The triple-double was the tenth in UConn history, and the second of Napier’s brilliant career. He became the first and only player to record two triple-doubles in his career — having notched one two years ago against Coppin St.
When we covered the historic potential of Napier’s senior season, triple-doubles weren’t something we considered. However, the list of those who have accomplished the feat is a who’s who of UConn history. In chronological order: Donyell Marshall, Doron Sheffer, Caron Butler, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Marcus Williams, Hasheem Thabeet, Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier and now again, Shabazz Napier. His final stat line stood at 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
UConn needed every bit of Napier’s performance on Monday. The final score of 80-62 masks some major problems, mainly with rebounding.
Yale out-rebounded UConn 43-31, including a staggering 22 offensive rebounds to UConn’s four. Napier, again, led the Huskies in rebounding as the front-court troika of Phil Nolan, Amida Brimah and Tyler Olander combined for a total of two (TWO) boards on the game. In fact, other than Napier, no Husky had more than three rebounds in the game. Those players: Ryan Boatright, Lasan Kromah and Terrence Samuel.
“That just wasn’t Connecticut basketball,” said a frustrated Kevin Ollie after the game. “In the first half, we played with energy. In the second half, they took it to us on the [glass].”
While the rebounding problems have become a constant theme around the team following last year, a new concern has started to arise about the play of DeAndre Daniels. After a quiet performance against Maryland, Daniels was held scoreless on Monday, going 0-5 from the field and registering only one rebound.
The slow start hasn’t gone unnoticed by Ollie, who said of Daniels, “if you’re not scoring, you can do other things. He’s just gotta play.” That might not be so easy for Daniels after another stellar performance by Niels Giffey.
Giffey was electric again in the first half, sinking five straight threes and igniting UConn’s offense. “He’s given us a lift off the bench,” said Ollie — implying that the sixth man role is his preferred role for the senior from Berlin. Still, of Daniels, Ollie said, “we can’t wait for anybody.” Giffey has given UConn a spark, and may find himself taking more of Daniels’s minutes.
Notes:
- Yale coach James Jones wasn’t in a very chatty mood post game. When asked what impact Shabazz Napier had on the game, his response, “he had a triple-double, right? That’s a pretty good impact.”
- Jones on Giffey, “it took us a while to figure out who Giffey was.” Bet he knows now.
- Omar Calhoun played very well. After running hot and cold against Maryland, he found his stroke for 40 minutes in this game. He shot 5-8 from the field, including 3-5 from three and 5-7 from the line, for a game-high 18 points. Watching him, Calhoun appears much stronger this season — especially evident when trying to finish in the paint.
- Amida Brimah finished with seven points and seven blocks — again showing an immediate impact on the defensive end. His eagerness to affect the shots of others may explain his poor rebounding numbers, but having his long arms on defense is a huge asset for UConn.
- The game was again slowed by a ton of foul calls. UConn recorded 23 fouls after 22 against Maryland. Four Huskies had two fouls in the first half and were forced to sit.
- How cute is this?
Up Next: Detroit visits Gampel on Thursday (11/14) to begin the 2K Sports Classic. The game starts at 7 and will be televised on SNY.
You need to photoshop Niels and Dirk as BESSFRENNNNDS.