Welcome back to another edition of Husky History, the column that highlights a former UConn athlete and their accomplishments in Storrs and their professional careers.
Amid the UConn Huskies making their second consecutive Final Four, there is so much conversation revolving around the chance for them to become repeat champions and how the returners from last year would cement themselves into a league of their own.
However, they wouldn’t be the first players to hang two championship banners in their playing days. Of the three players who were members of the 2011 and 2014 NCAA Championship squads, Shabazz Napier stands out to UConn fans for what he accomplished in four years. I’ll highlight his lengthy, successful career in Storrs.
You cannot make a list of UConn legends without including Napier. Napier was a tough, smart guard coming out of Charlestown High School in Charlestown, Mass. that was bound to fit in well with Hall of Famer coach Jim Calhoun’s system.
As typical for a freshman on the 2010-11 team with championship aspirations, Napier’s role was to be the spark plug off the bench. After averaging 7.8 points, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 23.8 minutes per contest in all 41 games, he was named to the Big East All-Freshman Team.
Even in limited minutes, Napier finished third in steals in the Big East with 66 on the season, two of those coming in the National Championship game against Butler. His production was vital considering he played the third highest minutes in that game for the Huskies. A championship ring was a perfect ending to a stellar freshman season.
In the 2011-12 season, the year after Kemba Walker’s departure and Calhoun’s final season at UConn, Napier’s role increased as expected. His minutes skyrocketed to 35 per game, and with that he averaged 13 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
Although there wasn’t any championship trophy to raise, the Huskies still had a solid season. Napier routinely stuffed the stat sheet, including a triple-double in an early season game against Coppin State with a stat line of 22 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists. Unfortunately, the Huskies suffered a first-round NCAA tournament exit to Iowa State, but Napier led the scorers with 22 points.
The following season, Napier’s third, the junior’s production increased even more. He averaged 17.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 37.3 minutes per game, earning All-Big East First-Team Honors.
Under first-year head coach Kevin Ollie, Napier led the team in points, assists and steals per game. As outstanding as Napier was, he could not carry the team himself, but help was on the way in his final ride wearing UConn across his chest.
The 2013-14 season was nothing short of remarkable. After making the move to the American Athletic Conference, most people outside of UConn fans counted this team out in terms of contending for a National Championship.
When you look to find a pattern between each year’s championship teams, one of the main trends is consistent guard play. Even in UConn’s history that holds true, with Richard Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin in 1999 and Tristen Newton and Jordan Hawkins in 2023. In 2014, Napier held that tradition.
Napier led the Huskies in all categories against Kentucky in the NCAA Championship game with 22 points, six rebounds and three assists on 50/44/100 shooting splits. Finishing your career winning two of four titles is not a bad way to go out at all.
To go along with another championship, Napier was named the 2014 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He also became one of the nine Huskies to be named a Consensus First-Team All American.
To end any debate of who the best point guard in the country was, Napier was honored with the Bob Cousy Award.
Like most UConn greats, Napier sits atop several statistical leaderboards. As the saying goes, the best ability is availability and Napier embodied that. To this day he appeared in a program-best 143 games, totaling 4,614 minutes across his career.
Here are some more stats to showcase his versatility and tenacity: Despite being a smaller guard, Napier sits seventh all-time in defensive rebounds with 475. Also, he cashed in 260 3-point field goals, the third most in program history.
An entire book can be written on the impact Napier left on UConn basketball. What he did was incredible and will be remembered by fans forever.
The last thing I wanted to highlight to get fans excited with the Final Four approaching and a sixth National Championship in sight: Tristen Newton, like Napier, is a First-Team All-American who leads the team in points and assists per game. Maybe history will repeat itself?