STORRS, Conn. – There’s no question Connecticut will ride their guards as much as possible this season. Given their personnel, that’s about their only choice as they are far deeper on the perimeter than up front and more talented there. It’s also where their most natural leaders are, in particular the one who didn’t score for much of Friday’s 57-49 win over Harvard largely because he was busy helping others do that.
The easy pick as the star on Friday night would be DeAndre Daniels. The sophomore forward, a talent who simply got buried behind more experienced players a year ago, had a long-awaited breakout game with 23 points on 9-12 shooting. He had a career high by halftime, as he scored 15 points in the opening frame, and if he can do that more, it would be a big development.
“We try to get it to him most of the time, because we know he can score,” said point guard Shabazz Napier. “It’s up to him to believe he can score. We want him to score, because when the Big East comes, we have to have that guaranteed slot for the next scorer.”
Daniels figures to be an X-factor for this team, and he might be their most important player in the sense that he could be a barometer of how this team goes. If he’s productive, that’s another scorer to go with Ryan Boatright, Omar Calhoun and Napier. It’s also a load off those three and others, to say nothing of the fact that the big men (Enosch Wolf and Tyler Olander) aren’t going to strike fear in opposing defenses. Most of all, it would mean Napier doesn’t have to score much and can be what he should be at the point.
Napier, ultimately, is the best example of why this team will rely on their guards immensely, and not just in the box score. In Friday’s win over Harvard, Napier didn’t score for most of the game, but it was mainly because he was so busy running the show and setting up the likes of Daniels and Boatright (16 points on 7-11 shooting to go along with three assists). Napier is the most experienced regular on this team, so along with being the point guard, he’s the leader.
A key player on the national championship team two years ago, Napier knows the game well and understands what his role is. He knows it’s up to him to be the coach on the floor, from recognizing defenses to knowing who on his team might have a hot hand and how to ride it. He said after Friday’s game that early on, he knew what the game would dictate he had to do, and followed that to the tune of nine assists with just one turnover. In addition, he knows what he and this team must do to succeed, given that they don’t have much margin for error.
In other words, he knows the game as well as just about any player you’ll find, and that’s a good thing for this team.
“Shabazz is our coach on the floor in every way,” said Daniels. “Tonight, he was focused on getting everybody else involved and trying to get them going, telling guys what they needed to do and where they need to be.”
Napier will do what’s needed to win, whether it’s score or rebound. His preference is to run the show and get others going, and he’ll always defend because that’s a big part of it. He also has a feel for what guys have to do, as he mentioned some things he tells Daniels that can get better results given what his talents are. He sees Daniels as someone who should play the same style as Carmelo Anthony – not quite at the same talent level, but to play a similar way at the offensive end in terms of what he can do best. That’s besides how he tries to keep Daniels’ confidence up, something that can be a challenge at times.
onnecticut is limited with their personnel both in size and talent. While the Huskies are 7-2 as they head into a break for final exams, they haven’t breezed to that record by a long shot. They’re out-scoring opponents by just five per game and getting out-rebounded by six per game. R.J. Evans is the only senior who has played, meaning this team is driven by juniors and underclassmen in part because Alex Oriakhi, a senior, transferred after the team was declared ineligible for postseason play this season because of a low APR score.
Both head coach Kevin Ollie and Napier talked about the rebounding after Friday’s game, where Harvard out-rebounded them 27-20. Ollie noted that they want to run, and without rebounding, they can’t do that. With this team’s limitations, easy baskets are necessary.
“Our biggest problem is that we just think too much of scoring,” said Napier. “We have too many scorers on the team for our own good, and when we’re not scoring, we don’t rebound. It makes no sense, because if we don’t rebound, we don’t score. We don’t get that right now.”
Listen to Napier talk, and you can tell he’s like another coach out there. It’s a big reason why this team will rely on their backcourt, and not just in the box score, even though they certainly will in that area.
