Shabazz Napier Given Some Huge Praise
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He could start for the Celtics right now.
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Some talented point guards out there. It will start sorting itself out by the end of January. Bazz has championship experience, Kemba mentoring, NBA point guard tutoring, Boat practice challenges and many other factors benefiting him.
The one thing about Bazz I love is his confidence (and hidden cockiness) mixed in with humility. He has no fear against other elite guards but will not attempt to turn a game between him and the other guard. When you watch him match up he may be outscored but never outplayed. If he's outscored it doesn't seem to matter to him if we win.
He's about team and not about self. Good quality to have but sometimes frustrating to watch as a fan. Sometimes I just want to see him go off Stephen Curry style, which he is capable of. As good as he's playing right now, his best game is still to come, which is outright scary to think about.
The kid is a winner, and I really am hard pressed to find a comparable point guard in the country.
The one thing about Bazz I love is his confidence (and hidden cockiness) mixed in with humility. He has no fear against other elite guards but will not attempt to turn a game between him and the other guard. When you watch him match up he may be outscored but never outplayed. If he's outscored it doesn't seem to matter to him if we win.
He's about team and not about self. Good quality to have but sometimes frustrating to watch as a fan. Sometimes I just want to see him go off Stephen Curry style, which he is capable of. As good as he's playing right now, his best game is still to come, which is outright scary to think about.
The kid is a winner, and I really am hard pressed to find a comparable point guard in the country.
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Everytime I watch the Celtics and I see Pressey running around out there like a middle schooler who won a "Be an NBA player for a Day" contest I'm like "do people really think Bazz and Boat can't do this?"
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The praise wasnt "given" its been earned.
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A while back we had the "all-time" UConn top 10 list. I put 'Bazz around 8 or 9 at the time.
I was trying to gauge how I would describe his metamorphoses this year to my friend who is a UMD fan before that game, and the only word I could come up with was:
COMMAND.
He is just in total, complete, continual command when he is on the floor. He gets people shots, he digs out rebounds, he dictates pace. He works the shot clock, or pushes the ball when called for. He works it early to DD because he knows his confidence is faltering. He lets Boat bring it up sometimes to let him feel the game come to him. He finds Giffey in EXACTLY the right spot at EXACTLY the right time. He directs traffic, and pressures the ball on defense. Ultimately, he has just reached that rarified air where he just has 100% confidence in his ability to make decisions, elite skill to move around the court, and the experience to know when to engage those skills for maximum effect. We tend to sort of wrap all of that up and call it "clutch" or say he's a "gamer". But it is really a collection of skills that he has acquired or was born with.
I've really enjoyed watching him grow from a precocious and hyper-aggressive rook into a wily vet. Definitely an all-timer for me.
I was trying to gauge how I would describe his metamorphoses this year to my friend who is a UMD fan before that game, and the only word I could come up with was:
COMMAND.
He is just in total, complete, continual command when he is on the floor. He gets people shots, he digs out rebounds, he dictates pace. He works the shot clock, or pushes the ball when called for. He works it early to DD because he knows his confidence is faltering. He lets Boat bring it up sometimes to let him feel the game come to him. He finds Giffey in EXACTLY the right spot at EXACTLY the right time. He directs traffic, and pressures the ball on defense. Ultimately, he has just reached that rarified air where he just has 100% confidence in his ability to make decisions, elite skill to move around the court, and the experience to know when to engage those skills for maximum effect. We tend to sort of wrap all of that up and call it "clutch" or say he's a "gamer". But it is really a collection of skills that he has acquired or was born with.
I've really enjoyed watching him grow from a precocious and hyper-aggressive rook into a wily vet. Definitely an all-timer for me.
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I spoke with Rodney Purvis on Monday night. The word he used to describe Shabazz was "complete". BTW, Rodney really likes it at UConn and is really high on this year's team. He also respects KO tremendously and can't wait to suit up next year.
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