Shabazz Napier to

[the Q]

From the 9 minute mark of the Florida first half through the 6 minute mark of the Kentucky first half might be the greatest stretch in program history. They outscored Florida and Kentucky 89-52 over a span of about 43 minutes.

The three minute mark of the Duke game through whenever we took our foot off against Tech has to be up there, too, but that was as a favorite. We knocked Florida and Kentucky out cold as what, a combined 10-point underdog?

I have to look back what they did sandwiches around that Louisville game in 09 and around the dismantling of Kentucky in 2011 in the preseason tourney. Those are the only other 2 that immediate jump out at me as potential options without doing any heavy research.

 

[the Q]

From the 9 minute mark of the Florida first half through the 6 minute mark of the Kentucky first half might be the greatest stretch in program history. They outscored Florida and Kentucky 89-52 over a span of about 43 minutes.

The three minute mark of the Duke game through whenever we took our foot off against Tech has to be up there, too, but that was as a favorite. We knocked Florida and Kentucky out cold as what, a combined 10-point underdog?

And I’m still annoyed at the bs 2nd foul on Daniels, who was retreating.

Gave that game way more heartburn than it needed to have

 

[MadDogRevival]

And I’m still annoyed at the bs 2nd foul on Daniels . . .

Definitely. Could have easily been the "but for" moment that we all looked back upon had it not worked out. Daniels was taken out of his game early.

Really shows how seasoned that team was. Shabazz was unshakeable, and that leadership permeated the team.

Still occasionally rewatch the 2nd half sequence where Shabazz hit a tough 3 and Giffey hit two threes - one from dead straight - to keep Kentucky at arm's length. When Giffey hit the 2nd one, that's when I had my first, "I think we're going to do this" moment. Just got goosebumps thinking about it.

 

[the Q]

Definitely. Could have easily been the "but for" moment that we all looked back upon had it not worked out. Daniels was taken out of his game early.

Really shows how seasoned that team was. Shabazz was unshakeable, and that leadership permeated the team.

Still occasionally rewatch the 2nd half sequence where Shabazz hit a tough 3 and Giffey hit two threes - one from dead straight - to keep Kentucky at arm's length. When Giffey hit the 2nd one, that's when I had my first, "I think we're going to do this" moment. Just got goosebumps thinking about it.

1) Funny, that was my moment to say the same thing. Although it was more like "holy crap, they can really pull this off"...which was amazing because 2

2) the way they kept letting Kentucky get the lead back down to 1, only to extend it with some tough shots like the Boat step back fade, it was great. Those mistakes on guarding Giffey were just monstrous though.

3) the other "but for" moment could've been when Boat just destroyed his ankle. I'm amazed that he was able to finish that. It looked awful.

 

[andy34]

1) Funny, that was my moment to say the same thing. Although it was more like "holy crap, they can really pull this off"...which was amazing because 2

2) the way they kept letting Kentucky get the lead back down to 1, only to extend it with some tough shots like the Boat step back fade, it was great. Those mistakes on guarding Giffey were just monstrous though.

3) the other "but for" moment could've been when Boat just destroyed his ankle. I'm amazed that he was able to finish that. It looked awful.

Agree with every point here. It's crazy to re-watch that game and see how they simply refused to give in. Kentucky just could not grab the lead. Those Giffey threes in particular were gigantic.

 

[Mr. French]

From the 9 minute mark of the Florida first half through the 6 minute mark of the Kentucky first half might be the greatest stretch in program history. They outscored Florida and Kentucky 89-52 over a span of about 43 minutes.

The three minute mark of the Duke game through whenever we took our foot off against Tech has to be up there, too, but that was as a favorite. We knocked Florida and Kentucky out cold as what, a combined 10-point underdog?

Off memory it was 16-4 FLA and we made it 16-15 in about 2 minutes.

 

[Mr. French]

Definitely. Could have easily been the "but for" moment that we all looked back upon had it not worked out. Daniels was taken out of his game early.

Really shows how seasoned that team was. Shabazz was unshakeable, and that leadership permeated the team.

Still occasionally rewatch the 2nd half sequence where Shabazz hit a tough 3 and Giffey hit two threes - one from dead straight - to keep Kentucky at arm's length. When Giffey hit the 2nd one, that's when I had my first, "I think we're going to do this" moment. Just got goosebumps thinking about it.

Great recollection, I could have written that post.

And @tcf15 has given me plenty of YouTube resources to re-live those magic moments.

 

[CL82]

The run off the court to locker room is awesome.

Haha - Love the run off, but did you that Bazz did it because he's claustrophobic and didn't want the midcourt congratulatory scrum? Still, it looks terrific though. "Bang, we're done."

(FWIW, I rank Kemba and Bazz as 1 and 1a. Give Kemba the edge because his support was so young and he really carried the team and 11 games in a row is legendary. Of course Bazz's "This is what happens when you ban us speech" is AWESOME. So yeah, 1 and 1a, and I see how people could flip the order. )

 

[the Q]

Off memory it was 16-4 FLA and we made it 16-15 in about 2 minutes.

You are correct.

 

[Pudge]

Haha - Love the run off, but did you that Bazz did it because he's claustrophobic and didn't want the midcourt congratulatory scrum? Still, it looks terrific though. "Bang, we're done."

(FWIW, I rank Kemba and Bazz as 1 and 1a. Give Kemba the edge because his support was so young and he really carried the team and 11 games in a row is legendary. Of course Bazz's "This is what happens when you ban us speech" is AWESOME. So yeah, 1 and 1a, and I see how people could flip the order. )

I get it. You all missed the first 20 years of Jim Calhoun. We all feel loved here in NostalgiaVille. But the Rise ... was more fun. By a lot.

We need a new board - the young playground kids could hang out.

 

[CL82]

FWIW, I rank Kemba and Bazz as 1 and 1a. Give Kemba the edge

I get it. You all missed the first 20 years of Jim Calhoun. We all feel loved here in NostalgiaVille. But the Rise ... was more fun. By a lot.

We need a new board - the young playground kids could hang out.

As I chat with my wife about retirement plans, which admittedly are still a few years away, I'll be sure to let her know that we are still "young kids" in Pudge-world.

I can talk you about any of the Calhoun years, or the Perno years if you want. These are just my two favorites for greatest Husky because they each carried a huge burden. Who do you put ahead of them? Why?

 

[bballgrda]

Haha - Love the run off, but did you that Bazz did it because he's claustrophobic and didn't want the midcourt congratulatory scrum? Still, it looks terrific though. "Bang, we're done."

(FWIW, I rank Kemba and Bazz as 1 and 1a. Give Kemba the edge because his support was so young and he really carried the team and 11 games in a row is legendary. Of course Bazz's "This is what happens when you ban us speech" is AWESOME. So yeah, 1 and 1a, and I see how people could flip the order. )

My buddies and I were front row, exactly in that corner he ran to. My two friends joined the mosh pit and were experiencing pure jubilation. Me, being more reserved, just hung back and took it all in. That video triggered some great feelings. Might be my favorite memory of attending a UConn game - it's hard to choose though.

 

[amory]

Here's a slightly biased take:

The team boils down to a very promising young center, talented yet extremely inconsistent wing players, and two interesting combo guards; D'Angelo Russell showed that getting out of LA was great for his game, but he's made of glass, and Spencer Dinwiddie played well above his means last year but I'm not quite sold on his ability to do that over the long haul.

Aside from Joe Harris, the bench is weak as heck. We literally have no guard depth to speak of. A couple more guys will probably come in, but he has an excellent shot at carving out a large role. Out of the three PGs on the roster currently, Bazz is by far the best outside shooter. My inclination is that offense will be the key to get him entrenched in the rotation.

It's a 4th/5th place team, but by no means are they at the absolute cellar.

The Nets are not going to be in 4th or 5th place this year, come on. Even in the east. They're bottom 6 or 7 in the NBA (better than Atlanta, Orlando, Chicago, Cleveland if they dump Love, Memphis, maybe Dallas, maybe Sacramento)

But that's OK for Bazz! He will get way more playing time in a bigger market than he did in Portland, and hopefully he'll continue to improve and find a long term home either in Brooklyn as they begin to rebuild or somewhere else.

 

[Stainmaster]

The Nets are not going to be in 4th or 5th place this year, come on. Even in the east. They're bottom 6 or 7 in the NBA (better than Atlanta, Orlando, Chicago, Cleveland if they dump Love, Memphis, maybe Dallas, maybe Sacramento)

But that's OK for Bazz! He will get way more playing time in a bigger market than he did in Portland, and hopefully he'll continue to improve and find a long term home either in Brooklyn as they begin to rebuild or somewhere else.

4th or 5th in the division...

 

[amory]

4th or 5th in the division...

oh. Yeah that makes more sense.

 

[Dogdeacon]

I don't like it, yes there's opportunity in NJ way moreso than Portland, but its crappy opportunity to put up empty stats for a 2nd division team. I'd rather he contribute & practice & play behind all-star nba guards versus backing up the mediocre guards the Nets roll out. Yeah he'll get more burn and probably a bunch of starts, but its journeyman NBA level experience & not a quality organization.

 

[Storrs South]

I don't like it, yes there's opportunity in NJ way moreso than Portland, but its crappy opportunity to put up empty stats for a 2nd division team. I'd rather he contribute & practice & play behind all-star nba guards versus backing up the mediocre guards the Nets roll out. Yeah he'll get more burn and probably a bunch of starts, but its journeyman NBA level experience & not a quality organization.

He got that opportunity the last 2 seasons; he now is on a team where he can compete for more than 20 minutes a night and potentially get himself a lot more money before he turns 30 if he capitalizes on the opportunity in Brooklyn.

 

[auror]

He got that opportunity the last 2 seasons; he now is on a team where he can compete for more than 20 minutes a night and potentially get himself a lot more money before he turns 30 if he capitalizes on the opportunity in Brooklyn.

He's probably going to get less minutes in Brooklyn than he did in Portland, unless he absolutely balls out or Brooklyn trades a 3rd PG (already traded 2 this offseason).

 

[Stainmaster]

He's probably going to get less minutes in Brooklyn than he did in Portland, unless he absolutely balls out or Brooklyn trades a 3rd PG (already traded 2 this offseason).

Russell is injury-prone, and both he and Dinwiddie will be getting off-the-ball minutes. Bazz is also better from behind the arc than both. He can definitely fit.

 

[UConnStats]

Russell is injury-prone, and both he and Dinwiddie will be getting off-the-ball minutes. Bazz is also better from behind the arc than both. He can definitely fit.

I would think they cash out on Dinwiddie at some point too.

 

[Stainmaster]

I would think they cash out on Dinwiddie at some point too.

I enjoyed watching him this past year, but I'd like to see them sell high if possible.

 

[the Q]

I enjoyed watching him this past year, but I'd like to see them sell high if possible.

His salary is almost too good. Very hard to trade a guy who was top 50 in some metrics when he's making 1.5m

 

[hthusky74]

In Portland they know Shabazz is the man, yet they make the trade anyway. A small dent in coffee sales is a distant possibility.

What trade? I thought he was a free agent?

 

[hthusky74]

WHAT WE EXPECT: How important of a piece will Shabazz Napier be?

 

[Dogdeacon]

He got that opportunity the last 2 seasons; he now is on a team where he can compete for more than 20 minutes a night and potentially get himself a lot more money before he turns 30 if he capitalizes on the opportunity in Brooklyn.

I agree, but I would have hoped that his improvement last year in that limited role would lead to someone with legit 'winning' goals using Shabazz as a 3rd guard.

It pained me to watch Shane Larkin who Bazz & Boat ate for lunch in NCAAs have a very productive role for the Celtics last season. Larkin probably played less than Bazz, but he contributed at key times for a contending team. I guess Larkin is yet to sign as well & his opportunity sprung out of injuries (more PT oppt'y for Bazz). Given the fact that no one is sniffing around Dimwiddie after his #s last year for the Nets (capable PG in everything but shooting), I fear anything Shabazz does in a losing effort in Brooklyn will be akin to the proverbial tree falling in the woods. Shabazz needs an injury break or trade, then become a starter & lead the team to .500 or better to get himself a lot more money.