ARLINGTON, Texas – Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie has taught his Huskies to be prepared in every situation. So, when Shabazz Napier went to bed Sunday night and tried to go to sleep, he thought about what he was going to say on national television when he accepted the NCAA national championship trophy.
Napier could have borrowed Khalid El-Amin’s line from 1999. “We shocked the world,” El-Amin said has he ran around the floor at Tropicana Field that glorious night when the Huskies won their first title.
As appropriate and fitting as that would have sounded for this year’s Huskies, Napier knew he needed something original.
“Honestly, I want to get everyone’s attention right quick,” he said. “Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at the Hungry Huskies. This is what happens when you ban us.”
The transcript on the quickie quotes printed by the NCAA left out four important words – words directed at the NCAA.
“When you ban us.”
As Bruce Springsteen said Sunday night at the Final Four Jamfest, during his tribute to Clarence Clemons in Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out: Now this is the important part.
Here’s the video, taken on the floor.
“We hungry,” Napier said later in the Final Four interview room. “When you prevent us from trying to go to the post‑season, and it wasn’t our fault, we worked since that day on. Coach Ollie told us, this is going to be a two‑year plan, and since that day on we believed.
“Like I said, man, I just wanted to grab everybody’s attention and introduce the Hungry Huskies, because it’s been two years. It’s quite funny because I was laying down and I was thinking of something to say, because I knew we were going to win.”
Connecticut fans understand. The rest of the nation may not. Don’t get the wrong impression of Napier. If you think he’s an outstanding basketball player, just know that he is an an ever better person. And over the last four years the Nutmeg State has watched him grow into an amazing leader.
Without Napier believing, without Napier leading, without Napier stepping up, no 60-54 victory over Kentucky. There’s no national championship. Over the last six games, this team became a real family and a very good team. But every team needs a Napier.
Napier is what Big Papi is to the Red Sox. Napier is what Derek Jeter was to the Yankees.
“I’m being real humble and not trying to be cocky,” Napier said. “When you believe something so much, you understand what may happen in certain situations. I told myself, if I was on that podium I was going to say that. I’m just so happy that I was in that position, because, man, these guys worked so hard, the coaches, the managers, our trainers, and last, but not least, the players.
“We worked so hard for this. We didn’t want to lose it. We worked so hard. So here we go, celebrating.”
You win a national championship as a freshman. Then you go out in the first game of the NCAA tournament the next season. Not such a big deal.
But then you get it all taken away. The postseason ban in 2013 was an APR issue based on the failures of others. They were the ones who didn’t take care of business. And you paid the price. Teammates left the team, ran off to other schools and the NBA. You stayed. Then realignment took away your conference. Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun, the man who created the program and made it successful, retires.
Then Ollie took over. He tells you good things will come, but you have to be patient. And you can’t be so angry that you lose track of what you are doing.
These are the lessons we should take from the Hungry Huskies, especially Napier, Niels Giffey and Tyler Olander. Those three seniors are now the first players in NCAA history to take home bookend championship rings.
“We didn’t come out here to get any revenge or anything like that,” Napier said. “We came out here to play. When you have the greatest fans to back you up, you’re going to play for them. That’s what we did out that first year under Coach Ollie.
“And the second year we did the same thing, but we understood we had a chance to get to the promised land. And when you have the great fans that the University of Connecticut has, along with these great coaches, great trainers, and great managers, these players, something good’s going to happen. You got to continue to believe. We had faith in each other, and we are here. We won the whole thing. We didn’t listen to any doubters. We just went out there and did what we had to do.”
Olander is the hometown kid from Mansfield and E.O. Smith High School. He grew up on Huskies basketball. He made the first shot of both Final Four games as a freshman in 2011. He didn’t play one minute in Monday’s championship.
“It’s been a great ride and a great journey,” Olander said. “We’re going to take this with us the rest of our lives. We’ve developed a bond and a brotherhood that goes way beyond anything basketball has to offer. I think that’s what makes it so special.”
This chapter of UConn basketball will never be forgotten. Just 13 months ago, this program was on the brink of oblivion. The Huskies, Ollie and Napier didn’t allow that to happen.
“What they just did is definitely historic,” former UConn great and NBA All-Star Ray Allen said in the locker room. “How many 7 seeds have won? They’re the first one. History has been made and each one of them can say they were a part of it.”
Ollie was asked how he will remember about Napier.
“As a leader, sacrifice, toughness, just whatever you want as a point guard, winner,” Ollie said. “If we needed him to lead us in rebounds, he did that. I mean, if we needed him to score, he did that. He’s just a remarkable young man from Roxbury, came from a single‑parent home and just his struggle.
“But I keep telling Shabazz, I keep telling all of them, ‘With struggle is progress.’ You can’t have progress if you don’t struggle. And just to keep fighting.”
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