UConn’s Napier stands in UK’s path

By Nick Gray | Basketball beat writer

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ARLINGTON, Texas – One player stands between UK and its ninth national championship on Monday night.

UConn guard Shabazz Napier has been a large factor in all of the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament wins and it continued against one of UK’s biggest ghosts on Saturday.

Napier controlled Florida senior guard Scottie Wilbekin throughout the first National Semifinal game. Though Napier scored 12 points (he averaged 23.2 points per game throughout the NCAA Tournament before the game), Wilbekin was limited to 2-of-9 shooting, including an airballed 3-point attempt that will stand as his final shot in his collegiate career.

Napier’s more-lauded asset has been his scoring, but his defensive efforts against two senior guards in Wilbekin and Michigan State’s Keith Appling helped UConn advance.

“We all play the game of basketball to compete against the best,” Napier said. “This game (Monday) is one of them games.”

Freshman guards Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison will have to counter UConn’s tight man-to-man defense by Napier and junior guard Ryan Boatright. The Huskies’ defense reminds Andrew Harrison of an opponent UK is familiar with.

“We try to compare them to the Louisville guards we played against,” he said. “They’re some of the quickest guards we’ve played against.”

Napier’s quickness jumpstarts the offense, evident in his ability to score from the interior, the free throw line and from 3-point land.

“You don’t really shut down Shabazz. You can only hope to contain him,” Andrew Harrison said. “You try to have a hand in his face at all times and hope he doesn’t make the tough shots that he usually does.”

UK freshman guard Dominique Hawkins has come off of the bench in the tournament to help cool off the opposing team’s highest scorer, which will be Napier on Monday night. Hawkins said Sunday that he knows his role is as a defender, not a scorer.

“I have a lot of pride in myself when I play defense,” Hawkins said. “I take it personal when someone scores on me.”

The freshman guard from Richmond, Ky., said he thought he was dreaming when he woke up after UK’s win over Wisconsin. Hawkins said he was “blessed to be able to make it to the National Championship.”

“We’re going to make the most of it,” Hawkins said.