Shabazz Napier comments on UConn's leadership void

by Andrew Porter on Jan 8, 2012 2:00 PM EST in UConn Huskies Basketball

David Borges has a great post up over at his blog that mostly lets Shabazz Napier tell the story of what's wrong with the team right now, I'm going to quote liberally from it since it's mostly player quotes, but Borges does have some good insights so go check it out.

Now, the quotes. First, here's Jim Calhoun on leadership:

"There's not a lack of it," he responded, curtly. "There's none."

And now, the worrisome part. Here's Shabazz Napier:

"I took it a little personally, but I understand what he's saying.

"I try to tell the guys, I feel as if I'm their best leader. Sometimes they give me a chance, sometimes they don't," Napier continued. "That's just how it is. It's just basketball, I guess. Losing like this, I'm not here to ... be the captain because it gives you an ego boost. I'm here to win games. I hate losing games as much as anybody in the world. I try my best to be a leader, even though guys don't give me a chance to be that person. It shows in the game, I can't lie. When we have a tipped ball and big guys get the ball and I'm yelling for the ball back out, we've got a new shot clock and they go back up ... that shows I'm not that much of a leader. When a play starts breaking down and I'm yelling, ‘Bring it out, bring it out,' and Boat or Jeremy takes a shot, that just shows that I'm not a leader. It sucks, because we lose games like that. But I try my best. I'm just a human being, I try to do my best in helping my teammates out. If they don't want me to do it, that's on them, but I'm still going to be scratching and trying to do it, because I hate losing. That's the worst thing ever.

"I'm not saying (some players) have their own agenda, I just feel they don't understand what's going on. I feel as though I'm the closest to Coach. I feel as though I understand what Coach is thinking about. I understand how to play along with Coach, because I'm the point guard, so I have to be the coach on the court. Sometimes the guys don't listen to me. It sucks, but hopefully this practice on Sunday and this game on Monday go well, because I don't understand why we're losing games. I feel we have one of the best teams in the country. You keep on losing games, you're selling yourself short."

Napier said he addressed the team in the locker room after the game, before Calhoun came in.

"I just was really focused on what we did last year as a group. I told them our problem, some players only have one identity. You score a lot in the previous game, you come to this game with that same identity. I told the guys, each game is different, you have differnet roles. You have to transform into that differnet role during the game. You score 30 points one game and come back, you're not going to score 30 points the next game ... these guys don't understand that, they think if they score 30, they're going to score 30 the next game. Or if you get 20 rebounds, they're going to get 20 rebounds the next game. Once you have that one identity, you're not as good as a team any more."

That quote, more than anything else, shows the difference between this year and last. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at last year's squad and then this year's squad and say "man they'd be better if they had Kemba Walker," but man they'd be better if they had Kemba Walker. It feels incredibly inappropriate to call a basketball player a once in a generation leader, but I'm not sure it's inaccurate when you're talking about Walker, who was able to lash together a group of freshman and sophomores and carry them to greatness.

I take two things away from Napier's comments, one good and one bad, we'll start with the bad.

The bad is that Napier is still very, very young and he doesn't realize that you're not a leader just because you say you are. Whether or not Andre Drummond passes to Napier to reset does not make him any more or less of a leader, and Napier doesn't seem to understand that.

On the other hand, Napier is still very, very young and at least he recognizes that there is a void and has decided that he wants to fill it. If he gets there this year, that's great, after all the team is still a work in progress and all that really matters is what you do in March. If he doesn't get there, it's going to be a long year, but I am given hope by the fact that he's talking to the team alone in the locker room and the message he's delivering.

As for Calhoun, he's apparently a little unhappy with how last night went:

Also, he apparently once yelled "Jesus, Mary and Taliek," which is now my favorite exclamation of all time:

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What is leadership?

Coaches, players, fans, etc., throw it around, because it’s kind of this vague thing that people view as the key to athletic success, mostly because we’ve been told that’s the case, but how exactly does it manifest itself on the court?

For example, you say this leaves you longing for Kemba, who, by all accounts, had all the qualities of a “leader.” But was UConn a better team because Kemba knew how to give a good fire-up-the-troops speech? Maybe. But how much did he really make teammates better on the court? I’d argue that Kemba, who had a pretty average assist rate, did very little to set teammates up like most uber-leader PGs and also took a ton of shots — characteristics of the anti-leader, the Ball Hog.

The only way he “led,” in the more objective sense, is by being Kemba and scoring a ton of points. Because by scoring a ton of points, it drew more attention his way and away from other players. (And while he for some reason gets credit for turning Lamb, Oriakhi and Bazz into good players, I’d argue that Lamb was always an efficiency machine, and all three were great fits for UConn’s Kemba-centric offense.) So, should we long for Kemba because he’s a good leader, or just because he’s a good player, one you could count on to score 20 a game, as long as you gave him his shots?

Which brings me back to Bazz here. I haven’t watched the past few games, so I can’t really speak to the specifics here, but according to the stats, Napier has done what you would want from a leader and has taken the most shots the past two games. So he’s basically doing what a leader like Kemba does — embracing the moment, “stepping up” when the team needs him (at least in theory), all that crap. Only, he just hasn’t made the shots. In fact, he’s been dreadful from the field the past two games (although, he got to the line 10 times last game, which is fantastic). And the fact that he’s shooting so poorly and turning it over more times than he’s doling out assists might help explain why Jeremy or Boat won’t “bring it out” to you. So what can he do? Inspire Andre Drummond to not turn it over seven fucking times? Fire up Boatright to shoot better than 14% from the field?

Basically what Calhoun is asking for is not leadership, but for player(s) to simply play better. Or for one player to take control and do everything and make his job really easy. Instead of, y’know, running some plays and making adjustments and coaching.

Of course he wants a leader like Kemba. Because with Kemba, you don’t really have to do anything. He goes out, takes a bunch of shots and, most of the time, things work out; during the Tourney last year, Calhoun would even say how he would listen to Kemba and ask his opinion in crucial situations (which is what led to Lamb’s late sure against Zona). But UConn’s team is different this season. Now there’s an abundance of talent, not a single amazing player. And it’s on Calhoun to make that shit work, define roles, etc.

Quoth Drummond: "Everybody’s got to be a leader, you know? We’ve all got to step up and do our part, and everybody’s got to find their role."

Which doesn’t make any sense at all, but also makes all the sense in the world when it comes to this team.

by UConnBlog Justin on Jan 8, 2012 2:50 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

"Basically what Calhoun is asking for is not leadership, but for player(s) to simply play better. Or for one player to take control and do everything and make his job really easy.

Instead of, y’know, running some plays and making adjustments and coaching."

This is an absurd thing to say, and I say that without irony. Cows, Patriot League, 3 titles, etc.

Nobody should be surprised when this team is tougher than every other team come March, partially because former gravedigger James A. Calhoun will spin this adversity into beautiful, beautiful low opponent FG%.

Shabazz is fantastic, and will be, but he should pipe down with the existential crises and instead spend time thinking about attacking zone defenses by entering the ball into the high post and screening the zone to get dribble penetration. Instead of dribble-dribble-pass-around-the-perimeter. (In fact, it’s a pretty bad sign that he’s mad because Drummond won’t reset the “offense” after an offensive rebound. This team needs to be in attack mode in the halfcourt—Drummond should try to dunkface EVERY offensive rebound if possible. But Shabazz will figure it out.)

In summation, remember: For UConn, the BE is tougher than the NCAA Bracket.

Fold the football program, and deposit monies previously budgeted for said program into a savings account in Coach Calbertus Magnus's name.

by gxpanos on Jan 8, 2012 5:27 PM EST up reply actions

I actually think we're saying pretty much the same thing.

My main point is that this “leadership” hubbub is bullshit, and that instead of harping on this thing that isn’t really a thing, he should be finding out ways to make things work on the technical side. The thing about Bazz is mostly a small tangent (perhaps paragraph three in this persuasive essay?). But I don’t see how someone that still turns it over on almost a quarter of the possessions he occupies, and has no history indicating that he’ll improve there, is gonna be totally fines. Especially when every Cal title team has had an elite drink-stirrer. But whatevs.

But to your other point I say this: I’d argue (and probably everyone, actually) that imbuing a team with a certain style/personality and figuring out ways to breakdown a zone defense on the fly are two separate coaching skills.

Cal has, for the most part, completely ignored the latter half and done pretty OK (obviously). But if we’re going to say that he only really concerns himself with making his team mentally tough or whatever, and a team of veterans (relative to how long high-quality players stay in school) isn’t mentally tough enough, then that’s a problem and that’s on him

And I guess you can say give it some time, but the ‘06 team would serve as evidence that a problem like this isn’t totally an isolated incident and I’m angry now and want to complain on a message board.

In conclusion: The leadership stuff is bullshit, but if he’s going to focus only on mental toughness and not Xs-and-Os solutions, then the lack of mental toughness is actually a (slightly different) issue.

(This is similar to my point about Cal not caring about advanced stats. He just won a title without them, but how much better would the team be if he did embrace them? It’s like harping on LeBron not having a post game [at least, before this season]. He’s a monstar without one, but does that mean we should not care about it, even though he would be unstoppable. Should we as fans and annoying people who critique things except A-level stuff and appreciate it, or do you harp on the extra five points to get to the A+-type shit? In a season like this, with so many talented teams, that matters.)

by UConnBlog Justin on Jan 8, 2012 11:01 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, this is right.

After sleeping on it, I think that we were saying similar things, and, where we differed, I was being too protective of our Lord and Savior Jesus H. Calhoun.

I just really really hope this isn’t a letdown season. I thought early this year that this team could be one of the best UConn teams ever because they seemed to have an answer for the zone, but it looks like it’s going to be the same old grind.

Fold the football program, and deposit monies previously budgeted for said program into a savings account in Coach Calbertus Magnus's name.

by gxpanos on Jan 9, 2012 11:38 AM EST up reply actions

I think you're on to something

I think we are confusing “leadership” with “being incredible at basketball” here. Our problem isn’t leadership per se, and it seemed clear to me last night that everyone’s already deferring to Shabazz anyway late in the game.

Our problem is that we are turning the ball over a TON, we don’t force turnovers, we don’t get to the free throw line that much, and we don’t stop teams from getting to the free throw line.

Teams know what we can and can’t do, and now it’s time for Calhoun (and Shabazz, as the leader) to re-adjust to their adjustments. Because I authored a post entitled “A Short March In The Offing” right before Kemba Kemba’d the world last March/April, I will therefore retain my confidence that Calhoun will get it done.

We just suck right at the moment, s’all.

(Besides, are we questioning Shabazz’s leadership if Niels Templar hits one of the million open 3s he missed last night and we end up coming back for a win? Methinks nein.)

TheUConnBlog.com

Thoroughly enjoying life atop whatever conference UConn is in today.

by Kevin Meacham on Jan 8, 2012 11:00 PM EST up reply actions

Good Points

I think when people looked at this lineup on paper, everyone assumed Lamb would take over Kemba’s role as the go-to scorer. There’s no way he gets voted pre-season All American without that assumption. While Lamb has held up part of the bargain by attempting (and making) the most shots, he’s been by far the worst at getting to the line (his FTA/FGA is just 24.3%). Lamb has remained a hyper-efficient scorer off screens, but hasn’t been able to set up his own shot or get to the rim with any kind of consistency.

I think it’s less of a leadership issue and more of an identity issue. I think the biggest thing that Kemba brought to the team was just an unquestioned alpha-dog. When things weren’t going well (a lead was evaporating or a deficit was mounting), everyone knew the ball was going to be in Kemba’s hands. Even though he wasn’t as efficient as Lamb, I think there was something tremendously freeing in knowing where the ball was going to go in those types of situations. Even if he missed the shots, he was still going to take them. It was one of the teams bigger flaws down the stretch of the regular season, and biggest assets in the post season.

Against Rutgers yesterday I noticed a few times where everyone seemed to pass up shots. The ball would get kicked inside to Drummond, he’d pass up a post move and kick it back out. Giffey would get an open look from three, and he’d swing it to someone else. (Given what his three-balls looked like when he shot them, I can’t really blame them). The problem is the only person who seems comfortable taking tough shots is Napier, and he looks a little bit too comfortable at times. (His 26-footer with 1:50 left springs immediately to mind).

There were times where players on the team seemed to pass not to get a better look, but merely to get the ball out their hands; like they were less concerned with the team getting the best shot than they were with making sure they were not personally responsible with taking a bad one.

I still can’t help but think about Calhoun’s quote after the Seton Hal game that without an inside game, the team has no outside game. Until the bigs start scoring on plays that aren’t set up exclusively by the guards, it’s going to be tough to get open looks for the shooters.

UConn By the Numbers

by CJ17098 on Jan 8, 2012 3:41 PM EST reply actions

Word.

I initially didn’t want to buy into the concerns about the lack of an alpha dog, mostly because of how ridiculous an argument it turned out to be in regard to the Heat. But I think it becomes more of a problem in college, when you’re trying to sort things out with five college kids of varying talent instead of two of the best basketball players on the planet who also happen to be BFFs.

Drummond and Lamb have the most talent, and so based solely on that (which is often how these things work), you expect one of them to embrace the alpha dog role. But Drummond is obviously too inexperienced, and, like you mention, Lamb isn’t suited for that role. I gave him the benefit of the doubt early on in regard to his lack of aggressiveness, but it doesn’t seem to be coming. And if you think about it, that kind of makes sense — he’s so efficient because he often picks his spots, takes only good shots for the most part, etc. Which is awesome, and why I think he’ll be a great pro if he’s surrounded by a lot of talent. But asking him to take control is asking him to be a different player. (It’s something he still may be able develop, though. Who knows.)

So you’re left with Bazz, for no other reason than the fact that he’s willing to take those shots. To keep dipping into the NBA references, it’s kind of like the Knicks: You have all this talent, but no one to make it all run (which is why Tony Douglas was the PG and taking 15 shots a game).

by UConnBlog Justin on Jan 8, 2012 11:28 PM EST up reply actions