Celtics Notebook: Shabazz Napier Makes Clear Points

http://bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2014/05/celtics_notebook_shabazz_napier_makes_clear_points


Celtics Notebook: Shabazz Napier makes clear points




Photo by: The Associated Press
CHAMPION’S THRONE: Shabazz Napier, who led UConn to the NCAA championship, sits out an early session yesterday at the NBA draft combine in
Friday, May 16, 2014
By: Mark Murphy




CHICAGO — Many wish they could call out the NCAA on a stage as big as the national championship game.

Shabazz Napier had the rare nerve to put his ire into words. At mid-court in the moments following UConn’s title-game win over Kentucky on April 7, he shouted into a live microphone, “This is what happens when you ban us.”

The Huskies leader was referring to the NCAA decision to ban UConn from the 2013 tournament due to academic issues.

The feisty point guard from Roxbury and Charlestown High School will put that spirit to good use this week in Chicago at the NBA draft combine, which opens with its first day of drills today. The Celtics aren’t currently on Napier’s interview list, but he’s already learned a lot from the organization, and especially another feisty point guard.

“(Rajon) Rondo is a guy who is super-talented — a guy who could give you 40 points on just layups,” Napier said of one of his earliest influences. “How’s that even possible? He’s going to give you 15 assists and nine or 10 rebounds. I used to think Rondo was the best point guard in the league when I was younger.

“He’s somebody who gave it everything he got,” he said. “He didn’t get a lot of respect because people thought he was immature and hard-headed. But it’s his passion for the game. A lot of people don’t like (Kevin Garnett), but I just feel like it’s his passion for the game, too. You throw your heart into something. You turn all of your energy into that. A lot of guys are going to see it as destructive or cocky, but that’s what you have to give every day.”

Napier, of course, could just as easily have been describing himself.

“It influences you in different ways,” he said of that early Celtics impact. “I get inspired from it. Where I come from, nothing is ever given to you. Someone wants to believe you’re not good. But it can motivate you in different ways.”

Though Napier is projected to go middle to late in the first round, he’s not considered a likely choice by the Celtics, who have a second pick in the first round at No. 17 overall (from Brooklyn). But Napier would like nothing better than for that remote chance to materialize.

“Man, that would be crazy. It would be really, really ironic,” he said. “I grew up a Boston fan, and to wear the white and green would be insane. There would be a lot of pressure with that, but I’m good with pressure. No problem with that. I never thought about it. Of course, you have aspirations as a kid to hit that game-winning shot for you team. But I never had that thought.”


Kicking the tires

As of yesterday, the Celtics had interviewed UCLA small forward Kyle Anderson, UCLA shooting guard Zach LaVine and Michigan State shooting guard Gary Harris. They have also talked to Louisville guard Russ Smith and N.C. State forward T.J. Warren.

But even bigger names are on the way, most likely starting tomorrow with Australian point guard Dante Exum plus power forwards Noah Vonleh of Indiana (and Haverhill), and Kentucky’s Julius Randle. Duke small forward Rodney Hood also said he has an interview scheduled with the Celtics.

Though the Celtics will schedule their workouts of upper lottery candidates once their draft position is determined in Tuesday’s lottery, they have started scheduling future workouts. P.J. Hairston, the shooting guard who finished the winter in the NBA’s D-League after he was ruled ineligible at North Carolina, said he is working out for the Celtics on June 3.

And he certainly won’t be alone. The Celtics have plans to work out at least 60 players between now and the June 26 draft.


Missed opportunity

Brad Stevens, upon spotting Creighton’s Doug McDermott, couldn’t resist giving the shooter a hard time. Creighton beat Butler, the team Stevens left behind for the Celtics, twice this season.

And McDermott, who has been compared by many to former Creighton gunner Kyle Korver, took no small measure of delight in the ribbing. As it turns out, he was passed over by Stevens.

“Brad didn’t recruit me,” he said. “He was at a couple of my AAU games, but I don’t think he thought I was quite good enough for Butler. He gave me a hard time today, because he watched the games of us beating Butler this year a couple of times. I kind of got back at him.”



bob



.

The pressure on these kids for the next couple of months has to be fearsome. Worth it for most (but not all) of them, but fearsome nonetheless. There are so many aspects of sports in which a fleeting moment can become pivotal in catapulting a participant's life in either a positive or a devastating direction.

Sometimes, I get a little grumpy over the amount of money they make, and I'll never completely come to grips with that. But, when I focus on what they're about to go through, I have to soften my stance a bit.

Sam