elite guards welcomed a new member

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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Connecticuts exclusive club of elite guards welcomed a new member Monday night. Amid a rain of confetti, Shabazz Napier basked in the celebration on the court after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following the 60-54 win over Kentucky. Napier had 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting with six rebounds, and played lockdown defence in his final collegiate game. His career began as a freshman on the 2011 Connecticut team that won the title behind star guard Kemba Walker. Now, Napier is the man. "I will say one thing when they say Ray, Rip, Ben, Emeka, Kemba -- theyll soon say Shabazz," former coach Jim Calhoun, who won the 2011 title, said after watching the 2014 squad cut down the nets. Calhoun was referring to Ray Allen, Richard "Rip" Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor and Kemba Walker. All except Okafor were guards. Not bad company at all. The Huskies steely point guard outshined Kentuckys freshmen phenoms. Napier and fellow backcourt mate Ryan Boatright controlled the tempo and together outscored Wildcats twin guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison 36-15. On Saturday against Florida in the semifinals, Napier had 12 points and six assists. "Hes up there, hes up there," forward Niels Giffey said when asked where Napier rated among the history of Huskies guards. "He bleeds blue. He bleeds UConn." Napier looked like a floor general the way he directed players on offence with forceful motions. Instead of sulking after one blown play, Napier waited down court for his teammates and raised his right fist. Giffey said Napier promised his team after the 10-point loss to Louisville in the AAC tournament finals last month that they would cut down the nets in Texas. "I looked into his eyes and I really believed him," Giffey said. Cheap Wholesale Air Max . He was 90. The team announced Monday that Adams had died, saying he "passed away peacefully from natural causes." The son of a prominent oil executive, Adams built his own energy fortune and founded the Houston Oilers. Discount Nike Air Max Nz .com) - Delon Wright scored 17 points and No. http://www.airmaxcheapnz.com/. -- Arizona pitcher Bronson Arroyo is expected to miss a week to 10 days because of a back injury. Cheap Nike Air Max Nz .com) - Nathan MacKinnon scored the winning goal in the shootout as the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Nike Air Max Clearance Sale .C. -- Ryan Sproul scored the winner late in double overtime to lift the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 2-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Friday in Game 1 of their American Hockey League playoff series.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Portland Trail Blazers were able to get back in the familiar win column last time out and will try to keep it going Wednesday on the road against the Phoenix Suns. The Northwest-leading Blazers ended a three-game losing streak with Mondays 98-94 win versus the Sacramento Kings and were led by Damian Lillards 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Blazers scored 29 points off 23 turnovers. Wesley Matthews had 17 points and LaMarcus Aldridge rounded out the double- digit scorers with 10 points in only 13 minutes of action. Aldridge suffered a thumb injury in the second quarter and is expected to undergo an MRI. X-rays following the game were negative. When things like this happen, guys have to be ready to step up, said Lillard. Its not like, LA is out, were not playing Wednesday. We still have to go out there and try and win the game. Portlands big man is averaging 23.2 points and 10.2 rebounds. A timetable for his return is unknown. The Blazers will try to stop a two-game slide oon the road and is 12-7 as the visitor this season.dddddddddddd They will host Boston and Washington next. Phoenix is 3-0 on a franchise-record eight-game homestand and registered a 115-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. Isaiah Thomas and Goran Dragic scored 24 points apiece to lead the way. Eric Bledsoe scored 17 points and Markieff Morris added 15 for the Suns, who are 12-7 at home and have won 13 of their last 17 games. Phoenix made 50 percent from the floor, posted 27 points on 23 LA turnovers and recorded a 36-26 scoring advantage in the third quarter. The third quarter was awesome. We played hard on both ends, defense and offense, said Dragic. The Suns will also host Houston, Los Angeles (Clippers), Washington and Chicago on the homestand. They are unbeaten in the past six home games. Phoenix and Portland will play the first of four meetings this season. The Suns took three of four matchups with the Blazers in 2013-14. Portland has dropped six in a row in the desert. China NFL Jerseys