NEW YORK — Kentan Facey is excited about going to UConn next season, and he hopes guards Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright stick around for a potential deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
“As far as Boat and Napier is concerned, I think they have a lot of experience,” the 6-foot-8 Facey told SNY.tv last week at the Jordan Brand Regional Game, where he went for a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds as White beat Black, 114-102. “They’ll probably be one of the best backcourts that we’ll have for the season. And for the new conference that we’re going in [the American Athletic Conference], they definitely will bring a lot of experience towards that.”
Facey also believes future UConn teammate Terrence Samuel — who had eight points and four boards in the win — would benefit from playing with Napier and Boatright.
“They pretty much are bigger guards, so he’ll definitely learn the style of play through them, practicing with them every day and stuff like that,” said Facey, who helped lead Long Island Lutheran to the New York State Federation AA championship game, where they lost to Christ the King.
Napier, a 5-foot-11 junior point guard, is undecided about his future and has until the April 28 NBA deadline to decide whether he will return to campus or declare for the Draft.
“Probably around the 25th or 26th [or April], that’s when I am going to decide whether I’m going to stay or going to go,” Napier told the Hartford Courant. “I continue to talk to my family, I talk to my mother every day about it. I’m just weighing the pros and cons, weighing my options. Growing up, I always thought one day, hopefully, I’d be able to provide for my family. That’s the thing that matters so much.”
Boatright, a 5-1 sophomore off guard, is also weighing his future options.
“They’re still thinking things over,” coach Kevin Ollie told the Courant. “It’s still a fluid situation, but I think they’re going to be — hopefully — back. And I’m going to go forward like they’re coming back. But if they decide to put their name in the draft, we’ll go forward and try to put them in the best shape possible. Shabazz, I know, is still injured a little and he has needed a little time to rest. Hopefully, he has had a lot of time to think about the decision, and he makes a wise decision for himself and his family.”
Meantime, the 6-8 Facey could play a big role next season since UConn is weak in the frontcourt.
Two UConn bigs had off-court issues during the offseason, with Tyler Olander getting arrested in March for trespassing on spring break in Panama City, Fla., and Enosch Wolf, the 7-foot-1 junior from Germany, getting arrested in February and charged with third-degree burglary.
Olanders’s legal issue has been resolved after doing community service.
Wolf is suspended until the end of the semester, and his future will be determined then.
UConn also expects to bring back 6-8 sophomore DeAndre Daniels, 6-5 freshman guard Omar Calhoun and 6-9 freshman forward Philip Nolan.
“I’ve been talking to Coach [Ollie] and he’s telling me, ‘Just come in and work hard,'” Facey said. “With [6-11 Florida commit] Amida [Brimah] and myself coming in, I think we’ll be good whether we [don’t] return anybody or it’s just us two coming back.”
A native of Trelawny, Jamaica, Facey has only played basketball for four years total, three in the U.S., so he feels he hasn’t developed any really bad habits, which should help him going forward.
“I think I play harder,” he said. “I think that’s the thing that stands out most about my game, playing harder.”
