Junior guard Shabazz Napier remains on track to play against Rutgers Sunday, nearly two weeks after he injured his shoulder in a loss to Louisville. Napier suited up last six days ago against Pitt but wasn't completely healthy.
Coach Kevin Ollie spoke with reporters Thursday morning and he expects Napier to be back to normal by tip-off.
"(Shabazz) definitely needed a couple of days," Ollie said on the Big East conference call, via the New Haven Register's David Borges. "He wasn't going out and playing the type of basketball we needed him to play. He told me he could go (against Pittsburgh), and that was it. I didn't want to hear about his shoulder, I just wanted him to perform."
"He hasn't been able to do full-contact (drills) yet. When we come back (to practice on Friday), I think he'll be full-blast, the Shabazz of old -- getting to the rim, making 3-point shots, being more aggressive and attacking on offense."
The bigger issue: getting the Huskies off this two-game losing skid.
"They're playing exceptionally hard," Ollie said of the 12-6 (3-4 in the Big East) Scarlet Knights. "Carter is shooting from anywhere, Mack is right there with him. They're shooting three steps from halfcourt, just letting it go ... they're guard-heavy, but they also have some explosive players down low. And they always have a complicated, match-up zone. We're going to have to figure it out ... gonna have to move the basketball a little better than what we've been doing."
Having a back-to-normal Napier will certainly go a long way.
