Stephon Citadel isn\u2019t your typical one-and-done freshman. 
Bodily, his chiseled body makes him mix in much more with the UConn Huskies\u2019 veterans than your common freshman. He performs a mature sport, joyful to take a seat down in a stance and defend his man with out the standard worries about stacking counting stats to pad his NBA draft inventory. He signed as much as play for a coach in Dan Hurley who makes no qualms about how arduous he coaches his gamers and picked a spot the place he\u2019d be surrounded by veterans with championship aspirations. 
\u201cWhile you watch us observe on a recruiting go to, you see simply how maniacal we’re \u2026 in June, July, Could, October, the day after Christmas,\u201d Hurley stated in March. \u201cYou recognize what you\u2019re moving into. We\u2019re ruthless rivals.\u201d 
That didn\u2019t spook Citadel. 
That it didn\u2019t in all probability ought to have foreshadowed the kind of efficiency he placed on in Saturday\u2019s Final Four<\/u><\/a> win over the Alabama Crimson Tide. On the largest stage in faculty basketball, Citadel delivered the best efficiency of his profession, exploding offensively for 21 factors to assist the Huskies maintain off a feisty Crimson Tide bunch. In a sport with a number of future NBA gamers on the ground, Citadel was clearly the very best participant within the sport, making an enormous two-way affect that keyed the Huskies\u2019 eleventh straight double-figure NCAA match win. 
Citadel hasn\u2019t at all times been an assertive offensive participant this season, settling into the background of the gorgeous UConn offense and making his hay in transition. Alabama examined that, sagging off Citadel defensively to attempt to dare him to shoot. Citadel didn\u2019t take the bait and was in assault mode from the leap, tallying 13 factors within the first half to steer all scorers on the break. He drove confidently to the rim, made robust floaters and even cashed in a pair of threes, serving to stand up to a bevy of Alabama threes to take a four-point lead into the locker room. 
\u201cIt was sort of a disrespect on their finish simply to protect that far again,\u201d Citadel stated. \u201cI took benefit of it early.\u201d
Even whereas battling foul bother, Citadel had his fingerprints throughout UConn\u2019s defining second-half surge. Alabama had punched again properly, tying the sport at 56 with 12:41 to play and placing the Huskies on their heels for the primary time all match. As a substitute of returners like Tristen Newton, Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan or fifth-year senior Cam Spencer being the one to step up in that sort of second. First got here a key offensive rebound in site visitors off a Spencer miss that produced a pair of free throws. Citadel then knocked down a troublesome floater within the lane to stretch the result in 4, sparking what turned an 8\u20130 run that gave UConn a lead the Huskies wouldn\u2019t relinquish. 
The approaching-out get together might need been a shock to Alabama, but it surely wasn\u2019t contained in the UConn locker room. Hurley has lauded Citadel\u2019s work ethic and mentality from the second he was publicly allowed to touch upon the five-star\u2019s dedication, lauding him for caring about \u201cthe issues that actually matter\u201d and being an ideal match for the UConn tradition. 
\u201cWhile you obtained to the primary observe, whether or not you ripped him or inspired him, all the things was, \u2018Sure, Coach,\u2019\u201d Hurley stated. 
That mentality additionally rapidly ingratiated Citadel along with his UConn teammates.  
\u201cHe\u2019s not like every other freshman,\u201d Clingan stated of Citadel. \u201cHe\u2019s on the market to do no matter his workforce wants for him to do to win \u2026 He\u2019s probably the most unselfish participant on the workforce.\u201d
\u201cYou can inform on his [recruiting] visits,\u201d Newton stated. \u201cIt\u2019s by no means actually about Steph, it\u2019s at all times concerning the workforce and successful video games.\u201d 
The dominant exhibiting Saturday figures to make Citadel some cash in June\u2019s NBA draft, which is perceived as pretty extensive open on the high. Whereas not good, Citadel\u2019s dimension and defensive instincts have made him a high-floor prospect, and showings like this one offensively showcase a tantalizing ceiling for groups to faucet into. However there\u2019s loads of time to fret about Citadel\u2019s draft inventory. The main target from Citadel, because it has been all yr, has been on serving to ship a repeat nationwide championship to UConn. That unselfish tradition established on the high and trickled down by all the Huskies program has keyed this system\u2019s exceptional March dominance and now replenishes itself with items like Citadel wanting to affix the get together. 
\u201c[UConn\u2019s culture] could be very uncommon, however we’ve plenty of uncommon guys on this locker room,\u201d Citadel stated. \u201cIt\u2019s uncommon to go back-to-back, however we\u2019re the workforce that\u2019s doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Stephon Citadel isn\u2019t your typical one-and-done freshman. Bodily, his chiseled body makes him mix in much more with the UConn Huskies\u2019 veterans than your common freshman. He performs a mature sport, joyful to take a seat down in a stance and defend his man with out the standard worries about stacking counting stats to pad his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n