Shabazz Napier made sure the UConn Huskies were hungry this season.

After winning the title as a freshman backup guard, Napier wanted to do what his mentor Kemba Walker did and lead the Huskies to a National Championship. As the confetti poured Monday night, Napier accepted his Most Outstanding Player Award for leading UConn past Kentucky for the title.

"You're looking at the hungry Huskies," Napier the crowd and TV audience, according to ESPN. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is what happens when you banned us."

In 2012, Napier officially took over for Walker as the Huskies point guard, but the team lost in the first round of the tournament in Jim Calhoun's final year as coach. In 2013, they were banned from postseason play because some team members' GPAs were too low for athletic eligibility.

After such an NCAA sanction, players may transfer without penalty, and they did, but not Napier. Now a senior, Napier made sure whoever stuck around for the 2013-2014 season was hungry not just to make a splash in their new American Athletic Conference, but in the tournament.

After registering 22 points and six rebounds against Kentucky on the biggest stage of his college career, Napier solidified himself as the next great UConn guard.

"I will say one thing when they say Ray, Rip, Ben, Emeka, Kemba - they'll soon say Shabazz," Calhoun, a three-time national title winner with UConn, told a reporter after he watched his handpicked successor Kevin Ollie cut down the nets.

Kentucky made a lot of noise by being the preseason number-one seed, then following a hot streak to make the final game as an eight-seed. But UConn, a seven-seed, was unfazed by Kentucky's bigger, more physical frontcourt. Napier and Ryan Boatright outscored Kentucky's Harrison twins 36-15, eliminating the Wildcats' advantage in the post.