Women’s Basketball Commitment: Katie Lou Samuelson
Katie Lou Samuelson, the number one prospect in the class of 2015 according to HoopGurlz, has committed to UConn. Though she’s a wing, Samuelson is somewhere between 6’2 and 6’3, and her length will be much appreciated on a UConn team that didn’t have a true center until 6’5 Natalie Butler decided to transfer from Georgetown about a week ago. Samuelson is not the consensus number one player in the country as ProspectsNation has her rated second behind 5’10 point guard Asia Durr. Nonetheless, she will be a welcome addition to a UConn class that now has three of the top ten prospects in the class according to HoopGurlz, and three of the top twelve according to ProspectsNation (Napheesa Collier is #5 according to both, Dejanae Boykin is rated 10th by HoopGurlz and 12th by ProspectsNation). After making an unofficial visit in January and an official visit the weekend of April 18th, Samuelson chose UConn despite her older sisters Bonnie and Karlie having chosen Stanford. In addition to the Huskies and Cardinal, Notre Dame, UCLA, and Kentucky had been in her final five.
This past season, Samuelson averaged 26.3 points and 9.8 rebounds for Mater Dei High School in Huntington, CA. Known for her silky-smooth shot, Samuelson holds the record for 3-pointers made in a FIBA Americas game (8). In 2013, she played on the USA Basketball U16 national team, won the FIBA Americas Gold Medal, and won the FIBA 3×3 U18 gold medal, according to ProspectsNation. The recruiting service adds that she is “one of the top perimeter shooters in the country and at 6-2 she is starting to use that length to score inside on a consistent basis”. Katie Lou felt she needed to get stronger though, so last offseason she added 15 pounds of muscle to bring her total weight to 165 lbs. HoopGurlz evaluated her in July of 2013 and had this to say: “Long, agile and skilled perimeter performer; outstanding offensive threat with consistent range at the arc; reads defenses and screens with footwork on catch-and-shoot game; has added a dribble-drive game to her arsenal that keeps the defense honest; an elite-level prospect and the most productive small forward in the 2015 class.”
As for Katie Lou the person, she mentioned she hates losing in an interview ESPN conducted with her in February of last year. The full interview is below.
-Nickname: Lou. My mom started calling me it when I was little and then it just kind of stuck with me as I got older.
-Pick a number: I wear jersey No. 33 because my coach gave it to me in sixth grade, and I always liked it because Larry Bird wore it.
-Future college: Currently my top schools are UConn, Notre Dame, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, Stanford, Washington and UCLA.
-Other than basketball, what is your favorite hobby? Making videos.
-If you could go one-on-one with anyone, who would it be? My uncle Mikey because I’d get to spend one last moment with him doing the thing he loved. He died suddenly last year.
-If you had to compare your game to a current college or pro player, who would it be? I don’t know, but some people tell me I play a little bit like Kevin Durant. My dad’s friends call me Louranchula.
-Who is your role model? Delisha Milton Jones of the Los Angeles Sparks. She worked out with me and my sisters [Karlie, a Mater Dei senior and Stanford commit and Bonnie, a sophomore forward for the Cardinal] and she is in the best shape for playing at such a high level for that long. She is also the most positive and encouraging person I have met.
-What is the most important thing basketball fans should know about you? I hate losing.
-What is your favorite basketball moment so far? Winning the Nike TOC in Arizona with my Mater Dei teammates.
-The King and I: LeBron James wishes he could … wear a dress as well as I can.
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