Katie Lou's comparison quiz... can you go 3 for 3..?

[DavidinNaples]

1. Which player made more 3 pt shots her freshman year than Maya Moore? (78 vs 73)
2. Who had more assists their freshman year, KLS or MoJeff? (82 vs 69)
3. By grabbing 124 rebounds, who bested Morgan Tuck's 120 boards in her first season?
4. Did KLS or KML have the better 3 pt shooting % in their first year? (39.4% vs 38.4%)
5. Who had a better free throw % as a freshman, than Taurasi did either junior or senior year? (83.7%)
6. Which player scored more points her first season (408) than Sue Bird in any of her first 3 seasons? (41, 405 & 369)
7. Who is much better looking in the #33 jersey, the player above or Larry Bird?

Katie Lou Samuelson came to UConn from California as the #1 player in the country. Despite the incredible expectations, she played 37 games, starting 22 of them, and blended beautifully with starters who had won 3 straight National Championships. She's not Stewie junior, but rather Katie Lou, who will keep fans amazed during the next three seasons.

Go UConn..!! Go Katie Lou..!!

 

[WiseOne]

I love it...thanks! Expecting greatness from her this season!

 

[NVUConnFan]

LouConn on all of them?

 

[UcMiami]

Very nice post, I think this young woman has some potential!

It is often difficult to separate our memories of the senior players from their freshman performances and it is always worth going back and checking. What Lou was able to do as a freshman was very impressive - unlike Stewart who exploded onto the seen before going into a pretty big funk for most of her freshman year and then re-exploding in the post season, Lou started in a pretty big funk and slowly worked her way out of it. By the post season Lou was playing really well till she broke her foot. I think we will look back in three years and hardly recognize the freshman in what Lou has become.

The stats that you bring up are really nice:
Her passing was always exceptional even while her shooting and her forays into the pain were struggling.
She followed Moriah's final three year pattern of starting slowly with her shooting, and like Moriah, by the end of the year she had raised her percentages to a nice place - I suspect she will not shoot below 40% from 3 for her next three years and might challenge Sue and Moriah in the hunt for 50%.
As she gains strength her agility and length will make her a terror on the drive, and next year (2017) when more height joins the line-up she will really become a dangerous threat inside and out.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

She has a slithery quickness inside that will serve her well when she isn't bombing the long one.

 

[BroadwayVa]

View attachment 15290

1. Which player made more 3 pt shots her freshman year than Maya Moore? (78 vs 73)
2. Who had more assists their freshman year, KLS or MoJeff? (82 vs 69)
3. By grabbing 124 rebounds, who bested Morgan Tuck's 120 boards in her first season?
4. Did KLS or KML have the better 3 pt shooting % in their first year? (39.4% vs 38.4%)
5. Who had a better free throw % as a freshman, than Taurasi did either junior or senior year? (83.7%)
6. Which player scored more points her first season (408) than Sue Bird in any of her first 3 seasons? (41, 405 & 369)
7. Who is much better looking in the #33 jersey, the player above or Larry Bird?

Katie Lou Samuelson came to UConn from California as the #1 player in the country. Despite the incredible expectations, she played 37 games, starting 22 of them, and blended beautifully with starters who had won 3 straight National Championships. She's not Stewie junior, but rather Katie Lou, who will keep fans amazed during the next three seasons.

Go UConn..!! Go Katie Lou..!!

Once again--THANK you. Katie Lou had 3 point shooting expectations beyond comprehension, Jeeeze' she was an incoming Freshman. A credit to her parents, training, education and basketball IQ she exceeded all the expectations. The kid rebounds well, shoots the three close to KML, drives with determination, shoots jumpers from the key at an exceptional rate and defends with the best of them.
VERY TRUE DAVID--Katie LOU isn't STEWIE, and never shall be--does that mean she won't end her career among the best ever at Uconn?? Too bad we have to wait 3 years--no it's great that we hae to wait 3 years to see. But during that time --we shall be amazed and impressed. She did things as a Frosh we could only have expected from Stewie.. Am I an unabashed Katie Lou (the best of the) Samuelsons- FAN-heck yes!!!

 

[BroadwayVa]

Very nice post, I think this young woman has some potential!

It is often difficult to separate our memories of the senior players from their freshman performances and it is always worth going back and checking. What Lou was able to do as a freshman was very impressive - unlike Stewart who exploded onto the seen before going into a pretty big funk for most of her freshman year and then re-exploding in the post season, Lou started in a pretty big funk and slowly worked her way out of it. By the post season Lou was playing really well till she broke her foot. I think we will look back in three years and hardly recognize the freshman in what Lou has become.

The stats that you bring up are really nice:
Her passing was always exceptional even while her shooting and her forays into the pain were struggling.
She followed Moriah's final three year pattern of starting slowly with her shooting, and like Moriah, by the end of the year she had raised her percentages to a nice place - I suspect she will not shoot below 40% from 3 for her next three years and might challenge Sue and Moriah in the hunt for 50%.
As she gains strength her agility and length will make her a terror on the drive, and next year (2017) when more height joins the line-up she will really become a dangerous threat inside and out.

Et tu Brutes? (sp)--I can see some minor potential from KL Samuelson.
If she remains healthy--beyond the stars is the limit. Pretty heady stuff for a Soph, even at Uconn.

Great post. To go along with David's great post.

 

[MilfordHusky]

David, I'm so afraid that you are going to stick a trick question into the middle of one of these quizzes.

One thing I agree on is that we have a tendency to remember the latest and forget what came earlier. Stewie had a great start as a frosh, was inconsistent for 10-15 games, and then became the best player in the country. Lou came in with a stellar reputation as a shooter, and we had been spoiled by the great KML. So exception were very high. Lou, for whatever reason, struggled with her outside shot to start the season. Once she caught fire, I told Eric that Lou could get close to Kaleena's freshman stats by the end of the year. She didn't reach K's number of threes, but she did catch her for percentage. Lou may have been a top-20 player in the country over her final 10 games or so. I look for her to pick up where she left off, though she'll draw more of the defense this season.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

As good as she is, there is one thing that beats her every time; her pre-game warmup drink. Apparently she can't STAND it!

We've all tried the hold-your-nose-and-you-won't-taste-it trick, haven't we?

 

[EricLA]

Always love your posts. I will be very curious to see what her sophomore leap looks like. I sort of expect Nahpeesa to experience a "greater" leap because of her injury that she played with last season (that has since been corrected), but I can't wait to see Lou this year!

 

[Kaizen]

Katie Lou Samuelson Retweeted

gabby williams ‏@MochaTrapuccino Aug 29
"I CHIMED IN WITH A HAVENT YOU PEOPLE EVER HEARD OF!!!" @KayNurse11

 

[pacific 44]

Sure Katie Lou will get more attention this coming year,but that opens someone else up.As long as there are five people on the court who can score from their given comfort zones then Uconn will be at or close to the average offensive output as they have had in the most recent years.The talent that Uconn has this year is very capable of averaging 85 points per game.Their defense will still keep opponents below 50 points per game.The toughest contests are early in the season and a "last Stanford game"could happen but the big 3 didn't leave a bunch of klutz's behind to fend for themselves,there are some absolutely fabulous athletes on this team and i fully expect them to surprise us by tourney time.Katie Lou and her teammates will go through this season with a "Roosevelt charge up San Juan hill"demeanor and there are a bunch of tougher than nails competitors on this team that will take no prisoners."You doubt us?You just watch us.

 

[Zorro]

Katie Lou.
I reckon she'll do.

 

[Kaizen]

Katie Lou.
I reckon she'll do.

Katie Lou, Katie Lou,
She is good, she is good,
Sure, she can do.....she can do ......

 

[f1f1ferrari]

Hello Katie Lou, goodbye heart....

 

[MilfordHusky]

Hello Katie Lou, goodbye heart....

Thank you, Don and Phil!

 

[bags27]

Thank you, Don and Phil!

I thought it was most famously song by Ricky Nelson. Did the Everly Brothers sing it first? (Written, btw, by Gene Pitney!)

 

[mdakota]

I'm still amazed at Lou's transformation in her freshman year. At the beginning of the season, she was hesitant, she definitely wasn't very aggressive on the defensive end, and she loomed outside the 3 point line. You could see the wheels start turning mid January. By the end of the season, she was super aggressive on D, she crashed the boards, made more cuts, and more importantly, found her confidence. She has a high ceiling... I'm guessing her next step would be to put more muscle on and start getting comfortable in the paint... It's her evolution.. she has the skills, she just needs the experience..

Napheesa is so althetic, and she showed a ton of skill her freshman year... She will have a break out sophomore year as long as she's healthy. She just needs some more game time experience to build that confidence up.

I can't wait for the season to start.

 

[JoePgh]

No one has commented on how few mental errors Katie Lou made in her freshman year, despite having to absorb a ton of brand new guidance on both offense and defense. I do remember her vacating the lane in the Notre Dame game and allowing Marina Mabrey to get an uncontested layup, but I don't recall anything similar to that for the rest of the year. I remember noticeable jitters from her in the South Carolina game, but again, nothing similar in the big games for the rest of the year.

Does anyone recall her being out of position on defense, or making a conspicuous bad read on offense, during the latter part of the season? I don't. And I do remember her making calm dribbles and accurate passes against an opponent's press on a number of occasions.

 

[mkwstar23]

Katie Lou controls her own destiny...think she held up well under pressure this season and even when not shooting well she did other things to contribute...i look for her to come out swinging this year...becoming a more complete player and be a force...perhaps AA...and the trio of Williams and Collier and Nurse will reak havoc defensively and score more consistently...Butler is the wild card...i can't wait to watch a team from Storrs not ecpected to win it all...is Geno more dangerous coaching an underdog or less dangerous...can't wait to see...

 

[MilfordHusky]

I thought it was most famously song by Ricky Nelson. Did the Everly Brothers sing it first? (Written, btw, by Gene Pitney!)

Good catch, Bags! Thanks! I confused the guys in the early 60s with the big hair. My memory fails me some over 55 years.

Doing just a little research reveals that, not only was it written by Gene Pitney, it has been covered by many, including The Seekers, Creedence, Bobby Lewis, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Queen, and Zeppelin. An eclectic group, to be sure!

 

[HoopsFan21]

No one has commented on how few mental errors Katie Lou made in her freshman year, despite having to absorb a ton of brand new guidance on both offense and defense. I do remember her vacating the lane in the Notre Dame game and allowing Marina Mabrey to get an uncontested layup, but I don't recall anything similar to that for the rest of the year. I remember noticeable jitters from her in the South Carolina game, but again, nothing similar in the big games for the rest of the year.

Does anyone recall her being out of position on defense, or making a conspicuous bad read on offense, during the latter part of the season? I don't. And I do remember her making calm dribbles and accurate passes against an opponent's press on a number of occasions.

One obvious one late in the season, and perhaps it wasn't entirely her fault we'll never know, but against Mississippi State two minutes into the game she left Morgan William wide open from the corner.

 

[xoxxox]

There is no doubt, in my mind, that Katie Lou will be the face of the UCONN Woman's' team, demonstrating on the court, her ever increasing greatness as a basketball player. However - the heart and soul of the team will be Kia Nurse. She is the blue collar player that Geno loves to have. She will be the spark plug that drives this powerful machine.