Q to NC State | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Q to NC State

Majic Hands said:
GollyGee! That’s the question isn’t it.

My observation as a “UConn fan”. Q seems to have a competitive personality. A good kid. I was relieved to see her participating in the victory Parade even though she had entered the portal. She seemed to really enjoy being part of the team.

During her freshman year she seemed to do what we understand coach wants freshmen to do. Do what you’re good at. So you could count on Q to jack up a 3 whenever the ball hit her hands.

Sophomore year. I thought she was trying to improve on areas other than shooting from downtown. And she never really seemed able to break into the rotation. “My Opinion.”

I’m hoping Q becomes an important part of NC’s rotation and perhaps become a starter.

Sorry to hear that you’ve heard negative comments about her. Not everyone can make it everywhere. Sometimes things just don’t fit.
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Fully agree with this sentiment! In watching her this season, primarily in end-game minutes, she moved, passed, ran the court and aggressively tried to play defense like the starters. If anything I felt that she shifted too much to that way from her freshman style insofar as she ended up with turnovers because she tried to make an extra pass or be too fine in order to make an impression on the coaching staff to earn more minutes in future games (IMO). She almost completely neglected taking her shots when she was open. I rooted for her because what I watched from her was that she was trying very hard to improve - tough to do in garbage time.

Every recruited college and pro player will, at some point in their career. find themselves no longer as starters but as bench players, and someone has to be the last pick (like in a playground pickup game). It sucks when that realization happens and UConn's roster is surely a bucket of ice cold water for many over the years. I truly hope Q has found the door that has opened when the UConn door closed and realizes her full potential at NC State.
 
Would like some verification that Q has sister(s) that are highly rated and ready to commit to schools this year or next?
 
ERWUC65 said:
Would like some verification that Q has sister(s) that are highly rated and ready to commit to schools this year or next?
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Qandace is #10

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ERWUC65 said:
Would like some verification that Q has sister(s) that are highly rated and ready to commit to schools this year or next?
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A sister and a brother who are both highly rated.
 
Bigboote said:
Re the last sentence, Q was recruited by Geno and CD, so she’ll fit well into Wes’s team-first culture.

Q is very athletic and has a good motor. She’s listed as a guard, but has enough hops and speed to play the 3 in the ACC. She is a good if streaky shooter, and can at times make good drives to the basket.

Where she fell short at UConn was adjusting to UConn’s read-and-react offense and switching defense. Actually, mostly the defense, she looked lost at times.

I think NCState’s sets are a bit simpler than UConn’s. Q is talented, bright, hard-working, and a great teammate. I dunno if she’ll be a star at NCState, but I think y’all will be really glad you got her.
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I thought her defense was much better last season (the little I saw of her)
 
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Hard not to like Q. She seemed a great teammate and a very likeable person. At times, the game seemed to move too fast for her, perhaps a reflection of her limited minutes. You'd see her look around the court and seem to wonder if she was in the right position, especially on defense. She has the athleticism and shot to make an impact. I wish her well.
 
Bigboote said:
Re the last sentence, Q was recruited by Geno and CD, so she’ll fit well into Wes’s team-first culture.

Q is very athletic and has a good motor. She’s listed as a guard, but has enough hops and speed to play the 3 in the ACC. She is a good if streaky shooter, and can at times make good drives to the basket.

Where she fell short at UConn was adjusting to UConn’s read-and-react offense and switching defense. Actually, mostly the defense, she looked lost at times.

I think NCState’s sets are a bit simpler than UConn’s. Q is talented, bright, hard-working, and a great teammate. I dunno if she’ll be a star at NCState, but I think y’all will be really glad you got her.
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Mr. Bigboote, I agree 100%. Let me add that her difficulties were learning the UConn offense and defense. It had nothing to do with her athleticism, motor, or talent (although somewhat streaky). What really impressed me was after going into the portal Q participated in all the post UConn celebrations. It certainly looks like she left UConn on the best possible terms. I really like Q. I hate to say this, but it might be the best move for her. I'm going to miss those afro puffs.
 
Vowelguy said:
Q had key moments and made some big shots in the USC E8 game in 2024 when others had foul trouble. Decent shot UConn wouldnt win that game without her constributions.

I thought one of her downsides was that she seemed to shoot whenever she got the ball.
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Q never saw a shot she didn't like. More minutes to avoid the "my only chance to shoot it", and a little bit of maturity and coaching should be able to fix that (hopefully).
 
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FanInNC said:
Can anyone here give an honest breakdown of her game and what to expect?

I’m a State fan and this came out of left field. State has embarrassingly struck out in the portal with everyone they’ve publicly been linked to this off season. The main needs are at the 3 and the 4 spots and it appears Q is a guard - so kind of surprising.

Looks like much more PT her freshman year and shot the ball decently well.

On twitter a few UConn fans laughing about this and seemingly happy she’s gone. Quick google search popped up some off the court drama?

Wes Moore is a big team first guy and culture guy. As a State fan, what can I expect from Samuels ?
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First off, congrats Q!! NC State is a great program and NC State is getting a solid player. I am a huge Q fan and loved her game. She is a hard worker and very coachable. She is still very raw and has so much potential. She has range, quickness, and length. Wishing Q all the best at NC State. I will have to watch some NC State games this year.
 
As a fan of Q, I appreciate the supportive thread. A couple of thoughts.

Geno encourages freshmen to be who they are, play to their strengths. During Q's first year she demonstrated a smooth stroke from three and the ability to run the floor. Unfortunately, she often was out of control, a little lost defensively and missed a lot of makable open looks. The result was usually mop up time even though healthy bodies were sparse.

I saw a different Q during her sophomore year. The change, after I would guess multiple meetings with the staff, was an obvious effort to address the identified shortcomings. She was not a shoot first player, she made effort to be an impactful boards and was not nearly as out of control as she was her first year. The effort to change did not result in an uptick in playing time. My guess is that she never earned Geno's trust. Especially on the defensive end. Plus, her position was loaded with some good players.

There is no guarantee that she will thrive with Wes Moore. I do know that she is a terrific athlete with a great shooting touch. How much time she gets depends on how quickly she adapts to the Wolfpack scheme.

As others have stated, seeing her at the parade and the WNBA draft spoke volumes. I don't know anything about rumored off the court issues but she seemed to enjoy her teammates. That is enough for me to wish her nothing but success at NC State.
 
Monte said:
When she gets rolling towards the basket on a drive, there is no one faster. The problem is: when she gets there she misses many layups. (practice and practice that}.
And, she can shoot the 3-pointer.
She is quick on defense, but she plays as if SHE has the ball: she fakes her body in all directions towards the player with the ball. When the player with the ball sees her faking left on defense, the player drives to the right.
I often wondered why the many coaches on the UCONN team did not help her make these corrections.
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Agree 100%. I always felt like there was allot of wasted movement with her, defensively AND she's not a good finisher at the rim.
 
Great kid who never got a lot of minutes, never really got to see her play D. As mentioned by other posters, she really likes to shoot, especially the 3 ball. Nice stoke on catch and shoot, did not really get to see her do much off the dribble. Hope she enjoys NCST and gets to see more minutes.
 
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Are their bench seats comfy?

:(
 
Sad to see her go. I'd read something that she might've stayed if we lost out on Heckel. I always loved her energy when she came in. Despite reduced playing time, she always supported her teammates and led the cheers on the bench. Best of luck to her. I hope she excels.
 
Bone Dog said:
I think I saw a different Q than many of you. Her salient talent is as a lanky shooter who runs the floor well and can finish in transition as well as anyone. But she is also physically slight which leads her to contribute mainly on the perimeter. She could be a slasher like Aubrey, someone who crashes the boards and gets layups and putbacks. She did things like that a few times in games. But this does not seem to be natural to the way she thinks about the game. If she gets stronger she may begin to see more of these opportunities on offense.

As a defender, she seemed rather low energy to me. With her long arms and quick feet she got to loose balls sometimes. But her intensity on defense was inconsistent, and sometimes she even looked lost on defense. Compare this to her classmate Ash, who did exactly what Geno always says to do: she forced him to play her by her effort in practice. She was not a better perimeter shooter than Q, at least not initially. What got Ash playing time over Q was relentless energy on defense.

Q is probably capable of greater energy and effort. Geno praised her efforts in practice last November. But she seems not to have been able to sustain this. Maybe more playing time would resolve some of these issues better than practice would. But this isn’t how it works in Storrs.

As a great player and coach famously said, 90% of the game is 100% mental. Q has great potential to become another great player. Her current physical skills are a great foundation. But she needs to develop the mental toughness for it. I’m rooting for her to find the right culture for her at NC State. Interestingly, her little sister Qandace may already have a lot of that mental toughness.
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Interesting comments. Never gave this much thought, but Q's slight frame may put her in a difficult position both on offense and defense. While at times she makes quick moves, she is not quick enough to guard most D1 guards and not strong enough to guard bigs. Same on offense. Not the handle to score against most guards and in her limited minutes has not shown the ability to score against bigger defenders. Wishing her the best. NC State does not appear to be a great fit but hoping Q proves me wrong.
 
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HopJim said:
Interesting comments. Never gave this much thought, but Q's slight frame may put her in a difficult position both on offense and defense. While at times she makes quick moves, she is not quick enough to guard most D1 guards and not strong enough to guard bigs. Same on offense. Not the handle to score against most guards and in her limited minutes has not shown the ability to score against bigger defenders. Wishing her the best. NC State does not appear to be a great fit but hoping Q proves me wrongi
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imho ncst is a very good fit if she wants to stay at the p-4 level
There are only 10 players on the roster
Three of them are post players and there are two incoming freshmen who would not appear to be any more ttalented than she is
The fit is where the path of playing time is the easiest
By default she were almost to Shirley get some decent playing time
 
Zonepress said:
imho ncst is a very good fit if she wants to stay at the p-4 level
There are only 10 players on the roster
Three of them are post players and there are two incoming freshmen who would not appear to be any more ttalented than she is
The fit is where the path of playing time is the easiest
By default she were almost to Shirley get some decent playing time
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Pretty accurate take on the roster. It’s a super young team, no seniors on the squad. Heavy at the 1 and 2 and at the 5 not much at all at the 3 or 4.

Zoe Brooks and Zam Jones are essentially locks to start and play big minutes at guard. Devyn Quigley is a rising Sophomore who played sparingly last year but shot the ball well and had a knack for scoring and making heady plays - she’s sort of a 2 or 3. Clearly will be Samuels big competition - only competition as it stands at the 3. Doesn’t have the athleticism or length, but can shoot it and has adequate ball handling ability and some toughness to her game.

Maddie Cox is sort of the lone 4 on the team and has not been in the rotation really her freshman or sophomore year. So not sure what to expect there. Could Samuels play spot minutes at the 4 and go small ball? There certainly is an opening there if so.

Lorena Awou, Tilda Trygger and Mallory Collier are 5s and Tilda potentially could play some 4 - she’s 6’6” but more finesse and likes to shoot it and be a face up player more than back to the basket banger.

The 2 freshmen are top 70, I think 63 and 65? Both are guards. Adelaide Jernigan is a local product who is billed as a shooter but the thought is she won’t be counted on or ready for a major role. Destiny Lunan was at one time ranked #1 nationally but suffered an injury and missed a lot of time - from her tapes she looks like Aziaha James 2.0. She appears to be a combo guard and I don’t think that interferes with Samuels even if she comes in ready to play day 1.

Samuels has a very clear path to playing anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes a game depending on the fit. Quigley isn’t going to play 35 minutes. That would be a massive step for her. Zam and Zoe will need breathers. Just based purely on need and opportunity Samuels has 15 minutes of PT locked in. If she translates to what Wes wants she could be the starter and get 25-30 minutes a night. IMO she could fill a role by simply being a floor spacing player to keep the defense honest and allow Zoe and Zam room to penetrate and create. Be ready to catch and hit that open 3. Madison Hayes filled that role perfectly her last 2 years - Hayes also was a gritty defender and rebounder and team first player often referred to as “the glue”. I don’t expect Samuels to do that - but I’m just saying if she can shoot the 3 around 35% or better and do it on volume and play sound defense - that translates to 25 minutes a night with this particular roster I believe.
 
UCTitleTown said:
We have a large bench. A useful practice player used to minimal PT.
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Whether that's true or not is irrelevant.

The point is "I've read something ...".
Was that from the player? A reliable source? Or was it just random speculation/wish on a message board?

What I saw was the latter, which means it has no basis in fact.
 
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Geew1992 said:
I couldn’t find. The other post but it’s official

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LOL!!! Not really surprising since she had the best game of her UConn career against NC State as a frosh
 
Vowelguy said:
Whether that's true or not is irrelevant.

The point is "I've read something ...".
Was that from the player? A reliable source? Or was it just random speculation/wish on a message board?

What I saw was the latter, which means it has no basis in fact.
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No, not on this board. I don't trust anything here. It was a media source.
 
I wish her luck at NC St and that she is able to get the playing time that she didn't get at UConn. It not that she wasn't a good basketball player, it was that she didn't comprehend Geno and CD's system. She always seemed to be lost on both the offense and defense.
 
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