Terrence Samuel Transferring

[PRHusky]

After Roscoe, no transfer has stinged as much as this one. Damn.

 

[husky99]

Best of luck and hope he finds another great home. Scary thing is that he is not one of the players I heard that is seriously thinking about leaving. Yikes..

 

[Dove]

Aw man. He'll always have March 2014.

 

[lange10]

Was never a huge fan of T-Sam because of his lack of a handle and jumpshot as a point guard, however, at the end of the day he was a Husky, which is all that matters. Everyone has said it - this is a matter of playing time and I wish him nothing but luck moving forward.

Had he stayed and accepted his role (with Gibbs in the fold T-Sam was likely to be a spark off the bench and to be used for defensive purposes for 10-15 min per game) then next years team would've been very dangerous. I still believe if we land Gibbs we will be a solid team, but T-Sam was on track to be next years glue guy.

 

[3rdbass]

Sorry to see him leave as he gave all effort on d but was just so limited on offense. This must mean either we are getting Gibbs or some freshman we don't know about.

 

[B1GEast]

Man this sucks, really liked that kid, he did bring a lot to the table, too bad, he will be missed. Got the blues, say it ain't so

 

[3rdbass]

Best News I've Heard in Awhile!!!
He did help us win a championship.
but too be Honest..
I am glad he is leaving and wish him the very best.

Wow that is too harsh! Tsam was critical to our run and was a good defensive guard. He had a place as long as it wasn't being the back-up or starting point guard. He didn't have the handle of skills to play that position.

 

[TasteofUConn]

The rose left the bloom too soon, TSam, and both for your fire and your contributions you'll be missed. Never did quite conclude that the TSam arm swing was coincidental with, or causally related to, the mojo that helped create the tidal wave that swept us to 4. But I like to think that this early conclusion to TSam's career here will framed with a large sun on the horizon, TSam slowly riding his steed off into the sunset, and Senhor Testiculo watching, like the kid in Shane, with a tear slowly weaving its way down and around the sparse hairs on Senhor's "cheek".

 

[Waquoit]

Hope you folks who wanted him kicked off the team are happy. He definitely wasn't as atrocious as some made him out to be. Best of luck to him in the future.

Who wanted him kicked off the team?

 

[FartMan69]

Who wanted him kicked off the team?

You probably have the culprit on ignore

 

[3rdbass]

I always liked TSam. I hope he goes to a program where he can excel. Don't know if he has next level talent but... hope he gets the chance to find out. Godspeed...

Next level talent where at the rec league? He was a great guy but lacks the talent even for euro ball.

 

[Stainmaster]

Who wanted him kicked off the team?

Throughout the season, there were a number of cries for KO to revoke his scholarship.

 

[sammydabiz]

Sad to see him go, but is it really surprising he's gone, like a bunch of have stated? The kid could not hit a jumpshot if his life depended on it. Backup or not, TSam was a liability on the court, whether it was suspect ball handling or the opponent deciding to totally ignore him on the outside, because there was no threat of a made field goal.

Love his heart and effort, in that aspect he was one of the best, but that's all I'm really going to miss, hope he finds that groove with another squad....

 

[CallMeBruce]

I'm sure somebody else has already made this point, but no way Samuel transfers if he's going to be the closest thing we have to a veteran point guard. He knows his minutes are going to evaporate.

 

[3rdbass]

For me I always thought there was a chance of him transferring but after the rumors and we only heard about the rock I thought all the transfers were over for us. We just can't get above 10 scholarship players can we? Lol!

 

[djct1999]

Best of luck and hope he finds another great home. Scary thing is that he is not one of the players I heard that is seriously thinking about leaving. Yikes..

The only person that should scare us about leaving already confirmed he has had no thoughts of doing so. Other than that, the pain suffered from any loss is recoverable. TSam was a high energy guy and would have been a luxury to have coming off our bench for short spurts. I will miss him but think he made the best decision for himself. Anyone on any team approaching their junior season with a clear decrease in minutes played should seriously think about their options.

 

[djct1999]

I'm sure somebody else has already made this point, but no way Samuel transfers if he's going to be the closest thing we have to a veteran point guard. He knows his minutes are going to evaporate.

I agree. To me, this goes beyond Gibbs. Assuming all goes well on that front, I still feel TSam would have seen the court. This has me thinking they may be some one else joining that we haven't heard about.

 

[champs99and04]

I will admit that one of my first reactions upon hearing this news was, "He must know Gibbs is coming," so I definitely do not absolve myself from contributing to that mentality.

Then again, I tend to think I'm more sentimental than most people, particularly as it relates to sports. I don't want this program to ever become Kentucky where players are viewed as buffers to our own entertainment.

Terrence...the best way I can put it is he was one of our guys. He wasn't somebody who played here for two years with one foot hanging out the exit door. He wasn't a kid who came in and was physically overwhelmed or misplaced on the court. He wasn't even a kid who was pretty good and shrugged his shoulders at competition for playing time.

Here was a kid who, by our standards, was a light recruit, who decided to sign on and play for us knowing full well that we had one of the bets backcourts in the country. All he did, all season, was work, and by the time we were playing our biggest games he was a big part of the winning.

This year, not unpredictably, was a rocky transition for him, but never did he stop exuding all the qualities we look for - mentally - in a UConn player, and at no moment did I even consider the possibility that he wouldn't finish his career here. There are some kids you can't picture in another uniform, independent of their skill level, and when those guys leave, it hurts.

If Sterling Gibbs commits to UConn I might name my first-born after him, and if Samuel is a casualty of him coming here, I guess that is the price of doing business in big time college athletics. But I was looking forward to defending Samuel on this board over the next two years, if for no other reason than he seems like the sort who would do the same for me.

I'm sad that he's gone, I'm sad I won't be able to watch him grow these next two years in Husky blue, and I'll obviously be a huge fan wherever he ends up. 2014 can't be taken away from us, and if he leaves a legacy half as good at his next school, he'll have done damn well.

 

[3rdbass]

I agree. To me, this goes beyond Gibbs. Assuming all goes well on that front, I still feel TSam would have seen the court. This has me thinking they may be some one else joining that we haven't heard about.

Yeah that or tsam just got sick of recruited over. First the guy who went to Marquette and now Gibbs. I hope it is what you said or we really only have Sam I am as our backup guard as I never want to see Omar playing the two since his handle to create offense is horrible. We are thin right now in the back court right now with a freshman point guard a guy who only played half the season due to injury(when he was out there he couldn't shoot) and RP.

 

[Edward Sargent]

I would guess KO laid things out for him and TSam took his time thinking it through. I wish him the best of luck. He will always be a champion to me.

You know many of us have been told we are not going to get the top job, the corner office or the next promotion. Whatever it is Tsam made his choice and is moving on. I did when I didn't get the position I thought I deserved and so did he. Good luck and best wishes

 

[upstater]

Calhoun tried very hard to get Donnell Beverly to stay, and Beverly did. And he contributed. Sorry to see TSam go.

 

[djct1999]

I will admit that one of my first reactions upon hearing this news was, "He must know Gibbs is coming," so I definitely do not absolve myself from contributing to that mentality.

Then again, I tend to think I'm more sentimental than most people, particularly as it relates to sports. I don't want this program to ever become Kentucky where players are viewed as buffers to our own entertainment.

Terrence...the best way I can put it is he was one of our guys. He wasn't somebody who played here for two years with one foot hanging out the exit door. He wasn't a kid who came in and was physically overwhelmed or misplaced on the court. He wasn't even a kid who was pretty good and shrugged his shoulders at competition for playing time.

Here was a kid who, by our standards, was a light recruit, who decided to sign on and play for us knowing full well that we had one of the bets backcourts in the country. All he did, all season, was work, and by the time we were playing our biggest games he was a big part of the winning.

This year, not unpredictably, was a rocky transition for him, but never did he stop exuding all the qualities we look for - mentally - in a UConn player, and at no moment did I even consider the possibility that he wouldn't finish his career here. There are some kids you can't picture in another uniform, independent of their skill level, and when those guys leave, it hurts.

If Sterling Gibbs commits to UConn I might name my first-born after him, and if Samuel is a casualty of him coming here, I guess that is the price of doing business in big time college athletics. But I was looking forward to defending Samuel on this board over the next two years, if for no other reason than he seems like the sort who would do the same for me.

I'm sad that he's gone, I'm sad I won't be able to watch him grow these next two years in Husky blue, and I'll obviously be a huge fan wherever he ends up. 2014 can't be taken away from us, and if he leaves a legacy half as good at his next school, he'll have done damn well.

This, a million times over. Very well said.

 

[CallMeBruce]

I did quote another member's post, but I'd be willing to wager money that he is indeed on your ignore list.

Mine too, it would seem.

 

[Hungryhusky99]

Not a big loss at all. The guy never made a three in two years as a guard.

 

[Jay-Bone]

I'm always bummed at news like this - I like seeing our bench guys get better and having some four-year successes from people who become UConn guys for life. Some of my favorite stories are of the guys like Rashamel Jones ending up with the ball at the end in 1999, or someone like Giffey, who could have decided he wasn't getting enough minutes and turned pro in Europe after his sophomore year. If Giffey transferred/went back to Europe at the end of the 2012 season, nobody would have really batted an eye, but in 2014, he was vital to our title.

Samuel at least will always be on the list of our role players who came up bigger than expected when the lights got brighter and gave unexpected contributions to a deep tournament run. There are certainly worse legacies.

That is the Uconn way. Not trade em in for the next quick fix. I rarely like to see a transfer, and to me, Samuel earned his keep. Good kid, hard player, solid defender. Left it all out there and seemed to have a good off court demeanor. He will be missed. Would have been solid, experienced insurance behind/with JA if Gibbs doesn't land.