Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="oldude, post: 3109414, member: 7511"] Four years ago, a tall gangly sharp shooter from the West Coast showed up in Storrs. She was outgoing, good natured and seemingly afflicted with a perpetual smile on her face. UConn fans knew that Katie Lou Samuelson could play, but probably also assumed that among her many talents, toughness was not necessarily her strongest trait. As a freshman Lou had her ups and downs, but eventually established herself as a starter and role player on one of UConn’s best teams ever. Lou would often drift out to the arc to catch a pass and knock down a 3, and she was very good in that role. The first real indication that there might be something more to Lou then we all thought was in the national semifinal against OR St. Lou came out after halftime in a walking boot. Subsequently, we all learned that she played most of the first half on a broken foot. As a sophomore, with the graduation of the Big 3, Lou assumed a much more extensive role, which she did extraordinarily well, earning consensus 1st team AA honors. Along the way, many opposing teams developed a strategy for defending Lou by bumping, grabbing and outright smacking her anytime she touched the ball. She fought through it, night after night. One of her most memorable games was at MD, against a formidable Terrapin team, when she was terribly sick, the so-called “barf bucket” game. Looking like she might pass out at any minute, with multiple trips to the bucket to throw up, Lou torched MD for 23 points in a Husky victory. The following year, as a junior, the physical punishment that Lou received at the hands of UConn’s opponents bordered on assault and battery. Early in the season, she suffered a torn ligament in her ankle. Limited in practice, playing in pain and wearing a restrictive ankle support, Lou once again was a consensus 1st team AA. After off-season surgery, Lou approached her senior year as healthy as she had been in some time. She expanded her game to become a much better defender and rebounder. Her shooting was not as consistent as in years past, and she is not a 1st team AA, perhaps as much as anything because UConn lost 2 regular season games, the first two of Lou’s career at UConn. In the senior day game against Houston, Lou dove on the floor for a lose ball and caught a knee in the back, resulting in a severe bone bruise. She missed the next 4 games. When she came back for the NCAA tournament, through the first three rounds, including difficult games with Buffalo and UCLA, Lou moved gingerly, clearly not at 100%. Husky fans were distraught at the thought of bowing out of the NCAA tournament with one of the team’s very best players unable to give it her best. Facing an outstanding Louisville team that had beaten the Huskies earlier in the season, once again Lou got up off the mat, playing one of her best games ever at UConn, scoring 29 pts while inspiring her teammates to a victory and a berth in the FF. In 4 seasons at UConn the gangly sharp shooter from the West Coast has become a UConn legend, not for her scoring or passing or any of the other considerable basketball skills she possesses. [B]Lou is a legend because of her leadership, her devotion to her teammates and most importantly for her incredible toughness.[/B] [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

Forum statistics

Threads: 164,410

Messages: 4,395,005

Members: 10,208

Latest member: jskwrite