Well, It's Lou Again In The News

[RockyMTblue2]

UConn preview: Katie Lou Samuelson a California kid thriving in Connecticut

“Sometimes it can get tough; sometimes Coach can be tough, especially when it’s your first year here,” said Samuelson, now a senior. “You don’t understand how he works sometimes. He’s trying to make you the best player you can be, but it can seem like the world’s crashing down on you.”

Auriemma learned what buttons he needed to push to motivate Samuelson. He needled her, saying that the people she looked up to most — her sisters — were tougher than her.

“I used to tell her that all freshman year, ‘[Darn], we got the wrong Samuelson,” Auriemma recalled, smiling. “I used to say that all the time, all the time. I’d say, ‘We missed out on the one that made every shot. We missed out on the toughest one.’ ”

Added Samuelson: “He knows exactly how to push my buttons. He knows what to do with each player, and he figures it out quicker than anyone I’ve ever seen. He knows exactly how to kind of get people to be what he wants them to be.”

Long piece with family quotes. Very good effort.

 

[eebmg]

I like this excerpt the best.


Last season, Samuelson sustained another major injury: a torn tendon in her left ankle. She underwent surgery on April 12 and — begrudgingly — sat out a large chunk of the offseason.

Samuelson played — and started — 32 games as a junior. Reflecting on how much the injury limited her, she’s surprised she was able to suit up for that many.

“It’s funny to think back on it and see kind of the differences of what I’m able to do now, just naturally,” she said. “I don’t think I realized it until I started practicing again this year, how I rounded off every bend. … I’m just happy to be back to where I want to be — 100 percent.”

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno: “CD, how many rebounds did Karlie have last night?”

CD: “Seven.”

Geno: “How many did Lou have?”

CD: “Two.”

Geno: “Damn, looks like we didn’t get the rebounding Samuelson.”

Geno: “Lou, you are 6’3” and you got only 2 rebounds. You had 2 more rebounds than a dead person.”

 

[UConnCat]

Shot Hunter

 

[MilfordHusky]

One other thought on Lou that shows how things work at UConn. During her freshman year, Lou was invited out for coffee by the great Stewie. (Stevie already had 3 Final Four MOP Trophies in her collection at the time.) Breanna told her to hang in there and how to deal with Coach. That’s the same message that Lou is passing down to Megatron and Squeaks.

 

[chrissaran]

Geno used that quote about the dead person with Kara Wolter.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno used that quote about the dead person with Kara Wolter.

And with Stefanie. Maybe Coach needs to freshen up his material.

 

[oldude]

I like this excerpt the best.


Last season, Samuelson sustained another major injury: a torn tendon in her left ankle. She underwent surgery on April 12 and — begrudgingly — sat out a large chunk of the offseason.

Samuelson played — and started — 32 games as a junior. Reflecting on how much the injury limited her, she’s surprised she was able to suit up for that many.

“It’s funny to think back on it and see kind of the differences of what I’m able to do now, just naturally,” she said. “I don’t think I realized it until I started practicing again this year, how I rounded off every bend. … I’m just happy to be back to where I want to be — 100 percent.”

I’ve been asking the question, “How good will Lou be this year now that she’s playing on 2 good wheels in stead of 1?” As good as she was last season, I felt her midrange game suffered some. She was unable to plant and cut, and her jumper from the foul line, usually money, was not as consistent.

This year, she just might make everything from inside 20 feet.