RockyMTblue2
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- Aug 26, 2011
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"On multiple occasions he has proclaimed that Samuelson is tougher than she looks and her willingness to go to areas of the court that will lead to more body contact has helped in her maturity as a player.
“It’s hard to say if she’s always been like that,” Auriemma said. “Sometimes you don’t always have to show it. To me it is always important that you present a certain attitude, a certain mentality when you are a player. When you are an athlete, you are a competitor, you have to expect certain things, you have to expect that it is going to be hard, you have to expect that there is going to be injuries, you have to expect that you are going to have to play with a sprained ankle, you are going to have to play with a black eye. You are going to have to play through all of that stuff. I had to give her the Tom Hanks’ line (from A League of Their Own movie) that, ‘Lou, there is no crying in basketball.’ Sometimes you have to act the part before you become that. Instead of just cruising through and you realize that you are the go-to player in a lot of ways, things are not going to be easy anymore. Freshman year, you just rented a spot in the corner and jacked up 3s every possession, things were easy and nobody bothered you. Those days are long gone, she has made adjustments. I think she understands it and plays through it and that to me is what every great player has to do.”
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“If I am not willing to do that[take the bumping and grabbing], I am going to get shut down and I am not going to be able to play here,” Samuelson said. “It is one of those things that you have to do it or just sit down. I have tried to do whatever I can.”
UConn’s Katie Lou Samuelson named AAC Player of the Year
“It’s hard to say if she’s always been like that,” Auriemma said. “Sometimes you don’t always have to show it. To me it is always important that you present a certain attitude, a certain mentality when you are a player. When you are an athlete, you are a competitor, you have to expect certain things, you have to expect that it is going to be hard, you have to expect that there is going to be injuries, you have to expect that you are going to have to play with a sprained ankle, you are going to have to play with a black eye. You are going to have to play through all of that stuff. I had to give her the Tom Hanks’ line (from A League of Their Own movie) that, ‘Lou, there is no crying in basketball.’ Sometimes you have to act the part before you become that. Instead of just cruising through and you realize that you are the go-to player in a lot of ways, things are not going to be easy anymore. Freshman year, you just rented a spot in the corner and jacked up 3s every possession, things were easy and nobody bothered you. Those days are long gone, she has made adjustments. I think she understands it and plays through it and that to me is what every great player has to do.”
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“If I am not willing to do that[take the bumping and grabbing], I am going to get shut down and I am not going to be able to play here,” Samuelson said. “It is one of those things that you have to do it or just sit down. I have tried to do whatever I can.”
UConn’s Katie Lou Samuelson named AAC Player of the Year
