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Samuels breaks out in Big East Tournament debut
By Zachary Braziller March 12, 2009
Samardo Samuels caught, turned and slammed home the final two of his 22 points. The basket, in the final minute, served as an apt exclamation point to top-seeded Louisville’s 73-55 quarterfinal victory over No. 5 Providence Thursday afternoon at the Garden.
Samuels had several other similar uncontested shots in the paint, part of the reason he shot 10-of-13 from the field. Yet, it was the finest performance in a while for the talented freshman. He also grabbed seven rebounds, five on the offensive glass, dished out five assists, blocked two shots and added two steals in 38 splendid minutes.
“He stayed within the framework of teamwork and got a lot of good shots that his teammates got him,” coach Rick Pitino said. “He finished the shots and I think he’s getting better and better and better.”
Said the 6-foot-9, 260-pound Samuels: “It was easy for me. I was getting deep position and all I had to do was get the ball on the rim. Hopefully it will be like that the rest of the tournament.”
Samuels lived in Trelawny, Jamaica before being discovered by Stephen Johnston, the vice president of Jamaica Basketball Development, an Irvington N.J. -based organization that provides scholarships in the United States for skilled basketball players. Samuels moved with Johnston to Jamaica, Queens, and became a McDonald’s All-American at St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, N.J.).
He lived up to the hype immediately, scoring in double figures in his first seven outings, including an explosive 24-point effort in a win over South Alabama Nov. 23. But he didn’t enjoy the freshman year he hoped or many had expected. Samuels, although selected to the All-Big East rookie team, missed out of rookie player of the year honors to Georgetown center Greg Monroe.
“It kind of motivated me to work harder,” he said.
Samuels certainly enjoyed this visit to the Garden more than his previous one Feb. 8, when he had two front teeth knocked out in a 60-47 win over St. John’s. That was during a difficult stretch of games for Samuels. The Cardinals (26-5) went just 2-2 in four games and he managed double figures just once, including a bagel in a humbling 68-51 loss to Connecticut Feb. 2.
Samuels, who averaged 11.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game during the regular season, viewed his first season in the Big East as a successful one. He helped Louisville to its first Big East regular season crown in arguably the toughest conference in the nation. Wednesday night, the Cardinals received that trophy. He would like to add even more hardware.
“If we can leave New York with two trophies,” Samuels said, “that would be good.”
Senior guard Andre McGee has noticed a more mature Samuels recently. After his hot start, teams started game planning for him, throwing double teams at the hulking freshman. Now, he will post and re-post, step back to find open teammates. He isn’t forcing shots.
“He understands how guys are gonna play him,” McGee said.
Samuels played down the performance, other than to be happy Louisville is moving on and could wrap up a No. 1 seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament. He’s confident in his abilities, so this performance came as no surprise. If anything, it reassures his veteran teammates, Samuels said, that he is back on track. He did put pressure on himself to help his teammates after a shaky personal end to the regular season.
“I felt I had to step up more,” he said. “The last few games I was too laid back.”
That obviously wasn't the case Wednesday afternoon on the biggest stage the conference has to offer.
“This feels great,” he said later. “MSG is a great place to play. Last year I remember watching (the Big East Tournament) on T.V. I wanted to be a part of it.”
He made quite a debut.
zbraziller@fiveborosports.com
Samuels had several other similar uncontested shots in the paint, part of the reason he shot 10-of-13 from the field. Yet, it was the finest performance in a while for the talented freshman. He also grabbed seven rebounds, five on the offensive glass, dished out five assists, blocked two shots and added two steals in 38 splendid minutes.
“He stayed within the framework of teamwork and got a lot of good shots that his teammates got him,” coach Rick Pitino said. “He finished the shots and I think he’s getting better and better and better.”
Said the 6-foot-9, 260-pound Samuels: “It was easy for me. I was getting deep position and all I had to do was get the ball on the rim. Hopefully it will be like that the rest of the tournament.”
Samuels lived in Trelawny, Jamaica before being discovered by Stephen Johnston, the vice president of Jamaica Basketball Development, an Irvington N.J. -based organization that provides scholarships in the United States for skilled basketball players. Samuels moved with Johnston to Jamaica, Queens, and became a McDonald’s All-American at St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, N.J.).
He lived up to the hype immediately, scoring in double figures in his first seven outings, including an explosive 24-point effort in a win over South Alabama Nov. 23. But he didn’t enjoy the freshman year he hoped or many had expected. Samuels, although selected to the All-Big East rookie team, missed out of rookie player of the year honors to Georgetown center Greg Monroe.
“It kind of motivated me to work harder,” he said.
Samuels certainly enjoyed this visit to the Garden more than his previous one Feb. 8, when he had two front teeth knocked out in a 60-47 win over St. John’s. That was during a difficult stretch of games for Samuels. The Cardinals (26-5) went just 2-2 in four games and he managed double figures just once, including a bagel in a humbling 68-51 loss to Connecticut Feb. 2.
Samuels, who averaged 11.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game during the regular season, viewed his first season in the Big East as a successful one. He helped Louisville to its first Big East regular season crown in arguably the toughest conference in the nation. Wednesday night, the Cardinals received that trophy. He would like to add even more hardware.
“If we can leave New York with two trophies,” Samuels said, “that would be good.”
Senior guard Andre McGee has noticed a more mature Samuels recently. After his hot start, teams started game planning for him, throwing double teams at the hulking freshman. Now, he will post and re-post, step back to find open teammates. He isn’t forcing shots.
“He understands how guys are gonna play him,” McGee said.
Samuels played down the performance, other than to be happy Louisville is moving on and could wrap up a No. 1 seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament. He’s confident in his abilities, so this performance came as no surprise. If anything, it reassures his veteran teammates, Samuels said, that he is back on track. He did put pressure on himself to help his teammates after a shaky personal end to the regular season.
“I felt I had to step up more,” he said. “The last few games I was too laid back.”
That obviously wasn't the case Wednesday afternoon on the biggest stage the conference has to offer.
“This feels great,” he said later. “MSG is a great place to play. Last year I remember watching (the Big East Tournament) on T.V. I wanted to be a part of it.”
He made quite a debut.
zbraziller@fiveborosports.com