Three players on the UConn women’s basketball team combined to win 13 of the Big East Conference’s 17 Freshman of the Week awards last season. Despite the first-year success of All-Freshman Team selections KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade, rising sophomore Qadence Samuels took home the weekly honors first.
In her first two collegiate games, Samuels scored 25 points at a 9-16 clip with seven three-pointers and collected five rebounds in 39 minutes. As UConn's depth gradually dwindled, the Forestville, Maryland, native found many ways to contribute toward the team’s success. Despite her significance down the stretch, Samuels saw 21 total minutes of action in just two of the Huskies’ five March Madness contests.
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It was not the ending to her rookie campaign that the six-foot guard could have hoped for, but she still averaged a solid five points and 2.6 rebounds. Add in her 10 blocks (each in a different game), and the impact Samuels can provide for Connecticut spans both ends of the floor.
She will be donning the number 10 this year, becoming just the third Husky to wear it since two-time national champion Sue Bird graduated in 2002. While the rising sophomore seeks to continue the legacy Bird and all-time assist leader Nika Mühl created her role on the team this upcoming season remains undefined.
One possibility is that the 2020 WCAC tournament champion solely appears off the bench in the final minutes of a double-digit UConn victory. That is plausible given the program’s deep backcourt at full strength, but like any preseason prediction, this is only a preliminary conclusion. Estimations like this one can change between now and November.
For starters, Samuels has shown time and time again that she can be everywhere on the court. The two-time WCAC tournament championship game participant twice flirted with a double-double, even while averaging less than 15 minutes a night. Both of those near milestones occurred in blowouts of 40+ points, but teams should be aware of Samuels at all times in all situations. Those contests were just two of seven outings where the No. 41 recruit in ESPN HoopGurlz’ 2023 class hauled in at least five rebounds.
Samuels’ defensive prowess goes well beyond the glass. Four times, three of which came against Big East foes, the sophomore wing forced multiple turnovers as part of the Huskies’ lockdown efforts. If Connecticut faces an opponent known for having a high-flying offense, Samuels could be the key to slowing them down.
The Bishop McNamara High School alum could also see significant action in games where the recipe for success involves tons of triples. Samuels was one of three Huskies who attempted more threes than twos last season, taking a shot from behind the arc 58.5% of the time. Not one player, not even Mühl, had a higher rate than her. The 2023 First Team All-WCAC guard’s 35.4% mark from downtown was 2.4% higher than Arnold’s and just short of Shade’s 35.6% clip.
Guards Caroline Ducharme and incoming freshman Morgan Cheli—both of whom are 6-foot-2—are each taller than Samuels. Two-time Big East Player of the Year Paige Bueckers and incoming freshman Allie Ziebell are both the exact same height as the 2020 WCAC Tournament champion. Especially when they go to Columbia, South Carolina, there will be times when UConn battles teams with a lot of size.
Whether head coach Geno Auriemma goes with a four-guard lineup or not, Samuels might get the most minutes in those scenarios. She might not be a starter, but the Maryland native can use every bit of her frame to make life difficult against some taller forwards. The best way to look at her role in those types of contests is by comparing it with how Bueckers controlled the four.
At that position last season, the 2021 Naismith Player of the Year landed buckets in bunches and rejected shots with a ferocity that Godzilla commonly possesses. Samuels will not have to swat basketballs like King Kong on top of the Empire State Building, but her defensive tendencies will be vital. In some, but very few, instances, they might be the team’s best shot at a win.
While the No. 41 recruit in ESPN HoopGurlz’ 2023 class wreaks havoc on both ends of the floor, star guards like Bueckers can get some quick rest and refuel their much-needed energy. As long as she stays out of foul trouble, Samuels can positively affect what happens on the court and on the sidelines for the Huskies.
Fouls are the one thing that can hold her back next season. She never fouled out once in 36 games, but the rising sophomore wing recorded 42 fouls and had five contests where she committed at least three. There were a few instances last season where Samuels entered a contest and almost immediately picked up multiple fouls.
Getting into foul trouble is a quick way to halt anyone’s development, especially for those who see an increase in their role from one season to the next. For the six-foot guard specifically, though, avoiding unnecessary ones will be key both for herself and the team’s star players as the season progresses. Should that happen, Connecticut’s backcourt will be as potent and energized as it ever has been by the start of the NCAA Tournament.
Addressing Samuels’ new role for the upcoming season now will have consequential effects on the rest of the offseason. While the 2024-25 campaign does not begin for four months, the answer seems clear. Next season, the one-time Big East Freshman of the Week will be a sturdy role player who could be a secret weapon. From low-scoring defensive tilts to three-point shootouts, there are several situations where she could impact the contest’s final result.
Being effective in that multi-situational role next season should make the Huskies a much tougher team for anyone to handle. Samuels would not be the program’s lone X-factor, but her ability to thrive in the role will make her very durable as she continues her development.
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