Meet Terrence Samuel

Terrence Samuel is a 6’3” and 175 lbs combo guard from Brooklyn, New York.  He leans more towards the point guard position because his strength is in his unselfishness with the basketball, sometimes to a fault, and his ability to dribble penetrate.  He still needs to work on his handling, strength, and jumper.  His basketball journey began after breaking his ankle playing football.  His mother, who he has a very close relationship with, refused to let him play football again so he luckily decided basketball where he thrived.

His coach of Christ the King, Joe Arbitello, said, “ Terrence is a pure point guard, and you don’t see many of those guys walking around.  He’ll make the pass that leads to the pass, and a lot of point guards have forgotten about that.”

 Kevin Ollie also raves about Samuel's skills, saying, “ Terrance is going to be a solid guard for us.  He’s a big guard, 6’ 3” and 200 pounds and chiseled as a rock.  He makes people around him better.  He’s a great passer with great vision, getting people open shots. And he's got a great smile, great enthusiasm about the game. He's not going to be a guy who comes in here and dazzles you — one and done, he's not that. But kind of like me, he'll just matriculate his way through the system and continue to get better. I think the sky's the limit for the kid, because he works exceptionally hard."

He’s been a huge fan of UConn for a long time and looks up to the great UConn guards that have come out of New York like Taliek Brown and Kemba Walker.  He recently got to meet Shabazz Napier and said, “He shook my hand and said, 'UConn is the greatest school in the world,' but I already knew that," Samuel said. "I've got big shoes to fill. I see myself being kind of like Shabazz Napier, but I've got to improve my jump shot.”

It is hard to tell what type of player Terrence Samuel will become.  He could be the next superstar to come out of the Bronx or he could be a utility player like that of a Craig Austrie, but what is known is that UConn is getting a hard worker that is willing to learn and is likeable.  He has the talent to thrive in Ollie’s system, but he will personally have to set the bar on how far his game will go.  Only time will tell.