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More on Samarie Walker
When reached on Saturday night by text message, Samarie Walker declined to comment.
Her former teammate Maya Moore had the same response when the subject of whether Walker addressed the team before opting to leave UConn bound for Kentucky.
But some details of how things got from the point of a player like Walker went from being one of the crown jewels of UConn incoming freshman class to being left behind when UConn played at North Carolina on Monday and ultimately her decision to quit the UConn team.
A source close to the situation said that Walker first told the UConn coaches in October that she wanted to give up basketball and leave UConn only to be talked into staying by UConn coach Geno Auriemma. Walker seemed to respond and became a valuable member of the squad, playing in the first 17 games and starting against Lehigh.
When Walker returned to school after the Christmas break, the problems returned. The source indicated that Auriemma asked Walker if she wanted to return to the game against Louisville in the second half and the freshman forward had no response and did not play the final 15:26 in what proved to be her final game as a Husky.
When the team returned from Chapel Hill, N.C., UConn senior forward Maya Moore met with Walker and informed the coaching staff that Walker didn't seem to be in a hurry to rejoin the team.
Now she is planning to enroll at Kentucky and will attend class on Monday.
"I had no idea she was considering Kentucky," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "All I can tell you is what she told me and what she told the other coaches and what she told the other players - that she had lost in her interest in playing basketball. It had nothing to do with playing time, what position she was playing, anything of that nature. Academics. Nothing. It all had to do with, `Coach, coaches, I just don’t want to play basketball any more.’ So when I came back from New York (on Friday) and someone told me that she’s enrolling at Kentucky Monday that was as big a shock to me as anything that I’ve heard. And I wish her the best of luck."
Her former teammate Maya Moore had the same response when the subject of whether Walker addressed the team before opting to leave UConn bound for Kentucky.
But some details of how things got from the point of a player like Walker went from being one of the crown jewels of UConn incoming freshman class to being left behind when UConn played at North Carolina on Monday and ultimately her decision to quit the UConn team.
A source close to the situation said that Walker first told the UConn coaches in October that she wanted to give up basketball and leave UConn only to be talked into staying by UConn coach Geno Auriemma. Walker seemed to respond and became a valuable member of the squad, playing in the first 17 games and starting against Lehigh.
When Walker returned to school after the Christmas break, the problems returned. The source indicated that Auriemma asked Walker if she wanted to return to the game against Louisville in the second half and the freshman forward had no response and did not play the final 15:26 in what proved to be her final game as a Husky.
When the team returned from Chapel Hill, N.C., UConn senior forward Maya Moore met with Walker and informed the coaching staff that Walker didn't seem to be in a hurry to rejoin the team.
Now she is planning to enroll at Kentucky and will attend class on Monday.
"I had no idea she was considering Kentucky," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "All I can tell you is what she told me and what she told the other coaches and what she told the other players - that she had lost in her interest in playing basketball. It had nothing to do with playing time, what position she was playing, anything of that nature. Academics. Nothing. It all had to do with, `Coach, coaches, I just don’t want to play basketball any more.’ So when I came back from New York (on Friday) and someone told me that she’s enrolling at Kentucky Monday that was as big a shock to me as anything that I’ve heard. And I wish her the best of luck."
Labels: Geno Auriemma, Samarie Walker
posted by Jim Fuller at
10:17 PM
2 Comments:
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From Rich Elliott:
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"Walker finally said she did not want to play at UConn because there was too much scrutiny and pressure."
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I was correct. Blame It On Geno.
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Hey, Anonymous, Vince Lombardi was accused by some as applying too much pressure on his players and being overly obsessive on scrutiny of little details.
Dose of reality: every successful team, sports or work, learns to scrutinize every aspect of what they do and strive for perfection. There's no other way to excellence.
No, don't blame Geno, blame Samarie for not willing to give what it takes to rise and stay at the top.
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