This piece does not reflect the views of the Minnesota Lynx
Katie Lou Samuelson: 6’3, G/F, University of Connecticut
College Stats in 2018-19 (as of Feb. 20, 2019):
25 games, 33.2 MPG, 19.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 45.8 FG%, 35.3 3P%, 88.2 FT%
Where she’ll go:
Samuelson will be selected in the first round.
The Rundown:
If you could design a WNBA shooting guard/small forward in a lab, she’d look remarkably similar to Katie Lou Samuelson. The 6’2 wing has it all—she’s athletic, skilled, an incredible shooter and a smart passer.
It’s slightly difficult to assess Samuelson because she’s not having the best year of her career statistically. In her junior and sophomore seasons, Samuelson was insanely efficient. In 2017-18 she shot 53.0 percent from the field and a ridiculous 47.5 percent from three. That efficient scoring from the wing and beyond the arc is one of the main reasons that Samuelson was regarded as a potential No. 1 overall pick entering this season. This year, those numbers have dropped. While Samuelson is still having an excellent season, the team that drafts her will certainly hope that they can help her find that stroke that she showed off in her earlier years once again.
However, even just looking at her numbers this year, it seems like Samuelson will still be an excellent WNBA player, with the potential to be a star. If she recovers even a little bit of the three-point shooting efficiency she showed off in 2017-18 she would immediately become one of the best shooters in the league, and it’s not like Samuelson has been cold from the field this year—shooting in the 45 percent range is more than acceptable for a guard.
Samuelson also does more than score. She’s a great rebounder out of the backcourt, a smart playmaker who never turns the ball over and she has the physical tools to be a good defender as well. She’s the kind of do-it-all player that every team in the league could find a good place for. Samuelson’s draft stock might suffer because of the expectations that were placed upon her coming into this year, but don’t think for a second that she isn’t a very, very good prospect.
Coming into this season it seemed like there was no chance that Samuelson would fall to the Lynx, but if she slips or teams above the Lynx prioritize more volume scoring or different positions, there’s a chance that the crafty wing falls Minnesota’s way. She would be an excellent fit next to the Lynx’s starters or as a ball-handler and scorer off the bench. Her shooting would open up the floor a ton and she could get a lot of clean looks playing next to someone like Sylvia Fowles. This draft is hard to predict because of an abundance of guards and bigs and a bit of a lack of wings—where Samuelson goes will play a big factor in determining how the rest of the draft falls.
