May 8, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Katie Lou Samuelson on life with the Indiana Fever
By The Next
On the latest episode of Locked On Women's Basketball, Howard Megdal talks with Katie Lou Samuelson about her new home with the Indiana Fever
On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Howard Megdal sat down with WNBA phenom Katie Lou Samuelson to discuss her new chapter as a member of the Indiana Fever. Megdal and Samuelson discuss her free agency, balancing basketball with motherhood, Samuelson’s experience in training camp with the Fever, and more.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
The Next, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom
The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.
Megdal and Samuelson open the show by discussing Samuelson’s free agency process. “Free agency is pretty interesting,” Samuelson explains. “I went in not knowing what teams were going to think, what people were going to be interested in me or not.” But, Indiana was the first team to contact Samuelson’s agent. They expressed that they wanted her to visit on the very first day of free agency. “I hadn’t necessarily thought about Indiana,” Samuelson admits. “But when I took the actual visit … it exceeded all my expectations … I really bought into what they were saying.”
Celebrate Alex Morgan and save 13% off The IX
USWNT legend Alex Morgan announced her retirement from professional soccer on Sept. 5. In honor of her incredible career and lasting impact off the field, you can save 13% when you subscribe to The IX through the end of September.
That’s 13% off daily coverage of women’s sports like soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics.
Later, Megdal and Samuelson discuss Samuelson’s return to the court after giving birth in August 2023. “I knew it was going to be hard,” Samuelson expresses. “There were times when I didn’t know if I could do it.” But she acknowledges that the mental strength she developed in her process to return to the game has made her an even stronger player. “Seeing all these women ahead of me that have done this before that have come back and are playing the best basketball they’ve played, that really inspired me.”
Megdal and Samuelson also discuss the progress coming out of Fever training camp. Megdal specifically asked about the team’s internal expectations and how strong they look so far. “We have such a unique and versatile group of players,” Samuelson explains, “so you can’t really put it on one person each night … now it’s us working together to become the best team unit.” Samuelson also acknowledges that she no longer feels like one of the younger players in the room. “This is a young team,” she acknowledges. “I’ve had a lot of different experience with a lot of different teams … I bring a lot of knowledge.”
Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!
