Samardo Samuels of St. Benedict's (NJ) is widely regarded as one of the best players in the nation, and is the best big man on the east coast, which is a high school hoops hotbed. Samardo's perfromance on February 9th and 10th at the Prime Time Shootout against St. Patrick's (NJ) and Our Savior New American (NY) helped to cement his spot as a top-notch player. The 6'9 senior was the team MVP in the big win over St. Patrick's and nearly equaled his performance against OSNA, absolutely dominating down low. Soon after the win over OSNA, Samardo took a few minutes to talk with me.
NB: So, you guys had a big win today . . . coming off the big win vs. St. Patrick’s last night. How were you guys able to maintain focus off that emotional high and pull off the victory today as well?
SS: It’s a tough game. We want to win every game, we still want to win every game. It’s a game that we should have won, we know we are supposed to win that. That’s one of the games we were definitely were supposed to win on our schedule, and we just came in and played. It’s tough to play after a game like that [last night] because everybody’s so banged up, but Tamir [Jackson] came through and had a big game.
NB: You had 25+ points two days in a row. What do you consider to be your forte that allows you to be so dominant?
SS: To me, just working hard, just working hard. . . . Playing back-to-back games helps us for the future, and as Coach [Danny Hurley] say, when you get to the Big East, you’ll be in the tournament you’ll be playing games back-to-back, tough games back-to-back, and you got to get used to something like that.
NB: Speaking of the Big East, you’ve committed to Louisville. . . . What’s one of the things you think you need to work on the most to be successful under [Louisville Head Coach] Rick Pitino?
SS: I think it’s important [that] I . . . work on . . . making quicker moves, and . . . make better decisions.
NB: What went into your choice to play for Louisville over a lot of the schools that were looking at you?
SS: Coach Pitino’s a great coach, and I think he can help me to go to the pros, and get more playing [time] when I get there.
NB: What’s your outlook for the rest of the season this year?
SS: Just to work hard and just to finish off the season, don’t lose [any] more games.
Samardo Samuels is truly the Beast of the East. The big man's impressive performance received competition from just one player, Georgetown-bound Greg Monroe of Helen Cox (LA), for the best player appearing in the event. Samardo's skills on the low blocks were without a doubt unmatched. Samuels' performance may have pushed him closer to the number one overall ranking nationally. That lofty status is one certainly befitting of the Beast of the East.
Note- photo is from http://www.uofl.info/
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