Much has been made of Katie Lou Samuelson's decision to attend UConn next year, but she's not the only big-name talent in her recruiting class. Samuelson will be joined by De’Janae Boykin, Napheesa Collier, and Georgetown transfer Natalie Butler, the 2013-14 Big East Freshman of the Year.
Not only will Boykin be her future Huskies teammate, the two are playing together this summer, representing the United States in the FIBA U-17 World Championships. First, there are exhibition games in France followed by the tournament, which takes place in the Czech Republic from June 28-July 6. And Boykin seems relatively pleased with how she's played this summer.
“It’s been pretty good,” she said Tuesday, according to SNY.com's Carl Adamec. “I’m trying to do the things that will help our team. The coaches want me to be versatile and I’m trying to do that for them. The camp was great and very intense. It was an opportunity to learn about each other and to play with each other. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun. ...
“I’m looking forward to trying the food,” she said. “I’m usually not someone that tries different things, so we’ll see how that goes.”
Boykin already has a gold medal, however. She picked one up earlier this spring when she and another future teammate, Napheesa Collier, along with Arike Ogunbowale and Natalie Chou won the U-18 3x3 tournament on June 1.
“The 3×3 tournament helped me a lot,” Boykin said. “It’s a whole different kind of game with a lot of movement and things. It was good.”
And in a year's time, Boykin will make her way to Storrs to begin her college career. And like so many before her, she will arrive with basketball experiences that players for most other schools never get.
