Sam Breen, the 2017 Pennsylvania Gatorade Participant of the Yr, started her school profession at Penn State (2017-19) earlier than transferring to UMass (2019-23), the place she not solely rediscovered her love for the sport but additionally earned two Atlantic-10 Participant of the Yr honors on her option to changing into the best scorer in program historical past. Now, she is contemporary off profitable the European Ladies’s Basketball Leauge (EWBL) with Nyon.
Swish Enchantment talked to Sam about her second 12 months as a professional, life in Switzerland and the season she’s having, averaging 22 factors, 14 boards, 4 assists and three steals per recreation.
We additionally talked about rising up in Pennsylvania, regaining her love for basketball after transferring midseason to UMass as a sophomore and, most significantly, being allowed to journey and stay along with her canine. Listed below are a couple of spotlight from our chat:
On her Dad and the announcer Mike Breen sharing the identical identify:
My dad and the announcer truly additionally went to the identical grade college, so that they know one another. It’s actually bizarre. Dad just lately has been coping with some well being stuff, and the announcer reached out to him. So it’s humorous you deliver that up as a result of, clearly, they share the identical identify, however additionally they know one another, so it’s fairly cool. And even in follow and stuff, I believe I subconsciously say “Bang!” [Breen’s catchphrase] when certainly one of my teammates makes a 3.
On former UMass head coach Tory Verdi seeing one thing in her that even she didn’t see:
On the level after I visited, I used to be actually down and actually not having fun with basketball. And that’s one factor I forgot to say with why I selected UMass is … he wished to work on my confidence. No different coach had talked about that. My confidence was completely destroyed and that was the primary factor he wished to work on, in order that was additionally an enormous a part of why I selected there, as a result of it actually opened my eyes to which coaches cared about which issues. Sure, we’re gamers, however we’re additionally people … I believe he will need to have seen the potential, which I’m very grateful that he did. I wish to work exhausting and I don’t like to chop corners, however on the time, I don’t understand how he would have identified that. As a result of at that time in my life, I wasn’t liking basketball sufficient to do the additional work.
A particular thanks to Isabelle Rivier of Nyon Basket Feminin for arranging the interview.
