By Carlena Knight
Barbudan basketballer Kevin ‘Loopy’ Samuel said he’s not ruling out representing the twin island state on a national level.
Samuel, the son of Densel Samuel and Tyra Rose, is currently a junior at Texas Christian University (TCU) in the US.
Last week, the former Sir McChesney George High School student shared publicly that he would be entering the 2021 NBA draft with college eligibility.
The 6’11 center, while speaking on the Good Morning JoJo Sports show, said that even if he is drafted into the NBA, he would still be interested in playing for the Men’s Senior Basketball team, the Bulldogs.
“That would still be an option. It’s something I always wanted to do to represent the twin island state. It would be possible if both schedules work out, to be honest. Like if I am on an NBA team and they let me go. It would be a possibility to play for the national side,” Samuel said.
Samuel has represented Barbuda in several Leeward Islands Championships, but has yet to make his debut for the Bulldogs.
He is coming off a season in which he averaged 8.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He started every game for the Frogs this season, although he battled foot and back injuries.
The Codrington native had a better 2019-20 season, averaging 10 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.
The 23-year-old also had some encouraging words for young basketballers who would want to follow in his footsteps.
“Find something you do best and keep working at it and just stick to your school work. You don’t have to be the star on the team. They will more look for who plays that role on the team. The biggest one is defense, because if you can defend you are on the court majority of the time. You also can’t be a selfish player but a team player, someone they can count on and somebody they can trust. Just keep working on your game every day,” he explained.
Samuel is majoring in Criminal Justice with a minor in Social Work.