Lake Park's Arnold makes the call: Michigan

Lake Park girls basketball player Samantha Arnold liked the University of Michigan so much she kept returning to Ann Arbor.

After taking three unofficial visits to Michigan, the 6-foot-4 junior forward made her decision. Arnold verbally committed to the Wolverines in a phone call to coach Kevin Borseth on Tuesday night.

"Every time I went back there I just loved it," Arnold said. "I just can picture myself going there. I like their style of play and I like the coach a lot. I just like everything about it, I guess.

"It's a good school academically, so I just thought it was the right place for me. It's a good fit."

Arnold is the top scorer in DuPage County. The sharpshooter is averaging 22.3 points a game. She scores from a variety of places on the court, and has made 27 3-pointers in 18 games this season.

Arnold had a long list of colleges recruiting her. She also made unofficial visits and received offers from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa and DePaul before picking the Wolverines.

Michigan saw Arnold last summer while she played for the Chicago Hoops Express in an AAU tournament in Atlanta and invited her to visit the campus.

Arnold visited Ann Arbor in August, then returned for a football game in September and for a women's basketball earlier this month.

She clicked with the players and the coaching staff right down to the offensive philosophy of Borseth, in his first season at Michigan.

"I like the way they run their offense," Arnold said. "I think I would do well in it because I can be outside if I want or I can go inside if there's a mismatch. That's the way I play. He's all about shooting and getting to the basket, and that's the way I like to play."

Arnold received a good feeling from the players.

"I clicked with a lot of the girls," she said. "I know a lot of them won't be there when I go, but it's like a family there. I just feel like if I go there it'll be like a home away from home."