Lake Park's Arnold strong on the court, in the classroom
Growing up, Samantha Arnold would come home from school and before she could play basketball in the driveway she had to take care of business.
Her parents, Debbie and Ed, made her hit the books.
"They would always make sure my homework was done," she said, "and then I would be able to go play if I wanted."
Arnold learned her lessons well.
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Not only did she turn into a straight-A student, but Arnold found plenty of time to shoot in the driveway to become an Associated Press Class 4A all-state first-team basketball player for Lake Park.
Arnold aced this season like her classes. The junior forward averaged an area-high 23.8 points along with 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.0 steals and 1.8 assists in leading the Lancers to a 22-8 record. She's the captain of the Daily Herald's DuPage County 2007-08 girls basketball all-area team.
"She's fun to coach because she's willing to learn," Lancers coach Lisa Smith said. "She's smart. She wants to learn. She can see some stuff on the court the other kids don't. She has that knowledge of the game with how smart she is."
Of course, it helps to be talented, too. Arnold is an anomaly, like an SUV that gets good gas mileage or an Academy Awards show that runs on time. She's a 6-foot-4 girl who can shoot from 3-point range.
In fact Arnold is more at home on the perimeter. Though this season she played inside and scored more around the basket than ever, she still made 52 3-pointers while shooting 46 percent from the field.
"When she's on, it's nothing but net," Glenbard West coach Mike Hofland said. "Once she gets going, she's got all the confidence in the world and she'll change the game right way. If you don't change your game plan, she'll kill you single-handedly.
"You can't give her an inch because she's got such a quick release. From what I've read she's more comfortable playing outside, but she did a great job on the boards for them and she looked very comfortable inside. She's just an all-around great player."
Waubonsie Valley coach Kris Kalivas agreed.
"She's a whole package deal offensively," Kalivas said. "She's so tough to guard because she can go down low in the post and then she can pop out and hit a 3. She is a very good outside shooter, especially for a kid her size and that's what makes her so tough. She doesn't need much room or much time to get that 3-point shot off. I think she's going to be very successful in the collegiate game in the future."
A bright future
Arnold has verbally committed to Michigan. She picked the Wolverines in part because of coach Kevin Borseth's offense, which will allow her to operate inside or outside much like she does in high school to the tune of 1,571 points and counting.
The tall sharpshooter is on target to break 1994 Lake Park graduate Kelly Miller's school record of 1,906 points and surpass the 2,000 plateau next season.
"Wow," Fenton coach Tim Anderson said about Arnold. "I got to see her play three or four times and she's amazing. She's such a nice girl, too. She kind of represents what high school sports is all about. She's always got a smile on her face. She works hard and, boy, she's got some talent. She's got such a great touch."
Arnold was deadly at the foul line. She made 126 of 153 free throws for a .824 percentage, which made her the top free-throw shooter in the area.
"My dad always taught me, 'Right over the front rim,' so that's what I always think about when I'm up there," she said.
Arnold's not just a scorer. Smith rated the versatile junior's passing an 8 out of 10, and termed her "probably the best passer on the team." The coach even called on Arnold to bring the ball up against a press.
"She's much more than a scorer," Smith said. "She's a great team player."
As if she wasn't doing enough already, Arnold was challenged to produce even more when teammate Devin Johnston went down with a torn ACL in midseason. With the junior forward sidelined it left Arnold as Lake Park's only healthy player averaging more than 5 points and its only 6-footer.
Arnold responded by averaging 26.2 points in Johnston's absence the rest of the season despite being the continued focus of box-and-ones and double-teams, including a six-game stretch where she averaged 29.5 points. Just as importantly for the Lancers, she moved inside and hit the boards harder.
"When we lost Devin somebody had to step up and take on that role," Smith said. "We struggled with that for a few games, but Sam took it upon herself to try to do that too along with what she was on the court. It was unbelievable how many double-doubles she had right in a row."
Arnold figured Johnston's missing points could be made up by the team as a whole, but that it was up to her to step up her rebounding.
"So," she said with a self-effacing laugh, "with my height I just knew I had to get in there more and get the rebounds that Devin would have been getting."
Calm under pressure
Arnold became more comfortable this season with the pressure that comes with having to have a good game for her team to win. In her case that includes shooting often and scoring lots of points.
"Now, yeah, I'm pretty confident knowing that I'm the one who's kind of like the go-to girl," Arnold said. "I know last year I was a little more hesitant to shoot and my coach would always tell me that I need to shoot more when I'm open, so I think this year I've definitely done that.
"It definitely is a lot of pressure knowing that I have to go out there every game and get that high amount of points otherwise my team's going to struggle. When I'm playing, I don't look at how much I'm scoring or how much I have, I just know with every possession I've got to do all I can to put that ball in the basket whether it be off a good pass or me scoring. I just know somehow it's got to get in the basket."
Arnold's stats improved across the board this year. Her drive never ran out of gas.
"She grew and matured," Smith said. "I think her passion for the game really showed in her play this year."
Meanwhile, Arnold has maintained her high performance in the classroom. She has received As in all of her classes in high school.
"My parents always really stressed the grades," said Arnold, whose favorite subjects are English and math. "That was the first thing everyday when I'd come home from school. They would make me sit down and do my homework, so it was always a priority of mine. I just always worked to get As. Nothing less than an A is what I shoot for."
When it comes to shooting, Arnold definitely makes the grade.
DuPage County All-Area Girls Basketball Captains
bull; 1988-89 -- Tammy Kocher, Montini
bull; 1989-90 -- Ann Hoving, Montini
bull; 1990-91 -- Jennie Driscoll, St. Francis
bull; 1991-92 -- Andrea Miller, Willowbrook
bull; 1992-93 -- Kelly Miller, Lake Park
bull; 1993-94 -- Terri Zemaitis, Downers Grove South
bull; 1994-95 -- Autumn Braddock Amy Wardle, Hinsdale Central
bull; 1995-96 -- Casey Leonhardt, Downers Grove North T.J. Williams, Naperville North
bull; 1996-97 -- Ashley Luke, Waubonsie Valley
bull; 1997-98 -- Ashley Luke, Waubonsie Valley
bull; 1998-99 -- Ashley Luke, Waubonsie Valley
bull; 1999-2000 -- Charliss Ridley, Wheaton Warrenville South
bull; 2000-01 -- Candace Parker, Naperville Central
bull; 2001-02 -- Candace Parker, Naperville Central
bull; 2002-03 -- Candace Parker, Naperville Central
bull; 2003-04 -- Candace Parker, Naperville Central
bull; 2004-05 -- Kelly Krumwiede, Glenbard West
bull; 2005-06 -- Erica Carter, Naperville Central
bull; 2006-07 -- Keilani Moeaki, Wheaton Warrenville South
bull; 2007-08 -- Samantha Arnold, Lake Park