At the center of it all

Senior center Sam Loggins is key to the Wolverines’ success

Looking back on when she started her basketball career at Utah Valley University, Sam Loggins describes herself as “a shy, awkward player who didn’t know very much about this level of basketball.” Now, halfway through her fourth year as a Wolverine, Loggins and her coach, Cathy Nixon, agree that she has improved by leaps and bounds.

“The thing that I’m the most proud of Sam for is just the progress she’s made,” Nixon said. “She came in very inexperienced… The hard work that she puts in every day has really paid off.”

As a freshman, the center played an average of only six minutes per game, recording averages of 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Loggins put in the time with her coaches, working every day to hone her skills and improve her game on the court. Her hard work paid off and as a sophomore she logged 22 minutes per game, upping her totals to nine points and five rebounds per contest, including the first double-doubles of her collegiate career.

“I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t go in every day to get extra help from the coaches over the past three years,” Loggins said.

In a season of ups and downs, Loggins has been a major cog in making the Wolverine team work. She’s played in all 18 games this season, starting 17 of them. She plays nearly 23 minutes per game and averages 10 points, 5.5 rebounds and one block.

“Sam’s a real key for us; I don’t think there are many players in our league that can guard Sam one-on-one,” Nixon said. “She draws double teams… She’s a force to be reckoned with.”

Being one of only two seniors on this season’s team, Loggins feels an added leadership responsibility in the locker room, although she chooses to display her leadership a little differently.

“To some degree I feel I am one of the leaders on the team,” she said. “I’ve always been one to lead by example rather than words, so I try to show the younger girls what it means to put in the time to be successful.”

When Loggins finishes her degree, a master’s in dietetics, she plans to become a registered dietician and move closer to Rhode Island, where her parents recently moved. For now, though, she is focused on finishing her senior season strong, something that is very important to her.

“I’m excited to see what these last couple of months of my career bring for the team,” she said. “I think we have the potential to do extremely well.”

The Wolverines now sit at 7-11, but conference play has just begun and there is still plenty of time for this team to pull itself up and do something special. Whatever happens on the court, one thing is for sure: Sam Loggins will be at the center of it all.