KK Arnold is ready for UConn basketball
GERMANTOWN, Wis. (BVM) 鈥� Last year, Kamorea 鈥楰K鈥� Arnold announced she was verbally committing to UConn women鈥檚 basketball. This year, the five-star guard and sixth–best player in the nation for the is making it official by signing on the dotted line.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a cool opportunity and it doesn鈥檛 feel real with all the emotions but I鈥檓 just so excited for it,鈥� Arnold said.聽
Arnold was the first Class of 2023 recruit to commit to the Huskies and is also the top–ranked recruit for UConn this year. It is a dream come true for Arnold, who has dreamed of playing for UConn since she was a little girl and is ready for her moment.聽
鈥淚 just can鈥檛 wait to sign it and seal the deal,鈥� Arnold said.聽
It鈥檚 a moment that Arnold can鈥檛 wait but is going to cherish. It鈥檚 the perfect end to an incredible offseason before the start of her senior season with Germantown. Arnold has kept herself extremely busy between finishing her final season of AAU, to competing in the Nike Nationals and winning a gold medal with Team USA at the 2022 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup in Hungary.聽
鈥淚t was a lot,鈥� Arnold said about her summer.聽
She also got to hangout with current UConn star where they watched film and talked.聽
鈥淚t was just a fun experience just to hangout with her a little bit and to talk about her,鈥� Arnold said.
The 5-foot-9 guard will be joining her next year and is also slated to be Bueckers鈥� replacement once the Huskies鈥� star heads to the WNBA. It was a nice chance for the two to continue to connect and shows how close Arnold is with her future teammates. She talks with the UConn team regularly, reaches out after games and they reach out to her, too.聽
The rapport they have is great but UConn isn鈥檛 the only thing on Arnold鈥檚 mind right now. Right now, she鈥檚 focused on Germantown basketball and getting the team ready for the season. Last year, the Warhawks were a young team. This year, they have experience that is needed to make a deep playoff run.聽
鈥淲ith this group, they already know the deal, they already know what types of things to do in situations,鈥� Arnold said.
Last year, Germantown went 25-5 and made it to the sectional finals before losing to De Pere. Arnold averaged 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 4.4 steals. All her stats led the Warhawks and also earned Arnold her second straight Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year and Associated Press Wisconsin State Player of the Year.
Arnold is excited for one last run with her team and the chance to show off everything she鈥檚 been working on this summer. Her shot has improved tremendously and adding that to her impressive ball-handling skills has made her even harder to guard.
鈥淪howing another level to my game and showing that all around game that I have,鈥� Arnold said. 鈥淗onestly, this year just being a leader, being a voice and showing everyone how I can lead a team. Also just be a motivational leader for my younger teammates, having them build their confidence and make sure they鈥檙e prepared for the following year.鈥�
Along with being a leader and showing off her talents, Arnold wants to take time to enjoy the moment. With everything ahead of her, it鈥檚 easy to look to the future rather than enjoy the present. Luckily, she was reminded of that during her AAU season.聽
鈥淎fter my last tournament with AAU, it definitely made me realize how fast it鈥檚 going,鈥� Arnold said. 鈥淚t just made me realize to just take things one step at a time.鈥�
The next step for Arnold is signing her national letter of intent. From there, it鈥檚 enjoying her senior season with Germantown.