Oct. 15, 2014
Editor’s note: 24 Hawkeyes to Watch is a feature released Monday, Aug. 4, highlighting one athlete from each of the 24 intercollegiate sports offered by the University of Iowa. More than 700 talented student-athletes are currently busy preparing for the 2014-15 athletics year at the UI. Hawkeyesports.com will introduce you to 24 Hawkeyes who, for one reason or another, are poised to play a prominent role in the intercollegiate athletics program at the UI in the coming year.
By DARREN MILLER
hawkeyesports.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — What sticks out about University of Iowa women’s basketball senior Sam Logic?
Receiving eight stiches before returning to play against Syracuse? Four career triple-doubles in points, assists, and rebounds? Losing a tooth against Dayton and then knocking down a game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime? Amassing a school-record 622 career assists — in three seasons? Receiving eight more stitches and again returning to play against Iowa State? Starting 101 consecutive games?
There is no refuting Logic’s toughness…or her talent. The 5-foot-9 do-everything guard from Racine, Wisconsin, begins her final collegiate season with 1,090 points (28th in school history), 685 rebounds (13th), 622 assists (first), and 197 steals (seventh). Compiling flashy numbers is nice, but they aren’t this girl’s best friend.
“We want a ring. We want a Big Ten championship,” said Logic, answering in her typical “we” not “I” rhetoric.
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The Hawkeyes finished 27-9 last season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for a seventh consecutive time. After tying for fourth in the regular season with an 11-5 record, Iowa defeated Illinois, Purdue, and Ohio State to make the Big Ten Tournament championship game against Nebraska. In the title game, Logic scored 14 points with six assists, and six rebounds, but the Hawkeyes fell seven points shy of a win…and a ring.
“We’re hungrier to come back this year and do whatever we can, whatever way we can, to try to get one,” Logic said.
You can’t think of the 2014-15 Hawkeye women’s basketball team without first thinking of Logic. But she is reluctant to admit that she sticks out in the black and gold huddle.
“It makes it easy for me with how good the rest of our team is,” Logic said. “I don’t have to score for us to win; anyone can pick up the slack in any situation.”
That explains why Logic attempted 20 field goals during a win against California-Riverside and one shot during victories against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and North Carolina-Wilmington.
“It’s not about her getting points,” UI head coach Lisa Bluder said. “In one game she will have 20 points because we needed her to have 20; the next game she will take one shot. It is unusual to have a kid that does what you need her to do to win and not worry about the stat sheet.”
Logic was named first-team All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-America last season. She is a pass-first point guard who deliberately involves teammates as early as she can after opening tip. Her career assist total is 46 more than any Hawkeye in history, and Logic has a full season to play.
“I always like assists. It’s why I am a great fit at Iowa because we value assists so much,” Logic said. “We value making an extra pass and getting the open shot. I have had great teammates who knocked down shots for me — Morgan Johnson, Kamille Wahlin, Jaime Printy, Theairra Taylor, Melissa Dixon, Ally Disterhoft, Bethany Doolittle. I have been blessed with the talent that has surrounded me, taught me, and embraced me for what I can bring to the team.”
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“It’s not about her getting points. In one game she will have 20 points because we needed her to have 20; the next game she will take one shot. It is unusual to have a kid that does what you need her to do to win and not worry about the stat sheet.”
Lisa Bluder
UI basketball coach
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Logic is a nightmare for opposing coaches because of her versatility at both ends of the court. She can hit the 3 and post up smaller defenders. She can guard a center or pick a point guard’s pocket at midcourt. And Logic checked her ego at the doors to Carver-Hawkeye Arena years ago.
“It’s not about her, it’s all about the Hawks,” Bluder said.
Logic got an early start on the recruiting process as a high school sophomore. With the help of her coach, she scheduled a long weekend visit to Iowa State, Drake, and Iowa. The stop in Iowa City stood out.
“I had a great visit, even without them ever seeing me play or knowing who I was,” Logic said. “They put this on for someone they didn’t even know. They are great people and they wanted to show me what Iowa had to offer. I could have been the worst player they had ever seen, but they were promoting Iowa and showing me that I was worth their time. I came back to camp, walked around campus, and had a gut feeling that this was the place I should be.”
Four games into her college career, Logic posted her first of 24 double-doubles with 11 rebounds and 10 points during a 78-74 win at Northern Iowa. She had six double-doubles as a freshman, including a stretch of four straight against Michigan State, Michigan, Northwestern, and Michigan again. Logic logged her first of four triple-doubles against the Wolverines on Feb. 26, 2012, with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. There have been only three other triple-doubles in the history of Hawkeye women’s basketball.
As a sophomore, Logic added six more double-doubles and topped 20 points in a game against Purdue (26) and Miami, Florida (23). Against Texas, Logic earned her double-double the hard way with 15 rebounds and 14 assists in a game the Hawkeyes won, 86-63.
Last season Logic compiled 12 double-doubles and three triple-doubles. She averaged a career-best 13.3 points a games and scored 20-or more points seven times, including 28 against California-Riverside, 26 at Colorado, and 25 at Indiana.
Twice Logic handed out 14 assists in a game — versus Texas and against Dayton when she became an unfortunate dental patient. Logic pulled down 18 rebounds at Michigan on Feb. 16, 2012.
The most impressive numbers in Logic’s mind are 14.2, 13.3, 13.2, 13.1, and 12.4. Those are scoring averages for the five Hawkeye starters last season. If you ever catch her bragging, it is about the strength of her teammates.
“You’re a lot tougher to defend when everyone is clicking on all cylinders,” Logic said. “You have the inside-out game with Beth (senior center Bethany Doolittle), and Dix (senior guard Melissa Dixon) and Al (sophomore guard Ally Disterhoft) hitting 3s. That spreads the defense out. I look for my shot more on fast breaks.”
There is another interesting note to Logic’s career. In her first three seasons she has led the Hawkeyes in assists in a season three times and steals and rebounds twice.
Logic has never finished a year as the team’s leading scorer.
“When the other four are clicking, there is no reason I have to score and I’m OK with that,” she says.
“It goes back to her unselfishness and lack of ego,” Bluder said. “Sam doesn’t realize how good she really is. Who doesn’t love that person that delivers that pass on the dime to them so they can get the shot?”
So, what sticks out about Logic? Chances are good that a lasting memory will be made during the 2014-15 season.
