"It just felt like home": UConn star Kamorea Arnold aka 'KK' talks about why she chose Huskies over other 40 college offers

UConn Huskies guard Kamorea Arnold committed to the Storrs school as she thought it was the best place to develop her basketball abilities. Arnold received offers from more than 40 schools, so the competition UConn faced to get her was fierce.

In an ESPN interview published Wednesday, the 5-foot-9 guard explained her reason for choosing the Huskies.

"Like I said, I feel that growing up, UConn was the school," Arnold said. "I watched Moriah Jefferson and everybody, and when it came to just like maturing the recruitment process, it just came down to visits and how I felt.

"When I stepped into UConn's campus, it just felt like home. It's just the girls made it even better being there with them, and just the coaching staff was really great."

UConn was definitely the school of the moment in the 2010s, with the team grabbing five national titles in that decade under coach Geno Auriemma. Speaking of which, working under legendary coach Auriemma is certainly something that would attract many players.

Things so far seem to have worked for Kamorea Arnold while at UConn. For her efforts, she earned a Big East All-Freshman Team selection last season.

Kamorea Arnold's Numbers at UConn in her debut season

Arnold surely made an impact in her first year in the Big East. She played in all 35 games last season for UConn and started in a whopping 33 of them. She averaged 30.6 minutes on the court per game, which is not bad for a freshman.

During the 2023-24 season, Kamorea Arnold averaged 8.9 points, 3.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. Her field goal percentage was 45.9%. While none of those numbers were among the top 100 in the NCAA, they're well-rounded for a rookie and made her deserving of her Big East All-Freshman selection.

UConn star Paige Bueckers joining 3x3 basketball league

Another of the Huskies stars, Paige Bueckers, made the news this week. She is expected to lead UConn next season and will be in the limelight, with the player expected to put on a tour de force in her last college season. The player has made it clear that she expects to join the WNBA in the upcoming draft.

However, probably considering her earning potential will be diminished once she leaves school, Bueckers is thinking more broadly. She has already signed on for a new 3x3 basketball league, Unrivaled. Here's what she told the Associated Press in an interview this week about it:

“It’s super cool. Obviously you want to plan for the future, but your feet are living in the present, to be part of that which is something that’s so much bigger than myself.

“I definitely think the return on investment will be huge. I think this league is gonna do great things, Unrivaled is going to be a huge thing with people watching during the offseason of the WNBA.”

The league was started by former UConn players Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, and it will start this upcoming winter. Bueckers will join Unrivaled in 2026.