Norse Newbies: Sam Lindhorst

NKU women’s basketball added to their guard rotation for the 25-26 season with the signing of 5-8 guard Sam Lindhorst. Lindhorst will be a junior this upcoming season after two years at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, Illinois. Her love of basketball started as early as the eighth grade.

Lindhorst wasn’t positive that basketball was the route for her. She was a multi-sport athlete. She played soccer, volleyball, and ran track through most of her time prior to college. She gave up soccer her senior year as she focused on other sports, but most importantly to focus on AAU basketball which helped her realize basketball was her calling.

“It became something that I never wanted to stop and still don’t want to stop to this day.” Lindhorst said.

AAU also helped her find her love again when her interest hit a rough patch. During her sophomore year of high school, she was dealing with the effects of Covid while having to deal with the effects of a losing season. Lindhorst said it made her lose her love for a while, but AAU helped her to know basketball was where she was supposed to be and it made her love the sport even more as it helped her overcome that adversity.

That love led her to continuing her career in Illinois at Lincoln Land Community College. She was impressive as a freshman. She averaged 10.3 PPG, 4 RPG, 4 APG, and 2.7 SPG. She was the team leader in assists and fourth leading scorer. She helped lead her team to 28 wins and a NJCAA region 24 title.

Lindhorst said that scoring was something she was never concerned with doing but was asked to do more of that in her second year and she answered the call. Her sophomore season, her averages rose to 13.6 PPG, 5 RPG, 3 APG, and 3.6 SPG. She finished the season top five in the country in steals and top 50 in points and assists. Those numbers helped her team to a 34-3 record on the way to a MWAC conference championship and NJCAA Region 24 tournament championship.

Lindhorst said that winning so much in her freshman year helped set a standard for her competitive spirit that fuels her and leads her to hate losing almost as much as she loves winning. Her competitive spirit was noticed on a national level as she was named a JUCO All-American. She said it is the best accomplishment of her career but mentioned its importance not being recognition but an acknowledgement of her abilities.

“It gives me confidence going into Northern Kentucky that I do belong here.” Lindhorst said. 

That great play obviously got the attention of the NKU staff. She set a visit for NKU after talking to the staff but the day came and common with Northern Kentucky winters, there was a snow storm. Lindhorst made sure this was not going to stop her visit. She got her and all of her family to brave the snow and make it for the visit. That determination caught the eye of NKU assistant coach Gabby Johnson.

“Sam is very determined. She was supposed to come on her official visit and there was a snow storm and she refused to let it stop her and her family from making the trip to NKU. In that moment, I knew that she was going to go after whatever she wants.” Johnson said.  

Lindhorst loved her visit and decided to commit to NKU as the first transfer commit of this class. NKU head coach Jeff Hans acknowledged how important this commitment was to get.

“Knowing we were graduating so many guards and having good freshmen coming in, getting an experienced player was important. Getting Sam to commit before the end of the season and transfer portal opened up was great for our program.” Hans said

Lindhorst said that she really connected with the staff on her visit and that was a huge part of why she decided to commit that early.

“NKU really checked all the boxes and the girls were honestly a huge reason why I felt so welcome.” Lindhorst said.

This is the first time that Lindhorst will have female coaches in her basketball career and that is something that excited her about the opportunity with the Norse. NKU assistant coach Molly Bateman said female athletes seeing other women have voices in leadership is imperative.

“I hope that it is empowering for our players to see what we do each day and model what their futures could look like. As well as providing suggestions, advice, and opinions since we have been in their shoes as women’s basketball players.” Bateman said. 

Johnson added that having that familiarity can help the relationships on and off the court to grow.

“Players like to have someone around who has experienced what they’re going through. Sometimes that’s not always just being a basketball player. So there is reliability there that can help foster relationships and connections.” Johnson said. 

Lindhorst said another big part of the appeal of the staff is how they balance having fun and being playful but be able to switch to serious and focused when it’s time to get both done. Bateman and Johnson said this skill is important because the best results come when players are most comfortable.

“It is essential that our players feel like they can be themselves around us and in general. We want to show them we are humans too and we can get a lot of work done on the court and still have fun while doing it on and off the court.” Bateman said. 

“The best way to build trust is to be genuine. I believe our players and recruits see us and realize that is who we are. A bunch of goof balls who like to have fun, but when we walk out on the floor, there is work that needs to be done as well. The balance between joking and work hopefully relieves any kind of stress about performing that they may have.” Johnson said.

Lindhorst knows now is one of those times to be focused and work on her game as she prepares for the DI level. She takes pride in her jump shot and ability to press on defense, but will continue to work on her finishing at the rim and developing a floater in the lane to prepare for the taller defenders to come. 

Throughout her athletic journey, Lindhorst has made it a common practice to set goals. For JUCO, the goal was to go to a college she would love. Now as she prepares for NKU, it is to contribute to the team and set herself up with an opportunity to play overseas after her college career. While she will miss her family and pets, as well as JUCO teammates and coach who even introduced her to Hans, she is excited to strive towards that next goal in Highland Heights.