DENVER — It was a freshman campaign that didn't quite live up to the hype
"Last fall was definitely a struggle for me and it was definitely hard mentally," University of Denver sophomore midfielder Sam Bassett said.
Bassett, one of the top recruited players in the nation, wasn't ready to accept his role as a role player at DU.
"I thought I should come in and play right away and when I came in, I just wasn't up to the level and it was hard. The season starts so fast," he said.
But after self-reflection -- and a lot of coaching -- the switch flipped.
"In the spring is when it really clicked for me," he explained.
Bassett is somewhat of a legacy. His brother Cole was on the path to be a Pioneer as well.
"Right when he committed, they were like saying, 'you're going to be the next one,' and it was just a joke at that time but I always kept it in the back of my mind," he said.
But instead, Cole continued on the road to the pros -- signing with the Colorado Rapids as a homegrown player.
"Everyone has their own path and I think he was ready for the first team and I wasn't ready as I came to the weight room and needed to get a lot stronger, needed to get my balance down, and there's still a lot more things that I need to work on before I can get to that next level."
But the Bassett brothers are bonded together through their love of the beautiful game.
"Since day one, I looked up to him and we've always been side by side doing everything together," Sam Bassett said. "In quarantine, we were out on the field for hours training together. We have a really good relationship, so ultimately I want to follow in his footsteps, but I have my own path."
And he hopes that one day that path leads him back to Cole.
"Once the time's right for me, I think going to the rapids would be really cool, being a homegrown there. Then one day, playing overseas with my brother or with the rapids would be really cool," he said.
"That's our ultimate dream, to play together, but it's still a ways away, so I think it would be really cool but we have some work to do."
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