He is a 6 ft 9 in (206 m) tall power forward–center who attended college at the University of Louisville. Samuels attended Saint Benedict"s Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey. He chose the Cardinals over Connecticut, Florida, Georgetown and North Carolina.
Samuels was ranked 9th in the nation by Rivals.com and 2nd in the nation by Scout.com. He, alongside class of 2010 star Tristan Thompson led Saint Benedicts"s Preparatory to a 24–1 record in the 2007–2008 season. At season"s end Saint Benedict"s was ranked #2 in the nation by United States of America Today.
He played in the two top all-American games, the McDonald"s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.
Samuels decided to attend the University of Louisville for college. At Louisville, Samuels started every game that he played in and led the 2009-2010 team in scoring and rebounding.
After his sophomore year, he decided to skip his final two years of college eligibility and enter the 2010 National Basketball Association Draft. National Basketball Association career
Samuels went undrafted, but played for the Chicago Bulls in the 2010 National Basketball Association Summer League.
He averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds.
On August 17, 2010, Samuels signed a 3-year, $2.3 million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. A portion of the deal was guaranteed. He debuted against the Toronto Raptors, on October 29, and scored 7 points.
On December 27, 2010 he was sent to the Erie BayHawks, the Cavs" affiliate in the National Basketball Association Development League.
On January 1, after two games in the National Basketball Association Doctorate-League, he was recalled by the Cavs. On March 2, 2011, Samuels made his first career start against the San Antonio Spurs in place of the injured Antawn Jamison and scored a career high 23 points while pulling down 10 rebounds.
On December 28, 2012, Samuels was assigned to the Canton Charge of the Doctorate-League. He was recalled on December 31, 2012.
On January 6, 2013, he was waived by the Cavaliers.
He was acquired by the Doctorate-League"s Reno Bighorns on January 17, 2013. Europe
On April 7, 2013, Samuels signed with the Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem for the rest of the season. On July 25, 2013, he signed a two-year deal with Emporio Armani Milano.
On July 22, 2015, Samuels signed a two-year deal with the Spanish club Football Club Barcelona Lassa.
On September 11, 2015, Barcelona announced that Samuels has suffered right hand injury and will miss about 6 weeks of action.
