CARDINAL COUPLE

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Monday, August 6, 2012

Monday Cardinal Couple -- Marion County pair headed to WKU?

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- WKU a new player in the hunt for Epps, Goodin-Rogers? 

We don't normally engage in a lot of speculation and rumor-mongering here at CARDINAL COUPLE. This one may have some teeth to it, though.


Zach Greenwell, a sports reporter for the Bowling Green Daily News, is reporting that Kyvin Goodin-Rogers has talked with WKU head women's basketball coach Michelle Clark-Heard. 

According to Trent Milby, head coach of the Marion Country girls' basketball team..where Epps and Goodin-Rogers will play their senior season...Epps has not had contact with Clark-Heard, but the two have re-confirmed their interest to play basketball together in college. 

They've also had contact with Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio State University, according to Milby. 

The puzzling world of recruiting...


Nothing wrong with the five schools mentioned above. UK has become a force in the SEC and Matthew Mitchell has opened another spot on the roster with the dismissal of seldom-used guard Bre-shay Ali. MTSU recently got a verbal from China Dow from Christian Academy in Louisville.

They love their women's basketball in Murfreesboro. They have success, too.

 Indiana is looking to rebuild with new head coach Curt Miller after a rough 6-24 season last year. Ohio State went 24-7 last season before bowing out to Florida in the first round of the NCAA. 

Big Ten women's hoops isn't quite at the level of the SEC or BIG EAST, but not a bad place to spend four years.


The WKU angle is intriguing. Michelle Clark-Heard was heavily involved in the recruiting of Epps and Goodin-Rogers while an assistant at Louisville. WKU hoops is looking for a re-birth of sorts after a 9-21 campaign in 2011-12. Chances are the playing time would come early and frequently for both. You can't blame Clark-Heard for trying to get the best talent available for her squad. She's added one of our favorite assistant coaches in Greg Collins. WKU was a women's basketball power back back in the seventies.

Paul Sanderford led them to the Final Four in the nineties. NCAA runner-up to Stanford in 1992. The Hilltoppers beat Louisville ten straight times from 1984-2002. 

It's 2012. Can Clark-Heard, a WKU grad and player who made four straight NCAA appearances, right the ship on "the Hill"? And, would Epps and Goodin-Rogers give credibility to a program struggling to get back on it's feet? 

Epps and Goodin-Rogers have been highly publicized as the one-two punch that has led Marion County to several Sweet Sixteen appearances in Ky Girls High School Basketball but no state titles. Sold on the Louisville program following the Cards march through the NCAA Tournament in 2009, the duo verballed at the end of their sophomore year.

What a difference a year makes. 


WKU participates in the Sun Belt Conference, a far cry from the elite BIG EAST, SEC or BIG TEN conferences as far as fan base and NCAA successes go. Do Epps and Goodin-Rogers really want to take their talents to a school that plays Troy, Louisiana-Monroe, North Texas and South Alabama each year? Or is it a case of seeing who was at Louisville, who might be coming and figuring out that playing time may be hard to come by. 

Maybe I'm dense here...but if you've got a spot waiting on a team that plays in front of the second-largest crowds in NCAA women's basketball, a program basking in the sunlight of an alumni who's the leading scorer in the WNBA and tearing up the Olympics and a squad who has perhaps the brightest young coach in NCAA women's basketball...why do you suddenly decide you want to set that aside and check out schools that are an after-thought on their campuses and in their cities?  


Gotta a feeling that this is just the first "epps" isode in the tale of the two who passed on the "Ville" to see if the grass is greener on the other side of the hill...

Let's hope they don't end up like Jack and Jill...

Hmmm...playing in front of a packed house in South Bend on Sunday afternoon against the Irish or a Tuesday night road trip to Lafayette, LA to hook up against the Ragin' Cajuns? Tough call.

Link to Greenwell's article below:

Goodin-Rogers, Epps

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Tough weekend for Hansen and Shackleford in stakes races this weekend. What did we learn? Hansen needs to stay at a mile and one-sixteenth or shorter races and Shackleford doesn't like the mud. 

The blue tail on Hansen...ok, it's cute. Dye that tail Cardinal Red and he wins for fun. In wild and wonderful West Virginia, he ran fourth in the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Race Track and Casino. Maybe he stopped to play roulette? Maybe the last two furlongs he was running through West Virginia football fans...  

Sometimes dumb luck is better than no luck at all. A last minute decision to wager a 1 thru 5 $1 exacta box and 1 thru 5 .50 cent trifecta box at Saratoga turned $50 into $569.35. You just never know on a muddy track and Shackleford was 0 for 3 in previous attempts on a "off" track. Still figured he might "hit the board" but the payout increased dramatically when he finished dead last. Especially with a 36-1 shot winning. 

Not bad work for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
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15 comments:

  1. I said it before and I'll say it again. Something stinks about this whole Epps & Goodin-Rogers deal.

    Power brokering isn't just limited to Wall Street and corporations.

    -- Big Jim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes you get recruited-over, Big Jim. Sometimes situations change.

      Curtis Franklin

      Delete
  2. Such is life in big time college recruiting. These two committed early, and early commits often change their minds. Could be as simple as them looking at who UL has and who they're trying to recruit, and determined that they could get playing time (together) elsewhere. Could be a thousand different non-nefarious reasons.
    Anyways, good luck to both girls wherever they end up, hopefully they will keep their talent in-state, even if it is at UK!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 10 bonus points to kstarksr for using 'non-nefarious' in a paragraph about recruiting! That's the spirit!

      Sonja

      Delete
  3. I really don't think either player will move to Tuesday night Layfette road trips but just in case it is a consideration -- it appears that for various reasons Michelle now has 4-5 open slots instead of just the one spoken of earlier in the article.

    At least she now has the opportunity to come in and make the team her own much sooner than graduation would have allowed for.

    Good luck to her as long as she had nothing to do with the Epps / Rogers situation.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You people are fools. Neither was recruited over and neither will play in the Sunbelt. Write it down.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SEC is where they will be

    ReplyDelete
  6. Goes to show why Epps and Rogers not going to the Ville. This article takes jabs at 17 year old kids. They won't be like Jack and Jill (Louisville women's basketball fans better hope they don't go 4-0 against you guys in the RIVALRY). When did Louisville women's basketball jump ahead of Pitino and Strong programs? Where I stand, they haven't so don't say other schools are after thoughts in their city.

    Maybe Clark did have hand in it, IF she did then she should get a raise. I am sure she wants to keep her job so I don't blame her if she did. No loyalties in this business. WKU has zero chance at either one. ON ON UK

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for checking in, Little Jim. WE admire your support for your school.
      Paul

      Delete
    2. Take a blood pressure pill and head back to the double-wide, Little Jim. Louisville is second in the nation in women's basketball attendance. UK isn't. Get used to it.

      Delete
  7. Keep in mind kids read this blog.....and they are not caring a whole lot about what they have been reading lately....want to have a shot at Epps? Zip it. Jenny can attest to the fact that I know what I am talking about.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The ship sailed on Epps and Goodin-Rogers months ago. Cardinal Couple has the sense and realization that Walz won't stand for any power plays or recruits trying to dictate terms and conditions. If you sign on...you sign on and do what is in the best interests of the team, not the individual. Tell it like it is, CC. No one else has the guts to.

      Delete
    2. The above post just goes to show you how really uninformed most fans are about whats really going on behind the scenes.

      Delete
  8. I know these kids personally and first of all, they WILL NOT be at WKU so that can be put to rest. As far as their decommitments go Goodin-Rogers just decided that Lville was not the best fit for her. Epps just wanted to make 100% sure because they did commit so early. Epps is not ruling Lville out all together but ppls negative comments about a 17 year old sure doesnt help anything!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have always had a fair wide open door on comments here at Cardinal Couple. Positive, negative, stupid...whatever The thing about recruiting, verbals, leaning towards, etc. is that they are always open to change until the fax is sent to the school. Wherever Epps, Goodin-Rogers or any of the talented players in the class of 2013 end up...we wish them the best and hope they have fun, injury-free careers and get a quality education. We'll be watching.

      Paul

      Delete

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