CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDINAL COUPLE
We report on the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports here. Thanks for checking us out! Click the picture of Louie to hear the latest Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Louisville women's basketball...Asia Durr off to blazing start -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE



SOPHOMORE AVERAGING 21 POINTS FOR CARDS


(Thanks to Charlie Springer for the picture)
We saw flashes of what Asia Durr could be last year. We also saw what an injury and being in constant pain can do. Fast forward the clock to the 2016-17 season. Zoom the camera in on #25. Keep it there awhile...because there are a lot of highlights to be shown. A healthy Durr is well worth a zoom-in.

In two games, the Cards WBB squad (2-0) has amassed 173 points. Of those, Durr is responsible for scoring 42 of them. That's roughly 25% of the Cardinal point total. For those who like stats (avert your eyes, Justine Sowry and Worldwide) consider the numbers below. Keep in mind that they are for just two games...but also against two teams picked to finish 1-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Two teams that I can see playing in the NCAA Tournament. 


-- Durr is shooting 53% from the floor. The Cards are shooting 55%. 

-- Durr is 15 for 28 from three-point range. That's 54%. 

-- Only three Cards have successfully sunk treys this season. Besides Durr,  Mariya Moore has two and Sydney Zambrotta one. All told, eight Cards have attempted them...the other five are 0 for 10. Overall the Cards are 36% from the deep. 

Consider that Durr was 44 for 122 from the deep last year and at .361...she had the highest percentage on the team. If she keeps the current pace, and it's way too early to suggest that, she'd end up with 225 successfully made. The all-time high made came from Shoni Schimmel at 118 in 2013-14...and Shoni is the only Cardinal to ever make more than 100 in a season. Mariya Moore knocked down 77 last year...which comes in at seventh for a season. Credit goes to Asia's teammates for getting her the looks, finding her when she's open and encouraging her to take the shots. 

LINK: DURR-ABLE

Howie Lindsey asked the question this morning...is Durr one of the top five three-point shooters in Cardinal WBB history? Again, it is too early to tell...comparing her to Shoni, Jude, Kristin Mattox, Becky Burke, Sara Nord, Nita Slaughter or even Brandie Raddie at this point in time is an unsubstantial argument. It is entirely possible, though that she and Mariya Moore could end up in the top five by the time their careers are over. 

While we smile about Durr's early stats...let's not forget that in two games so far...Moore is shooting 80% from the floor, Ciera Johnson 66%, Briahanna Jackson 60%, and Myisha Hines-Allen 50%. Myisha had the highest shooting percentage at 54% last year. 

OK, enough of the numbers...

With a sweep of the OVC so far, Louisville takes their road show to Middle Tennessee and Conference USA tomorrow night. We'll get much more in-depth on that one tomorrow...it is interesting to note, though, that the Cards lead the series 4-1. Louisville will face two C-USA members this season...WKU being the other. 

Two in the books and at least 30 to go. We'll have something to say about all of them here at Cardinal Couple.


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NOVEMBER IS DONATION MONTH

We're halfway through November and we're excited about the rest of the month, year and beyond. We've had an OK response to our requests for donations...and appreciate the ones we have received immensely...but we're far short of what we were hoping to be. 

That said, maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe we aren't providing you what you want to read. Maybe the interest in UofL women's athletics...which is our focal point...isn't as great as we perceive it to be. Maybe we aren't trying hard enough..


We made a bold move earlier in the year and added football and a couple of other men's sports to the fold. I'm pleased as I can be about this addition and don't plan on changing that one bit...but maybe it isn't what you want to read. I can only tell you that our "hit" count and site reads is very high when we run men's sports columns. It's not that we are trying to compete head-to-head with the other sites out there that focus their attention on men's sports. We felt, and have been told that there are a lot of women's sports fans who also get excited about our football, men's soccer, basketball and baseball programs.

We're excited to be a regular part of WKRD's Louisville First show that runs Monday-Friday from 7-10 a.m. We love our weekly broadcast on Crescent Hill Radio with The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour and the Friday visits with The Morning Jam on WCHQ 1009 FM.

We cannot express enough our gratitude to these outlets for their access. 

We've said it before and I'll say it again...we'll appear on any show, speak to any group at any time to promote the joy and excitement of Louisville women's sports and all Cardinal sports. We see a bright future ahead...maybe we're wearing Cardinal-colored glasses...but our resolve is firm and our course, for now, will remain unchanged. 

And, so...it is a time of reflection as we head into the last half of November. 

You can donate to Cardinal Couple by sending us a check to:

Cardinal Couple
PO Box 91521
Louisville, KY  40291

or you can also donate through Pay-Pal. 

Thank you, 

Paulie
xxxxx 



19 comments:

  1. I'm impressed with Asia so far. I just hope she can endurr.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm thinking she's pretty "Durr-able"

      Your serve.

      Paulie

      Delete
  2. Durr makes this team very dangerous. If you key on her, then Myisha, Mariya and the others will make you pay. Leave her alone and you pay. Has the Cards WBB squad ever had a more impressive five than Durr, Myisha, Mariya, Briahanna and (name your fifth)?

    -- The Real Joe Hill --

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoping Cortnee is back soon. That would be my fifth. The Deb Factor

      Delete
    2. I would like to see how this team would match up against the 2009 and 2013 squads in some sort of computer simulation. Who would guard Angel? Or Shoni?

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    3. That would be pretty cool. I remember years ago when the 1980 men's national champions played the 1986 team in a real game. To see the 2009 girls or 2013 girls face each other would be fun. Maybe for charity? And, in a few years, maybe a match-up of this team against one of them.

      Paulie

      Delete
  3. Florida State gave UConn all they wanted last night. South Carolina was impressive against Ohio State. The Cards have some very tough games ahead with these two. Plus Notre Dame.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FSU played without starting point guard Leticia Romero. It was an exciting game to watch and with Louisville having to play at FSU this year...and with Romero probably back by then (hamstring problems) it could be one of our toughest games of the season.

      Paulie

      Delete
  4. Seems like we're seeing the maturing of the ULWBB program. A few years ago Hammond, B Smith, J Schimmel and company were willing to take a bit of a scoring backseat to Freshmen Moore & Hines-Allen with zero complaints because that was the best for the team. We're seeing the maturing of those two this year in them being willing to facilitate and take the back seat scoring wise to kids like Durr. That's when you know you've got a program. I think Walz has finally driven a stake into the ground with this club and the strong recruiting over the past several years but we'll see how they do in March.

    Frankly I was pretty much done with CC after the Cuba coverage and exchanges. I'm not interested in supporting athletic programs that advocate political positions or folks who promote those positions through sports. That said I don't think Paulie had much of a choice in covering the situation. I won't give as much credit to the UofL Athletic Department or those that make those decisions.

    So...I'll go in for another $100 this year to support the cause. Everyone else should step up with some bucks. Maybe Paulie will send us a hat when he is done becoming a full fledged media mogul.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We consider you one of the favorite comment guys and your reads are always insightful. Your donations is greatly appreciated. More than you'll probably realize...so a gracious "thank you"!

    Coverage of sports is pretty much what we do here. We refrained from politics during this past election and tried not to bring the Cuban government i to the trip because it was our women's basketball team in action and we are huge fans of them. We'd love to see a world where there are not atrocities, en-slavery, hatred for our beliefs, and poverty. Sadly, that world is out there... though.

    In these early days of the WBB season, the Cards are trying a lot of options, combinations and tactics. It is an early schedule that affords those maneuvers...but it gets a lot tougher in just a couple of weeks. Naturally, we'd love to see the whole season turn into a succession of 30+ point romps...but realize there will be probably a few losses and a few games where we see that our best may not be enough...or dispayed.

    Such as it is in sports. A different decision by James Quick might have resulted in a undefeated football team to this point. An inch or two difference in Louisville Field Hockey's shot selection against Delaware might have them in the Final Four. It is the nature of sports...a conglomerate of highs, lows, celebrations and sorrow.

    It's been hard for me to elaborate so far on Field Hockey's departure. Still don't know if I can...but I'll assure you that I'll be just as excited about next season as I was this one. ake my feelings, though...multiply them by 30 and you'll knwo how that hard-playing dedicated gropu of girls and coaches on the corner of Warnock and Floyd feel.

    After all, it is our student-athletes and that's why we're here. Bless ya, Burn. If I have any types of hats, shirts or such made up in the future...if the budget allows...you're definitely on the list.

    We'll even try to get you an autograph or two on them.

    Paulie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel you on Field Hockey Paulie. I am excited about the future, though, with "Minnie" Mink, McFerran, Woods, Grimes and Munn all back. Sowry has recruited well, also. Louisville should have had three goals against the Blue Hens. Sadly, the ball was an inch or so off.

      Delete
    2. Maybe so...I hope so. Losing McCrudden, Gittens, Sloss, Kahlert and Byrune is gonna hurt...I'm not gonna lie to you...but Coach Justine has recruited ACC talent the last couple of years and...it is worthy to note that the Blue Hens DID knock off #1 Duke and made to the Final Four. Only UNC remains for the ACC..with Delaware, Princeton and Connecticut.

      Paulie

      Delete
  6. Happy to help out. I frequently don't feel too great nowadays about where, when and how I have to lay out funds but I always feel great giving to you folks because your efforts over the years have always been so authentic & enthusiastic.

    I don't know if all of your readers appreciate what you've done here. I keep thinking someone will try to replicate what you're doing for their own school but I've been waiting and watching for four or five years now haven't seen anything even remotely similar. I've reached the conclusion that although there are many sports fans out there your team is unique in that you take it seriously and you put in the work in to produce a great site. That takes serious effort and most people just won't do it.

    So kudos to you and your team. Keep up the great work.

    Burn



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Consider it done and once again, thank you!

      You are CARDINAL COUPLE and we appreciate that.

      Paulie

      Delete
  7. Cortnee Walton the senior or Ciera Johnsons, she the best freshman this year .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When healthy, I think you have to go Walton because of her rebounding skills. I do think both can see 15-20 minutes each, though, and the Cards losing nothing when either is in.

      Paulie

      Delete
    2. Yes paulie I agree Cortnee walton is the queen of the boards.Go Cards !

      Delete
  8. Shoni was a sniper and now they have another one Asia Durr.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nita slauhgter was deadly from behind the arc,bombs away!

    ReplyDelete

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