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!!

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Baseball strikes early, holds on late for 5-3 win vs UK...What is happening at Maryland? -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE



CARDS CORRAL CATS 5-3


Our custom here, as the regular reader knows, is to cover the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports. There were plenty of UofL women's athletes on hand at Jim Patterson Stadium last night, watching and celebrating Louisville baseball's 5-3 win over UK. A crowd of 6210 in attendance to see the annual battle of the Bluegrass on a beautiful Tuesday evening.

Louisville wasted no time in getting the party started.  Five runs in the first three innings gave the Cards a comfortable margin over the visitors and a revolving door at pitcher getting the work done...Louisville used seven hurlers in the nine innings. 

UK made it interesting in the end. Scoring three runs in the ninth and loading the bases before catcher Colby Finch threw out Zack Reks on a steal attempt for the final out.  

A top ten battle between #2 Louisville and #8 Kentucky that set an attendance record at Patterson. Plenty of blue sprinkled in with the red on the berm and in the stands. 

Cardinal head coach Dan McDonnell breaks it down:

"Our bullpen has been good all year. Fortunately, we got the lead early in that three-inning start. You gotta tip your hat to them. Hopefully, we learned a valuable lesson...that good teams don't quit. They [UK] showed they're a top ten team because they didn't quit..." 

The Cards (25-3) bring in Wake Forest for a three-game weekend set next. 


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THREE TRANSFER FROM MARYLAND

Even though the NCAA WBB season has drawn to a close, there is still news out there in the world of women's college basketball. Three players from the University of Maryland have announced they are leaving the program. Destiny Slocum, Kiah Gillespie and Jenna Stalti have been granted permission to transfer. 


Slocum is big news. The freshman was second-team Big 10 and Freshman of the Year in the in the WBCA Coaches poll and in the Big 10. Cardinal fans might remember that she scored the Terps final seven points in Maryland's win over Louisville back on Dec. 7th...and hit six of nine from the free throw line.  

Gillespie is a 6'2" sophomore forward who displayed a nice touch from outside in addition to her inside scoring skills. Stalti, 6'6" freshman center that saw limited time in the post. 

The Terps also graduate their top two scorers in Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Brionna Jones. 

So, why the mass departure from a squad that went 32-3 and reached the Sweet Sixteen before losing to Oregon in the Bridgeport regional? 

Let's speculate...Slocum was from Idaho and a long way from an ailing mother with breast cancer. A chance to play closer to home might have been the reasoning there. With Gillespie and Stalti, it's probably a question of playing time. Gillespie had a great start in her freshman year but just never seemed to develop after that and didn't figure into the rotation that much as a sophomore. Stalti never really made much of an impact on the roster...a deep backup to Jones. Players want to play on occasion and other opportunities can come to be more desirable after the realization sets in that your expectations aren't matching your court time. 

Let's not forget that Lexie Brown also left the Turtles a couple of seasons ago...her stated reason was to play against the ACC. 


Transferred in, did well. 
Transfers. Yes. we get questions about them. Do we think this girl might end up here or that girl could leave and go over there? We have readers who monitor Twitter accounts looking for clues on who might leave. And, there's always the "I have a friend who knows someone that talked with someone who overhead that (so and so) might be looking around." 

We have no crystal ball nor direct pipeline to the future. Who goes, who stays? We wait and see, like you do. Do I think anyone will transfer out of or into the Louisville WBB program? I try not to think about it, honestly. We'll cover it if it happens. 

Players come. Players go. It's inevitable. As a coach, you deal with a lot of pressure. From the parents, from the players and from the fan base. The bottom line is this. You play those who give you the best chance of winning. Winning is job stability. Coaches like to be employed. Players have the opportunity to earn their playing time. If it doesn't work out, you decide to work that much harder, accept the situation or move on. 

Let's put it in horse racing terms...since we're drawing close to the Kentucky Derby. A trainer gets a promising two-year old to the race track. The horse runs poorly the first time on the track. You give the horse another chance. Another poor effort. You drop the horse down to a level you think it may compete well in. Nothing. So, you decide that maybe the horse might be better off in another barn and you run it in a claimer-type race. The horse isn't to blame. The horse simply isn't good enough to compete at a certain level. Maybe the horse does better at a lower level or for another trainer at another track. Maybe it doesn't. Or maybe the trainer decides to keep working with the horse. The difference is...the horse can't express their contentment, disagreement or sit down for a long talk with the trainer. 


Transferred out...hopes to do well. 
Players can. They sometimes do. The key is this...what is best for the player? Most coaches want what is best for the player. If it means playing for" fake directional state" instead of "Prime Time U"...then that's how it is. 

Fans speculate. Why did this girl want to go to that school when she could have done "this or that" if she had stayed. What's going on at "this school" to make players want to leave? 

Transfers happen. Get used to them. One man gathers what another man spills.



paulie
xxxxx









13 comments:

  1. Good points about transfers Paulie but we as fans want to know. We get invested in the program and watch it. Changes affect us too as fans. If you won't speculate on transfers, allow me to here. Most likely to go? Dunham and Zambrotta. My take on it. The Deb Factor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And you are certainly entitled to your opinion Deb. Can't say about that. We've received no word on any transfers or players considering transfers.

      Paulie

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    2. I don't see any problem with speculation, as long as it remains respectful of players and programs. I do tire of it a bit personally, but to each their own in expressing their fandom in their own way.

      I similarly don't follow too much of the recruiting merry-go-round in sports either, generally preferring to wait until signing before picking them up on my radar. Again, to each their own. If people keep it respectful (which our community tends to do a really great job with), then go to town as far as I'm concerned.

      Delete
    3. Think Syd stays. Dunham...may

      Delete
  2. IMHO Sid will stay Bionca might stay or transfer back home to Philly PA & play for the Temple Owls.

    MLW

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    Replies
    1. But I would hate for the cards to lose Bionca Dunham she has a great upside.

      MLW

      Delete
  3. Zambrotta likely to go? Really? I think she knows she has a future if she continues to pick her game up.
    B. Jones or Sam I see as the most likely. With 15 players usually if you haven't shown some real signs by end of your soph year it could be time to make a move. Sam was a Micky D All American and ranked in the 50's by Hoopgurlz. That made zero sense. Sam would do better in a less competitive league. Mid Major somewhere.
    B. Jones same.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Actually Sam was rated 61st by Hoopgurlz. Rare for a player ranked in the 60's to make McDonalds All American.
    Prospect Nation had her 27th. I think so far Hoopgurlz is definitely more accurate. Sam can't get on the floor enough.

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  5. Sam will get minutes next season
    Coach Walz really trust her.



    MLW

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  6. If Sam stays she will get more than the 11 minutes a game she did as a sophomore. Both Shook and Johnson as freshman played more minutes. Sam as a McDonalds All American averaging 3.8 points per game her soph season is not good.
    Courtnee (21 min and 2.6 ppg)helped us out her Junior year and her freshman year in that Baylor game she was terrific rebounding and defending. Her Senior year she seemed to defer to everyone else offensively.
    Believe it or not Walton and Vails were ranked higher hoopgurlz than Fuerhing

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  7. Next year where do the minutes go to the center and forward spots.
    Walton leaves with 21 a game You still have 6 players competing for minutes
    Sam , CJ, Shook, Retta, Bionca, Hines-Allen

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  8. From a team perspective only and not Bionca's we should redshirt her to save her. She will mature a year and be ready to dominate for three years without getting clogged up in this logjam of players.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I agree keep her in storage so she can develop.


    MLW

    ReplyDelete

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