How big a girl are ya? -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ZHANG ZIYU IS OVER 7'2" 

It was Roy D.Mercer who recorded the hilarious "How Big A Boy Are Ya" clip, back in 1999, (you can hear it HERE) and the clip came to mind when this very tall woman came into the clinic I go to for my dialysis treatments. I was talking to one of the technicians after this tall woman left ,and we were discussing tallest people we had ever seen in person. She claimed she had seen a 6'9" woman at a trade show a few months back, I told her mine was a girl named Allyssa DeHaan, who played for Michigan State and was 6'9" when I saw her play around 2009 or 10. 

Was she the tallest girl to ever play basketball? The answer is "No". Zhang Ziyu of the Shandong Six Stars in the WCBA. The WCBA is the Women's Chinese Basketball Association and Ziyu is 7'2' (some say 7'3" ) and is 19 yrs. old. 

Your first question may very well be...why isn't she in the WNBA? That league has a rule that international players must be at least 20 on the day of their signing. If you are a player in the United States, the age requirement is 22. Why? My best guess is that the WNBA doesn't want to start usurping talent from the colleges too early, since it is their major recruiting source. Out of the roughly 160 players in the WNBA, around 120 attended a U.S. college or university. We also started talking about the tallest woman basketball player that has played at UofL. That would be either Liz Dixon, Eseosa Imafidon or Syndi Schetnan, who were all 6'5". An interesting fact is that Liz didn't start her college time at UofL...she first went to Georgia Tech. Sydni and Eseosa didn't finish their careers as Cardinals...Sydni ended up at South Dakota St. and switched primarily to Volleyball there. Eseosa is now a senior at Providence. 

Ayse Melek Demira. 

Who is the tallest Cardinals player this upcoming season? That's a tie between Grace Mbugna and Ayse Melek Demira at 6'4"

The tallest WNBA player award goes to Margo Dydek..who has seen time at the Connecticut Sun, Los Angeles Sparks and the Utah Starzz. She is 7'2". 

The tallest woman I ever dated was a 6'4" girl from Anderson County, KY who was the little sister of one of my fraternity brothers. She confided to me it was nice to finally go out with someone she didn't have to start down upon...(I'm 6'3") and dance with someone who's head wasn't buried in her breasts during slow dances. I wonder whatever happened to her? 

Know a tall girl? Make sure and remember her on June 20 or 21, that is National Tall Girls Day and comes about on the Summer Solstice. 

I wonder if it's too early for a "tall boy"? 

 paulie

Will it be a breakout year for Louisville WBB's Grace Mbugna? --WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

6'4 SOPHOMORE READY TO SHINE FOR CARDS 

When Grace Mbugna decided to attend UofL, a lot of those in the know were happy to see an in-state talent stay in Louisville and play hoops for the Cards WBB squad .She was being recruited by Kentucky, Baylor, Duke, Florida, LSU, NC State and West Virginia 

Her freshman year, though, was not a year of immediate success for her.. The Danville Christian H.S. prepster came into Louisville riding some pretty respectable stats. She was a 2025 McDonald's All-American nominee. She was also a Miss Kentucky finalist. She was on the Courier-Journal First Team All-State and was the 12th Region Player of the year. She averaged 22.3 points per game her final year at Danville Christian, grabbed 12.7 rebounds and took Danville Christian to the Kentucky Sweet Sixteen Semifinals and the school was the winner of the 12th region title. Born in Kenya and arriving in the United States at the age of 12, it was a story of success and triumph over adversity. . 

 

Crashing the Cards front line, though, wasn't as easy as high school ball seemed to be for her. She played in 18 games for the Cards but average just three points a game and three rebounds. 

But, she has put in the time in the off-season, and the reports I am getting from on-campus indicate to me that there will be no sophomore slump for her...instead, it might well be a  sophomore success story. Walz considers her part of the retuning core foundation

Her and Elif Istanbulluoglu on a Cards front line could be quite a power force along with Roberts, Randolph, Prawl and Berry in the backcourt attacking the opponents with that one thing Jeff Walz stresses...speed. 

We are excited, here at Cardinal Couple to see what kind of season she has. And, she wears #23, just like one of my favorite Cards of all-time...Jaz Jones. 

We can only hope it will be....a season full of Grace. 

paulie

What will losing Nyla Harris mean to Louisville WBB-- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 HARRIS "FEELS FREE" AGAIN AFTER LEAVING CARDS TO GO TO UNC

Harris in her new "Carolina Blue"

Nyla Harris was one of five Cardinals WBB players to play in all 33 games in the 2024-35 season. She was the fourth leading scorer on the UofL team, but the second leading leading rebounder. You read that right, she outrebounded all Cards WBB players but graduated Olivia Cochran. 

Grace Mbugna is a powerhouse rebounding machine coming in as a freshman

A lot of teams would go into panic mode after losing their top two rebounders. And, yes, it may affect the Cards at first, but consider that Louisville has 6'4" Isla Juffermans back and adds 6'4" Grace Mbugna (Danville Christian), 6'3" freshman Yevhenia Putra (Ukraine), 6'2" senior Laura Ziegler (St. Joseph's) and still has 6'3" sophomore Anaya Hardy on the roster. Height wise, the Cards will be just fine on the front line. The Cards also have super sophomores Taj Roberts and Mqc Randolph returning. 

In Harris' case, it was going to play her senior year at a school that was the first to express interest when she entered the transfer portal and also, in UNC, one of the schools that was in her final five when she was an incoming freshman.  

In Harris's words..."I'm happy again...I feel free. I'm going to be real again and not in a box anymore. The decision to go with UNC is 10 times better and I will be able to shine on the court. The biggest thing, going into my senior year, is happiness and being surrounded by players who care about me."

She'll be the third tallest player on the roster for the TarHeels, behind 6'5" sophomore Bianca Thomas, who averaged 2.4 points a game last year and 6'4" redshirt sophomore Ciara Toomey, who averaged 3.2 points per game.  

Taj Roberts is posed to have a incredible sophomore season

The Cards will miss Harris a bit, but when you have the powerhouses Mac Randolph, Taj Roberts, and several other transfers coming in, Walz has restocked the front line "cupboard" instead of leaving the shelves empty.  With six players 6'3" or taller, rebounding should be the least of Louisville concerns in the 2025-26 campaign. No one rebuilds better than Jeff Walz

Sometimes. players go. All you can do is thank her for the years she gave the Cards and wish her the best in her decision. 

paulie