WBB Adding New Assistant -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Walz Set to Replace Steph Norman 

After 18 seasons with Jeff Walz at UofL, Steph Norman departed at the end of the 2024-25 women's basketball season to return to her alma mater of Arizona State. It was a bit of a surprise to everyone, but Norman is taking a bit of an elevated role at ASU as the Associate Head Coach and Director of Basketball Strategy. That type of title is becoming more commonplace as NIL funds and relaxed transfer rules fully set in and change the landscape of college athletics by requiring more management of the team and players. I think Norman will do well, and wish her nothing but the best, but it left Louisville with a gap on the bench. 

Enter Brittany Morris. Morris will enter as an assistant coach under Walz after spending the past four seasons at NC State working with Wes Moore. Morris is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and coming to Louisville will mark her first major departure from the state since she left to play her collegiate ball at Seton Hall. Morris played for the Pirates from 2009-2013 and finished with a career-record 178 made three-pointers, including a school-record 78 in her senior season. She was the 20th-leading scorer in program history when she graduated and she started all 62 games at point guard in her junior and senior seasons. 

After graduating from Seton Hall, Morris made a stop in Virginia on her way back to the Tar Heel State, working as the video coordinator at Virginia Tech in the 2014-15 season. After that season, she returned to her home town of Raleigh to serve as a graduate assistant for two seasons at NC State. Her first true coaching gig came in the 2017-18 season, when she joined UNC-Wilmington as an assistant. She was there for three seasons and served as the team's recruiting coordinator in the latter two. Morris moved over to East Carolina for the 2020-21 season as an assistant before getting the call from Wes Moore to return to Raleigh. Morris has been an assistant coach for the Wolfpack since the 2021-22 season, and was largely responsible for the guards, which includes names that many know such as Diamond Johnson, Saniya Rivers, and Aziaha James. 

Morris's exact role with Louisville will become clearer in the coming days/weeks, but it seems likely that Jeff Walz has settled his staff. I suspect that Amanda Butler will move into the Associate Head Coach vacancy and others will fill in the chairs behind her. As the Cards look to build on the success of last season, one of recovery for Louisville, it will be interesting to see new faces on the bench. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case 

Steph Norman Bids Farewell -- WNBA Draft -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Photo by GoCards

In a surprise move yesterday, Louisville women's basketball associate head coach Stephanie Norman announced that she will be stepping down and leaving the program. Norman is headed to Arizona State to become an assistant coach under Molly Miller. Miller was recently named head coach for the Sun Devils after five seasons at Grand Canyon.

Norman played four seasons at Arizona State from 1985-1989, including being named a team captain in her junior and senior seasons. She completed her masters degree at Hawaii. Following the completion of her education, Norman spent time as an assistant coach at Oregon, Oregon State, and Vanderbilt before joining Louisville in the fall of 2007. She was the first hire under then-newly-named head coach Jeff Walz.

Photo by GoCards

During her 18 year stint with the Cards, Norman was a part of 12 Sweet Sixteen appearances, eight Elite Eight appearances, four Final Four appearances, and two National Runner-Up finishes. Norman has helped oversee the development of several key players in Louisville history such as Angel McCoughtry, Candyce Bingham, Becky Burke, Monique Reid, Myisha Hines-Allen, Shoni Schimmel, Asia Durr, Dana Evans, Emily Engstler, Asia Taylor, Antonita Slaughter, Sam Fuehring, Arica Carter, Sara Hammond, Bria Smith, and many more. 

Norman helped guide the Cardinals to 486 wins and 227 wins in respective conference play. Louisville's conference record and overall record were both over .750 during that period. 

Photo by GoCards

Jeff Walz took to social media yesterday regarding Norman's departure: "It's hard for me to put into words what Stephanie has meant to me, this program, and our players. Her loyalty, wisdom, and heart helped build Louisville women's basketball into what it is today. Wishing her nothing but the best on her next chapter - forever grateful."

It has not been made clearly how Louisville will restructure coaching assignments and fill the vacant position, but we expect to hear news in the coming days.

Graphic by GoCards

We at Cardinal Couple remain grateful for all of Norman's contributions during her time at Louisville and are excited to see what she brings to the table at Arizona State. We wish her the best!

WNBA Draft

Last night was the 2025 WNBA Draft. We saw 38 players get drafted over three rounds. To no surprise, Paige Bueckers went first overall. We also saw former Virginia Tech and Kentucky guard Georgia Amoore go in the middle of the first round. Former Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith was taken late in the first round.

The ACC saw six players from the 2024-2025 season drafted, three in the first round. Five international players that did not play in the most recent NCAA women's basketball season were drafted. 12 of the 38 players drafted were on teams that Louisville played in this most recent season.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

WBB One Step Closer to a Championship; Comerford Already There -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Force Colonials into Tactical Retreat

Louisville was without Head Coach Jeff Walz and their starting point guard, Arica Carter, but it ultimately didn't matter as the Cards took down Robert Morris University with a final score of 69-34. Longtime Louisville assistant Steph Norman was at the helm yesterday, and she was able to rest starters and mix lineups effectively on the way to the big win. It's not quite as flashy as some might hope, scoring fewer than 70 points against the 16 seed, but there are six games in a row that need to be won to be an NCAA champion. Winning the first while resting starters for half of the game is valuable, indeed.

Louisville won the opening tip, and right away, Asia Durr showed that she was prepared for this new challenge. The Cards ran their offense, worked through the shot clock, and Kylee Shook found Asia with 6 seconds left for an open three. She didn't miss it. Robert Morris was not stunned, though, as they worked open their leading scorer, Nneka Ezeigbo, for a layup underneath. Leading 3-2, it was Asia Durr again, driving the lane and nearly getting the basket and the foul. Instead, she calmly sank both free throws. The Colonials were still not ready to go down quietly, as they found Ezeigbo in a comfortable position on the block and she sank a short jumper fading towards the corner. 

That Robert Morris basket came with 8:20 remaining on the clock in the first quarter. The Colonials would not score again until there was 3:37 remaining on the clock in the second quarter. Louisville's defense locked down and prevented RMU from scoring for nearly 15 minutes. The Colonials did manage to score 11 in that final three and a half minutes of the half, though it came mostly against a rotated side for the Cards. Louisville had stretched to a 32-4 lead by that point, and deep substitutes were getting some run. The Cards still managed to win the quarter 16-11 and led by 22 at the break.

Coming out of the locker room for the second half, Louisville again chose the domination route. Robert Morris kept it "close" for the first five minutes of the quarter, maintaining the deficit around 20-25 points. With 5:04 left, Ezeigbo scored RMU's final basket of the quarter, and the Cards finished the third on a 14-0 run, including a buzzer beating three by Dana Evans. The fourth quarter saw the only period in which the Cards were outscored, as the Louisville bench (primarily) played a losing 11-9 ten minutes. Durr and Sam Fuehring both sat out the entire quarter. It's not great to lose any segment to a team like the Colonials, but they were their conference champions and, to their credit, they did not roll over and stop playing hard. Robert Morris was there to play, and they showed resolve to continue to give a strong effort when the game was well out of hand.

As I said, this was a game that Louisville was able to rest starters. In fact, they were able to rest most of the team, pretty well. Arica Carter was allegedly available, but played 0 minutes. Durr and Fuehring combined for 38 points and 14 rebounds and played only 22 and 23 minutes respectively. Bionca Dunham played the most minutes on the team, and finished with only 29 minutes on the floor. Steph Norman did a fantastic job keeping the team motivated, rotating well, and got the players the rest they needed to be prepared for their next game.

I mentioned it briefly, but Fuehring and Durr deserve more credit, as they beat the Colonials on their own in just over a half of play. Durr was tied with RMU at the half with 15. Asia finished with 18 points and 3 boards. She added an assist, a block, a steal, and only turned the ball over twice. She shot 50% from the floor, 60% from three, and 4-4 from the free throw line. I think she's ready for a deep run. Sam also scored 19, had a double-double with 11 rebounds, added an assist and two blocks, while only turning it over once. She was perfect from the floor, with her 9-9 only two made baskets away from tying the NCAA tournament record for consecutive made baskets. They weren't all bully baskets, either, as her perfect shooting day included a three and a couple of jumpers. 

Dana Evans and Bionca Dunham also scored in double figures, with Evans adding 5 assists and 6 rebounds to her 13 points. There is a negative from yesterday's game, though, as Louisville's other five guards outside of Durr and Evans combined for 4 points, 8 turnovers, 5 assists, and 7 fouls. To Jazmine Jones' credit, she added 3 blocks and 6 rebounds to help make up for it, but March success is about strong guard play, and although the Cards didn't have Arica Carter in this one, they'll need more consistency from everyone if they want to end up in Tampa.

The CASE Report

Louisville played a pretty rotated side for much of the game, and mixed lineups quite a bit, so some of these stats should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt, but let's see how the Cards performed statistically in the blowout.

C - Care: Louisville turned the ball over 17 times. So that doesn't sound great right off the bat. On the plus side, RMU was only able to score 6 points off of those 17 turnovers. On the negative side, RMU only turned the ball over 15 times themselves. The Colonials were very dependent on opponent turnovers this season, though, as they were 23rd in the country, forcing 20.28 per game. 17 is more than 80% of that average though, so we're going to have to award no letter.

A - Assists: Any time you turn the ball over 17 times, it's going to be nearly impossible to earn a 2.0 ATO, especially having scored only 69 points. Louisville would need to have gotten that score line by scoring 34 two point baskets and assisting on every one. That's not what happened. Louisville did assist on 15 of their 26 made baskets, though, so that's good for a lowercase 'a'.

S - Steals: Louisville earned 7 steals, which is alright, but it's below the baseline of 7.5 and tied with RMU for the full game total. Normally, that would be no letter. However, I have to go out on a limb here. Louisville blocked 6 shots in the game, outrebounded RMU by 19, and held the Colonials to only 23.1% shooting from the floor (22.2% from TWO!!). I have to give credit for their defensive effort somewhere, so I'm choosing to go rogue and do it here. Capital 'S' for an all around solid defensive effort. It's my ranking and I can do what I want.

E - Efficiency: Louisville shot 48.1% from the floor and 40% from three. That's pretty good. They didn't make the most of their free throw opportunities, shooting 11-15 for 68.8%. (Another shoutout to Sam for her 100% night and Asia and Dana for their 50% individual performances). However, as a team, the Cards only earned a lowercase 'e'.

So there you have it. In their first game of the tournament, Louisville ends with a generous _-a-S-e in the CASE Report. I've belabored the point about why that poor statistical performance likely exists, but let's hope it was put behind them. I am hoping that the nerves are out of the way and that the team is open to receiving what Coach Walz was able to see from his different perspective across the street from the Yum! Center. 

The Cards will need to be back to their best efforts when they take on Michigan on Sunday, as the Wolverines absolutely housed Kansas State in the 8-9 matchup. It's a rematch of the men's 2013 National Championship Sunday at noon in the KFC Yum! Center as the women's team looks to knock out the team in maize and advance to the Albany regional. 

Comerford Wins Third Straight Title

Mallory Comerford found herself setting another UofL record yesterday when she became the first performer to win an NCAA Championship in the same event three times. Comerford's win in the 200 freestyle extended Louisville's swimming and diving program streak to 8 consecutive seasons with a national champion. Comerford's time was nearly a full second slower than her record setting swim last year, but it was about a 10th of a second faster than second place, which is ultimately all that matters. 

The Cards have maintained some success in this event as an overall team, holding on to fourth place going into the final day of prelims. However, a podium finish for the team looks unlikely as the Cards are 70 points behind third place. A fourth place overall finish would be nice, but they'll need to hold off a crowd, as the 6 teams behind them are all within 40 points. Action gets underway at 10AM, and can be followed by the UofL Swimming and Diving Twitter feed.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

After being held out last week for an illness, I'm back to join the other four regulars for a full house during March Madness on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. Tune in as we talk about all the action in the women's NCAA tournament, and you can hear everyone laugh at me as I sit squarely in a position where I could get my money back (last place) in a 300+ bracket pool at work for the men's tournament. The CCRH is brought to you by WCHQ FM and can be heard on 100.9 FM, the WCHQ App on Apple or Android, wchqfm.com, or live on Facebook. As always, we'll get things started at 11AM.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Cards Soar Past Skyhawks on Ugly Christmas Sweater Night -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville WBB Tops UT Martin



Coach Jeff Walz took a backseat role as the Louisville women's basketball team rolled past UT Martin on Tuesday night, 102-62.  There was plenty to enjoy from the win, but most importantly it was Ugly Christmas Sweater Night.


Of the 7104 fans in attendance at least a good quarter of them were decorated in holiday fashion.  As usual, the entire coaching staff joined in on the fun, ranging from sweaters, to vests, to full outfits.  Several members of the media also joined in on the fun.  Paulie and I agreed that this event is one of our favorites in Louisville women's sports so we will have quite a few Christmas sweater photos at the end of the article.

Steph Norman took over as the acting head coach for the night.  Walz chilled further down the bench with the players and spent more time observing and breaking down the game with the players who had just come out of the game and players on the bench.  With Walz set to face a one-game suspension in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, he figured they should prepare for that early on to see how things will go.  Norman found out a few hours before the game that she would take over the head coach duties for the night and she did a fine job at it.

We were privileged to have Norman at the post-game press conference.  She shook off the nerves and a recent illness that had her visiting the hospital to give a memorable first post-game Q and A with the media.  Norman was complimentary of her colleagues.  She mentioned how each one plays their own role and all the pieces get put together perfectly for a well-oiled machine.  Her and Sam Purcell were named as some of the top up-and-coming coaches prior to the season and we had a first-hand experience as to why last night.

The Cards trailed early in the game 6-5 before a pair of free throws by Sam Fuehring helped the Cards gain a lead they would not lose.  It was the start of a 13-0 run that helped get Louisville to the opening media timeout.  They went onto more than double up the Skyhawks at the end of the first quarter.


UT Martin started to utilize a rare form of substitutions in the second quarter.  Unlike the normal one- or- two-person subs the visitors subbed four or five players each time.  This method is good for deeper rosters when running a fast-paced offense or using a full-court pressure.  However, it seemed to hurt the Skyhawks as no one could get a rhythm going.  Midway through the period Louisville went on an impressive 18-0 run that featured several forced turnovers by the defense.

Louisville's substitutions grew more in the second half as the coaching staff tried out different groupings on the court.  The Cards continued to test the four guard lineup we've seen some this year.  It worked as the more athletic Louisville team found their largest lead of the night with a 43-point lead following an Arica Carter fast break layup.

The fourth quarter was trial and error time for Louisville.  Norman tried out a 3-2 zone, something outside of what we normally see on defense.  With many of the starters riding the bench to give them rest and putting bench players in to get playing time things got sloppy.  The Cards turned the ball over 10 times while tying UT Martin 23-23 in the final quarter.


Fuehring appeared frustrated at times, including yelling at UT Martin's Maddie Waldrop on the floor during the first quarter.  Despite her frustrations, the senior finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds while adding a pair of assists and blocks.

Asia Durr seemed to be a tad off on her shooting but still posted a game-high 25 points, including a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line.  She recorded three steals and three assists.

Bionca Dunham had another big game, going 7-10 from the field with 14 points. Her performance was quite needed and meaningful, since the Cards were down a post player.

Carter had the hot hand on offense, going 5-9 from the field and 4-4 at the free throw line for 16 points.  She added five rebounds and four assists on just one turnover.


Jaz Jones filled all categories of the stat sheet including a team-best six assists.  During post-game, she was more critical of her four turnovers though.  Jones also finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Kylee Shook was seen on the bench but did not play.  Norman told us that she has had a nagging knee pain and the staff decided to rest her tonight although she was ready to play if need be.  The extra rest should be beneficial as they prepare for a big game on Sunday.

F-R-E-D Report

Director of Bands at UofL School of Music Dr. Fred Speck (right)

Free Throws: On the stat sheet Louisville went 22-28 at the line.  We did see a couple three-for-twos with offensive rebounds and made baskets from there.  79% free throw shooting with the couple extra bonuses will earn the Cards a capital "F".

Rebounds: Louisville won the rebounding battle 45-39.  The only downside is that the Skyhawks had 21 offensive rebounds that gave them 21 second chance points.  Still, to win the rebounding battle by six with your tallest player and one of your best rebounders out of the game is a good sign. Capital "R".

Efficiency/Effort: The Cards finished with 25 assists on 36 made baskets.  They shot 52.9% from the field on the night.  Even without Shook Louisville had a whopping 54 points in the paint.  They ran the floor with 26 fast break points.  If you take away the trial run fourth quarter with different defensive reads and different lineups on the court there were only eight turnovers in the other three quarters combined.  Louisville scored 21 or more points in every quarter.  Capital "E".

Defense: Although UT Martin scored 62 points, 23 of those were in the third quarter.  One thing noticeable on the game was how many tipped passes and shots there were.  Louisville disrupted the Skyhawks' offense nearly every trip down the court.  They forced an incredible 27 turnovers.  There were also six blocked shots, even without Shook.  A capital "D" here.

For the second straight game Louisville gets a perfect score: "F-R-E-D".  Look for the "C-A-S-E" report in the comments.

(Note: There is a story behind the FRED picture today, but it is unrelated to UofL sports. Keep an eye on the comments section and I will add it in later on today.)

LINK: POST GAME UT-MARTIN WITH COACH NORMAN

LINK: JAZMINE AND ARICA


Caption This

We continue our fun game of captioning a picture of Jeff Walz with a shot from last night.  As always, have at it with the captions in the comments or email to cardinalcouple@twc.com.


Football's Big News

After Jeff Brohm turned down the head coach offer speculation on who the new head coach would be was up in the air.  Rumors spread on Monday that Scott Satterfield of Appalachian State would take over the duties.  Yesterday, before the women's basketball game UofL made their official announcement and had their press release to welcome Satterfield and his family.  Please welcome the Satterfield family with open arms as we look forward to a new era of Louisville football.


Christmas Sweater Pictures

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Volleyball Heads to the NCAA Tournament -- WBB Home Opener Tonight -- Diop Done -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Receives At-Large Bid in NCAA Tournament

Not that there was too much need to worry following a sweep against Georgia Tech on Friday night, but we can now breathe after hearing that Louisville volleyball has made it into the NCAA Tournament.  They will gear up to face Dayton in the first round in Champaign, IL.  The winner will face the winner of Illinois and Eastern Michigan.  The Illini are the 3-seed, sitting just behind Stanford and Minnesota. They'll play Dayton on Friday 11/30 at 5:30 p.m..

Coach Dani Busboom Kelly felt confident following Friday's victory that her team would be in, but you can never be definite.  She's thrilled the team gets to continue playing, especially with players finishing recovering from injuries and the team peaking.

Former UofL assistant coach Alyssa D'Errico is currently in her second year as an assistant for the Flyers.  D'Errico helped the Cards win their first ACC Championship in 2015.  Prior to that she won four NCAA Championships as a player at Penn State and won three state championships in high school.

The Atlantic-10 Champions got hot at the right time as they have won six straight, including upsetting 1-seed VCU in the conference tournament.  At 23-7 overall and 12-2 in the A-10 their record is on par with the Cards who are 21-8 and 14-4.

Dayton has had issues with serves similar to Louisville.  They have 255 errors vs just 139 aces.

On the attacking end they have accumulated a .275 attack percentage.  With 12 players 6'0 or taller (up through 6'5) Dayton has averaged an impressive 2.28 blocks per set.

Louisville and Dayton will square off on Friday with the time to be determined.  With Illinois being the host site I expect the Cards to get the earlier match.

Worldwide will most likely add his thoughts on UofL's draw and the entire field either in the comments section so stay tuned.

THEY said it: 

Comments from Molly Sauer below

Amanda Green discusses

Dani Busboom Kelly POST-SELECTION thoughts: 

Women's Basketball Opens Home Season

After starting on the road for the first five games of the season Louisville women's basketball will make their first visit to the KFC Yum! Center of the year tonight.  They will take on the RedHawks of Miami (OH).

Miami has started this season 4-0.  Coach Megan Duffy is in her second season and led the team to a 22-11 record and WNIT appearance last year.  Four of the five starters from last year returned this year for the RedHawks.

Louisville is 7-4 all-time against Miami.  The two teams last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2008.  The Cards won the first round game en route to Jeff Walz's first Sweet Sixteen appearance.  Louisville has never lost at home (5-0) to Miami.  

The Cards are 5-0 on the year with the most recent wins coming in Las Vegas against Arizona State and Hartford.  Thanks to a Sam Fuehring layup in the final seconds of the game the Cards topped the Sun Devils.  Louisville ousted Hartford with ease after a sluggish start. 

Prior to tip-off Jeff Walz and Stephanie Norman will be recognized for their 300th wins at Louisville, which the duo accomplished in the season opener at Western Kentucky.

You can catch the game online on the ESPN website.  IF you are unable to do so I would recommend trying to tune into the radio to listen to Nick Curran and AJ call the game on Cards Radio 790 WKRD AM. 

I will not be able to make this game, sadly, but Paulie and Sonya will both be on media row and Paulie will bring the coverage of the contest to you in the Tuesday edition of Cardinal Couple .

Paulie brings this preview of the RedHawks.

4-0 yes. Quality of wins? Not so impressive. They opened the 2018-19 season at Canisius (Scott Teeter's old haunts) with a 62-59 win. Their home opener was versus Eastern Kentucky and won 60-44. A trip to Detroit brought a 78-59 victory over Detroit Mercy. Last time out, they invited High Point to Miami and got a 68-55 win. None of the four will probably appear in the NCAA Tournament, in my opinion.

"Swoop" is the name of the Miami Redhawk mascot

6'2" forward Savannah Kluesner averages 13.3 points per game and leads in rebounds with eight a game. 5'3" point guard Lauren Dickerson runs the show on court and also is averaging 13.3 a game. Other double figure producer is Kendall McCoy a 6'0" guard/forward with 10 a game.

The Red Hawks shoot 41.9% from the hardwood and 24.6% from beyond the arc. Dickerson is the main three-point threat, 7-30  so far on the year. She also leads in assists with 26 on the season. The Red Hawks average 15.5 turnovers a game and aare out-rebounding their opponents 40.5 - 35.

Let's hope for a strong Cardinal first quarter against Miami (OH) and another big night for Asia, Arica and Sam. And, a comfortable lead by the fourth quarter so Coach Walz can continue to get the freshmen and Lindsey Duvall more experience.




Yacine Diop done for season 

It was revealed last night and confirmed by Jeff Walz this morning that Yacine Diop suffered a torn ACL against Arizona State and is done for the season.

A big blow for a team that was looking for her skills to help replace Myisha Hines-Allen.

Diop will undergo surgery as soon as it can be scheduled. Whether or not she'll be able to get a rare sixth year of eligibility or not remains to be seen. Or, she may rehab and decide to test her skills in the WNBA or in overseas hoops.

Our thoughts and "get well soon!" offerings to Yacine.


Donation Month

We enter the final few days of donation month.  Thank you to everyone who has participated and if you haven't quite yet there's still time.  As a reminder we accept cash, checks, and Paypal.  You can mail donations into

CARDINAL COUPLE
P.O. BOX 91521
LOUISVILLE, KY 40291

Once again, thank you all for everything you do to keep Cardinal Couple going strong as we strive to bring you the best coverage of all women's sports at UofL.


Happy Monday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Walz in Colorado Springs for USA squad...Staff recruiting -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WALZ WORKS U 18 SQUAD WHILE STAFF RECRUITS

July. That month in the year where NCAA women's basketball coaches get two chances to scour the country (and abroad) to evaluate high school talent and identify players who might make up the future rosters at their colleges and universities. A huge month for the talent-rich camps, showdowns, shootouts and tournament for club ball and AAU events. 

The second evaluation period of the month has begun and Cardinal coaches are spanning the globe to watch and observe. Louisville head women's basketball coach Jeff Walz is out at his "home away from home" Colorado Springs, CO...coaching up the USA U 18 squad to get them ready for the FIBA Americas Tournament in August. USA goes to Mexico City to begin play on August 1st. 

This time he didn't cross the Mississippi River alone. Associate coach Steph Norman and special assistant to the head coach Beth Burns were with Walz at the U.S. Training Facility over the weekend to watch a couple of girls on the squad who are still undecided on their university choice in the 2019 class. Maori Davenport (Henderson High School, Troy, AL), a 6'4" center and Aijah Blackwell (Whitfield School, Berkeley, MO), a speedy 6'0" guard are the interest there. Both are top-25 prospects going into their senior seasons. 

If Walz doesn't know his way around the US Training Facility, Air Force campus and streets of Colorado Springs by now...he's as geographically challenged as Paulie...

Cardinal great Sara Hammond with Sam

Meanwhile, Sam Purcell is overseas in Minsk, Belarus monitoring the USA U 17 squad and their games. He's probably not getting much time to sample borscht, caviar and sip vodka, with future Cardinal prospects in the 2020 and 2021 classes Azzi Fudd, Zia Cook, Charisma Osbourne, Jordan Horston and Haley Jones on the court. USA has rolled past Italy and Mali in their first two contests in Minsk and takes on China Tuesday. If you want to watch, the link is facebook.com/USABasketball

"Sardechna Zarashayem!" is a greeting Sam will no doubt hear from the locals a few times while in Minsk. Don't accept any fake rubles, Sammy. 

Other places of interest stateside for Cardinal coaches include the United States Junior Nationals in Washington, D.C. 2019 prospects Jada Boyd and Rickea Jackson remain high on the Cardinal observation list. 

They probably won't have time to hit The Deli At Watergate...but if you find yourself in D.C., it's highly recommended. The pastrami is incredible there. 

Recruiting. Maybe best summed up by the quote: 

"In recruiting, there are no good or bad experiences...just learning experiences" 

Here's hoping the Cardinal coaches learn a lot and the players learn that the UofL coaches and campus offer a lot for the continuation of their student/athlete process. 


KATIE VS.

Local television sports reporter Katie George (WDRB) has started a series where she takes on players at their sports. She went up against Cardinal Couple favorite Jaz Jones in the first segment. Jaz "Myisha'ed" her, as you'll see in the link below. 

Kudos to Katie for the "Katie Vs." segment. It's a rehash, in sorts, of several other sportscasters' attempts to show their (sometimes lack of) athleticism. "Domine Does It" comes to mind, as does "I Challenge Fred" from past years. 

An entertaining segment, for sure. We'd like to see if she could score on UofL Field Hockey goalkeep Ayeshia McFerran...

LINK: KATIE VS


paulie
xxxxx

Louisville WBB Coaches out on recruiting trail -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDINAL COACHES CHECKING OUT 2019 and 2020 TALENT

It is the first July evaluation period for NCAA WBB Coaches to go check out the players that are involved in AAU and Summer ball tournaments and the Cardinal coaching crew was out in full force over the weekend watching plenty of talent in many different locations. Who were the Cards watching? Where did they go? 

We can't honestly say we know exactly who the coaches are keeping an eye on and what places they'e been frequenting...but we do know some of the spots and venues that they've traveled to. Social media pays attention. 

Jeff Walz has been dashing across the nation to see players in Texas and Colorado Springs. Some of the names of interest that we've heard that coach might have been checking out include 2019 stars Nyah Green, Aijha Blackwell, Azzi Fudd, Zia Cooke, Kennedy Brown, Jordan Horston and Charisma Osborne. Walz is coaching the U18 squad later this month but stopped by to see how the U17 girls were doing out in Colorado.

We've heard Steph Norman spent time in Louisville, evaluating the talent at the Run For The Roses tournament and also in Indianapolis so far. Rickea Jackson, another highly prized 2019 recruit was in the Circle City Saturday and Sunday. 

Samantha Williams was scheduled to go to Birmingham and check out the Birmingham Live Girls National Showcase from what we've heard. 2019 prospect Maori Davenport was playing down there and, one of our favorite recruit's names...Treasure Hunt...from the 2020 class was supposed to be there as well. 

Sam Purcell was spotted virtually everywhere at the KEC here in town over the weekend watching The Run For The Roses tournament evaluating all he could get in. We're pretty sure he spent a fair amount of time following Aubrey Griffin. 

these are but a few of the names that the Louisville coaches are showing interest in. They're also evaluating the talent from other classes as well. You can never start too early in the recruiting game. Which reminds me of the old humorous tale: 

"Mr and Mrs Joe Smith announced the birth of their baby son Bill, who was offered a full football scholarship by State U in the delivery room right after birth." 

The question has risen...just how many more 2019 players do the Cards want to add beside Green and Ramani Parker? We don't know that answer but it's possible they might be trying to add two more to fill the spots that Durr, Carter, Fuehring and Diop will vacate after their final season at UofL. 

Recruiting is, in a way, like seeing your Cadillac go over a cliff with your worst enemy behind the wheel. Mixed feelings and both good and bad things can happen. With players leaving schools that originally recruited them and brought them to campus for other programs more and more frequently these days, the days of building a powerhouse that partially consists of four or five seniors that played together all four years is pretty scarce. You have to go after the good players, hope you get them and then try to keep them on campus to graduate. 

Here's hoping the Cards coaches have a "happy hunting" excursion in the month of July and are "bird-watching" some future Cardinals. 

paulie
xxxxx  

Meet The Managers -- Julie Sullivan Looks at Louisville WBB student managers -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

MEET THE MANAGERS


(CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR REGULAR GUEST JULIE SULLIVAN TAKES A TURN IN THE DAILY ARTICLE ROTATION TODAY WITH A LOOK AT THE MANAGERS FOR LOUISVILLE WBB. WE THINK YOU'LL ENJOY THIS WRITE UP!) 

-- Paulie


SOME BACKGROUND

Adrienne Johnson, Executive Director of Player Relations at UofL, who is tasked with the responsibility of choosing and supervising the student managers will tell you that a practice can't go smoothly without the managers working tirelessly in the background getting things done. 

"They really set the tone for the environment before practice, before games, prepping the floor, making sure it is clean, towels available, water. When things go smoothly, you'd never know they were there." 

This year the women's basketball team has five managers. A.J. gives them the responsibility to organize themselves. They each have specific tasks they gravitate to but are all responsible for every aspect of preparation and clean up. The one task that everyone mentions being responsible for is that old household favorite. Laundry. I need to try and sneak some of mine into their rotation. Apparently, they are very good at it and do so much of it that they may not notice a little extra UofL swag.   

Associate Head Coach Stephanie Norman appreciates their dedication: 

"They stay ahead of the game. They get everything ready for practice so we don't have any worries. We can just coach basketball. We don't have to handle any logistics with this important group." 

So -- what's in it for the managers? Why would they give up so much of their social life, nights, weekends and school breaks? While they don't get any financial benefits, some do get to travel with the team, but the biggest payoff is the experience and contacts. Most are looking to make a career in the sports world, whether it be coaching, front office, media or support. What they are learning is invaluable. A.J. encourages the managers to seek out each of the coaches, learn from them, help with video and learn how to do "cutouts" for social media. It pays off. Last year's senior manager Jimmy Yu is now the Video Coordinator and Associate Director of Operations at Wake Forest.

MEET THE MANAGERS

Keigan Fetz, a native of Jeffersonville, IN has been with the team since his freshman year at UofL. Now a senior majoring in History, he never paid much attention to women's basketball in high school. You could think it might be an odd match. But, he played ball in high school and wants to coach on some level in the future. He thought it sounded like a good opportunity, this managing possibility. He says, four years later:

"I watch more women's hoops now than men's hoops." 

As a senior, he is helping the new managers learn the ropes. 

A.J. comments: 

"When you have a young man like Keigan on board, he anticipates the needs already. I'll go down and say 'We need' and Keigan is like ' Already done.' We need to get that set up'...and Keigan says 'Already got it'." 

During the practices I visited, "Keig" was quietly on the sidelines, observing and studying the plays and the coaches. It was obvious he was a student of the game. If something was needed he was there before a coach could even call out. 

Brenda Hackett, a junior from Louisville Central high school, played basketball for the Yellow Jackets and wanted to stay involved with basketball, so she joined as a manager her freshman year at UofL. While they all share in all duties, her main task during practice is to run the clock, keeping everything on schedule. She is studying Sports Administration with a minor in Communications. 

Brenda has big aspirations and wants to be a head coach in a college men's program. She feels her personality would fit well in a men's program. She wants to be a barrier breaker like her father, Wilbur Hackett, Jr. who helped integrate the UK football team and was the first African-American team captain in SEC history. With inspiration like that and the work ethic she is learning at UofL, I wouldn't bet against her. 

T.J. Durr, a sophomore from Atlanta, GA., is beginning his second year with the team.  T.J. played both football and basketball but decided that his future off the playing surfaces. He chose Louisville because of the Sports Administration Program and liked the school and the city because " it's not too small." If his name sounds familiar it's because his sister is no other than Asia Durr, who lit up Ohio State on Sunday. She inspired him to get involved with the team. As someone that is inspired to become a coach or an administrator, probably at the high school level, he appreciates being around great people and knowing what they are doing, so he can learn from them. T.J likes that he can often travel with the team. During practices, he stealthily moves water bottles as the activity from one part of the floor to the other so the team and action doesn't miss a beat. 

Zach Rohling from Crescent Springs, KY is a freshman. He grew up a UK fan but saw the light and joined the ranks of the Cardinal faithful while serving as a manager for his high school boys team. He is currently undecided on a major (as many freshmen are) he is leaning toward business. He also hopes to get into coaching, probably on a high school level. He joined the managers because the experience will help prepare him for that. The day I visited, Zach's main responsibility was taping practice, but he, like every other manager, mentioned laundry as another of his major tasks. 

Nick Newman is a sophomore and was only on his second day as a manager when I visited. Nick, a native of Oldham County, attended  South Oldham high school and was brought on because of his video experience. He is a Sports Administration major and thinks this experience will give him a leg up in the business. Being so new, he was doing more observation of the flow of things than participating. Nick has been a lifelong Cards fan and is confident he'll like being a part of the managers. 

The team behind the team. The ones that work daily with the process. They are held to standards, responsibilities and learn...just like the players we love on the court. Work hard, student managers...your success mirrors the squads. Do well. 

Julie Sullivan 


NOVEMBER IS CARDINAL COUPLE DONATION MONTH

Today's author. The Bird Lady. Julie JC Sullivan

Did you enjoy today's article? It's an example of what you're getting here each and every day at CARDINAL COUPLE. Whether it's our regular rotation of Case, Paulie, Jeff and Jared...or our outstanding guest writers like David Watson and Julie...we strive to keep you up on the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics and Cardinal sports. 

We have had a great 14 days of donations so far. WE NEED 16 more just like them to make it an excellent month. That's where you come in. Send us a check, use PayPal. Walk up to Worldwide and hand him a wad of cash. We'll send a staff chimp out in the Cardinal Couple golf cart to pick up your offering if that's what it takes. 

IF you have donated already, we thank you. If you are considering or in the process of donating, we thank you, too. Please help us to continue the work we do here and the articles we publish. 

YOU are Cardinal Couple and WE never forget that. 

Send to: 

Cardinal Couple
c/o Paul Sykes
P.O. BOX 91521
Louisville, KY   40291

THE "A" team with Sonja (LtoR) Jared, Worldwide Jeff
Paulie, Sonya and Case. 

We are a non-profit, 501C organization, so your donation is most likely tax deductible.  Consult with you tax-preparer to make sure. No amount is too large or too small. 

What we do is for love of game, love of our readers and love for UofL sports. We are lucky to have these opportunities and appreciate whatever you can do to help us continue it. 

YOU are CARDINAL COUPLE and WE never forget that. 


Thank you,

Paulie