FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE
-Action, competition and talent the order of the day in Cardinal Arena on Thursday.
It may have reached the 100 degree mark in Louisville Thursday afternoon, but it wasn't as nearly as hot as the all-star group of players on display at the Jeff Walz Cardinal Elite Camp Clinic in Cardinal Arena.
Despite having hip surgery Wednesday, Asia Taylor was on hand to run the score clock. |
A brief hydration break before another drill |
The campers then separated into four smaller groups
Working on the mid-range jumper |
When 3:00 p.m. rolled around, it was time for the first of two thirty-minute scrimmages. The players were divided into two red and two white squads and competed for fifteen minutes against each squad of the opposite jersey color.
This is where it got really fun and competitive.
UofL WBB Freshman Megan Deines takes in the action |
CARDINAL COUPLE's Jenny O'Bryan will have a future article about who she thought was impressive and her thoughts on the afternoon. Don't miss it!
Front liners that impressed would have to include the names of #1 ranked 2013 recruit Mercedes Russell (Springfield), Erica Moore (Mount Vernon), Nora Kiesler (Assumption), Logan Powell (Marion County) and Taylor Robinson (Ladue Horton Watkins).
Then...there was Becca Greenwell. The senior-to-be at Owensboro Catholic showed no ill effects from her knee surgery. A quick crossover move, silky-smooth jumper and all-over-the-court awareness made her my personal choice as MVP of the first round of scrimmages. Some players just "have it". She's one of them.
CARDINAL COUPLE'S Sonja and Sandy react to the aggressive post play. |
Stretching it out the Teena Murray way... |
I can see why.
A.J. flashes that beautiful smile before going out to teach the campers. (Take it easy on Jude, A.J!) |
It was fun to watch these three compete against Becca Greenwell's squad for 15 minutes. You could tell that neither squad wanted to lose this scrimmage. Add Greenwell to this writer's wish-list to see in a Cardinal jersey. Her skill set is light-years beyond her age.
Free throws: a very important factor in any game |
Nora Kiesler (middle left) is a rising star for Assumption. |
As Sonja and I walked to the car in the blazing heat after the camp, we talked about the massive amounts of talent we had just witnessed. A short chat with Rebecca Greenwell after the camp confirmed that she had a great time and that Louisville is still among the top schools she is looking at. Mercedes Russell grinned broadly when asked about the camp and saw it as a "great afternoon of fun and learning." Makayla Epps thought she had an "OK" camp and assured us that the ice wrapped around her knee was nothing to worry about...just a standard post-practice procedure.
We had a wonderful time with the CARDINAL COUPLE staff writers in attendance Thursday afternoon and enjoyed meeting the CARDINAL COUPLE readers who came up to us and introduced themselves as the afternoon went on. If anyone had a better time at the camp than us, it was probably the actual participants...who got in a great four-hour workout Thursday afternoon in Cardinal Arena.
Our thanks and appreciation to the coaches, staff and players who were gracious, entertaining and so much fun to watch and be around.
This is Cardinal basketball, ladies and gentlemen...and you will not find a better product, philosophy and way of doing things out there...in our book.
--Paul Sykes
Great, Great, did I say Great report!
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun afternoon. Easy to write about something that enjoyable. Thanks!
ReplyDeletePaulie
Great write up Paulie!!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to working on my article, as time permits, and submitting my thoughts about the day. It was pretty awesome to watch such talented players. They all worked and played hard for 4 hours. Nice job campers, your futures look bright!!
Jenny
Thanks, Jenny! It was a fun afternoon, wasn't it?
DeletePaulie
Great article, Paul. Glad that I got to spend some time with you, Sonja and the others.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, was very impressed with all the talent I saw. Came out to see Russell, Epps, and Greenwell (those three playing for the Cards together would be awesome!), but saw much more than those three. Plenty of players left an impression on me. One that impressed me most was the smallest girl out there, and I'm assuming that was the sixth grader Casey Collins. Fearless, to say the least! Good skills for someone so young, she probably will have to play with older girls because she is so much better than your average sixth grader. Definitely one to keep an eye on!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting, K! Good to meet you yesterday. We are considering an article on young miss Casey Collins doen the road. Very impressive for a sixth grader!
DeletePaulie
Was Ali Patberg at the camp? Been following her a bit up here in Columbus, IN. A guard
ReplyDeletethat shoots the lights out of it.
Jackie
She was listed on the roster but I don't recall watching her specifically. There were 50 participants, I'm sure I missed or failed to cover all of them properly. Maybe Jenny or Sandy can help us out her.
DeletePaulie