Walz speaks of improvement, Cuba and salsa lessons at press conference -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

"It's been a very productive spring and summer for us." -- Jeff Walz

Jeff Walz, head coach of the University of Louisville women's basketball team, met with members of the media Wednesday afternoon to discuss the upcoming trip to Cuba, Angel McCoughtry and the squad. 

SEE THE PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE LINK BELOW: 

LINK: JEFF WALZ PRESS CONFERENCE 8/3/16

( THE WALZ PART STARTS AROUND THE 31:30 MARK. THE FIRST FIFTEEN MINUTES IS FRED COWGILL, THE TOP OF MY HEAD AND HOWIE LINDSEY) 

The Cuban trip begins Friday, August 5th. when the squad leaves Louisville and heads to Miami. They'll depart for Havana early Saturday morning and jump right into activities...touring a cigar factory and arriving at the Hotel Parque Central before playing the Cuban National Primero squad at 3 p.m. (Cuba is on Central time...so the game would be at 4 p.m. Louisville time). The Cards will be playing all three games in an outdoor venue (Farjardo Arena) with a roof but no walls. After the competition, the team will return to the hotel for dinner. 

More basketball Sunday after a walking tour of Havana and the Four Squares in old Havana. The Cuban Segundo team faces Louisville at 3 p.m. and after dinner at the hotel that night the Cards will attend Salsa classes on the roof of the hotel at 8 p.m.

The Louisville coaches will hold a clinic at Farjardo Arena for the Cuban National team Monday morning while the student-athletes tour and visit the Cuban Arts and crafts Fair building. They'll play their final game of the trip against Segundo at 3 p.m. Monday.

Tuesday has the Cards headed to the resort town of Varadero (about 120 km east of Havana) for three days at the Iberostar Varadero...a luxury, all-inclusive resort. The team will have three days there before departing from Havana Friday morning and returning to Miami and Louisville. 

Walz spoke of being impressed with the freshmen and fifth-year Taylor Johnson and how they have blended in well with the returnees. He also spoke of the upcoming non-conference schedule and the toughness of it. He also mentioned that freshmen Kylee Shook (hamstring) and Sydney Zambrotta (foot) has been slowed earlier in the summer with injuries but were back to regular practice at 100% and would make the trip with all their teammates. He also feels this this year's team is way ahead of where last year's team was at this stage of the year and how the additional practice has benefited that improvement. 

Myisha Hines-Allen and Cortnee Walton also spoke briefly to the media and are excited about the trip. It'll be the first international trip for Hines-Allen, who admitted she didn't know a lot of Spanish but 'didn't care, she was ready to go".

The two also spoke of the freshmen and how Jazmine Jones and Taylor Johnson had been impressive defensively in practices. They were asked about not being able to have wi-fi, cell phone capability or Internet for a week. It didn't seem to bother them, pointing out the cultural value and learning experience ahead of them and the fact that it would give them the chance to get to know each other better with inter-personal relationships. 

You can hear the entire interview with Walz, Myisha Hines-Allen and Cortnee Walton on our Saturday radio show...THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. It's on WCHQ 100.9 FM locally and on-line at crescenthillradio.com

We'll also have interviews with newest Card Lindsey Duvall and her high school coach Chris Stallings...gonna be a busy, action-packed broadcast! 

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NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE? NON-EASY

15 games on the non-conference part of the 2016-17 schedule...including three trips to Tennessee and a re-match with South Florida in Tampa. It gets underway when the Cards visit UT Martin on Friday, Nov 11th. 

After Belmont visits on Sunday, Nov. 13th, Louisville goes to Murfreesboro at play Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday, Nov. 16th. The Basketball Hall of Fame Classic begins Nov. 20th. with games against Bowling Green, Lafayette (21st.) and Chattanooga (22nd) in the KFC YUM! Center before facing South Carolina in Springfield, MA on Sunday, Nov. 27th. 

December starts with hosting Maryland in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Thursday, Dec 1st. Kentucky visits on Sunday, Dec 4th. and WKU comes to the KFC YUM! Center on Sunday Dec. 11th. South Dakota State travels to Louisville on Wednesday Dec 14th., Charleston stops by on Friday, Dec 16th. and Evansville finishes the week with a Sunday, Dec 18th visit. The last non-conference game before ACC play has UofL going to Nashville to play Vandy on Wednesday, Dec 21st. The Cards will travel to Tampa on Sunday, Jan. 22nd to play USF. 

Some nice, easily accessible road trips built into this year's slate and a killer stretch where UofL faces five high quality opponents in a row to end November and take the Cards into mid-December. Gamecocks, Terrapins, Wildcats, Hilltoppers and Jackrabbits....oh my! 

paulie
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