LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL...Jazmine Jones...Catch her if you can -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

TALLAHASSEE TRIPLE THREAT TAKING ON TASKS


We thought we'd take a look at one of the members of University of Louisville's freshman class in today's article. We'll preview the Louisville vs. Maryland match tomorrow...today, we'll take you down south to panhandle Florida and look at the Cardinals version of the popular cartoon character The Roadrunner. 

Look quickly, you just might miss her.

Jazmine Jones flew onto the UofL campus this summer and hasn't slowed down since arriving.

After a stellar, multiple championship-winning high school career at Florida A&M Developmental Research School (and why does the image of lab-coats, test tubes and scientists come to mind?) where "J.J." totaled over 2,000 points, 1000 rebounds, 500 assists and 500 steals...plus 2015-16 Florida Gatorade Player of the Year honors...Jones joined a freshmen class that featured five McDonald's All-American nominees and was ranked as one of the best ever in Louisville WBB history. 

She joined a roster that returned all five starters from the season before and got to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In cases like this, it's not uncommon to see incoming freshmen spend time watching on the sidelines. Although she hasn't cracked the starting line-up, Jones has seen a good share of playing time in the Cards first seven games...much of it sprinting down the court with the ball ahead of the other nine players...and produced some impressive numbers. 

• 109 minutes (15.6 a game) - 8th best on team and 3rd for the freshmen
• 31 points (4.4 a game) - 7th best on team and 3rd for the freshmen
• 10 steals...which is 2nd best on the team and leads the freshmen.
• 17 rebounds --7th best on the team and third best for the freshmen
• 11 turnovers (third highest on team)

The turnover stat, although high...comes with the high risk/high reward style of hoops J.J. plays. We'd like to see that diminish. We expect she would, too... 

The rest of the numbers are quite impressive on a roster that returns a potential bunch of "time-share" opportunities with eight letter-winners from last year and a four-year starter/transfer. She even has to share her last name on the roster (with wing Brianna Jones). 

As one of two players from Florida (Briahanna Jackson being the other) we'll see if the sometimes chilly Louisville winter weather slows her down any. My guess is the only thing that can stop her is an icy sidewalk. 

We get the question...yes, she's good but what position is she best at? And, it is a good question. She was at point-guard at times in high school...but is on a roster that has four of those. Probably best suited as a #2 guard...a spot that Asia Durr currently lays claim to. She can shoot the three (although we haven't seen it yet) and rebound well...which could make her a driving "3" or a smallish "4"...(positions the M&M girls currently occupy.) 

Let's create a spot for her...we'll call her a "guardward". The "Guardward" had six points and two rebounds against South Carolina last time out

On the court, her quickness grabs your eye right off the bat. Her jumping abilities follow next...at 6'0", we pretty sure she could dunk...and her penchant for stripping the ball from an opposing player and starting the charge of the light brigade to the other basket. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. You could enter her, B.J., Arica Carter (when healthy) and Bionca Dunham in the ACC Track and Field Championships for the 4 X 100 dash and maybe win it.  

Athleticism isn't something new to the Tallahassee Joneses. Her dad, Reginald, played football at Florida A&M and for the Dallas Cowboys. Her brother played at FIU. Her sister GiGi at App. State and Jacksonville. It would not surprise me if the family dog participated in the Florida Canine Olympics and won the 100 meter dash. (Is there such a thing? 😊) 

She's got her values in order, too...3.3 grade-point average in high school, respect for her grand-parents and family and listing God as her hero. 

She comes from a tradition of winning. A strong family support system (the Joneses were in town for the three-game Hall of Fame stretch. You probably heard them if you were there.) She's fit in well to the team concept at Louisville.

She'll be in action tomorrow when #7 Louisville hosts Maryland. A Maryland team that loves to get the ball up and down the court in a hurry. A Maryland team that is undefeated in six games, has four players averaging in double figures and is averaging 95 points a game. A Maryland team now ranked #5 in the nation. 

We'll look more closely at that one on Thursday. 


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PAULIE ON LOUISVILLE FIRST

I was pleased to join Howie Lindsey on his excellent morning show...LOUISVILLE FIRST...Tuesday morning. We discussed (what else?) Louisville Athletics. 

We owe a lot to Howie for graciously giving us a platform to discuss the joy and excitement of Louisville women's sports...plus other Cardinal Athletics...once a week at CARDS RADIO 790...WKRD 790AM. 

LINK BELOW...Paulie comes on at the 1:09:58 mark: 

LOUISVILLE FIRST...PAULIE SEGMENT




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WHERE TO GO TO LET 'EM KNOW




In case you ever wanted to e-mail some of the sports media and associates aligned with Cardinal Athletics...here ya go...this is a "master list" UofL uses to get information out:  

 "Adam Creech (adamhcreech@gmail.com)" <adamhcreech@gmail.com>, "Allar, Bruce" <ballar@loumag.com>, "Andy Sweeney (AndyS@espnlouisville.com)" <AndyS@espnlouisville.com>, AP Louisvile <aplouisville@ap.org>, Bob Domine <bddoesit@bellsouth.net>, "Bob Valvano (BobV@espnlouisville.com)" <BobV@espnlouisville.com>, "Bozich, Rick" <bozichra@aol.com>, "Brian Winner (bwinner@wave3.com)" <bwinner@wave3.com>, "Brown, Russ" <rbrown928@peoplepc.com>, "Bryan, Nathaniel" <nbryan@thenewsenterprise.com>, "Charlie Springer (csworks1@twc.com)" <csworks1@twc.com>, "Chris Humphreys (chumphreys@voice-tribune.com)" <chumphreys@voice-tribune.com>, Chris Resor <isportswebchrisresor@yahoo.com>, "Clemente,Laura F" <lfclem02@exchange.louisville.edu>, Connie Leonard <cleonard@wave3.com>, "Courier-Journal Photo (photo@courier-journal.com)" <photo@courier-journal.com>, Courier-Journal Sports <sports@courier-journal.com>, "Cowgill, Fred" <fcowgill@hearst.com>, "Crawford, Eric" <ECRAWF@aol.com>, dalton ray <dray@louisvillecardinal.com>, "Dan Koob (dkoob@hearst.com)" <dkoob@hearst.com>, "David Harrison (dharrison@courier-journal.com)" <dharrison@courier-journal.com>, "Denny, Stan" <standenny@earthlink.net>, "Doolittle, Bill" <BDoolittle@aol.com>, Drew Deener <drewdeener@hotmail.com>, "E. Marcel Pourtout (mpourtout@gmail.com)" <mpourtout@gmail.com>, "Editor, Louisville Cardinal" <editor@louisvillecardinal.com>, "Eric Crawford (ecrawford@wdrb.com)" <ecrawford@wdrb.com>, "Forde, Pat" <pfeaglebeak@aol.com>, "Forrest, Derek (dforrest@hearst.com)" <dforrest@hearst.com>, "Garrett Moore (garrett1.moore@twcnews.com)" <garrett1.moore@twcnews.com>, "Gary Graves (GBGraves@ap.org)" <GBGraves@ap.org>, Gates <rgates@courier-journal.com>, "Glenn Osborne (glenn@kyforward.com)" <glenn@kyforward.com>, Haven Harrington <hharrington@maineventsports101.com>, "Howlett, Rick" <rhowlett@wfpl.org>, "Hughes, Mike" <mikehughes1986@yahoo.com>, "Jason Anderson (jason@espnlouisville.com)" <jason@espnlouisville.com>, "Jeff Greer (jgreer@louisvil.gannett.com)" <jgreer@louisvil.gannett.com>, "Jennings, Dave (davejennings@iheartmedia.com)" <davejennings@iheartmedia.com>, "Jody Demling (jodydemling@gmail.com)" <jodydemling@gmail.com>, "John Lewis (jlewis@wdrb.com)" <jlewis@wdrb.com>, "John Ramsey (johneramsey@aol.com)" <johneramsey@aol.com>, "John Wise (jwise@wave3.com)" <jwise@wave3.com>, "Jones, Chuck" <cjones@thenewsenterprise.com>, "Jones, Garry" <GarryLJ@aol.com>, "Jones, Rob" <robjones.lyes@gmail.com>, "Josh Abner (jdabner@gmail.com)" <jdabner@gmail.com>, "Joshua McKinney - ClearChannel - 102.3 (joshuamckinney@iheartmedia.com)" <joshuamckinney@iheartmedia.com>, "jshelton@voice-tribune.com" <Jshelton@voice-tribune.com>, "Kaplan, C.D." <cdk@culturemaven.com>, Kendrick Haskins <khaskins@wave3.com>, Kenneth E Klein <kenneth.klein@louisville.edu>, "Kent Spencer (kspencer@whas11.com)" <kspencer@whas11.com>, Kent Taylor <ktaylor@wave3.com>, "Klasskin, Beth (beth.klasskin@twcnews.com)" <beth.klasskin@twcnews.com>, "Korte, Lori J" <ljkort01@louisville.edu>, "KySportsTV (info@kysports.tv)" <info@kysports.tv>, "Lane, Tom" <tlane@fox41.com>, "Lee DeJarlais (ldejarlais@hearst.com)" <ldejarlais@hearst.com>, "Lindsey, Howie" <howielindsey@gmail.com>, "Mark Blankenbaker (cardsandcats2011@gmail.com)" <cardsandcats2011@gmail.com>, "Mark Hebert (mark.hebert@louisville.edu)" <mark.hebert@louisville.edu>, "Marty Finley (mfinley@bizjournals.com)" <mfinley@bizjournals.com>, "Matt Willinger (mwillinger@bisigimpactgroup.com)" <mwillinger@bisigimpactgroup.com>, "McGee, Kerry" <news@fox41.com>, "Michael Grant (virgiltibbs@hotmail.com)" <virgiltibbs@hotmail.com>, "Michael McCammon (michael.mccammon@gmail.com)" <michael.mccammon@gmail.com>, "Mike Lacett (mlacett@wdrb.com)" <mlacett@wdrb.com>, "Natalie Grise (NGrise@hearst.com)" <NGrise@hearst.com>, "Nick Coffey (NickCoffey@iheartmedia.com)" <NickCoffey@iheartmedia.com>, "Ormay, Doug" <dougormay@gmail.com>, "Paul Miles (whasnews@iheartmedia.com)" <whasnews@iheartmedia.com>, "'Peak, Ed' (ed.peak@twc.com)" <ed.peak@twc.com>, "Pemberton, Kimberli A" <kapemb01@louisville.edu>, remy sisk <rsisk@blue-pub.com>, "Rick Bozich (rbozich@wdrb.com)" <rbozich@wdrb.com>, "Rogers, Paul" <paulr@whas.com>, "Sam Draut (sdraut@louisvillecardinal.com)" <sdraut@louisvillecardinal.com>, "Scott Wilson (swilson@glasgowdailytimes.com)" <swilson@glasgowdailytimes.com>, "Slim Vollinger (svollinger@theacc.org)" <svollinger@theacc.org>, "Spencer Kietzman (spencer@espnlouisville.com)" <spencer@espnlouisville.com>, "Stephen George (stephen@insiderlouisville.com)" <stephen@insiderlouisville.com>, "Steve Jones (swjones1@courier-journal.com)" <swjones1@courier-journal.com>, "Story, Mark" <mstory@herald-leader.com>, "Taylor, Kent" <ktaylor@wave3tv.com>, The Cardinal Sports <sports@louisvillecardinal.com>, "TheSportsInquirer (sportsinquirer@gmail.com)" <sportsinquirer@gmail.com>, "Tim Meredith - CN|2 (Timothy.Meredith@charter.com)" <Timothy.Meredith@charter.com>, "Timothy Easley (tdeasley@mac.com)" <tdeasley@mac.com>, "Tony Vanetti (tonyvanetti@iheartmedia.com)" <tonyvanetti@iheartmedia.com>, "Valvano, Bob" <elcoche@yahoo.com>, "WAVE3 (newsrelease@wave3.com)" <newsrelease@wave3.com>, WBKO <sports@wbko.com>, "WDRB News (news@wdrb.com)" <news@wdrb.com>, WHAS-TV assignment desk <assign@whas11.com>, "Whitney Harding (wharding@whas11.com)" <wharding@whas11.com>, "Will Clark - 84 WHAS (WillClark@iheartmedia.com)" <WillClark@iheartmedia.com>, "Wise, Anita" <awise@hearst.com>, "WLKY News (newstips@wlky.com)" <newstips@wlky.com>, "Worley, Nancy A" <nasmit01@louisville.edu>

( Don't look for Paulie on there...he doesn't exist...in the "eyes of the master" at UofL.)

paulie
xxxxx

Those Louisville WBB foes...How are they doing? -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

LOUISVILLE'S SEVEN OPPONENTS 16-26 SO FAR.

(Notes written while watching a replay of the start of the second half against South Carolina...again...Pretty sure Kaela Davis is still out in my backyard still shooting threes...and Alaina Coates grabbing those that miss.)

At 6-1, it isn't the worst start in the world for now #7 ranked Louisville Women's basketball (and certainly a better start than last season)...tough games ahead, no doubt. Let's take a look this morning at how the teams are doing that Louisville has played already. Why not? It is hoops season and the WBB squad doesn't play again until Thursday...


LINDSEY WILSON  Yes, I know, it was a pre-season exhibition game...and we didn't count it in the cumulative stats...but ol' Blue Raider Bob has had nothing but success since falling to the Cards. LWU is 8-0. Kayla Styles leads them in scoring with 16.7...she had four against the Cards when they met. 

UT-MARTIN  The Skyhawks haven't soared too well since hosting the Cards in the opener for both. They're 1-5...losing to Vandy by just two in their last outing. Emany Robertson leads them with 12.0 a contest...she scored four against the Cards. Ashton Feldhaus is at 11.7...she totaled 12 when the two schools met.

BELMONT  Cam Newbauer's Bruins have had trouble coming out of hibernation so far...with a 3-4 record. Granted, they've only had one home game..and fell to a good Green Bay squad. Kylee Smith leads the Bears charge with 16.1 per outing...she tallied 13 against Walz & company in the Bucket. 

MIDDLE TENNESSEE  These Blue Raiders haven't been too active in their season as of yet...just 1-2...getting their first win against Tenn. Tech on the road in their last outing. Ty Petty continues to shine for the Murfreesboro school...averaging 16.7 a game...she had 27 against UofL. Center Alex Johnson adds 14.0...she put in 13 in the meeting. 

BOWLING GREEN  The Falcons are trying to get off the ground still...with a 2-4 record. They did beat St. Peter (and probably won't get into heaven now) up in Springfield at the Hall of Fame classic. Carly Santoro leads the Ohio squad with 14.3 a night...she was held to four against the Cardinals. 

LAFAYETTE  The Easton, PA Leopards aren't showing their spots yet...at 1-6. They were in Springfield and fell to Hampton (but got valuable awards points for future stays). Anna Ptasinski is the leading feline with 8.7 a night...she failed to score against UofL 

CHATTANOOGA  Jim Foster's Mocs need to change into tennis shoes...with a 3-5 record. They made the trip to the Hall of Fame showdown also and fell to Maine. Queen Alford rules the monarchy with 10.9 an appearance. She had 20 against the Birds. Jasmine Joyner follows with 10.0...she only had two against the 'Ville...we'll remember her for her 15 rebounds. She's averaging 9.9 grabs on the year. 

SOUTH CAROLINA  Perfect at 5-0 after the corralling of the Cards...the Hens feature Alaina Coates...who is currently third in the nation at 12 rebounds a night and second in shooting % with a 72.9% success rate. They'll tackle Texas next and the Lone Star State school may not be big enough to hold her, Wilson, Gray and Davis in their borders. 

So, a combined 16-26 record for UofL's opponents this season. Looking at the next four game...Maryland, Kentucky, WKU and South Dakota St. are a combined 18-5. The Terps are undefeated and #5 in the nation. UK sits at 5-1 and is ranked #17. South Dakota St is un-ranked but 4-1...with a loss at #13 Oklahoma. WKU, a bit surprising 3-3. Their loss to DePaul in the Gulf Coast Showcase wasn't too awful...74-60. Stumbling to George Washington down in Estero does raise an eyebrow and falling to UT-Arlington is surprising as well.


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CONGRATS TO TESS AND MOLLY !!

Junior middle hitter Tess Clark and sophomore libero Molly Sauer have been named to the 2016 All-ACC Volleyball Second team. We have to wonder about the exclusion of freshman outside hitter Melanie McHenry from the All-Freshman team...but, all and all, nice accolades for both of these returning wide-netters. 

Three ACC teams were invited to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament...#7 North Carolina, Florida State and Pittsburgh. A bit of a surprise there, as well...with 21-8 Duke and 24-8 Georgia Tech getting left at the alter...but best of luck to those who got the berths. 

Dani Busboom Kelly has a solid nucleus with these three...and more...returning to begin her head coaching gig at Louisville. She's still got a bit of off-campus work before she migrates to the Belknap campus...she's the associate coach at Nebraska and her squad is in the NCAA Tournament and ranked #1. 

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball -- Cards fall to USC 83-59-- Kelly New VB head coach...MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS GET DEFEATED BY "A" EFFORTS

South Carolina got a 51-point by the "A" Force...17 each for Alaina Coates, Allisha Gray and Aja Wilson...and the Cards fell victim to a 23-5 run over an nine-minute stretch that spanned the end of the second quarter and most of the third quarter...eventually losing to #3 South Carolina 83-59.

The Cards won the first quarter 20-18 against Dawn Staley's squad and had drawn to within two at 31-29 after two Mariya Moore free throws with 3:22 until halftime when the Hens exploded and the Cards started laying eggs. A 6-0 run by USC gave them a eight-point 37-29 lead at the break and with 5:24 left in the third quarter the score read 53-34 in favor of South Carolina..

The Cards were no match inside for the powerhouse duo of Coates and Wilson and guards Gray and Kaela Davis combined for 30 points...the Hens held a 20 point lead at 64-44 after three and it was pretty much over at that point...and it was just a matter of how badly Louisville would take their first loss of the season. 

A combination of early foul trouble and ineffectiveness from the court held Louisville star Myisha Hines-Allen to just two points in 20 minutes. She didn't score until there was just 8:30 left in the game and fouled out four minutes later. Two fouls in the first couple of minutes limited her to just five on-court minutes in the first half. 

Moore led Louisville in scoring with 17 points. Asia Durr added 13 and Briahanna Jackson reached double figures with 10. Jazmine Jones came in for 11 minutes of inspired play to finish with six for UofL. 

A definite glimpse Sunday into what the Cards need to work on...both offensively and defensively again a team that showed their worthiness of the #3 in the nation ranking. 


HOW DID FRED DO? 

Freddy Krueger..for that nightmarish
effort yesterday. 

-- Free Throws-- Louisville went 7-10 from the stripe and that's our dividing line for good vs. bad. Only three Cards attempted them...Moore going 6-8, B.J. 0-1 and Jessica Laemmle 1-2. On the other side, it was a free shot buffet for the Hens...going 24-31 (77.4%). Having "Silly Joe" as one of the refs is never a good thing for the Cards...but foul calls and free throws didn't lose this game for the Cards. Louisville hit 70% and that's good for a small case "f". 

-- Rebounding -- Coach Walz has been saying since the start of the year that the Cards need to improve here and it definitely showed agains the taller and much more physical South Carolina squad. They out-maneuvered and out-hustled UofL all day on the glass and ended up with a 46-29 advantage over the Cards. No letter awarded here. 

-- Effort/Execution -- Louisville had 17 turnovers (14 in the first half), so USC won that battle with 13. The Cards were outscored 14-2 on fast-break points, 20-5 on second chance points and 40-24 in the paint. We cannot award a letter.

-- Defense -- When you lose by 24 points and allow 83..it's pretty obvious your defense...as well as your offense...wasn't having a very good night. Coates and Wilson had no trouble scoring inside and Gray and Davis were connecting on wide-open threes pretty much whenever they felt like it. No letter. 

FINAL ANALYSIS: 

f-_-_-_


WHAT WE LIKED

Not much to like about this one, except that Louisville hung in there for most of the first half without Myisha Hines-Allen.

That 16 minute effort was just a teaser. Durr and Mariya were frantically working to keep the patient alive...but once the SC guards got firing, it was too much to stop and it was over.

Cortnee Walton did return to the floor. We're happy she's able to play but she was mostly ineffective in her 14 minutes out there...adding two points and three grabs. She'll get better, just one of those things on a day where not much worked well. 

Mariya stepped up with some nice baskets trying to keep the Cards in it...but, if it's OK with you... we'll just pretend that the final 27 minutes of the game didn't happen...because we certainly didn't like them and there was no joy or excitement of UofL women's sports present in them. 


THINGS TO WORK ON

These will be "Captain Obvious" items...so we'll just list them and leave it at that. You can add your own epitaphs to each listing.  

-- Defense
-- Rebounding
-- Turnovers
-- Fouls
-- Consistency
-- Game management


A tough thing to watch yesterday after the first half. The Cards will learn and improve from the surprising drubbing from South Carolina. They better. Maryland on Thursday and Kentucky on Sunday aren't going to be an easy next two at all...

paulie
xxxxx 


Dani Busboom Kelly New Volleyball Coach

Before the Men's Soccer game (a 3-1 victory over Notre Dame to advance to the quarterfinals of the
NCAA tournament), Tom Jurich, introduced the next head coach of the UofL Volleyball squad.

Dani Busboom Kelly is not a stranger to Louisville Volleyball having been an assistant coach to Anne Kordes in Kordes' first year here at UofL, before returning home to her native Nebraska for the past five years to be an assistant coach to John Cook.  Nebraska has been a perennial powerhouse in the volleyball world and sets the bar high for success.  Dani is considered one of the top recruiters in the nation.  Prior to her experience as an assistant coach at Louisville, she was an assistant at Tennessee from 2009-2011.

Dani's played volleyball at Nebraska with experience at both the setter and libero positions.  She also had the opportunity to play for the US Women's National Training Team (where she played with Sarah Drury Petkovic) and has coached the USA A2 Select team.

Dani's husband is Lane Kelly, who is a former football player for Nebraska.

After the press conference concluded, I had a brief moment to greet Lane, and welcome him back to Louisville.  I expect the Kelly's to settle back into the UofL athletic world with ease.  The press conference was held at Lynn Stadium before the soccer match and Lane's question to me was to ask who UofL was playing in the soccer game.

Dani is a great coach, and a phenomenal recruiter.  The UofL program is in good hands.

-- JMcA

Post Thanksgiving Blues -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Lamar Loses Grip on Ball; Louisville Loses Grip on Governor's Cup--UK 41 - UL 38

Let me start today by admitting that I knew less about the rules of college football yesterday afternoon than I thought. I was convinced that when the replay was shown, the Lamar Jackson fumble inside the ten yard line with the game on the line would be overturned. I thought that when the ball, or ball hand, made contact with the ground, the player was considered down. Thus, the "ground cannot cause a fumble" rule was born. After the referee announced that the call, not only stood, but was confirmed, I was thoroughly confused. During my walk home, a quick perusal of Wikipedia told me this. "It is possible for the ground to cause a fumble in college football if the ball hits the ground before any part of the ball carrier's body (other than the hand or foot) touches the ground." Basically, the rule states the exact opposite of what I thought to be true. A lesson for you kids at home, don't try to use your ball hand to brace yourself, apparently.

You'll notice that my tone is quite different today than after other losses. I've made a decision to not let the results of sporting events in which I do not actively participate have significant effects on my mental well being. I have spent too many days and nights upset about a game that I had not effect on. No point in being upset about all that, right? So here we are, the day after Louisville lost the Governor's Cup for the first time in six tries, and we have to figure out what is next for this talented football team. Postseason play is still very much at hand, and a 9-3 season is nothing to slouch at. If you had told me that Louisville would go 9-3 at the beginning of this year, I would have expected the third loss to have come at the hands of an ACC team, but I can't be mad at this kind of finish. Now, you might be frustrated at the way the team finished the season with back to back losses, each excruciating in their own way, but 9-3 will still put Louisville in a respectable bowl with the chance to beat a top-25 team and finish the season ranked. 

Fingers can be pointed all over the place about the loss of this game. No single group or player in particular can be blamed, but everyone had a hand in the loss. The coaching staff made interesting play calling decisions. Defensive players seemed extremely undisciplined in their coverage, which led to huge gains for the Kentucky offense. (I have to apologize to Stephen Johnson. I said on the air that it would be Kentucky's ground game that gave Louisville fits and he would not beat us through the air. Johnson made me eat this statement repeatedly yesterday.) Louisville turned the ball over 3 times (I'm not going to count Lamar Jackson's third interception because it was a Hail Mary pass with no time on the clock). I guess the only group I can't really be upset at is special teams, since they broke off a few big returns and I believe the best starting field position Kentucky had was the 35, when Blanton Creque sailed a kickoff out of bounds. All in all, it was just a frustrating game.

I will spend some time to harp on the defense, because something happened to them mid season. Before the season, if you had told me that Louisville would score 35 points in two losses, I would have been baffled. This defense has been the strength of the team since Bobby returned with Grantham in tow. Grantham even shrugged off potential NFL callers after successful seasons. Yet something happened in the back half of this season that caused a breakdown. In the Clemson game they allowed 42 points, but forced 5 turnovers, so I really have no idea what happened there. Duke ran the same 4 plays throughout the game and nearly beat Louisville because of it. Virginia kind of had their way. Against Houston, I can't really blame the defense for the bad position they were put in by the offense. But against Kentucky, I have no idea what happened. The wildcat offense (the scheme not their mascot) was apparently a concept that this defense had never heard of before in their lives. Snell, Kemp, and Williams all three made Louisville pay while snapping the ball. The Cards appeared to be going for big hits on every play instead of being aware of what was actually happening (hello, play action passes) and trying to force fumbles instead of securing tackles. That second one is how Kentucky gained a few first downs. Sure, Louisville had three turnovers, but Kentucky had two, and I have come to expect the defense to make more stops than the other team. Hopefully, Grantham can get their mind right in this month before whatever bowl game the Cards wind up in, and the seniors can end their season with a win.

Speaking of a win, the Hot Question now, is how far open did Lamar Jackson leave the door in the Heisman Race? A quick google search to determine how many fumbles he lost this season will gvie you nothing but Hot Take articles about "Jackson strikes Heisman Pose, the fumbles and loses to Kentucky" and "Did Lamar Jackson fumble away the Heisman?" Lamar Jackson, statistically, had four turnovers yesterday. For all intents and purposes, it was three, but people won't pay attention to that. He finished the season with 3390 passing yards, with 30 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He completed 58% of his passes and had a 153 passer rating. On the ground, he totaled 1538 yards with 21 touchdowns. Keep in mind that sack yards affect the rushing total of a player in college. Since apparently no one keeps stats on lost fumbles, I can't say what that is, but let's just assume it was quite a few. If the team had 22 on the year, I think it would be fair to say he had 9 of them for posterity's sake. Over twelve games, Lamar Jackson averaged 282.5 passing yards, 128 rushing yards, 4.25 TDs, and 1.5 turnovers per game. Louisville went 9-3, two losses on the road, one to a playoff team, and all three to teams with winning records. It sounds like a Heisman campaign to me, and I don't think anyone else is really close. I guess we'll find out come December. For once, I'll actually tune into the Heisman ceremony.

Men's Basketball Takes First Loss of Season in Tale of Two Halves

Before the game on Saturday, I figured I would be writing about Louisville splitting the two games I would focus on. At halftime on Friday, I figured I would be writing about two wins. Instead, the Cards knew how much I hated writing about losses, so they went ahead and blessed me with two in 24 hours. The Louisville men's basketball team was in the Bahamas last week, and played in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Looking ahead, I think most people around here anticipated that we would be matched up against Michigan State in the final, but Baylor made sure that didn't happen. I won't spend much time on it, because I'd rather forget this game ever happened, but Louisville tried very hard to keep themselves out of the final game with an opening night thriller against Old Dominion. On Wednesday night, the Cards couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Fortunately, neither could ODU and the two went into overtime knotted up at 49. The Cards came away victorious and looked better (read: shot better) in a ten point win over Wichita State on Thursday. Before the Cards took on the Shockers, Baylor absolutely demolished Tom Izzo's Spartans in the second half to win by 15. Michigan State dropped their third loss that day, and, although they have all been to ranked teams, I'm beginning to wonder how far Tom Izzo can take them this year since they have literally no inside presence.

Those events led us to Friday's matchup against the Baylor Bears. Baylor has one of the best, if not the best, big men in the Big XII in forward Johnathan Motley. He lit up the first two games of the tournament, including 26 points against Michigan State. He has a great partner in center Jo Lual-Acuil, and the two of them make Baylor's front line a force to be reckoned with. In the first half on Friday, Louisville had all of the answers. Motley and Lual-Acuil were silenced, to the point that Motley was benched during the first half because he couldn't get anything done. Louisville led by 15 at the break and it looked like it would be smooth sailing in the Bahamas. It's "just better, better in the Bahamas," right?

It wasn't. For some reason, everything that had worked for Louisville in the first half, they stopped doing. The offense got sloppy. The defensive alignment changed, and, apparently, Louisville's big men just decided to forget that Johnathan Motley existed. He consistently attempted to remind them by pouring in bucket after bucket, but they continued to ignore him. This leads me to my "Tale of Two Halves" bit. In the first half, Louisville outrebounded Baylor 25-13, and outscored them 28-16 in the paint. In the second half, Louisville was outrebounded 18-10 and outscored in the paint 30-10. Baylor's bench had 33 second half points and the Bears shot 65% from the floor in the second half. I honestly can't remember the last time Rick Pitino's defense was broken down that badly. It was a sour ending to the tournament, but Pitino took the blame, saying that he depended too much on key players and needs to get some confidence in the bench. Whether that means that he needs to find his own confidence in them or get the bench players to increase their own confidence, I have no idea. However, the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. I hope it gets figured out sooner rather than later, because I am worried that the assumption that Deng Adel is "X point differential" better than VJ King may lead to more losses in the future. Right now, it looks like the Cards are going to live and die by the play of Donovan Mitchell and Quentin Snider. I hope that Rick has the presence of mind to ride whatever hands are hot in terms of supporting cast for those two until other players can consistently prove that they are the other key players he was talking about.

All in all, I've been a basketball fan long enough to know that November losses are for teaching, not for losing our collective minds over, especially ones to teams that look as good as Baylor does right now. In fact, last time Louisville fell in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game, great things happened in April. The Cards will have another chance to prove themselves against a top 20 opponent when Purdue comes to town for the ACC/Big Ten challenge on Wednesday. Let's hope that they learned some lessons in Paradise. It's a long season ahead, and I'm looking forward to seeing what these guys can do.

Weekend Redemption Chances

Not all is lost this weekend, as there are some huge games to be played today. First, the women's basketball team will face their first (and arguably biggest) test of the season today in Springfield, Massachusetts when they take on the mighty Gamecocks of South Carolina. Jeff Walz took his fourth ranked Cardinals up the east coast on Friday and they'll meet the third ranked team from USCe at 1PM on ESPN2. It should be a huge matchup, and it is sure to go a long way toward determining whether or not either team's early season ranking or success was fool's gold or if both teams are legit. I've got my money on the latter. I'm hoping for a Cardinal win, as I'm sure you all are as well.

Beyond that, one fall sport is still clinging onto its season. The men's soccer team plays host to formerly number 1 ranked Notre Dame this evening at Lynn Stadium in the NCAA College Cup Sweet 16. The Cardinals knocked off Notre Dame 1-0 earlier this season in Lynn Stadium when the Irish were the top team in the land. The script is flipped today as ND will be playing the role of underdog. Louisville will be playing for a chance to host the Elite 8 game, and hopefully return to the College Cup for the first time since falling to Akron in the championship game in 2010. The game's first kick will be at 5PM, and berm/bleacher seats can be purchased for $5 at the gate. Ken Lolla raves about the atmosphere at Lynn, and Louisville truly is becoming a soccer city. If you're free this evening, and you haven't gotten the chance to see this team yet, I encourage you to head out to Lynn Stadium and give them a cheer.

This one isn't very redeeming, but Paulie, Worldwide and I took to the studio Friday afternoon and attempted to play Nostradamus. It worked to varying degrees of success (mostly not). If you didn't catch the broadcast yesterday at the regular Cardinal Couple Radio Hour time, you can find the recording online here. Additionally, Paulie has a nice interview with Kentucky Women Talk Sports cohost Daryl Foust during the show. Tune in next week for another exciting edition in which we talk mostly about games of which we already know the outcome.

As always, until next time, Go Cards.

-CH-

There is a press conference at 4pm on campus where it is expected that Tom Jurich will announce the new head coach of the Volleyball team.  I will be there to get audio and give updates.  Keep an eye on https://twitter.com/CardCoupleRadio and I'll try to live update as information comes out.  -- JMcA

VOLLEYBALL ENDS SEASON WITH SWEEP OF B.C. -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS VICTORIOUS ON SENIOR DAY 

Louisville Volleyball got a strong performance from front-liners Tess Clark, Jasmine Bennett, Melanie McHenry and senior Janelle Jenkins Friday night in the KFC YUM! Center and downed visiting Boston College 25-18, 25-16, 25-22. The Cards won their final three contests of the season...their last three game win streak came at the very start of the season. 

Louisville (12-18, 7-13) started out strong against the Eagles in the first...jumping out to a 3-0 lead and held a 21-12 advantage until the Visitors rallied for five straight points. The Cards took  a time-out to regroup and pulled away to win with a 4-1 run...McHenry getting a kill and Molly Sauer an ace in the closing sequence. 

The Cards kept the hot start going in the second with the first four points and used a 9-0 run to jump out to a 16-4 advantage. The Cards hit an impressive .290 in the second and also recorded three aces. 

After the break, Boston College led early 8-7 but the Cards rallied to grab a 11-8 edge. The Eagles kept it close, tying the contest at 16, but Louisville produced a 5-1 run to hold a 21-17 advantage. Bennett produced a kill at 24-21 to end the set and match.  

The Cards said goodbye to Jenkins, Eleni Georgiafandis and Lyndsay Palmer in a pre-game ceremony. Jenkins had seven kills and four blocks in the match...Louisville was led by Clark and Bennett with eight each. 

The wait begins now to see who will replace Anne Kordes as the new head coach. The word is that Louisville wants to move fast on a hiring and have someone in place before Christmas. 

A great way to end the season for the Cards and finalize Kordes' stellar career at Louisville by winning the final three. 

Kordes comments: 

"That was a fun way to sweep the final home match for senior night....hats off to our seniors. They have been nothing but a joy to coach." 


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THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

We got into the studio Friday afternoon to pre-record THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR and has a fast paced hour of discussing Louisville Football, women's basketball and Volleyball. Case, Worldwide and I were joined by Daryl Foust...co-host of Kentucky Women Talk Sports and ACC Network Extra color analyst and play-by-play announcer. Daryl gave us her thoughts on the football game today and had some very insightful thoughts on the Battle of the Bluegrass. It should be a thriller tomorrow in Papa John's and Case will have the write up Sunday on his thoughts about the contest. 

A fun weekend already started (except for the men's basketball loss in the Bahamas to Baylor) and more excitement on the way with Football versus UK, men's soccer against Notre Dame and women's basketball against South Carolina. 

The show will air today at its regular time of 11 A.M. If we sounded a bit confused or redundant at times...it's not easy trying to remember your talking about Saturday on Friday...at least not for me. 

All in all, a very fun and informative broadcast awaits you. Be sure to tune in tomorrow. Link below: 

LINK: THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 11/26/16

Go Cards! Beat the Cats, Irish and Hens!!


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THE MORNING JAM

Bryce picks out a tune

It was my pleasure to join up with Kevin Cox and Bryce Gill for WCHQ 100.9 FM's THE MORNING JAM  early morning drive-time show. The guys and I talked a lot of sports and played some great regional music from 8 to 9 a.m.

If you haven't caught The Morning Jam, you're really missing out. In addition to music and guests, Kevin and Bryce keep you caught up on local traffic and events. I wake up most mornings listening to them, as does my esteemed colleague Worldwide Jeff. 

Kevin working out a tune

The duo lead busy lives. In addition to the radio show, Kevin is a handyman and is well skilled in construction, remodeling, maintenance and landscaping. He also is a guitarist/lead singer in the critically acclaimed local band JUKE JOINT REVIVAL. 

Bryce works with polo ponies and also is in a local group, THE TUNESMITHS. Keep your eyes on the "List Your Gig" and local performance calendar at www.crescenthillradio.com...both bands are excellent!

We've talked about me making more guest appearances as the UofL sports season continues and I'm excited about that. Both guys have a great sense of humor (they have to...to be able to put up with an hour of me), are well-versed on the local music scene and (we'll forgive him for this...) Kevin a avid UK fan that we're trying to bring back around from the dark side. 

Thanks again, guys, I enjoyed it and a special thanks to Panera Bread for making sure were caffeinated and fed.  



paulie
xxxxx