Monday, June 24, 2019

What They are Doing Today -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


CATCHING UP WITH....MONIQUE REID

(OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, PAULIE WILL BE DOING AN ARTICLE EACH WEEK CATCHING YOU UP WITH FORMER LOUISVILLE WBB STARS. WE START WITH "33" -- MONIQUE REID.) 

"Mo" is the answer to a trivia question I like to pop on Cardinal women's basketball fans. Who is the only Cardinal WBB player to play in both of UofL WBB's NCAA Championship games? 

Monique Reid.


As a freshman at UofL, she saw 24 minutes in the Cards 2009 loss to UConn. 7 points on 2-9 shooting with three rebounds. Fast forward to her redshirt-senior season...Reid played 15 minutes in 2013 NCAA Championship game, against UConn again, and totaled five points and four rebounds. 

People will argue that the math doesn't work...it was five years in between the Cards appearances in the Big Dance's Final dance. I point out to then that Reid was injured in the 2011-12 season and only played in eight games and was granted the extra year. 

Monique is 8th. on the all-time scoring leaders list at UofL, with 1725 points and 802 rebounds. 

Let's fast forward now to 2019. We currently find Monique playing for Colegio Los Leones Quilpe in the Chile Women's League. In two games, she's put up 64 points...41 in a game two days ago. 

So...what got her to Chile and where has she been? 

She graduated from UofL in 2013 but was not selected in the WNBA Draft. She needed and had knee surgery in the summer of 2013 and, instead of heading overseas to play, decided to try her hand at coaching. She accepted the head girls basketball job at her alma mater (Fern Creek High School)...(replacing Jess Laemmle's dad, Rick)...but when the opportunity presented itself to get back out on the court as a player, she took it. 

2014 found her with New Basket Oberhausen and in the DBBL, which is the premier women's basketball league in Germany. Reid rapidly became a starter and averaged 14.9 points in 18 games in the 2013-2014 season. Her 2014-15 season with New Basket Oberhausen was even better, with 15.6 points per games in 20 games.

In 2015-16, she split time between two European teams. Monique started the season with BC Univ. Goldis ICIM Arad in the Romania National League. A total of 22 games produced a 18.6 points per game average. In January of 2016 she decided to move again and went to Montana. 


That's interesting, you might query...moving from southeastern Europe to the fourth largest state in the United States...but, this Montana is in Bulgaria. She played for Montana 2003 in the Bulgarian National League and averaged 23.8 points in 19 games. 

The 2016-17 season had Ms. Reid on the move again. Staying in Bulgaria but playing for Beroe Stara Zagora where she put up 23.5 points a contest in 32 games. After that season ended, she switched locations to Puerto Rico for two games with Atenienses de Manatee.

2017-18 brought a return to Europe and a starting role with Wasserburg Germany in the DBBL. 21 games with them and an 18.6 ppg average. After the DBBL season ended, it was back to the USA, where she played five games with the Atlanta Monarchs in the WBCBL. Meighan Simmons and Evelyn Akhator were on the same squad on this developmental team for the WNBA. She and her squad won the WBCBL Championship.  

Last season, Monique decided to try her skills in Israel with Hapoel Petah Tikva and had another great season with a 21.3 ppg clip per night with 11.8 rebounds as well. She was named to the All-Israeli League 2nd Team. One of her teammates was Brittany Sykes (Syracuse) who is currently with the WNBA's Atlanta Dream. When the Israel-D1 league concluded their season, she went to Chile...where's she's currently playing. 


Six different countries. Nine different teams. And she's not even 30 yet. A great example of how a player can take her NCAA DI skills and turn them into a colorful, adventurous opportunity to travel the world doing what she loves to do....play basketball. 

For Monique Reid it's "game on" and it really doesn't matter the venue. If there's a backboard and rim, teammates and an opponent to play, you can bet she's ready to muscle her way inside the paint and score, drill from the perimeter and grab missed shots. 


We heartily say..."Go, Mo...GO !"  


DREAMS

I have this recurring hope that someday the WNBA will come to Louisville. Of course, I'd love to see a squad that had a bunch of former Louisville players on it. I can think of one that would be a powerful presence in the paint. Monique Reid.

I could get used to seeing this view
every morning
Such are the nature of dreams, though. On this Monday morning, I'm back in Louisville but still dreaming of my brief respite from the site and city. Thanks to Joe Hill for the wonderful Gatlinburg chalet and the "knuckleheads" for managing to hold this site and The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour together on Saturday with little collateral damage and no reader/listener complaints. 

There are times when one needs solace, time to reflect and a change of venue. It so happened Sonya and I both needed all of the above. Renewed and refreshed, it's time to get back into reality. Grudgingly, almost reluctantly...but realizing that dreams don't last forever and life goes on. 



paulie
xxxxx

7 comments:

  1. Nice piece on REID, Paulie. She was the "sure thing" inside for Louisville WBB "back in the day".

    Great view! I could probably get used to that view each day as well, buddy.

    Curtis "We need another Reid" Franklin

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  2. Interesting piece on Mo. Enjoyed finding out what all she had been doing. Glad the vacation was good. Case's quiz was difficult to say the least.

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    Replies
    1. I took the quiz last night and scored 70 going into the bonus round. Hearing that Jeff and Jared decided to take the bonus question, I decided to pass on the bonus, in hopes they would miss it and I would "sneak in" as the best score. They missed it, so I did.

      I wouldn't want to be a student in a Professor Case scenario. The man is tough! I'll see if Worldwide wants to prepare a quiz for the upcoming Saturday or whether it is back to "easy Paulie".

      Paulie

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  3. Nice article on MO love hearing about UofL Alumni Go cards.

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  4. Game clinching free throws against Baylor is what I'll remember most about Mo's career at Louisville.

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    Replies
    1. A huge moment in her career, for sure.

      Paulie

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  5. Glad you had a good time at the chalet Paulie. Sorry I couldn't get up to Gatlinburg to hang with you two. All reports from my surveillance squad up there have come back positive, though, and I hear you haven't lost your touch throwing darts or telling tales.

    By the way, Charlie wants to steal Sonya away from you. I'd take a cash offering from him, he's loaded.

    Had a bit of a setback a couple of weeks ago. Mis-judged a step and tumbled down a stairway, cracking a rib and separating a shoulder.

    There goes the golf game for a few months.

    I have a great wife/nurse though in Delores and expect to be back terrorizing the hill of Gatlinburg and cheating on the fairway before the leaves start to change.

    The Real Joe Hill

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