Basketball here...basketball there -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WALZ IN COLORADO SPRINGS WITH FIBA U19 SQUAD

Yes, it is July and with July we see women's basketball coaches scurrying here and there to watch and evaluate the next class of collegiate players competing in events for their "club" squads. One coach that won't be jumping around the nation, though, is Jeff Walz. 

At least not yet. 

He's busy in Colorado Springs with the USA U 19 World Cup team...getting them ready for competition in Bangkok, Thailand from July 20-28th. Last summer for Walz,  it was the USA U 18 squad and several players from that team are back with Walz again to seek the USA's eighth gold medal in the event. 

Not to worry about Walz missing out or not being seen by the players at the various shootouts. He's seen most of them several times before, his assistants will be present and, in the words of Walz: 

"If me not being somewhere and someone crosses us off the list because I am coaching a National team, then that's the type of player we probably don't want." 

Walz has his same assistants back from 2018 as well, in Cori Close (UCLA) and Natashia Adair (Delaware) for the multiple nights in Colorado Springs, Tokyo and Bangkok.  

Notable on the 12-player roster is Rhyne Howard, who played for Kentucky, and was mistakenly quoted earlier this year for saying her Cats defeated Louisville last season. Others are Francesca Belibi, Aliyay Boston, Cameron Brink, Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, Queen Egbo (Baylor), Naz-Hillmon Baker (Michigan), Diamond Miller, Jordan Nixon (Notre Dame), Celeste Taylor and Hailey Van Lith.  

USA U 19 is one of 16 teams that will go for the Gold. They are in Group C, which also consists of Australia, South Korea and Hungary.

Group A has Canada, Lativa, Thailand and Mozambique. Group B features Argentina, Belgium, China and Mail. Group D is made up of Colombia, Germany, Japan and Spain. Walz will get to see 2019 UofL signee Norika Konno (Japan) in action and the USA squad will travel to Japan to practice with and scrimmage the Japanese squad July 13-15 before arriving in Bangkok. They also have a pair of scrimmages planned against Argentina and Germany in Bangkok before the Cup tips off on July 20th. 

USA opens against Australia on the 20th. (1:15 a.m.) and takes on South Korea on the 21st (1:00 a.m.). After a day of rest they'll conclude the preliminary round against Hungary on the 23rd. (1 a.m.)  All times listed are EDT.

After the preliminary round, the Round of 16 begins on July 24th. The winners advance to the quarterfinals, with the semifinals scheduled for July 27th and the gold and bronze medal games on July 28th. 

Here's hoping the USA can bring back the Gold from Thailand  !!!


RUN FOR THE ROSES IN LOUISVILLE

No, they're not re-running the Kentucky Derby because of Maximum Security's owners objections. 


This Run for the Roses is a 32-team basketball shootout (at the top level) plus 100's more hoopsters from the seventh grade up...gathering at the K.E.C. Center here in Louisville (the place that changes names every year or so and where they have the State Fair). Top teams and talent are coming in from all over the United States for four days of hoops, starting yesterday. 

Over 1000 college coaches attend the Louisville stop on the Nike EYBL event, and it features over 900 teams and 80 courts all under one roof. 

If you want to go, admission is $20 a day to see the best-of-the-best in girls high school basketball, or you can get a four day event pass for $55. 

The Cardinals assistants Sam Purcell, Steph Norman and Beth Burns (filling in for Jeff Walz - she hasn't been named an assistant yet) will be there, as well as in other regional venues to watch and evaluate "the next big things". 

Olivia Cochran

Some 2020 PROSPECTS/players that will be in attendance and names Cardinal fans might want to get to know or catch in action here in Louisville: 

Olivia Cochran. TEAM AFFILIATION: FBC

Sarah Andrews. TEAM AFFILIATION:  PRO SKILLS

Priscilla Williams. TEAM AFFILIATION:  MISSOURI PHENOMS

Madison Scott. TEAM AFFILIATION:  TEAM TAKEOVER

If you live near near Indianapolis, NIKE EYBL events are going on up there as well. In Indy, the Cardinal coaches will also be watching: 


Kateri Poole  TEAM AFFILIATION:  NEW HEIGHTS

Maddy Westbeld. She recently named Louisville in her "final five" along with Notre Dame, UCLA, Tennessee and Ohio State. TEAM AFFILIATION:  CINCY ANGELS


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

It'll be a skeleton crew for this morning's broadcast of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM and on Facebook Live. 



Jared is turning twenties into fives at the bank, Case is sitting on the banks of the Ohio in Indiana watching boats float (that's why I'm writing the article today instead of him) and Daryl is at a lake somewhere, banking on avoiding any of the poisoned water and dead fish from the Jim Beam Distillery fire and subsequent run-off into the Kentucky River.

So it's Jeff and I donning the headphones at the "magnificent, massive, media mansion on Mellwood".  You can still "bank on" a great show, though, despite the reduced numbers. 

We do have stuff to discuss and I'll present our weekly quiz to Jeff in the second half of the show. Play along at home and see if you can beat Sammy the Shark's buddy. 

Join us, won't you? It should be fun! 

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

In addition to the station link above, we're available on local FM Radio, the WCHQ app and Facebook Live as well. 


Have a super Saturday! 


paulie
xxxxx