Chatrice White to Visit Louisville Women's basketball...Card WBB #2 in ESPN poll -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

6'3" ILLINOIS CENTER GRANTED RELEASE AND WILL VISIT LOUISVILLE

The leading scorer  and rebounder on the Illinois women's basketball squad from last season...Chatrice White...is transferring from the program and has scheduled a visit to Louisville this week. Reports are she is scheduled for a mid-week tour of the Belknap Campus and may possibly be joined by her parents...(and what a wonderful week to be in Louisville!) 

White, a 6'3" sophomore from Shelby, Nebraska, poured in 18.4 points for the Fighting Illini in the 2015-16 season and grabbed 9.3 rebounds for the 9-21 Big Ten squad. She's a former McDonald's All-American and played on the USA U 19 squad last summer with Mariya Moore and Jeff Walz.

White has also visited Notre Dame in her search for a new academic center to continue her student-athlete career. Her departure is the second in a week's time for the Champaign, IL WBB program...fellow Nebraska native Brooke Kissinger, another sophomore, announced she would be transferring to Crieghton. 

The departure adds to the woes of Illinois, which recently settled a lawsuit with seven players who accused women's basketball coach Matt Bollant and some staff members of creating a racially hostile environment. White was not one of the claimants. 

White's skills are multi-faceted on the hardwood...a hard, blue-collar worker inside the paint on both ends of the court that can also step outside and be deadly from mid-range and further when getting shots up.  

College honors

• All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention (2015).
• Big Ten All-Freshman Team (2015).
• Three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (2014-15).

College Notes

• As a freshman in 2014-15, averaged a team second-best 14.5 ppg. and team-highs of 7.0 rpg. and 1.9 bpg. as the University of  Illinois finished wtih a 15-16 record. 
• Owns the Illini’s all-time freshman season records for points (448) and blocked shots (60), ranks third among all-time Illinois freshmen for rebounds (216) and fourth for steals (60).
• Her 60 blocks ranks sixth among Illinois’s all-time single-season blocked shots leaders and 15th for career blocked shots.

White would add significant shooting, leadership and rebounding skills to a Cardinal squad in the 2017-18 season that would have graduated Cortnee Walton and Briahanna Jackson and would have Myisha Hines-Allen, Arica Carter and Mariya Moore as seniors.

As a freshman, White was part of a Illinois team that knocked off Kentucky 77-71. White led the Illini with 23 points in the contest and has shown time and time again her ability to be very pro-active in the paint instead of standing in the blocks waiting for the ball. 

She'd be a great "get" for a Cardinal squad that experienced some late season rebounding woes in losses to Syracuse and DePaul. She'd also have the chance to perform in from of 10,000 people a night in the KFC YUM! Center instead of the 1500 that attend Illinois WBB.

Playing in the BIG 10, she's also gotten a taste for and excelled at the battles that occur in the paint. With the added ability to take the ball out deep and extend the opponent's defense...her style of play would augment and compliment the skills of versatile Cardinal stars Hines-Allen and Moore...adding in the overall quickness and agility of Asia Durr and several of the incoming freshmen would give coaching opponents of the 2017-18 Cards nightmares on match-ups, containment and defensive alignments. 

A roster of front line talent including White, Hines-Allen, Sam Fuehring, Erin DeGrate, Ciera Johnson, Kylee Shook and Bionca Dunham would be the tallest in Cardinal WBB history and also an imposing task to prepare for if you're an opposing coach.

Enjoy the "Ville" Chatrice. #32 is Emmonnie Henderson's old jersey number and would be a great fit on another player who can rebound and score with alacrity. 


__________________________________________________



CARDS WBB #2 IN ESPN PRESEASON POLL


In the "way too early" preseason women's college basketball poll released by Charlie Creme at ESPN, the Cards have landed in the #2 spot behind Notre Dame. 


Heady stuff for the Cardinal program. Certainly additional motivation for the returnees and newcomers to the squad. A blessing and a curse, in reality. A great honor but also a sword hanging over a program's head that may need some adjustment time in merging a talented freshman class into an already establish and deep squad. 


Hopefully, last year's curse isn't in place where the Cards were ranked #8 and stumbled out of the gate. 


Being higher than UConn, Baylor and South Carolina may raise a few eyebrows...but it is a deep roster of Cardinal players with boatloads of talent.


With five ACC schools in the top 25, certainly another year of tough contests in conference play. Syracuse at #20? What have you been drinking, Charlie? That was a school that played in the national championship game. 

Ah, the complexities and buffoonery of pre-season meanderings... 

paulie

xxxxx

Hermann will not resign

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Despite allegations, Hermann not considering resigning

No quit in Julie.

"I never considered withdrawing because I feel very qualified to lead Rutgers into the future and into the transition into the BIG TEN," Hermann stated in a conference call yesterday with reporters.

She also denied having knowledge of a letter written by the 15 Tennessee players on the 1996 volleyball team when she was head coach of the Vols.

"My former boss at Tennessee never heard of it and I never heard my former players make the allegation. Rutgers officials have talked to me about it in recent days. I was an intense coach and may have made a few mistakes handling my team. I have matured since then. All of my life has prepared me to lead this organization. Whatever mistakes you make as a young person, you've got to learn from them and go and grow. It is my intent to go to Rutgers with this vast experience of super highs and super lows and lead what I hope is an outstanding program into the BIG TEN."

 Other items she touched on during the 10 minute call:

- Hermann said that the company that vetted her for the Rutgers job did ask about a lawsuit file by one of her assistant coaches over a job termination.

- She believes she can raise funds despite what has happened.

- She denied name calling, specifically when asked about calling the players "whores".

"That's not part of my vocabulary...Here's what I would say. Am I an intense coach? Absolutely an intense coach as many coaches are. But, there is a big canyon between being super intense and abusive, and this was not an abusive environment for these women. Was it challenging? It was incredibly challenging. Was I aware that there were players that were unhappy? I was aware of that at the end of the season and I was unhappy."

Rutgers President Robert Barchi stands behind Hermann, saying she was the best of the 63 candidates interviewed for the job. He commented also that

"We remain confident that we have selected an individual who will work in the best interests of all our student athletes, our athletic teams and the university."

So, there it is. Julie isn't planning on leaving and the head of Rutgers University isn't planning on asking her to. Only the university's board of governors can withdraw Hermann's appointment.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie is touring the New Jersey shore today with Barack Obama to see the rebuilding that's been done in the area after Hurricane Sandy and probably won't turn his attention to Rutgers until tomorrow. Although Christie can't terminate the appointment, he does have several ways of applying pressure. He does appoint six of the boards 11 voting members and can perhaps threaten to cut the school's funding or refuse to renominate a member of the board who doesn't support his view. It is unknown whether Christie would use any of these methods.

We asked for answers yesterday and we got some.



We, too, are satisfied that Hermann can do a great rebuilding job at Rutgers and if the Julie Hermann we saw at Louisville is allowed a chance to "do work"...it will be good work and will help restore Rutgers as a viable and powerful athletic program.

To paraphrase the song written by the Staple Singers back in 1971:

"Get out the way and let the gentle(woman) do her thing."

RESPECT YOURSELF


Respect. It begins with the respect and confidence in your own abilities and accomplishments. Ms. Hermann has that.


Hermann has shown the nation (and UofL) that she deserves and has earned the respect for her accomplishments. Sure, there are battle scars. The difference is that she has picked herself up off the mat and is still willing to fight...and win.

We're in her corner and think that she'll take the contest.

( Parts of today's column are from lehighvalleylive.com)


( Editor's note:  It should be clearly noted here that the opinions in this column may not necessarily reflect those of all the writers and staff at CARDINAL COUPLE. They are Paulie and Sonja views in this article. We have received different viewpoints from readers, former CARDINAL COUPLE contributors and writers and anonymous e-mails and commenters. )


-Paulie


--

Julie Hermann for Rutgers AD?

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


( Jenny looks at the possibility of Associate Athletic Director Julie Hermann being selected as the new athletic director at Rutgers University in today's edition.)



Athletic Director Tom Jurich has had his hands full this past year.  Steering U of L to their new home in the ACC, securing many seasons to come with football Coach Charlie Strong, and most recently chasing off suitors of Coach Jeff Walz.

According to social media and the internet, apparently his newest task at hand is securing the job of  Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director, Julie Hermann.  It was reported yesterday that she is among the top 3 candidates in line for Athletic Director at Rutgers University.

Just this past February Hermann was honored at halftime of a women's basketball game for 15 years of service to U of L.  Her list of accomplishments are long.  From a stand out volleyball player at Nebraska, Assistant Volleyball Coach for USA Volleyball, head Coach at Tennessee Volleyball to her position at U of L.  She is very active in the community, serving on many boards and winning awards such as 2008 Woman of Distinction by the Center for Women and Families.

She can be seen at many, if not most, women's athletic games during the academic year.  I have personally seen her at every basketball game I have attended, softball and field hockey.  Paulie spent time talking with her at LaCrosse games this past season.  Everywhere on campus she can be seen supporting the athletic department as a whole, and the women's program specifically.

Jurich hired Hermann 15 years ago, and with her help, Louisville is branding their Athletic Department as one of the best in the country.  New facilities, gender equity, and ranked performances of many of the athletic teams has propelled Louisville into the conversation of one of the best overall programs in the country.

I personally met Hermann for the first time during the Women's Basketball post season run in New
Orleans.  Meeting her was like seeing an old friend from high school that I had not seen in 20 + years.  She was easy to talk to, witty, and her passion for the women's team was evident.  She was with several  high ranking folks in the athletic world but took the time to talk shop with an avid fan as myself.

You can check out this link celebrating her 15 years of service to the University, to get a big picture of her responsibilities and all she has accomplished.

Hermann a candidate

I have no idea what her career aspirations are.  As a finalist among 3 for this position, she must have a desire to lead her own program.  I do know that Louisville, as a city and a University, has been blessed to have her for 15 years.  If Tom Jurich can work his magic like he has for both Strong and Walz, perhaps we may just get to keep her, too.

Best of luck Ms. Hermann!  I can never fault someone for bettering their lot in life.  I personally would love to see her remain a fixture in the community and at U of L, but wish her nothing but the best as she pursues this opportunity.

EDITOR NOTE:  Hermann does have sort of tie with the BIG 10, having playing volleyball as an undergraduate at Nebraska. Her ties with Rutgers aren't anything solid as far as a previous working postition or time spent on the Piscataway campus. There is also the remote possibility that Rutgers is interviewing a female candidate for equity...just as schools use to interview Charlie Strong years ago.

We like Ms. Hermann quite a bit here at Cardinal Couple and she has always been an advocate, fan and proponent of what we do here. WE would hate to see her go...but realize that professional growth and success can be a motivator in one's career.

The friendly, caring community of Louisville would miss her guidance and leadership. But, to mirror what Jenny said...when you love someone much as we love Julie here a CARDINAL COUPLE...you want the best for that someone in life. If the athletic director's job at Rutgers will fulfill her dreams and desires, we hope she gets it. We know she'd be a great AD. Imagine the conversations she and C. Viv would have... 

-Paulie

--

Ron Mann hires Sheehan as assistant...Tom Collen hires his wife (again)...Big Ten hires Nebraska

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE :

-TARYN SHEEHAN joins UofL Track and Field staff

-FORMER UOFL WOMEN'S BB COACH HIRES WIFE

-NEBRASKA OFFICIALLY JOINS BIG 10...uhhh 11...maybe 12...whatever!

Ron Mann has announced that Taryn Sheehan has joined the UofL Track and Field team as an assistant coach. Sheehan competed as a distance runner at UofL for a year (2007-08) and comes to Louisville from Western Michigan...where she held a similar job.

She was Taryn Gibson when
she ran the 3000m in record
time for the Cards.

"We wanted to bolster our distance program to prepare for the NCAA Cross Country Championships when we host it in 2012. Taryn's addition will certainly help us from that standpoint. This also provides us with the opportunity to build the Louisville family with coaches who have been a part of the program in the past and are familiar with Louisville and our supportive community" Mann said about the hiring.

Taryn sounds excited to be back in Louisville:

"When we (her and her husband) were driving in this week and we crossed the (Ohio) river, I felt like I was home again" Sheehan confided. "I loved my time here as an athlete and I started my coaching career here as a volunteer. The chance to come home and take the women' team specifically to another level is an opportunity I'm very excited about."

cardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscards

Former UofL head women's basketball coach Tom Collen is up to his old tricks again, bring wife Nicki on boards as an assistant coach down at Arkansas. She replaces Tim Eatman, who was Collen's assistant coach and defensive guru. Eatman heads to Boston College to take a similar position in the rough and tough ACC. Nicki will take over the defense and work with the guards. She is the second new hire to Arkansas's staff in the last two months....Tari Cummings joined the Razorbacks when Zenarae Antonie, who was with the Collen's at Louisville, took the head coaching job at Texas State.

Nicki Collen was an assistant for her husband at Colorado State and Louisville in previous years and also held the assistant coaching position at Ball State. She also did a little radio work as color commentator for Lady Cards hoops.

We'll always remember Tom for a couple of things...he did help develop the talent of Jazz Covington, Candyce Bingham and Angel McCoughtry...three of the best to ever don a Lady Cards uniform...and his acceptance of the Arkansas slot gave Tom Jurich the chance to bring in a highly praised Maryland assistant by the name of Jeff Walz.  

Maybe Tim Eatman got an offer he couldn't refuse at B.C. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall that the Razorbacks weren't going to become the bullies of the SEC. In Eatman's four years as an assistant to Collen at Arkansas , the team has complied a 69-63 record. In four years at Louisville...they were 88-37. Best of luck to the Razorbacks as they slug it out in a SEC Western Division that isn't nearly as strong as the Eastern Division.

cardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscardscards

Nebraska officially joined the BIG TEN Friday. Gives them 12 teams now. Since the BIG 12 name is already taken, the BIG TEN is stuck with their current moniker. They'll officially start play on Aug 19th. as a BIG TEN member when their women's soccer team battles North Carolina. They may do well in the BIG TEN in women's basketball...leaving a conference that has Baylor and Texas A&M powerhouses....along with always tough Oklahoma and Texas. BIG TEN women's hoops hasn't been relevant in years...with Purdue and maybe Michigan State the only two teams to fear.

Despite the drop-down in competition for women's hoops...the Cornhuskers are going to be a part of a powerhouse football conference with Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State and the rest. Can you name all 12 teams in the BIG TEN?  Which one was the hardest for you to come up with? In OUR case...Paul had to stretch to remember that Minnesota was a member and Sonja always gets confused on whether Iowa or Iowa State is a member. (It's Iowa).

OK, we've given you over half the conference here...see if you can name the other five members...

*************************************************************************************************************

Big East waits out the shuffle

It's only fitting that on a stormy, thundering morning in Louisville, KY the news about the storm brewing in college conference alignments rains down on the sports enthusiast.

Texas A&M to the SEC. Colorado to the PAC-10. Nebraska to the Big 10. Suddenly, the Big 12 is starting to look like a horse drawn buggy at the Indy 500. The dice are rolling, logos changing and Louisville and the rest of the Big East sit in the balcony and watch...waiting, wondering and maybe a bit worried.

We report and write on women's sports here at CARDINAL COUPLE...unless Paul goes off on one of his horse racing jags. This is a scenario where stakes runners have lined up to have a heated battle down the stretch and the Big East is a $5,000 claimer in non-winners of one at 99-1 odds....far behind the leaders and lop-legged in the final furlong.

Paul has box of old sporting event programs from UofL games. There are Missouri Valley Conference, Metro, Conference USA and Big East logos on these. Yes, we've been thru change over the last 40 years. Maybe not as big as the potential impending one...but UofL athletics has always managed to survive and prosper.

What will happen is anyone's guess...but don't get your hopes up that the Big East is going to get out of this thing unaffected. Currently on the chopping block...Syracuse, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. Whether they'll become part of the mega Big 10, 16...whatever name they come up with remains to be seen. Whether the non-football playing schools in the Big East follow thru with their threat to disband the conference if two of the football playing schools leave is anyone's guess. The catholic coalition against the state schools.

The Big East doesn't have a lot of options. Will they scoop up the remnants of the doomed Big 12? Do they raid Conference USA? Do they even continue to exist if they get raided by the big dogs? Can I substitute if I don't like the sides on the daily special?

One thing is for sure. Womens' sports are taking a seat at the back of the bus because of the power and profitablity of football and men's basketball. Would I mind seeing a conference where Jeff Walz got the chance to play Baylor or K-State? Would I groan if the Lady Cards had East Carolina and Southern Miss in their division? Will I have any say in the matter?

UofL athletic director Tom Jurich continues to say that the Big East is where he is comfortable and where Louisville needs to be. But, if the raiding continues...could the Cards receive an invite to an expanded ACC? Just how comfortable are those of us who aren't making a handsome athletic directors salary?

Close your eyes, hold your nose...grab your ankles and down it goes. Louisville recently lost amusement park Six Flags at Kentucky Kingdom. The rollar coaster ride, though...is far from over.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. As Randy Newman wrote many years ago:

"It's money that matters."

***********************************************************************

ZENYATTA roared down the Hollywood stretch from last place yesterday to win the Vanity Handicap yeserday by half a length over impressive ST. TRINIANS. A typical Mike Smith ride...hold the powerhouse back far behind the early speed and come roaring down the stretch like a runaway diesel locomotive. The big girl gets her 17th straight win.

Don't fool yourself. RACHEL ALEXANDRA is a fine filly...probably the second best in horse racing but ZENYATTA is the gold standard, the prime cut and the best that is out there today. I hope they get a chance to meet in the Breeders Cup. I hope RACHEL doesn't get whipped too badly. The question has been raised if ZENYATTA will adapt to a dirt surface instead of the synthetic.

Believe me. This horse could run in quicksand and still threaten the track record.