Who's Who and the White What?

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

(Jenny O'Bryan reports on the recent meeting discussing "The White Papers" . No, they aren't about BREAKING BAD villian Walter White...nor highly sought after 2014 WBB recruit Jatarie White.  The papers do have potential to augment and make changes in the womens' game post-season, though...)

Val Ackerman

This past summer a report was given to the NCAA Vice President of Championships (and others) that suggested changes be made to the women’s game.  The report was 52 pages and was full of many suggestions to help increase interest and grow the game of women’s basketball.  This report was submitted by Val Ackerman, former WNBA President/USA Basketball president and current Big East Commissioner, and is known as the Ackerman report or the White Papers.  

There has been much written about the report since it hit the media in June.  Social media basketball guru’s have been tweeting about it, linking articles and opinions of the many ways that these changes, if implemented, can grow the game. 

This past Monday the Who’s Who of the women’s basketball world (Bill the Goat must of eaten my invitation as it arrived at the Cardinal Couple Worldwide Headquarters) gathered in Indianapolis to talk about and hammer out agreements on changes they would like to see implemented.  While this group has no authority to make the changes, they are making recommendations to a women’s basketball committee, my guess is the guest list carries heavy clout. 

Our buddy Dougie was there...

The guest list included 35 people of which Louisville’s own Coach Jeff Walz was a participant.  Coaches Geno Auriemma (UConn), Muffet McGraw (Notre Dame), Tara VanDerveer (Stanford) , Holly Warlick (Tennessee), Jennifer Rizzotti (Hartford),  Doug Bruno (DePaul), Sherry Coale (Oklahoma), Vivian Stringer (Rutgers) and Sue Semrau (Florida State) were the high profile coaches invited, along with conference representatives, athletic administrators, television executives and NCAA committee members.  A lone referee, Dee Kantner was also involved. 

While the original report is extensive (you can read the full report here:

https://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/PDFs/2013/NCAA+Division+I+Womens+Basketball+White+Paper+2013),

Monday’s discussion primarily focused on tournament changes.  

The changes agreed upon would not take effect until the 2014-15 season, and of the tournament changes, there appears to be “tremendous support” for”

<-- Moving the women’s tournament back one weekend, so as not to conflict with the Men’s Final Four (Louisville fans can appreciate this one, as many a people I saw and spoke with in NOLA this past year were driving back and forth between NOLA and Atlanta to be a part of both Final Fours).
 

<-- The Final Four will move from a Sunday/Tuesday lineup to a Friday/Sunday format
T
- -- The top 16 seeds to host opening rounds of the tournament, not predetermined host sites

<-- Super Regionals will consist of 2 sites (not 4) each hosting 8 teams (not 4).
 

<-- 3 venues will host and rotate super regionals and Final Four, for multiple years.  For example:  venues A and B will host super regionals and venue C will host the Final Four.  The following year B and C will host super regionals and A will host Final Four.

Maybe they should have invited Jatarie White to the
White Paper discussion...

I personally like a lot of these proposed changes especially not conflicting with the men’s final four and the Friday/Sunday change.  I love the idea of the 2 super regional sites.  More teams at one site means more basketball to watch.  I would love the opportunity to see more teams in the tournament compete.   I am not sure how I feel about the rotating venues change.  I’ll have to wait and try that one on before I comment on it. 

Some additional items that were discussed favorably were officials receiving more training, professional development of coaches and staff, and at least currently, keeping the scholarship limit at 15. 

In the interest of parity there was some discussion in the original report to limit the number of scholarships to 13 (this is what I believe the men’s side has).  The thinking being with fewer scholarships at schools, athletes would be forced to diversify their choices and so as not to see the top recruits heading to the same school (s) year after year.  I don’t think cutting the total by 2 reduces those chances at all.   Some schools consistently only carry 12-13 kids as it is.  I also think with injuries seemingly rampant every year, a higher roster count minimizes the hurt a team takes when one goes down.  Of course, coaches can choose to use or not use all their scholarships.  I suspect with some coaches it is a personal choice to keep their rosters smaller. 

Nashville skyline

Again, none of the above mentioned changes are new rules, yet.  These are all just recommendations  The rules committee will take these suggestions in to account in their October meetings. 
 

For the time being, you can make your plans for Nashville in 2014 for Sunday and Tuesday to see your beloved Cardinals battling in the Final Four again.  I intend to be there.  How ‘bout you?

( EDITOR NOTE: Bill the Goat denies eating any of Jenny's mail from the NCAA. Those brownies she brought in last Tuesday, though....he's taken an Alford plea on them...)

-Jenny O'Bryan

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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Summer ball winds down for the Class of 2014

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

(Staff hero Jenny O'Bryan fills us in on the latest on recruiting in today's column. With her ear to the wall, eyes on the feeds and nose to the grindstone...Jenny is always looking for the latest news and always produces.) 

"V Dub" is on everyone's radar

The final summer evaluation period is underway starting Tuesday, July 23 and ending Monday, July 29.  For the class of 2014 it is the end of their summer basketball careers.  Coaches will be fanning out to D.C, Louisiana, Georgia, and many other events to look for the next big game changer. 

We have been talking about rising seniors (class of 2014) that are on Louisville Women’s Basketball radar.  Jatarie White, Victoria Vivians, Gabby Green, Myisha Hines-Allen, Imani Tillford, Mariya Moore, Natalie Romeo and Kortney Dunbar, to name a few. 

We will soon be hearing about unofficial and official visits as these young athletes start to trim their lists and make decisions about their futures.  Louisville will get a few more athletes ready to join Sydney Brackemyre and Ariana Freeman at the YUM Center.  The early signing period is fast approaching and this class could be wrapped up before the season starts. 

While a lot of attention is being paid to the rising senior class, coaches are also watching younger athletes at these events creating lists of talent, and potential spotted on the court, that match the needs of the program in the future years. 

Two names surfaced during the early evaluation period that had offers extended to them by Louisville.  Keep in mind the coaching staff cannot talk about a recruit until they have signed with the school.   The earliest a student athlete can sign is in the fall of her senior year.  So where does the information come from?

Social media has made this information available to enthusiasts, like myself, probably to the chagrin of college coaches everywhere.  Student athletes, their parents, club coaches, and scouting services all tweet about the goings on in the basketball world.  Scouting services dole out information to the general public via twitter when they hear it. 

UofL wants to know what
Brown can do for them.

In the class of 2015 wing Taylor Brown was recently offered a scholarship by Louisville Basketball.    Brown plays summer ball with fellow Louisville recruits  Hines-Allen and Tilford from the New Jersey Sparks basketball program. 

I cannot find much in print about Brown, however, the attached video shows her doing it all for her high school team.  Given it is a highlight reel, you are only going to see the good stuff, but there is plenty of that to see!  Brown is pulling down rebounds, finishing in the paint, making jumpers as well as 3 balls.  She has a real nice hi-lo pass to get the assist.  She looks like a baller and I look forward to watching her name as her recruiting heats up. 
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKp0c11a0fU

The other name coming out of the early evaluation period is Dekeriya Patterson out of Florida.  What makes Patterson unique is that she is in the class of 2017.  Before you have to stop and count on your fingers, she is a rising freshman in high school.  This youngster has not even played her first high school game, and yet Louisville has offered her.  Following her club director, Kenny Kalina, on twitter, it looks like new Assistant Coach Sam Purcell is very high on this rising high schooler.   The below is an excerpt from Kalina on his website:

Many have already seen that Louisville has offered Patterson and while that is impressive, her play has been just as impressive. Patterson has a skill set of a college sophomore already and has yet to play a high school game. With deep range and a taste for the big game and big shot there is no one you would rather have with the ball at the end of a game than her. Look for her continued development at Dunbar on the defensive end and maturity to turn her into a must have player in 2017.
 

Does this description remind you of anyone?  "Deep range, big game, big shot"  "ball in her hands at the end of a game".  While I was not following recruiting back when Shoni Schimmel was going through the process, this youngster sounds a lot like the Schimmel we know now.  This kiddo is not yet in high school.  Wow, do I look forward to watching her high school career. 
 

For all you other recruiting junkies out there, this will give you a few names to follow.  I think we have a faithful reader and commenter in Florida, maybe he will hear more about her than us and keep us abreast of the news.  (Joe, are you reading this?)


-Jenny O'Bryan

It's July, that means basketball!

CARDINAL COUPLE WEDNESDAY

- Hoops heating up in July

( Jenny O'Bryan fills us in on her latest observations on women's basketball recruiting news. It looks like UofL has a lot of top-flight talent mentioning the Lady Cards and it also looks like Jenny is going to be busy keeping track of all this talent!)


July marks the summer NCAA Certified Evaluation Period where AAU basketball teams head all over the country to play in front of coaches.  You can expect the U of L Women’s Basketball staff will be out in full force over the course of the next month trying to reel in some top talent to join the team in 2014. 

We all know by now two recruits have already verballed to Louisville, Sydney Brackmyre and Ariana Freeman.  I expect they will take their official visit to Louisville in the fall and are likely to sign during the early signing period this Fall.
 

We all also know that Syd has been recovering from an ACL tear and is getting stronger every day.  Paul and I had the opportunity to see her at the first Elite Skills Camp. 

A great article surfaced last week about Freeman.  Wow, what a workhorse, and what incredible dedication this young woman is showing to the game preparing herself for being a future Cardinal.  If you are not excited about seeing this young woman as a Cardinal, you will be after you read this article. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/recruiting-insider/wp/2013/06/26/summer-workouts-heat-up-for-paul-vis-ariana-freeman/

Just who will be joining this already talented duo in 2014?   The two evaluation periods in July are July 6-12 and July 23-29.  Below is a little of information about a few kids I have seen linked to Louisville.

Two west coast kids who play AAU ball on the same team are Mariya Moore and Natalie Romeo, a wing and guard, respectively.  Their names have been linked to Louisville basketball for months now.  

A 3^rd incredible talent from California is Gabby Green.   Green will miss the summer circuit of AAU ball as she made the USA U19 World Championship team.  If Walz and Company want to see Green play in July, they will have to go to Lithuania.  She is a fierce talent.  Check out this clip:
 

GABBY GREEN

Vivans is a scoring machine!

We have already mentioned Jatarie White ( 6-4 center ) out of S. Carolina was on campus recently as well as Victoria Vivians  ( 6 foot wing) out of Mississippi who has Louisville in her short list of 4. 

Another recruit who was on campus just this past weekend who will also be in the sights of the staff this month is Mackenzie Engram.   Engram is a 6-1 forward out of Georgia.  Her list of schools is SEC heavy with Georgia Tech, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi and Auburn.  I wonder what the Coach Purcell effect will be here?  Makes one wonder, does it not?

The final recruit on my radar, not necessarily Louisville’s radar, is Kortney Dunbar out of Edwardsville, Il.  Does that sound familiar?  It should, Dunbar was a teammate of incoming freshman Emmonie Henderson.  This 6-2 guard is a solid shooter, and certainly does not hurt to have that kind of size on the perimeter. 

It certainly looks like the staff is zeroing in on some top talent.  

I’ll be following their progress over the evaluation period and hope to recap how they have done at the end of the month. 

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Unless you have been away for a week and unplugged from technology, you have likely heard that U of L Women’s Basketball has been nominated for an ESPY Award for the biggest upset in sports.  If you have not voted, please do so.  Coach Pitino is also up for Coach of the Year and Angel McCoughtry is up for WNBA Player of the Year. 

Go visit the page and vote.  Let’s keep this Year of the Cardinal thing going!
 

Voting ends July 17 at 9:00 p.m. 

LINK BELOW
 

http://espn.go.com/espys/2013/

-Jenny O'Bryan

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Saturday Cardinal Couple -- White visits UofL

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Jatarie White a 2014 prospect?

-Kentucky Girls High School Softball results

-Cardinal Couple Radio Today

-Belmont Stakes

Seeing tall girls on the UofL campus isn't all that uncommon. After all, the school does play college basketball and volleyball. Seeing one of the top recruits for 2014 in women's basketball is news, however...and Jatarie White paid a visit to the Cards campus Thursday.

The 6'4" Providence Day (NC) paint dweller was named North Carolina's Player of the Year by both Gatorade and the Associated Press as a junior. She averaged 19 points, 10.6 rebounds and Providence Day won the 3A Independent Schools Championship. The soon-to-be senior is listed as the #12 prospect in the nation in the ESPNW Hoop Gurlz Super 60 for the 2014 class.

She's been around...as far as the college unofficial visit scene goes...with trips to South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Clemson, Florida, Miami and FSU.

Her coach at Providence Day, Josh Springer, is pretty high on her:

"Her magnetic personality attracts teammates to her and she lifts them up even though they aren't at the same talent level as she is. She's become more confident in herself, not just as a scorer and a rebounder but as a leader on our team and as a great ambassador for our program."

And, she's 6'4". Did we mention that? But, she has commented that she really doesn't want to be a center on the college level...preferring to go to a "4" or "3" spot.

No problem. The 2014 squad will have Sara Hammond, Cortnee Walton, Shawnta Dyer and Emmonnie Henderson in uniform. We're pretty sure Coach Walz can find a center in that bunch. 

Lease a billboard in her hometown, Coach Walz. Twitter and Facebook her up, Cardinal fans. This recruit has the potential to be a program changer. Let's see how she looks in red and black.

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Kentucky Girls Softball Tournament action Friday saw about a thousand games played in between the raindrops in the double elimination format. Louisville Mercy beat Owensboro Catholic 3-2 in 12 innings to advance to the winners bracket final...where they'll play Greenwood, a 9-0 winner over Lone Oak to get there. Here's the whole list of Friday scores:

Mercy 1 - Boyle Co. 0
Lone Oak 5 - Scott Co. 0
Owensboro Catholic 5 - Ashland Blazer 1
Greenwood 13 - Notre Dame 0
Oldham Co. 10 - Estill Co. 0
Montgomery Co. 4 - South Laurel 2
Central Hardin 6 - Male 4
Livingston Cent. 11 - Magoffin Co. 3
Oldham Co. 4 - Scott Co. 3
Greenwood 9 - Lone Oak 0
Boyle Co. 9 - Central Hardin 1
Livingston Cent. 4 - Notre Dame 3
Ashland Blazer 2 - Montgomery Co. 0
Livingston Cent. 2 - Oldham Co. 1
Boyle Co. 3 - Ashland Blazer 0
Boyle Co. 5 - Lone Oak 2
Mercy 3 - Owensboro Catholic 2
Owensboro Catholic 4 - Livingston Central 2

Fighting it out in the losers bracket final game is Owensboro Catholic and Boyle Co. The winner of that one will await what happens in the winners' bracket.

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CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR today at 11 a.m. on Crescent Hill Radio. We expect a full broadcast crew and maybe even a studio visit from Sonja. (Someone has to keep Monkeyberry Moon Delight away from the banana rum and Sonja is wiry...).

Join us for the show or catch it on the heavenly SoundCloud...where you can catch all the archived CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR broadcasts.

Paul, Jeff and Jenny. Talkin' UofL women's sports and other general nonsense. Link below.

WHO LET THEM ON THE AIR?

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The final leg of horse racing's Triple Crown goes today with the Belmont Stakes in soggy New York. Although there will be no Triple crown winner again this year, the winners of the Kentucky Derby (ORB) and the Preakness Stakes (Oxbow) will match up in the mile and a half test. Fourteen runners are scheduled to contest the Belmont dirt, which has been pounded by rain the last couple of days. If they can get this track to fast conditions, it'll be the eighth wonder of the world.

I like Peter Pan Stakes winner FREEDOM CHILD to pull off the minor upset. This one loves the off-going and won convincingly on the same track a couple of weeks ago. For exactas and trifectas, I'll figure in FREEDOM CHILD with ORB, PALACE MALICE, GOLDEN SOUL and filly UNLIMITED BUDGET.

Sonja says, just bet ORB and accept 5/2 odds if you can get it. They won't stop the Shug McGaughey/Joel Rosario combination today and ORB loves the Belmont surface...wet or dry.

Good luck!

-Paulie

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