Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Basketball, Lacrosse and Volleyball

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Jenny O'Bryan fills us in on the latest UofL WBB commit...plus news from Lacrosse and Volleyball. )


CALIFORNIA'S CARTER COMMITS TO CARDS

Coach Jeff Walz added yet another piece to the 2014 puzzle with the announcement by Arica Carter that she will become a Louisville Cardinal.  Carter was on campus this past weekend with 3 of the young women who had previously verbally pledged to Louisville, Sydney Brackemyer, Ariana Freeman and Mariya Moore.  (The fourth verbal pledge, Myisha Hines-Allen, had already taken her official visit and was not on campus). 

Carter is a 5-8 combo guard out of Long Beach, CA and played AAU ball on the same club as Moore.    ESPN Hoopgurlz had this to say about her style of play:

Smooth, athletic combo-guard manufactures, elevates in mid-range game to the arc; soft touch on jumper with confident demeanor; uptempo contributor; defends in pressure. (Olson)

Carter is also known for her defensive presence on the floor.  Her defensive assignment in high school play is usually the best player on the court.  Check out this read to learn more about our future Cardinal.

http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/20130417/2013-all-area-girls-basketball-team-poly-highs-arica-carter-tops-press-telegram-picks

While Carter is a name that is relatively new to those of us that follow recruiting, it really should not come as too big of a surprise.  As an AAU clubmate of Moore as well as another potential recruit in Kristen Simon, my guess is the staff got to see plenty of Carter during this past summer circuit.  She apparently had a great last summer of ball, and it appears the Cardinal coaches were watching. 

Is this the final piece of the puzzle for 2014?  It is really hard to say.  There are two more names that have been floating around in relation to Louisville basketball and that is Kristen Simon (also from California) and A’Ja Wilson, one of the top (if not the top) player in the country. 

Simon is a 6-1 forward out of Los Angeles and was supposedly on campus this past weekend as well.  Her reported finalists are Louisville, CAL, Ohio State, Texas and Southern California.  Should she choose Louisville she will have plenty of west coast familiarity in Moore and Carter. 

Wilson is an intriguing prospect as a 6-5 forward out of South Carolina.  She is a program changer and can play most positions on the floor.  She has long stated that she will not sign in the early signing period, rather will wait til the regular signing period in April.   Where exactly Louisville stands with this top prospect is unknown, she has kept her recruitment pretty close to her chest.   This is definitely a name to remember, folks. 

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BOLTJA IS BEST FOR SECOND STRAIGHT SEASON

The 2013 Lacrosse team held it’s annual banquet this past weekend.   Awards handed out to several players.

Nikki Boltja was named the most valuable player for the second year in a row.   Coach Young stated  “our 2013 honoree is one of the most passionate, committed players I have every coached.  She will do whatever is asked and then some, to help her team win.”

Janaye Dzikewich earned the coaches award for the second year in a row.   Young stated Dzikewich is “ a stalwart in the face of adversity.  She exceeded all expectations and inspired those around her. “

Kaylinn Morissette earned rookie of the year honors.  She arguably had the best freshman season in school history.  Said Coach Young "she is one of the most dominant midfielders in the country. She impacted all aspects of our game in the 2013 season - attack, midfield, defense, and the draw.

"A developing leader, she is sure to have a remarkable impact on our program over the next three years."

Carissa Corbett earned most improved player award. 

Congratulations to all the honorees and to the team for a great season.  We look forward to seeing them again in the spring!


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VOLLEYBALL "SHOCKED" BY WICHITA STATE

A mid-week, non-conference trip to Wichita by Anne Kordes' Volleyball squad proved disappointing...as the Wichita State Shockers pulled off the upset by downing Louisville in five games 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 15-10.

Brooke Mattingly had 15 kills for the Cards, joined by Janelle Jenkins (11) and Emily Juhl (12) as double-figure kill artists...but Louisville once again stumbles in the fifth and deciding set.

Early success for UofL, taking a 11-3 lead in the first and up 21-13 late before winning by five. Jenkins and Mattingly with four kills each to put the Cards up 1-0.

The WSU Shockers (17-4) rallied back in game two, grabbing their first lead at 21-20 and going on a game-ending 4-2 run to even the match. A quiet game for Cards freshman Maya McClendon, with just two kills in the first two sets.

Louisville led early in the third game 11-10 and built the advantage to 17-13...but a WSU rally tied it at 18-18 and the host team out-pointed the Cards 7-3 down the stretch. McClendon responded with four kills...but the Cards were down two games to one.

With their back against the wall, Louisville trailed WSU 14-11 in the fourth after a 5-0 Shocker run. The Cards would rally back to tie at 15-15 and the game remained close...the teams deadlocked at 22-22 before Mattingly, Randi Ewing and Juhl propelled Louisville to a game ending 3-0 run.

The fifth set was all WSU. Jumping out to a 4-0 lead, the Shockers increased that to 7-2, withstood a Louisville challenge that cut the lead to 13-10 and tallied the final two points of the match to take game and match.

The Cards travel to face the Cincinnati Bearcats next. Game is on Friday with a 7 p.m. start.

 

Friday Cardinal Couple -- Wrapping up 2014

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Jenny O'Bryan takes a look at basketball recruiting in today's edition of CARDINAL COUPLE!)

The basketball coaching staff is fanning out across the country in what is the last recruiting period for the class of 2014 before the early signing period.   The staff is visiting and making in-home visits with 2014 verbal commits as well as the remaining student athletes that the staff is targeting, trying to wrap up the 2014 class. 

It looks like there are likely 4 remaining targets for the Cardinals.  Most of these names are familiar, although one is a relative newcomer to being on my radar (though that does not at all mean that she is new to the staff).  

The recruiting period opened on Monday, September 9 and Coach Walz was in Oregon.  Seems Oregon is a familiar place for this staff, and is the former home of Coach Stephanie Norman.  However, in this busy last cycle of recruiting, there was no time for reminiscing.  Coach Walz was in Oregon to visit Jaime Nared a 6-1 versatile wing/forward.

Just for context, Nared is likely familiar to Cardinal fans as she is the former teammate of 2 past Louisville recruits Jordan Reynolds and Mercedes Russell (both TN freshman).  Nared has her own star power though.  From a basketball family, Nared has been playing the game since she was a youngster.  Early on she played on  an all boys AAU  team, for two years, before she was banned from the league for being “too good”.   It was at this point, at the age of 12 that she started to learn the women’s game, and she is still growing evolving as an elite athlete. 

What would Nared bring to Louisville squad already loaded with wings?    This said her coach:

"Jaime is the best reader and anticipator on defense that I've ever coached, at any level," said Abraham, who has coached in high school, college and the WNBA. "Lisa Leslie, Chamique Holdsclaw, all the great ones that I've been lucky enough to be around, nobody does it better than she does."    (Jerry Ulmer, The Oregonian)

Nared has worked a lot on her pull up jumper and is said to have transformed her game even from where she was just this past year.  While a home visit did occur this past Monday, to date I have not heard of an official visit scheduled.  She has recently visited Ohio State and UCLA.  Tennessee is expecting a visit in the coming weeks.  Let’s hope Louisville gets the chance to woo her on campus and at the KFC YUM Center. 

While on the west coast Walz likely did a home visit with Mariya Moore who has already verbally committed to play with Louisville.  Rounding out the west coast trip was likely a visit with (new to my radar) Kristen Simon. 

The 6-1 Simon is a post player who plays AAU ball at the same club as Moore (can’t hurt, right?).   Her final 5 of schools is Louisville, Ohio State, CAL, Southern Cal and Texas.    Simon is an exciting prospect as she is a big who likes to bang around in the paint.  She is described as big and mobile, an efficient low-block insider, finisher in the paint, rebounder deluxe with a physical interior game.  Sounds like just what the doctor ordered, right?  I have yet to see Emmonnie Henderson (current freshman) on the court, but the thought of two very strong, physical players in the paint is an exciting prospect.  Currently I do not have an official visit date listed for Simon. 

It seems we have been talking about Victoria Vivians at Cardinal Couple for some time now.    Vivians is another wing player out of Forest, MS.  Her narrowed list of four includes Louisville, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Florida. 

Vivians  is described as long and athletic with a 3 phase offensive attack.  She can step out and shoot the 3, pull up in the mid range and finish at the rim.   Vivians has a great motor and is very fast in the open court and can change direction at full speed.  Vivians is a scorer and will bring an incredible offensive threat to the YUM Center should she decide on Louisville. 

Lastly, at least for the targets in the early signing period, is Dekeiya Cohen.  Cohen is a 6-2 combo forward out of Charleston, South Carolina.  Her top list of schools includes Louisville, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami, Notre Dame and South Carolina.   Cohen will be on campus this weekend for an official visit. 

Cohen is described as an “energy package in the paint”.  She is a very strong rebounder and equally as strong as a shot blocker.  She is a “scary good” athlete who is said to have a very high athletic ceiling.    Cohen is able to break down defenders, finish consistently with contact and is said to be physical and active on the glass.  She is quick to exploit mismatches and competes on both ends of the floor. 

For those interested, rankings are available on all of these athletes.  However, I have chosen to not dwell on that.  One thing this past season has taught me is that rankings do not matter.  Walz has proven that he is masterful at getting the most out of his players, regardless of rank.  I would venture to say that he gets more out of “less ranked” kids than some coaches get out of their All-Americans. 

Just how many of these remaining targets Walz will accept, if given the opportunity, is anybody’s guess.   It is a wealth of diverse strengths, offensively and defensively, in the paint and on the wing.  Any number of these young women would strengthen and diversify an already excellent class of Moore, Brackemyer, Hines-Allen and Freeman. 

I am all-in when it comes to the mad scientist and I am all-in and ready for this season to get started!

-Jenny O'Bryan

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