LaMont Russell gets a second gig with USA Women's basketball -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LAMONT RUSSELL BACK AS USA U 18 VIDEO COORDINATOR

Lamont Russell is the kind of guy that everyone likes and he seems to like everyone back in return. I remember meeting him back in 2015 when he first came to campus to work with WBB and we hit it off pretty well and have been friends since. He never fails to greet me when he sees me around the WBB or at the KR FC YOM! Center. 

Others like him a lot too. He's been asked to return again (his second straight year) to be the video coordintor for USA U 18 basketball. 

No, tt doesn't mean he'll show comedies, dramas and mysteries to the squad on "movie night". A video coordinator is respondsible of obtaining film on opponents, loading it onto computers nd doing cut-uos, motivational videos and other assignments reltaed to video that the head coach or coahcing staff needx him to perform. 

The video coorinator's work can make the difference in a team beating an opponent or not. If a particular player has a "tell" or repetitive  move they use to score, and you discover it and tell who is assigned to guard that player...that 20 points per game average might sink pretty quickly . Back when I played, my "tell" was never wanting to go to the left with the left-handed dribble. . And, when teams found that out, my scoring and ball movement abilities were diminshed. 

Lamont, at Louisville, also gets to organize the male practice players...they are  the squad that  goes against the women. Being a former playerr in college himself, he knows the game and can teach it to his guys in a way that is going to help the women a lot . .  

The 2024 FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup will be held from June 17-23 in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Team USA held its training camp in Colorado Springs before heading south to Colombia for the tournament. USA recently drew into Group B with Brazil, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The USA will tip off competition June 17 vs. Brazil at 4:10 p.m. ET followed by tilts against Puerto Rico and Mexico on June 18 (4:10 p.m. ET) and 19 (1:40 p.m. ET), respectively.

We wish Lamont the best of luck in his journey and hope he can help the USA squad win the FIBA Americup. 

paulie

Cards over Ducks - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Paradise It Is

It was a place with palm trees, which is always a win in my book, and the Cards won the actual game, too.  The Cards were victorious over the top ranked Oregon Ducks, 72-62, in the Paradise Jam on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

Do you call this the biggest upset in UofL Women's Basketball history?  I think there's an argument to be made for it.  Of course, the 2013 win over Baylor gets an argument, and frankly you could probably come up with others.  The Baylor win, and now this Oregon win are the only wins UofL WBB has over top ranked teams.  Against Baylor, the Cards were the 5th seed in the NCAA tournament, while the Cards are currently ranked 8th, so based on the rankings/seedings, this one is the bigger win.

The argument on the other side of that coin comes from having watched Baylor in 2012-2013 and the fact that it was in the post-season, rather than this early season win.  Which do you think is the biggest win in UofL WBB history?  Let's hear it.

On to the deets, though.

Much like the Baylor game, where Shoni Schimmel and Nita Slaughter shone brightest...you remember The Shot, punctuated by Rebecca Lobo's "Come on, now!" but you might also remember Nita Slaughter's 7 of 9 shooting from beyond the arc...Kylee Shook and Dana Evans will get the spotlight in this one.  Kylee finished with 18 points, including one from beyond the arc along with a pair of blocks and 15 rebounds, for the double-double and the all tournament team berth.  Dana tallied 17 points and 6 assists on her way to the tournament MVP award.

Also like the Baylor game, there was lots of supporting cast.  The rebound and outlet pass that led to The Shot?  5'6" Jude Schimmel getting the rebound over two much larger Baylor players, also getting 6 points and 3 assists, also Bria Smith with 13 points and 3 assists.  In this game, Elizabeth Balogun had 11 points, a pair of blocks of her own and four rebounds.  Jaz Jones had 10 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds despite some significant foul trouble.  Bionca Dunham and Norika Konno got 6 points and a pair of rebounds each. Konno played brilliantly while Jones was saddled with foul trouble and on the bench.

And this is the picture Sports Illustrated runs in their
recap of Louisville's win? Uh, Ducks didn't cut down the
nets, SI. Cards=Red. Oregon=Green. Nice proof-read. 

The Ducks had this one in control in the first quarter, leading 24-13 by the end of the first frame, but the Cards would win it all back in the 2nd quarter, winning the 10 minutes by 24-8, for a halftime score of 37-32.  The 3rd and 4th quarters would be more competitive, with the Cards adding 4 to the margin in the 3rd (14-10), and only adding a single point in the 4th quarter score-fest (21-20).

I only got to listen to the Nick and AJ call on this one, but Coach Walz give credit to Video Coordinator Lamont Russell with the Mad Scientist idea of putting Kylee Shook up at the top of the key on defense to disrupt the offensive set for the Ducks. Even Oregon head WBB Coach Kelly Graves said it :"Louisville wanted this one more than we did."

So what happens with rankings tomorrow.  The men's side of the league has been topsy turvey, (Hi Evansville, and Stephen F Austin!) meaning the UofL men will probably find themselves in the top spot, what happens with the women?

Well, it's unlikely that they'll jump from 8th to top ranked, although the upwards mobility could be
significant.  In addition to Oregon dropping, expect Baylor to relinquish the number 2 position after losing to 5th ranked South Carolina in the other half of the Paradise Jam.  3rd ranked Stanford struggled, but won over 10th ranked Mississippi State while 4th ranked UConn easily handled Dayton in their only outing this week.

So, I think that leaves Stanford in the top spot, UConn 2nd, and South Carolina 3rd.  Is there a chance for Louisville to climb to 4th?  I think it's possible.  Where do Oregon and Baylor land?  5th and 6th are possible.  That means Texas A&M and Oregon State end up dropping a couple spots, which does seem vaguely unfair to those teams, but I think that's the reality of the situation as it unfolds.

We'll find out tomorrow afternoon when the updated rankings come out.

Volleyball Selection Tonight

The Volleyball selection show is at 8:30 tonight on ESPNU.  The Cards should easily have a berth, and hosting is essentially out of the question, so what's left is to find out to which location the Cards will go.

Volleyball tends to stick fairly closely to the RPI for the 16 seeds that get to host, of course, we don't have the latest RPI standings until after the bracket is revealed.

What teams are in the region that are likely to host?  Pitt, is basically assured a hosting berth, and may even get to host the regionals depending on how far Wisconsin falls after their loss this week.  The committee does try avoid setting up in-conference matchups in the first two rounds, however, so that's unlikely for us.

Other possible locations include Kentucky (currently 7th in RPI), Marquette (currently 12th in RPI, though likely to drop after getting knocked off my St. Johns in the Big East final), and WKU (currently 15th in the RPI).

But, the GPS says there is a Volleyball
game here? 

Of those candidates, where would you like to see Louisville go?  I think I prefer Diddle Arena in Bowling Green over heading into UK territory.  It's a bit longer of a drive, but still easily reachable for fans, without having to go in to play on a rival's home court.  Also, frankly, I think we stand a better chance of getting past the sub-regional with WKU as the seeded team as we've already knocked them off once in the season and the team has grown and improved since then.

I'm probably going if it's within 10 or so hours. We'll find out tonight

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Paulie and I held down the fort for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday. Sonya was in studio auditing the broadcast. 

It's 11:02, when is this song over" 

Volleyball and Basketball were the topics du jour.  We recapped the volleyball loss to Pitt and the basketball wins for the week, including over UTA (or UTC in Paulie-speak), and Oklahoma State.

There's a good chance that we will not be on the air next week due to scheduling issues.  Paulie will be out of town following the WBB squad to Columbus, and depending on what happens with Volleyball selection, I may on the road to cheer them on.  Availability of Case, Jared, and Daryl are still to be determined.  Stay tuned, we'll let you know.

In the meantime, check out this week's show at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/1395334880646526/

-- 

JMcA

Upcoming Women's Events -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

While we're still in the semi-lull that is mid-winter, when only women's basketball games get us through the cold, dark days, there are signs of life from the other programs as spring seasons look to get started. While basketball is back in action tomorrow, let's take a look at some of the other upcoming events this weekend.

Track and Field at Notre Dame

Indoor Track and Field got their season started last weekend at the Gene Edmonds Open hosted by Purdue. Louisville came away with wins in 9 events, which is not a bad way to start the year. Today, they'll see some familiar faces as they participate in the Notre Dame Invitational. Notre Dame also competed at Purdue last weekend, meaning quite a few athletes will be seeing if they can get revenge for defeats from last weekend.

Louisville's women won the 2018 event overall, so we shall see if the Cards can repeat last year's successes and improve on last weekend's performances. The event starts at 11 a.m. and results should be available via Notre Dame's site.

Women's Tennis Set to Start Spring Season

Two teams from the state of Ohio will come into town tomorrow during the winter storm, potentially even on the same bus (I jest). Bowling Green and Miami (OH) will head to the Bass Rudd Center to take on the Louisville women's tennis team in the Cards' first matches of the season. The Cards were 13-13 last season and GoCards notes that the record included two 6 match winning streaks. (Nobody point out that if you win 6 matches straight twice in a season you went 13-13, you probably had some significant losing streaks as well.) Louisville will look to improve upon a season that saw them get their first ever win over Notre Dame and their first road win in ACC play since joining the conference. Bowling Green gets the first shot at the Cards at 11 a.m. and Miami will round out the evening at 5 p.m. If you're the type that likes to get out in a snowstorm, head on over and show your support. The matches will be indoors.

First of Three Women's Soccer ID Camps on Monday

Women's soccer has three "Winter Elite ID Camps" scheduled in the next couple of weeks. The first is on Monday, the second (for goalkeepers) is on February 2nd, and the final camp is on February 3rd. These camps are a single day for players from ages 13-18 to come and get the real experience of a college athletics atmosphere and are great for young players to get training from top coaches.

 These types of camps are also particularly useful for college athletics (especially in soccer). Talent in a sport can usually be parsed at a young age, and that can be even more true for soccer than for other sports. Academies all over the world seek to home-grow players from ages under 10. If you've got talent in soccer, it isn't likely to go away, and it isn't nearly as affected by natural growth over time as sports like basketball and football can be. An extremely talented youth football player may be outgrown by all of his peers and be left behind, while a small soccer player is not really a big deal. For that reason, these ID camps are a great chance for the Louisville coaching staff to get an early look at young players in the area.

It is unlikely that scouts will have missed players in their late teens that are from around here, but it is possible, while the Cards will specifically be looking at players to keep an eye on as they grow into the more mature club scene. It is safe to assume many of the players on Louisville's team from the Louisville area took part in at least one of these camps growing up. Louisville may find the next great homegrown talent in the coming month.

Minor Irrelevance

After Jeff Walz's errant shot Thursday night, plenty of jokes have been making the rounds. I would imagine Coach Walz didn't expect some heat from inside his own staff, though. Lamont Russell, video coordinator for the Cards, added this stat sheet to his Instagram story yesterday, poking fun at Coach.

While the joke is great, and well worth the time taken to make the graphic, I will point out that a three point field goal attempt also counts as a general field goal attempt, so he should be 0-1 in both stats. Use that in your rebuttal, Coach!

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

It's Saturday, so you know that means that we're coming to you live from the magnificent media mansion on Mellwood Avenue with the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. Join myself, Jeff, Paulie, and Daryl (while Jared makes change and salts the parking lot) as we bring you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics.

Daryl's "walk up" song makes its debut this morning. What do you think it is?

We'll talk the dominating win over Virginia, I'll assuredly be chided for my tough scoring in the CASE Report (though it's all statistics based), and we'll talk a bit about tomorrow's matchup against Wake Forest. Plus, we'll get to all of the other exciting things going on around campus. Tune in to WCHQ at 100.9 FM, the WCHQ App, wchqfm.com or watch us on Facebook Live at 11 a.m.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Louisville women's basketball -- Selection Monday -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS #1 SEED! WILL OPEN FRIDAY AGAINST BOISE ST. 

The University of Louisville women's basketball team now knows the road ahead of them. And, it turned out just the way the Cards wanted...logistically. Louisville will open as a #1 seed in the Lexington Region and play their first two games in Louisville, opening Friday, March 18th at noon against  #16 seed Boise State. 

Also in the Louisville first and second round site are #8 seed Marquette and #9 seed Dayton. The winner of that matchup advances to play the Cards on Sunday at the KFC YUM! Center. Going two for two would advance the Cards to Lexington for action starting March 23rd. 

A crowd of over 500 packed the Thornton's Academic Learning Center's fourth floor to witness Selection Monday with the team. A nice change of venue, with all the trappings...a free food line, cheerleaders, pep band and autograph tables lined with players. More on that later. A nice 300 seat auditorium to view the broadcast, too.  

I represented Cardinal Couple at the event and arrived a little after the doors opened. Once inside the fourth floor, I found a pretty huge crowed already at tables and in chairs awaiting the show. Right away, I saw familiar faces and spent a brief period strolling through the crowd, speaking with people and just taking it all in. I picked Sam Purcell as my first interview and you can hear that one at this link: 


SAM PURCELL SELECTION MONDAY


After my enjoyable chat with "Sammy P" I sought out the other "Sam" on the UofL coaching staff and did find Samantha Williams. She was surrounded by well-wishers, but after they slacked off a bit, I chatted with Samantha. Neither of the "Sam's" claimed any knowledge of the Central Florida Chimps Aerospace University (CFCAU), who I think might make a strong run in the "dance" and an institution that has approached me about a position as Floor Warden for Freshmen Scholarship Chimps.  Here's Samantha (who was dressed stunningly) and the ol' Pauster. Here's that audio below:  


SAMANTHA WILLIAMS SELECTION SUNDAY

I did consider another coaching interview, sisn't see any but saw my pal Lamont Russell hovering nearby and wanted to get a few words with the guy who "carries" the team. His graphic design and video coordinator work at Louisville is invaluable in helping the team prepare for opponents, and as a former DI basketball player, he also has a vast knowledge of hoops, the squad (his little sisters, per him) and can really "pick up" the players. (See photo).

Lamont and I had a great chat, I didn't probe too much into his occasional "picking up girls mid-game" and we talked about the event and team. Hear his words below: 


LAMONT RUSSELL SELECTION MONDAY



Following Lamont Russell, I went to a fan who I know pretty well and I wanted to get a little fan perspective on the event. We decided to keep him "anonymous" and we chatted about the season, the Selection Show and a few other topics, as the players entered the big room and headed to a couple of long tables to sit and sign autographs. Here is anonymous fan: 


ANONYMOUS FAN SELECTION MONDAY



I decided to get in line with those waiting for autographs after my talk with anonymous fan and while waiting to reach the tables, Jeff Walz grabbed the main microphone and talked a bit to the crowd. 

Walz thanked the fans that were in attendance and went on to cover a lot more material with them...but the line was moving pretty quickly and I decided to cut these Walz remarks short, because I was getting closer to Dana Evans, first one seated at the table. Part of Jeff's opening remarks are below: 


WALZ OPENING REMARKS



I decided to try something I thought might be fun, going through the autograph line and interviewing each player quickly as I progressed. It may be un-rivaled in interview history...it certainly was a madcap seven minutes... and I did have a 8x11 picture that was free and on the table of the team that each player signed as I strolled down the tables. You can hear my questions and the great responses here: 


WALKING PLAYERS INTERVIEWS

After the dash through the players, I needed a moment to re-compose. After resting a bit and getting a quick beverage,  I saw Walz surrounded by people and decided to see if I could get a bit more from Coach. He was gracious and chatted with me while he signed shirts and stuff. I appreciate his time and "exclusive".

Hear Coach's comments below: 



WALZ ON THE SELECTION SHOW AND ACC.



It was time to go into the auditorium and see the selections. The seats were filled and I spent a little time with the media group, stationed behind the cameras, chatting with a couple of our occasional CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR guests Mike Gilpatrick and Daryl Foust. I also chatted with Howie Lindsey and decided to follow him to the entrance to the auditorium's seats. We were able to see the big screen, see the fans and players and watched the drawing there and I took a few of the pictures you see here. 

Louisville has an interesting road to Columbus. In the Lexington bracket are also Stanford, Tennessee and Baylor. Several people I spoke with after the show was completed expressed concern about Mulkey's Bears and Kalani Brown. At least her dad...ex NBA'er Dee Brown...has no eligibility. 

It's all about survival and advancement now.

Just survive somehow.

As I prepared to leave the facility, Walz got hold of the microphone again and thanked everyone for attending. He also made a heartfelt plea to the fans in attendance to get their tickets and bring a couple of friends. Louisville was been allotted 3500 tickets for rounds 1 & 2 and he'd like to see all those gobbled up by start of NCAA action.  

Leaving the Learning Center, I had a sense of pride about the huge turnout I had just been a part of. It was a fun-packed two hours and I hope the University definitely considers this venue again. A lot of familiar faces and great fans. This program has a lot of love for it out there in our community and beyond and if most of our "media" is too short-sighted to see that on a regular basis, shame on them! Their loss. There were the TV Stations there last night, a few other journalists and website folks there to cover. I hope they stay with this team during their run. I hope many more jump on the bandwagon. Forget about all this "f@#$%&!" men's BB drama and back WBB!!!

Three tournaments of two games each. A simple but revealing way to look at the Cards March march. It's showtime, ladies and gents. Let the games begin. 

It has to be good fortune that ROBBIE BARTLETT has been chosen to sing the National Anthem on Friday....right? 


NCAA WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT "Pick-Em" CONTEST

You know who play who, where and when by now. Download a bracket, make your picks and join us in the Cardinal Couple Women's Basketball NCAA "Pick-Em" Challenge. We've got a $25 Panera Card for the winner and I'm working on a prize for runner-up as well. It's fun and simple. Be the envy of your friends and be a winner! Say you don't know much about WBB? Hey, neither do we! Enter anyway.

With Jared Anderson the analysis director of your picks, you can be assured of a comprehensive scoring reliability and frequent updates. 

1) Make your picks.
2) Enter them in any comments sections here at Cardinal Couple from now until Friday.
3) In case of tie, earliest entry wins, so don't dally. 

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

Here's an example of an entry. The CARDINAL CHIMPS went through a couple of blenders of banana smoothies to come up with their choices. They chose against Central Florida Chimps Aerospace University, since a few of them were indicated on taking fruit kickbacks and payoffs from zoo keepers and  were expelled. 

ROUND 1 PICKS: UConn, Miami, Belmont, Georgia, USF, FSU, California,  So Carolina, Notre Dame, Villanova, Drake, LSU, Ohio St., Green Bay, Oregon, Miss. St, Syracuse, Princeton, NC St., Creighton, UCLA, Ariz. St., Texas, Louisville, Dayton, FGCU, Stanford, WKU, Tenn.,Michigan, Baylor. 

THE SWEET SIXTEEN: UConn, Georgia, FSU, California, Notre Dame, LSU, Ohio St. Oregon, Syracuse, NC St., UCLA, Texas, Louisville, FGCU, Tenn., Michigan.

THE GREAT EIGHT: UConn, California, LSU, Ohio St. Syracuse, Texas, Louisville, Michigan

FINAL FOUR: UConn, Ohio St., Syracuse, Louiville.

THEN THERE WERE TWO:  Ohio st., Louisville

CHAMPS: Louisville.

Come along and join the fun! 


Paulie
xxxxx

Louisville women's basketball -- The Streak Goes On - Friday Cardinal Couple

Sonny and Cher famously sang, "The Beat Goes On", and now the UofL Women's Basketball team could be singing, "The Streak Goes On" as they reach 17-0, the longest win streak in program history, with the 66-60 win over the Duke Blue Devils.

Kelly Dickey, of Real Card Game, who may be one of the most amazing sports statistics gurus I've ever witnessed in action, dug up the best starts in overall Cardinals history.  My beloved Volleyball holds the current crown with a 20-0 start in 2005, 19-0 for Baseball last spring, and a 17-0 start for them in 1957.

Credit to Haley Gorecki for Duke, who had a career night with 25 points, 15 of them from beyond the arc, along with 6 assists for leading the Dookies to making this a close game after a strong start by the Cardinals.  Leaonna Odom also have 14 points in the contribution.  The Cards held Lexie Brown to single digits with 8.  Rebecca Greenwell was in sweats and didn't play.

On the Louisville side, Myisha Hines-Allen got a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but despite the numbers, didn't have a particularly great outing.  Joining her in double figures were Sam Feuhring and, in a shock to no one, Asia Durr.  They had 12 and 22 respectively.

Beyond the above, nothing on the stat sheet was really all that sparkling.  This was a gritty win, that started off looking great for UofL, but then devolved a bit and allowed the Blue Devils back into a close game at the end.

The 8,101 in attendance did have a moment where they largely held their breath in unison when, approximately 2 minutes into the 2nd quarter, Asia Durr went down with what was a turned, or possibly sprained, ankle.  At the time, it looked bad (though at the time, I also thought it was her knee that she hurt...the perils of sitting in row CC), but she did return back out from the locker room and back into play before the end of the quarter.

Lamont Russell showing that his spider
strength comes naturally. Thanks to Sam
Purcell for the picture.

If Asia Durr dropping to the floor, clearly in pain, was the lowlight of the evening, the highlight may have been when Lamont Russell was called over from the bench by Coach Walz to, I thought, help her hobble off the floor.  In reality, Mr. Russell picked her up and carried her to the locker room with about the same ease that I pick up a piece of paper.  "Mr. Russell, sir" will likely be my form of address to him if I ever get the chance to meet him in person.  For fans who don't know who Russell is, he is the Video Coordinator for the coaching staff, and fulfills some graphic design duties as well.  I have no reason to think he performs those tasks with any less capability that he carried the 5'10" Asia Durr off the court.

Back to the game analysis, while the Cards have been on an extended road trip, including across the Christmas break, apparently they forgot that they wear white when they play at the KFC Yum! Center, as a number of passes went to players in blue.  Credit to Duke for jumping into the passing lanes, but a fair number of the passes were just ill-advised from the get-go.

F-R-E-D-S report

F - Free Throws - No score awarded here.  The Cards went 13-20 from the charity stripe.  A tip of the hat to Sam Fuehring, Arica Carter, and Dana Evans, who all went 2-2, but this is a team award, and an overall 65% doesn't get it done.

R - Rebounding - A lower case "r" gets awarded here.  35 tallys is better than Duke's 29, and is a decent rebounding total, but the margin is a little too close for comfort.  We can chalk a little bit of this up to shots being taken when there are no white shirts anywhere near the basket...perhaps a little more wisdom in shot selection is called for to help this one out.

E - Effort/Execution - One of the more subjective categories.  I'm going to award a lower case "e" on this one as well.  Errant passes being the main culprit prevent the upper case rating.

D - Defense - Holding Duke to 60 is good, forcing 15 turnovers compared to only 9 for the Cards is also good.  I believe that just gets the Cards over the hump to an upper case "D" for this category.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I will remain with the original FRED report in my post-game reports. And, a capital "D" here is just plain wrong, Worldwide. Report to the court for defensive practice. .  ...

We've tried, over the years, at Cardinal Couple to bring some attention to some of the unsung heroes of Cardinals Athletics.  Many of these folks labor out of sight and out of mind of most of the fanbase.  We don't always see their actions, but their impact is there.  In the effort to highlight some of their efforts, I've decided to start awarding an "S" in the F-R-E-D report from time to time, when some aspect of the "S"upport that the team gets warrants particular attention.  The team gets a solid "S" for last night thanks to the help from Mr. Russell,  and Keressa Ackles, the trainer for the Louisville squad, for their efforts in assisting Asia Durr and getting her back out onto the court before the quarter was out.

Final report, "-reDS".  It's always good to get the win, but there's certainly room to clean up the play.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

We've back!  The CCRH gang will be back, live, on the airwaves tomorrow at our normal timeslot of 11am on WCHQ, broadcasting from the spiffy new studios on Mellwood Avenue.  We're excited to get back into the swing of things, and we hope you're excited to hear us again.  Check it out on 100.9 FM in the central Louisville area, or streaming via TuneIn anywhere in the world, or if you're inclined, install the WCHQ app and pick up the show that way.  We're not picky.

-- 

JMcA