USA U18 Draws Group A -- Other News -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jeff Walz, USA U18  National Team Draw Group A

In addition to his Cardinal duties, Jeff Walz is coaching the USA Women's Basketball U18 National Team.  This year's host is Mexico City.  It was recently announced that they will be in Group A along with Argentina, Chile, and Puerto Rico.  Group B will feature Canada, Mexico, Colombia, and El Salvador.

Practice begins on July 20th. out in Colorado Springs, CO at the USA Olympic Training Center and the UofL coach has an impressive assistant coaching staff to assist him in Cori Close (UCLA) and Natasha Adair (Delaware).


United States holds a roster of 12 active players: Aijha Blackwell, Jenna Brown, Desiree Caldwell, Maori Davenport, Nazahrah Hillmon-Baker, Rhyne Howard, Ashley Joens, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Anaya Peoples, Sedona Prince, NaLyssa Smith, and Christyn Williams.  Ten of the 12 have named colleges and Universities for their student/athlete careers. Blackwell and Davenport are still uncommitted. None are currently headed to Louisville.

Walz and the Cards are basically guaranteed to see two of them in NCAA competition down the road, with Rhyne Howard headed to UK and Anaya Peoples naming Notre Dame as her choice. Two Connecticut-bound players in Olivia Nelson Ododa and Christyn Williams are on the roster.

Group Play will be played August 1-3, facing each opponent once.  Based off the results the teams will be seeded.  Quarterfinals will be August 5, semifinals on August 6, and the finals on August 7.  The USA is looking for a ninth-straight gold medal and should be the favorite to take the crown.  The top four teams will automatically qualify for next year's FIBA U19 World Cup 2019.

Historically, the USA U18 teams have been a dynasty, going 53-2 and claiming the gold every World Cup since 2000.  The event is held every other year.

Following the conclusion of the World Cup and the return back home I expect we'll be graced with an interview between Paulie and Coach Walz.  Hopefully, Coach will offer his insights into the upcoming UofL women's basketball season while also telling us about the good and bad food he ate while in Mexico City. We doubt we get him in a sombrero...

Other News and Notes

POORCASTLE

Our wonderful host, WCHQ, is a major sponsor in the Poorcastle festival.  Unlike the better-known Forecastle, Poorcastle features local artists and is affordable at just $5 per day or $10 for the full three-day pass.

I stopped by for a while late Sunday afternoon to see how things were going and to snag a few pictures.  Let me tell you, this city has some incredibly talented musicians.  You can most likely find any of the artists from the lineup on air with WCHQ at some time or another.

We are grateful that WCHQ continues to host Cardinal Couple Radio every week.  Here are a few of the pictures from the weekend event:

Louisville to Add a New Division 1 Team?

UofL ice hockey club team

It has been quite some time since the University of Louisville has added a Division 1 team, but we might be seeing an addition sooner than later.  The unfortunate part for us at Cardinal Couple is that it is not a women's team.

The UofL men's club ice hockey team has grown in success and popularity over recent years.  Currently, their home is Iceland Sports Complex where they pay to use the facility.  They have risen from Top 25 when I first started as a student to back-to-back Top 10 finishes, including consistently being one of the top two teams in their division.

Questions are already circulating and here are my answers to those:

Louisville RiverFrogs ice hockey

Q: Will this create an issue with Title IX?
A: No.  UofL is ahead of the curve when it comes to Title IX in terms of women's players, scholarships, and funding.  They have room to spare when it comes to a men's team.

Q: Does UofL have the funding for it?
A: Probably not, but they won't admit it if that's the case.  With budget cuts all over the university it would not surprise me if athletics has had to cut back on expenses too.  Building an entire program is not cheap.

Q: Where will they play?
A: Temporary locations could include the KFC Yum! Center (highly unlikely), Freedom Hall, or Broadbent Arena.  All three are big enough to hold an ice hockey arena and have seating for fans.  From 1995-1998 Broadbent Arena hosted the Louisville RiverFrogs, Louisville's semi-pro team.  That team eventually relocated to Florida and is now in Ohio known as the Cincinnati Cyclones.  In the long run UofL would most likely have to build an arena.

Q: How quickly could we see the addition of a new sport?
A: I'd say it would be a good 3-4 years minimum.  Funding, location, scholarships, coaches, staff, and NCAA approval are the big factors that come into play.  The university is in no shape to invest time and money into all of that at this point in time, but with a new president, a new athletic director, and hopefully some new board members at some point things seem to be looking upward.

What Day Is It?



Take a picture of your dog, cat, or whatever animal friend is living in your home because it's Pet Photo Day!  Enjoy lots of food and drink with slurpees, blueberry muffins, rainier cherries, and mojitos all having a holiday dedicated to them.  It is a good day for Coach Albiero and his aquatic friends at the Natatorium seeing that it is National Swimming Pool Day.  Enjoy a belly flop for me!

How do you think Coach Walz and Team USA will do?  Will they make it a 10th straight gold medal?  What are your thoughts towards a new Division 1 team at UofL?  Does ice hockey deserve it or should we see another sport first?  Please leave your comments down below.  As always, please respect the comments of others in the thread.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Griffin Impresses crowd at Run For The Roses -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

AUBREY GRIFFIN GOES FOR 41 and 14 IN OPENER

Creating a bit of a numeric palindrome Thursday night, Hudson River Breeze AAU player Aubrey Griffin put up 41 points and 14 rebounds for her squad in an opening game, 86-76 win in the Run For the Roses Classic at the K.E.C. 

Although I did not get to see the action in person, an avid basketball fan and Cardinal Couple reader spoke with me at length about what she saw out of the Ossining, NY native. Due to her request, I am not identifying her by her real name. We'll call her "Jane". 

"She is pretty amazing. From what I saw Thursday night, she can score from all over the court in the offensive sets that are built around her. Inside, outside, off the dribble -- you name it and she'll find a way to get it in the hoop. She's just as comfortable running the offense as she is down in the paint." Jane told me yesterday.

Aubrey had yet to play in the two Friday games on Hudson River's tournament schedule, but we hear from updates that she tossed in another 41 points Friday morning and 19 in her Friday night game. 

So, the word is out on Aubrey as she prepares for her senior year of high school. Word is also out that there possibly may be a few more schools than Louisville and Connecticut  on her consideration list. 

"I was eavesdropping in on a few conversations and I heard that Dawn Staley [SOUTH CAROLINA], Sylvia Hatchell [NORTH CAROLINA] and Vic Schaefer [MISSISSIPPI STATE] were a few coaches that hadn't been totally ruled out yet. I kinda of hate this for Louisville but it does show that she's got the talent that any major program would be happy to have on campus." Jane continued.

The excitement surrounding Griffin does remind me a bit of the hub-bub about Mercedes Russell when she was being recruited heavily by the Cards and the Vols a few years back. The national rankings on Griffin will most certainly change dramatically for the better as she progresses through her summer ball and her senior high school season. 

To learn more about Aubrey, all one has to do is put the words Aubrey Griffin Basketball in your favorite Internet search engine. She and her family are a great read. 

In Louisville, a fireworks display took place after the 4th of July at a basketball venue and, from all accounts, Aubrey was holding the Victory Torch to set them off. 

Recruiting, evaluation, observation. The steps to finding and identifying student-athletes that can have an impact on a program. They bottom line, though, comes down to a player deciding which program fits them best. A former student-athlete once described the process as very similar to choosing a car. Amidst all the advertising, availability and courtship, it comes down to what you feel comfortable behind the wheel in. 

The program, of course, has to have that same level of interest. 

We can only hope that Aubrey picks the best fit for her. And it wouldn't hurt any Cardinal fans feelings at all if she chose Louisville. 


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

The knuckleheads will not be on the air today. Our broadcast venue, WCHQ 100.9 FM is heavily involved in the Poorcastle Festival this weekend and logistics, time frame and producer availability created a scenario where doing a live show was not feasible. 

We fully understand. We'll be back next week. It doesn't mean that you should abandon the programming that the station has available. Lots of great music and shows emanate from the massive and magnificent media mansion on Mellwood to listen to. Paulie's other project, HANDICAPPING HEROES, is a pre-recorded show, so it will be on at noon today.

Just call it our "summer-camp vacation" week. Although...the prospect of having Paulie, Worldwide Jeff, Case and Jared all together at the same summer camp would be enough to drive any camp counselor crazy. To the rowboats, one and all! Are those Jared's pajamas atop the flagpole? Keep Worldwide away from the camp's I.T. room!! Don't let Case participate in any sports and someone search the woods for Paulie, he's lost again. 

Try to fit Poorcastle into your weekend plans. Great music, great beverages and food trucks. To learn more, go to: www.poorcastle.com


Paulie
xxxxx 

Griffin in Louisville, visits UofL WBB -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

AUBREY GRIFFIN IN LOUISVILLE FOR RUN FOR THE ROSES TOURNAMENT

Another potential player for Louisville WBB's 2019 class is in the the 'Ville and has made a visit to the UofL campus and Jeff Walz. 

Sources confirm and tweets with pictures back up  Cardinal Couple information that 6'0" wing Aubrey Griffin flew into Louisville on Wednesday to play in the Run For The Roses tournament with her Hudson River Breeze AAU squad and visited the UofL campus and Jeff Walz on the fourth of July. 

Griffin averaged 28.3 points per game and 8.7 rebounds as a junior at Ossining, NY High School in the 2017-18 season. She is currently ranked as the 12th. best wing and 56th. overall best player in ESPN's Hoop Gulz 2019 rankings. She recently narrowed her list of potenial schools down to two -- Louisville and Connecticut -- and will play in four games out at the Kentucky Expo Center over the next three days. A list of scheduled appreances is available at the bottom of this article. 

Louisville currently has two players that have given verbals for 2019. Nyah Green is a 6'1" guard from Allen, TX that is ranked the #4 guard prospect by ESPN. Ramani Parker, a 6'4" forward that will play for Monteverde (FL) Academy in 2018-19 is #11 ranked in the forward spot. The academy is west of Orlando, off Florida's Turnpike. 

The Cards WBB squad has four that will leave the squad at the completion of the 2018-19 season....Asia Durr, Arica Carter, Sam Fuehring and Yacine Diop.

The visit to UofL is a couple of days before Friday's official seven day, NCAA sanctioned recruiting visits window...where coaches can hit the road to see players.

Since she came to see UofL and Walz, and is with her club team...it's obviously quite O.K. that it's a couple of days before this window. You can be assured Walz and his staff will be busy, not only following Griffin...but other players. You can also expect a cacophonous conglomeration in the congregation of college coaches in Louisville for the next three days for the highly prestigious and talent-laden Run For The Roses event. 

As you may have determined from previous Cardinal Couple articles, we're big fans of Griffin and are hoping that she'll choose the 'Ville" as her student-athlete home. 

If you want to see her in action, here is a list of where she'll be over at the K.E.C in the next three days: 


THURS.  6:45 p.m.  COURT 57
FRIDAY  11:54 a.m. COURT 73
FRIDAY  7:12 p.m.  COURT 74
SAT.       2:25 p.m.  COURT 23


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR


We won't be on the air or Facebook Live this Saturday with The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. Our host station... WCHQ...is one of the sponsors and also one of the benefactors of Poorcastle..a three day, 36 local artist(s) musical event that takes play at the Apocalypse Brew Works on Mellwood Avenue July 6-8th. The doors open at 1 p.m. each day and it was a station management decision that, since we are on until noon on Saturday, it would just be too long of a day for our station manager (who also produces our show). We step aside. Gallantly.

WCHQ is pretty much a music station in it's entity anyway and we are a sports talk show specializing in UofL women's sports. This "Tom and Jerry" coupling has gone as well as can be expected over the years and...we've actually made friends with a few of the other personalities that appear on the station. Whether any of the other show hosts would be able to pick Paulie or Worldwide Jeff out of a "suspects lineup" is debatable...but we still appreciate our time. it's also our "slow season". All you quiz lovers will just have to wait another week. 

Handicapping Heroes will also be dark Saturday. That ought to just please the sponsor for that show to death...

It should be noted that this isn't Forecastle. That musical event takes place the weekend following Poorcastle (July 13-15) down on the Ohio River at Waterfront Park

More on Poorcastle can be found at the events official website: 

www.poorcastle.com

You should go if you're into music and don't mind standing out in hot weather. There will be beverages and food trucks. It's only $5 a day or $10 for all three days. 


paulie
xxxxx