Wednesday Couple -- 2013 is talented and deep

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Jenny looks to the future

( Our Jenny O'Bryan spends this Wednesday gazing into her crystal WBB ball and looking at some high school stars. Results may vary, there are no guarantees and we accept all major credit cards.) 


She'll have a report on the Adidas Nationals team camp and Emmonnie Henderson on Friday...be sure to check back here at CARDINAL COUPLE to get her views!  

College women’s basketball teams are allotted 15 scholarship players on their roster.  (This is different for the men, as they are allowed 13 scholarship players).  Whether a coach decides to use all of the scholarships, I presume, is up to the coach.   Coach Walz seems to stay at or near capacity in terms of how he operates his program, as a rule. One can never predict injuries and other circumstances for the most part, so things can and do change.   

Show us the Monny! (Next year?)

This upcoming season looks like a roster of 13 eligible players.  I've heard that Monny Niamke will be on campus, but will have to sit out a year.  This would potentially bring the number of scholarship players to 14.  So, there could be one scholarship to give, should Coach Walz decide to use it.


 I personally think that the incoming class of 2012 is in the books and we will not see any additions to the roster.  I think this is a good idea, because the class of 2013 is incredibly talented and is deep with elite players that can make an immediate impact upon hitting college campuses. The additions to an already strong UofL roster would be a building upon what is already great. You lose players, you gain players. It is how college basketball operates. 

By my count, Louisville could have 4 scholarships to offer for the incoming class of 2013. I caution the reader that things are always subject to change. 

We are impressed with Makayla

Keep in mind one of these scholarships is already spoken for in the verbal commitment of Makayla Epps.  That leaves 3 available, should Coach Walz decide to have a full roster for the 2013-14 year.

As a faithful reader of Cardinal Couple, you all know that Mercedes Russell and Becca Greenwell are two top targets for this class.  Should they both commit to Louisville that leaves one scholarship still available, should Coach Walz go with a full roster.  Should one, or neither of them commit, well, you can do the math.    

WE want a Mercedes parked in the
KFC YUM! Center for four years.

So, what other players are now mentioning Louisville or considering?  Or, who else could Louisville be watching or considering?   There are a handful of names that come up as interested in Louisville.   I have not given a lot of time to some of these athletes as they have included Louisville amongst 8-10 programs on their (not so) short lists.   Recently, though, there have been two athletes who have narrowed their lists even shorter, and Louisville still remains on their list.   So, who are they?

Saniya Chong is a guard out of Ossining, NY.  She recently cut her list of schools to 4.  In no particular order, Louisville, UCONN, Maryland and Ohio State have made the cut.  According to the attached article, virtually every school in the Big East and ACC has recruited her.  According to Hoopgurlz Chong is not ranked in the top 60 in the country though Blue Star ranks her at #25 in the country.    I have only read reports and message board accounts of this player.  I have not seen her play, nor have I seen game time video of her. 

Saniya Chong: Stay away from the Husky
lure. Keep your game Cardinal pure! 

Please read the attached link about Chong.  You will have to bear with the writer here, as there are lots of comparisons to current UCONN players.  But, in doing so, it will help you understand the talent of this young woman, as it is current UCONN players that the writer compares Chong to.  Of special interest are the follow up impressions of the writer in the comment section.  Please also read the comment section for second, third and fourth viewings of Chong playing and the writers thoughts about her game. 

http://www.fullcourt.com/forum/prep/2013s-saniya-chong-impressions

Pretty impressive young player, eh?  We are in her top 4.   Like I said, the class of 2013 is deep and talented. 

Emmonnie Henderson is a power forward who plays for Edwardsville High School in Illinois.   Like Chong, Henderson has recently cut her list to 5.  Those still in the running for her services, in no particular order are Louisville, Kentucky, Purdue, Miami (FL) and Tennessee.   

So, what we gotta do to get you
away from Purdue? Throw the
shot and discus here, too?
(Cardinal field throwers are
among the best in the nation.)

Hoopgurlz describes this player as “strong as an ox” and a very good game within 15’.  She can create her own shots, and is working on extending her  mid-range game. 

Henderson had stated as recently as this past May that Purdue is the frontrunner, though I am hearing rumblings of that not being necessarily the case.    Henderson intends to major in engineering (uh, Speed School anyone?) and has been very impressed with the multiple visits she has made to Purdue.   Henderson also has a passion for track and field and wants to remain involved in that, too( yeah, we have that too!).  She has a love of shot put and discus and has been clear that she does not want to give that up. 

Andi has game. We shortened her
name. 

There are still several other top-level athletes that have Louisville in the mix of the schools they are considering.   Until individual players pare those lists down a bit, I will not give a whole lot of time to them here.    For those of you who are interested in looking them up and doing your own research, names that are somewhere on the radar of Louisville are Kendall Waters out of California, Alexandra Harris out of Ohio, Halle Washington out of Louisiana, Andrijana Cvitkovic out of Indiana and Nina Davis out of Tennessee. 

Kaela Davis climbed down from Rocky Top.
Head north to the Ohio River... K.D.!!

 One last name that has been mentioned in the very recent past is Kaela Davis out of Georgia.  Davis is currently ranked #2 in the country and reopened her recruitment about this time last summer after having verbally committed to Tennessee.   A very reliable source indicated that Davis was to visit Louisville the Monday before the last Elite Camp.  That visit was cancelled and is to be rescheduled in the near future. 

I do not know how many of the above-mentioned athletes have official offers from Louisville.  I do know that aside from Russell and Greenwell, Chong and Cvitkovic do have offers.  Beyond that there is some level of interest, to what degree, I do not know. The recruiting game is not an exact science. Things change. Situations change. It's not a GPS device. The end destination can change and vary.

A young Cardinal fan makes an
impassioned plea to Coach Norman.
"Please bring Becca Greenwell to
fly into the YUM and soar with the Cards". 

While I have spent a lot of time talking about Russell and Greenwell, and I certainly hope that we land them as future Cardinals, all is not lost if we do not.  There are many very talented athletes that are involved with the Louisville coaching staff that would make excellent additions to the Cardinal team. The players currently on board are top of the line and if Louisville didn't manage to get any of the recruits mentioned above, they would still be a deep, talented and dangerous squad. 

This class is just a few short months away from starting their senior year in high school.  We should start to see this recruiting class fall in to place by the time our Cardinals take to the court this upcoming season.  Until then, keep your eyes peeled for some of the aforementioned names, and continue to check Cardinal Couple for updates!


( Top notch, top notch...Jenny! Recruiting is a process. Nothing is guaranteed until the school officially announces a player. Even then, situations can change. We speculate here at CARDINAL COUPLE, based on what we hear, read and think. We aren't experts but fans like to be kept abreast and we try to provide our opinions and guesses. We look forward to following these outstanding senior prospects throughout their final seasons in high school.)


 PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT JENNY'S REVIEW OF THE ADIDAS CAMP at the KEC in Friday's Cardinal Couple.


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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Recruiting in the Bluegrass State

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Jenny looks at recruiting


-Mercedes Russell confirms Louisville camp attendance.

(Jenny O'Bryan flies the airplane for us today and files this
report on recruiting. She's our ace here at CARDINAL COUPLE 
in this area and we know you'll enjoy her writings
today and increase your knowledge as well.) 

Last week in the comment section of my article someone asked about Coach Walz recruiting and had he “abandoned in–state recruiting”?  I cannot speak to the recruiting of the class of 2010 or 2011, really.  We all know 2011 brought us Sarah Hammond from Rockcastle H.S. (KY).  Kentucky Miss Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year 2012 is Sydney Moss, from Boone County, KY.  She was pursued and offered a scholarship by Louisville, but chose Florida as the place she will spend her college career.

As has been stated before, following recruiting in women’s basketball is difficult, at best.  NCAA rules prevent University and college coaches from discussing recruits until they have signed their Letter of Intent (also called National Letter of Intent).  So, information that is out there comes from the recruit herself.  If not directly from her, then from her coach (either high school coach or AAU coach). Information can also be gathered from scouting services that get their information from the recruit herself or from coaches involved with the recruit. 

This is where the Internet, and more specifically social media, has transformed the recruiting world.  A recruit can tweet, facebook (insert any social media here), which coaches are pursuing them or expressing interest in their game.  It also provides an outlet for scouting services to talk about recruits as they are watching them in real time, as well as reporting information that recruits are giving them.  All of this is to say that information is readily available, as long as the recruits and/or coaches are talking. 

In the most recent past few weeks I have seen a lot of scouting services “tweeting” about the big AAU tournaments going on.  This past April coaches and scouts alike were spread out all over the country for an NCAA certified viewing period taking in big tournaments across the country.  Virginia, the DC /Maryland areas, and North Carolina tournaments specifically had scouts talking about kids from a “local” AAU program, Kentucky Premier.  Fast-forward a couple weeks later to Memorial Day weekend, and again, many tournaments, specifically one in Mason, Ohio, I found myself reading tweets and follow up articles about tournaments featuring kids from Kentucky Premier.  Finally, this past weekend, there was a big Skills Camp in Atlanta.  Bingo, you guessed it.  I again saw tweets about some Kentucky Premier players.  Not only was I hearing about “local” kids talents, but also about schools showing interest or offering scholarships.  


I decided to try and cull together some information about what I have been reading about upcoming talent in the state of Kentucky, and see if Louisville is involved in the recruiting of that talent. 

I also decided to go a step further and contact the Director of Kentucky Premier, Coach David Tapley, to confirm and verify information I was seeing tweeted by recruits, scouts and AAU coaches.  I spent some time talking to Coach Tapley. Not only did he confirm information I was seeing and reading myself, he also shared additional information about in-state kids that have some level of interest from Coach Walz and the University that I had not yet heard or read about. 

I want to caution readers that there are many levels of interest that a coach can show a recruit. Expressing interest does not guarantee the recruit will be extended a scholarship.  Perhaps the Coach is intrigued and wants to watch and see how the recruit develops. Please keep this in mind as I outline the in-state talent Louisville is said to have some level of involvement with. 

Coaches can start to show interest in a recruit by contacting high school or AAU Coaches.  NCAA rules prohibit a coach from initiating contact with a recruit until late in her junior year.  A recruit can initiate the contact, but not the Coach.  University Coaches have to go through high school coaches and AAU coaches when expressing interest in younger recruits. Hence my conversation with Coach Tapley to verify what I was reading, and I was fortunate enough to find out about some names that I had not heard yet heard about. 

2013

Makayla Epps- 5-11 PG from Marion County High School. Makayla has made a verbal commitment to U of L and is eligible to sign her LOI in the early signing period in November. 

China Dow- Christian Academy of Louisville.  China is a guard and recently was written up on ESPN Hoopgurlz and given high praise.   Louisville has shown initial interest in her and is said to be watching her development. Schools said to have interest in her are Texas A&M, MTSU, Miama (FL), Kentucky and Xavier. 

Rebecca Greenwell- 6-1 Guard from Owensboro Catholic.  Becca’s name should be familiar to Cardinal faithful as she is being heavily recruited by Louisville.  Many other top tier programs are vying for her services include Notre Dame, Kentucky, Duke, Tennessee and North Carolina, just to name a few. 

 2014

Yacine Diop- 5-10 combo guard from Darfur, Senegal who has recently moved to Kentucky, and was most recently enrolled at Oak Hill Academy. This young woman is said to have incredible athleticism and speed and is already getting a lot of interest from school such as Kentucky, South Carolina, Dayton, Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia Tech.  Louisville is said to be heavily interested in this recruit.  (Any information on this recruit was new to me, as I had not seen her name mentioned before, though I am assured I will see it plenty more in the future). There is some speculation that she may be at the Elite Camp on June 28.  She is also said to have been one of several recent recruits who was on campus the weekend of the softball Regionals several weekends ago.

Ivy Brown-6-2 Forward at Larue County High School. Louisville is said to be watching her progress. She has interest from many schools including St. John’s, WKU, EKU, Miama (FL), Virginia Tech, among others.

2015

Maci Morris- 5-11 guard out of Bell County.   Louisville recently offered Maci a scholarship.  She was among the group of recruits who was also on campus during the Softball regionals.  She is also said to likely be in attendance at the skills camp on 6/28. Maci is said to be getting interest from other big programs such as UCONN, Notre Dame, Stanford, to name a few.  She is absolutely a name to watch in the next few years. 

Morgan Turner- 6-2 guard/wing out of Meade County.  Louisville has some level of involvement with Morgan.  Morgan was invited to several games by Louisville last year and will also be at the skills camp on 6/28.   As an aside, I went to college with Morgan’s mom (a former basketball player herself.  It is certainly in her genes, to that I can attest.)  Morgan is being shown interest by some big time programs as well -- Stanford, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Dayton Iowa State, Kentucky and Virginia Tech. 

Morgan Rich-5-11 PG out of Allen County. Morgan was also said to be one of the recruits recently on campus.  She too is getting interest from big programs such as Notre Dame, Stanford, Virgina Tech, Xavier and  Louisville. 

Ashanti Thomas- 6-3 out of Lexington also is being shown some level of interest by Louisville. Other programs include Kentucky, Virginia Tech, MTSU, Indiana, WKU. 

Future Talent

Two very young players that are already making noise and yet to hit high school but are being noticed by high profile schools, Louisville included, is 2016 6-2 Forward out of Elizabethtown Erin Boley.  Erin is said to already be garnering interest from not only Louisville but also the likes of Notre Dame and Stanford.  2017 5-4 point guard Haeli Howard out of Marion County is also making noise.  While she is very young and still a year away from high school, she is said to ranked 9^th in the country in the class of 2017 by Bret McCormick at All Stars Girls Report. These two are very, very young talent and Cardinal fans should watch as this future talent develops over the next few years. 

Certainly not all of the recruits mentioned above will be offered scholarships by the University of Louisville.  Some may not fit into the Louisville system.  Others may offer a skill set that is not of the greatest need the year they graduate.  I am sure there are many scenarios about how and why Louisville may, or may not be, the right fit for some of the aforementioned talent.  I do think it is safe to say that Coach Walz most definitely has his pulse on the talent within the State though.  This is just talent from one Club Coach within the State who was kind enough to verify information I had on some of his kids, but also give me additional information on kids I had yet to hear about. 

In closing, regardless of where any of the aforementioned young players end up going to college, it looks like the State of Kentucky has a ripe crop of talent that basketball enthusiast should enjoy watching develop over the next few years.  And who knows, maybe a few of them will be suiting up as a Louisville Cardinal in the near future.  Keep your eyes peeled, Cardinal Fans.  Also, show up to the Elite Skills clinic on 6/28 and you may get to see some of this young talent.

(I want to thank Coach Tapley for his time and information.   I also hear it is his birthday today, so I want to give him a birthday shout out for his time this past week.) 

(It is also worth mentioning Andrijana “Andi” Cvitkovic a 2013 6-3 forward out of Culver, IN, by way of Croatia. While Andi lives in northern Indiana she plays AAU ball with Kentucky Premier and was very recently offered a scholarship by Louisville.  Andi is currently in Croatia training this summer for the Croatian national team.  Andi is also said to have been on campus several weekends ago with a few other recruits.  Stanford, Texas A&M, Michigan, Ohio State Indiana are just a few vying for her services. She is said to have over 64 offers to Division 1 programs. )


Recruiting is an area where the future of programs meshes with the needs, wants and desires of high school  students. An area where academics and athletics combine with fervent fans and coaches' cultivation. An art and a science. A fascinating feature in the overall structure of women's college basketball and an area that is continually changing and never boring. Thanks for reading my "take" on it today.


-Jenny


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Mercedes Russell has confirmed she'll be in Louisville for Jeff Walz's basketball camp on June 28th. Link below: 



Mercedes to roll into "Ville"

If there's ever been a reason to stand
up and yell "YES!"...this would be one...


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( Outstanding articles, Jenny! And, a big thank you to Coach Tapley for sharing his knowledge. You can catch Jenny's columns here at CARDINAL COUPLE on Wednesday and throughout the entire year. )
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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Softball travels to Tennessee (and loses 8-1)


-WBB: Walz offers 6'3" Andrijana Cvitkovic


-The Kentucky Oaks: A two horse race? 


GAME FINAL...Tennessee 8 - Louisville 1


The #5 Lady Vols tag three Louisville pitchers for 10 hits and eight runs in a win at Knoxville Wednesday night.


#8 Louisville managed just two hits against junior Ivy Renfroe and sees their 18 game win streak end. Louisville goes to 47-3 with the loss.


The Cards scored in the second inning and it was 1-1 after two...but U.T. exploded for four runs in the bottom of the third, two in the fifth and a final run in the sixth for the win. 


It is the highest hit and run production against the Cards this season. 1511 in attendance tonight. 


The game was a make-up game from a rain-out back in early March. 


Wouldn't want to be on that bus headed back up I-75 tonight...


WE'LL have a full recap in the Thursday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE. 


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The University of Louisville softball team travels to Knoxville today to play the Tennessee Lady Vols in a 6 p.m. game. U.T. is ranked #5 or #7 in the nation, depending which poll you go by and Louisville is #8 or #9. We can safely say it's a top 10 match-up. 

Non-conference games like this at the end of the season usually don't account for a whole lot...but this one peaks interest for a couple of reasons. 


-- Win streaks on the line. One of these two will see their winning streak end. The Cards have won their last 18, U.T. their last 17. The streaks are the two longest right now in college softball. 


-- Cards look to end the drought. UofL is 0-4 against the Lady Vols lifetime. They last met in the NCAA Regionals back on May 23rd, 2010 in Knoxville. Extra innings until UT broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth to defeat the Cards 3-1. 

These two were scheduled to meet back on March 3rd. in Knoxville in the Tennessee Classic...but rain postponed the game. 


We wonder...


-- Will Tori Collins get the start? UofL has a very important three game, regular ending season visit to St. John's this weekend. Do you risk pitching your ace against the Lady Vols or rest her up for a series that you hopefully will sweep to win the regular season title?


-- How will the Cardinal bats fare against the first Top Ten opponent Louisville has faced this year? Kristin Austin is batting .408 for the season. Over .400 is a rarity anymore in college softball. Taner Fowler isn't too far behind at .378 and Alicja Wolny close to those two at .364. 

-- Which Renfroe will the Cards face in the pitching circle? It's been a sister act this year for Tennessee when it comes to hurlers. Sophomore Ellen Renfroe is 26-3 on the year and Junior Ivy Renfroe is 18-6. They hail from Jackson, TN. and Trinity Christian Academy. 

Good barbecue in Jackson. Been a few years since we've been down there. Wonder if Brooksie's Barn is still as fantastic as it was last time we were there? It's a "must stop" if you're ever in the area...go hungry.

Should be a good one. CARDINAL COUPLE will try to post the final tonight as soon as the contest ends.


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Add another name to the 2013 UofL women's basketball recruit watch-list. 6'3" Andrijana Cvitkovic is a junior post player at Culver (IN) Girls Academy. This one is ironic...because we were taking a look at BIG 10 recruiting the other night and her name seemed to appear on about half the schools' wish list. Add Louisville to the suitors...Walz offered her yesterday. 


Originally from Croatia, "A.C." is expected to probably play at power forward in college. She does possess a nice outside jumper and is said to be able to punish teams from the high post. 


CARDINAL COUPLE writer and recruiting expert Jenny O' Bryan muses:

this picture is Stephanie, not Jenny...

Does this mean that the Cards are lessening up on efforts to land Stephanie Mavunga?


The 6'3" junior forward from Brownsburg, IN is on just about everyone's "got to get her" list and was the 2012 P.O.Y. in Indiana Girls' High School basketball, according to ESPN.


WE don't think that this is a sign that Louisville has lost interest in Stephanie. Instead, we see it as a sign that Walz is looking to add even more depth and skill to the Cards that will be back to patrol the paint in 2013-14. Remember, Asia Taylor will have graduated by then. Vails and Slaughter will be seniors that year. Hammond and Dyer juniors and Walton a sophomore. 


Depth is good. Height is great. Go after the big girls, Jeff. Get as many as you can. 


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We've given you a lot of Derby coverage so far (hope you're reading Darren Rogers) but we're going to look at the 138th running of the Kentucky Oaks today. The "Lillies for the Fillies" takes place on Friday, May 4th. 

The post position drawing was held yesterday and it looks like a full field of 14 three year old fillies, plus one 'also eligible', will compete over the Churchill track at a mile and one eighth. 


We'll make no bones about it. WE see this as a two horse race. On Fire Baby and Grace Hall have distanced themselves from the rest of this field, in our opinion, and will most likely be bet down to 5-2 odds or lower. 


Just for argument's sake...or in case you're looking to fill out a trifecta...who might be there if these two fall apart? 


We'll offer Broadway's Alibi, Summer Applause and Jemima's Pearl as choices to contend for third place.


I got into a bit of a "discussion" about the two Bob Baffert horses in the Oaks last night with a Churchill "regular". He's thinking Jemima's Pearl and Eden's Moon both hit the board at a big price. Honestly, I just don't see it...but a "back-up" wager on the two might not be a bad idea. 

For once...(Oh, Lord...it's a miracle!) Sonja and I are in complete agreement on a horse race. We only differ on who we think will finish third. Give me Broadway's Alibi...she's looking at long-shot Karlovy Vary. As far as who we think will win between Grace Hall and On Fire Baby...we'll wait until Oaks Day to decide that. 


Honestly, it's just too close to call right now...we'll look for developments over the next few days and give them a close scrutiny in the paddock before the race. 


Take a look for yourself. We've got links for the two in their most recent races. 


On Fire Baby


Grace Hall
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