Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Mercedes down to two and a look at Sherrone Vails.

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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Mercedes Russell: Louisville or Tennessee

-Sherrone Vails

The most highly sought after player in the class of 2013 has narrowed her college choices down to two schools. Mercedes Russell, a 6'5" post player from Springfield, Oregon, has announced that she'll be attending college at either Tennessee or Louisville. 

Russell, the #1 player in the 2013 class, is scheduled to visit Louisville between Oct 26-28th. according to several CARDINAL COUPLE sources. Also touring the campus at that time will be Emmonie Henderson, whose stock has been rapidly rising in the 2013 class. 

The UofL women's basketball team will be well into preseason practice by that time, so both girls will be able get a first hand view on how Jeff Walz and the Louisville coaches practice their trade. 

A contrast in schools on Ms. Russell's list. Louisville...rapidly growing in fan base and national recognition...with the state of the art KFC YUM! Center as their home base and top 10 pre-season ranked program for 2012-13 season. An athletic director and associates committed to Title IX and growth in all sports on campus. Often recognized as the "best college sports town" in America, the school plays in the toughest conference in women's basketball...the BIG EAST.

Then there is Tennessee. Rocked by the retirement of legendary Pat Summitt. One of the few schools that give a fair footing to women's basketball in a conference known for SEC football and Kentucky men's basketball. Still with a large attendance base but mired in controversy over the combining of the men's and women's athletic departments and dismissal of key people in women's sports. Once powerful, the Lady Vols torch doesn't burn quite as brightly as in past years. 


Russell is one of those few players that has the ability to be a program changer, a powerful paint-player who works well within a team concept and and take over a game at either end of the court. 

She'd look awfully good in the Cardinal Red and Black.

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( CARDINAL COUPLE has been preview the players on the 2012-13 squad. WE look at junior Sherrone Vails today.) 

At 6'4", the Cardinal center is the tallest member of the team and seems to have the arm-span of a seven-footer. More often than not, Vails can be seen running out to Sean Moth's introduction as the starting center for the Cards and she's on every coaches' list as a shot-blocker and threat underneath the basket. 

A member of the BIG EAST All-Freshman team in the 2010-11 season, Vails has a clearly defined role as one of Jeff Walz's regular front-line players. She's led Louisville in blocked shots since she arrived on campus. 

Vails set the school record for blocked shots in a game with seven against Houston Baptist in her freshman year and also set the Louisville freshman record with 48 blocks. 

Vails is not one-dimensional, however. Possessing a soft shot around the rim, she's a threat to score inside if the defense extends to cut off outside shooting. With her wide-span and height, she is an effective defender and has the ability to block out on both ends of the court.  

As she enters her junior season at Louisville, she's the heir apparent to start in the post for the Cards and...despite averaging only 15 minutes per game as a Cardinal...her presence underneath the basket on both ends of the court can force an opposing coach to think twice about having guards penetrate the paint. 

She probably won't be a scoring leader for Louisville this season, but will be an important part of a Cardinal front-line that uses rotation and substitutions effectively to ensure fresh players and alive legs are on the court at all times. 

We can see Vails providing an important paint presence for the Cards and she is already 11th. all-time in blocked shots at UofL. 

A phrase that Cardinal opponents may want to remember. 

"Shooting inside against Vails...fails."  

THE VAILS TALES:

          GS   GP  MIN  REBS  BLOCKS PTS  AVG
2011-12   26   33  14.4  76     33   103  3.1
2010-11   10   35  16.3  84     48   163  4.7

( Thanks for spending part of your Sunday with Sonja. Although I did very little as far as contributing to today's article, I did come up with the Vails' phrase. Have a great Sunday!) 

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Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Weekend laundry odds and ends from Sandy

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- Sandy does a weekend load of laundry


(Our thanks to CARDINAL COUPLE writer/columnist Sandy Walker for contributing today's article.)

RECRUITING

Owensboro Catholic Senior Guard Rebecca Greenwell is reported by ESPN Hoopgurlz to have narrowed her college choices to either Duke or Notre Dame.   The news is not unexpected and it has been believed that Notre Dame has been her top choice for awhile.  A more detailed report can be read in the link below.


  http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/news/_/id/88793/rebecca-greenwell.

This absolutely opens the way for another senior shooting guard, Saniya Chong, who I reported on last week having indicated Louisville as one of her final four college choices. 

Picture by ( Peter Carr / The    Journal News )

Below is a link that discusses Chong.


http://m.nypost.com/p/sports/high_school/basketball/final_four_ossining_pheonom_chong_j4Yr9zpT9W56g6FM3ckRcL?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Basketball.

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This morning I found a person posting to a blog who was indicating that with the loss of Greenwell as a recruit that the Vols new coach, Holly Warlick, now had 2 strikes and with the failure to sign another of the prominent recruits she is seeking would receive strike 3. 

I bleed red and definitely am not a Tennessee fan but that does not create a need for me agree with or to urge others to commit to similar thinking as I am comfortable that Louisville is going to do a great job recruiting no matter the outcome of Tennessee’s and Holly’s efforts. 

Fortunately this person’s mind-set does not represent all TN fans, or any of Louisville’s, but somebody needs to get real.   The lady has not even had the job title for a month and has just recently completed the hiring of her staff.  If this is the environment created by “fans” of the Lady Vols  ---  their opponents just have to sit back and wait as the “house” that Pat built continues to be dismantled.  The toxic atmosphere surrounding the job of head coach will soon just turn into a revolving door where no one can live up to the fans expectations.

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BIG EAST goes 0-2 in the Maggie Dixon Classic

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-St. John's and DePaul take losses in the Maggie Dixon Classic

-BIG EAST WBB results from Saturday.

New York, New York and Madison Square Garden were the hosts for the Maggie Dixon Women's Basketball Classic Sunday. The BIG EAST went 0 for 2 in the double-header...DePaul falling to the #7 Tennessee Vols and St John's on the short end of the score vs. #1 Baylor. 

Baylor got off to a slow start against the Johnnies in the first game...actually trailing at halftime for the first time this season...to Kim Barnes Arico's St. John's squad. The second half proved to be a little better for Kim Mulkey and the top-ranked Baylor Bears..after surviving an early second half 4-0 run from the Red Storm...they went on a 18-3 spurt to take control of the contest and pulled away for a 73-59 victory.

All-American Brittany Griner helped lead the surge, with 17 points and 13 rebounds for the top ranked Bears and Brooklyn Pope impressed with 19 points and eight grabs. Griner was held to just three shots in the first twenty minutes but found her game and the Bears overcame 1-12 three point shooting to secure the victory. 

St. John's suffered a potentially serious setback when starting guard Nadirah McKenith went to the floor with a leg injury with six minutes remaining. 

"I thought the kids seemed a little too excited at the half. I wanted them to be excited but I knew we had twenty more minutes and I knew they (BAYLOR) were going to make a run. They just wore us down." -- St. John head coach Kim Barnes Arico. 

Eugenei McPherson had 23 points for the Red Storm in a losing effort.


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Game two of the classic featured Pat Summit's Lady Vols against Doug Bruno's DePaul Blue Demons. Tennessee withstood a second half DePaul run that cut it to four at 43-39 with a 13-4 run of their own to lead 56-43 with 11 minutes to go. The Vols rolled to a 84-61 victory...Shekinna Stricklen gathering 12 points and Alicia Manning with 12 points and 12 boards to guide Tennessee. Jasmine Perry's 16 points and Keisha Hampton's 14 paced the Blue Demons. 

The Vols travel to #11 Rutgers Tuesday night and then take off to the West Coast to tangle with UCLA and #4 Stanford. 

Tennessee's Pat Summitt was honored with the Maggie Dixon Courage award. 


"I think when you see the impact Pat's had and when you go out and see fans wearing 'We Back Pat' shirts..it was exciting to see Pat get this award. We all know what Maggie Dixon stood for. Pat has a tremendous following and always will. She's preached to our kids being a woman first an self-sufficient." --Lady Vols associate coach Holly Warrick.

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BIG EAST action from Saturday saw the conference go 7-1 in non-conference action.

--Notre Dame used their withering defense to subdue Purdue for their sixth straight win 66-38. Natalie Novosel poured in 17 for the Irish.

--Louisville ran past Gardner Webb 92-27. Nita Slaughter showing the way with 23 points and Louisville forced 36 Bulldog turnovers.

--Villanova (8-2) had a 52-46 win over the St. Joseph Red Hawks. Laura Sweeney with the hot hand...totaling 18 points in the win.

--Marquette (6-5) took care of Iona 93-44. Katherine Plouffe leading the Golden Eagles squad with 20 points.

--Pittsburgh (5-5) took care of Valpariso 65-56 and takes on the Indiana Hoosiers next. 

(Another chance to use one of our
favorite pics...of Syracuse head
coach Quentin Hillsman.)

--Syracuse (7-3) held off Coppin State 56-50 for Quentin Hillsman. Closer than expected

--West Virginia rolled over the North Florida Ospreys 86-30. Ho-hum. Pass the cupcakes.

--Cincinnati (6-2) took to the road and suffered the only Saturday BIG EAST loss...falling short at Marshall 55-47. The Bearcats host Louisville on Wednesday.

(In the only other BIG EAST women's basketball game Sunday, the Georgetown Hoyas overcame a shaky first half against George Washington University to win 59-50. The Hoyas were up by only two 22-20 after the first twenty minutes.)
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Volleyball sweeps Morehead...More on Lady Cards WBB win...Sandy previews Baylor vs. Tennessee matchup

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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Volleyball sweeps Morehead...awaits NCAA Selection Show

-Breaking down the Cards win over FAMU

-Sandy Walker previews #1 Baylor vs. #7 Tennessee

Louisville Volleyball ended the regular season and celebrated Senior Day yesterday afternoon in Cardinal Arena with a 25-12, 25-20, 25-18 sweep
over OVC champion Morehead.

The Cards started briskly against the Eagles in the first game...blowing out to a 9-4 lead and increased upon that as the game went on...winning by 13. Emily Juhl, Kaitlynn James and Lola Arsanbekova using their kill shot prowess to produce 13 kills against the hapless Morehead defense.

Game two was almost a repeat...Louisville taking command early and well on the way to a rout at 17-11...but Morehead found some pride and rallied to tie the match at 20-20. After a Cardinal timeout, Anne Kordes' troops ran off the final five points of the set...Lola stepping up big for the Red and Black.

In the final, the teams exchanged leads early and the game was tied at 11-11 before the Cards ran off five consecutive points and eventually led 20-14 en route to a seven point win....Louisville scoring the final five point of the game.

THEY SAID IT:

"We did what we had to do today. Today was about taking care of business and it was a group effort for the win. Caitlin Welch did a great job defensively and Taylor Brauneis set a great and balanced offense against a very good Morehead State team. WE did what we could do to create the opportunity for the NCAA Tournament. Our goal is to advance in the tournament and continue the tradition. Now, we wait and see what happens Sunday on the Selection Show." - Anne Kordes, Louisville head volleyball coach.

The announcements of the brackets and pairing will be made tonight at 6 p.m. on ESPNU. Good luck to the Volleyball Cards for a great seed and continued success!

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A look at some numbers from Louisville women's basketball's 86-66 win over FAMU yesterday in Tallahassee:

-Louisville continues their surprisingly good marksmanship from the charity stripe...going 15-23 for 65.2%. Bria was 3-4, Mo 6-9, Asia 2-4 and Becky 5-7.



Gibbs could steal.



-Cards with a 47-37 rebounding edge from FAMU after being tied at the end of the first half on the boards. Asia with eight, Cierra had seven, Shawnta grabbed 6, so did Mo and the Cards ruled the defensive rebounds 31-17. Not so good on the offensive end...where FAMU won the battle 20-16. 



-Although turnovers were too high at 27...they were pretty well equally distributed. Sara and Jude had 4 each, Asia three and seven players had two each. FAMU had only 17 turnovers.

-FAMU led the steals department 11-10. Shoni and Becky with three each. This is one of the areas UofL really misses Tia Gibbs...she was a master thief. 

-Minutes played. No Cardinal saw 30 minutes of action against the Lady Rattlers. All 12 Cards that made the trip played. The breakdown:

Becky Burke 29       Cierra Warren 17        Shelby Harper 13
Bria Smith 26              Sara Hammond 16      Antonita Slaughter 10
S. Schimmel 24       Shawnta Dyer 15        J. Schimmel 9
Sara Hammond 18   Asia Taylor 15            Sherrone Vails 8

Finally, Louisville held FAMU to 31% shooting (22-70). The Lady Rattlers got off 12 more shots than the Cards but Louisville made nine more baskets.

SONJA'S EARLY SEASON AWARDS:

-- MVP Gotta go with Mo. She's returned from injury and been outstanding. 16.8 p.p.g. and unstoppable in the paint. Do the Cards beat Texas A&M with her in the lineup? We'll never know...but she would have had an impact. 

--FRESHMAN MVP WE'll take Bria Smith here. A starter and impact player on both ends of the court. That lightning fast first step and base-line control are way impressive and rare for a first-year player.

--OFF THE BENCH Since Mo already has a award...I'll take Asia Taylor here. She impacts a game when she steps on the floor and has developed a good touch from the charity stripe.

-- FAN FAVORITE Her time has been limited this year, but the Cardinal faithful still whip themselves into a frenzy when Shelby Harper checks in. Dauntless, fearless and always in a hurry.

--HEART AND HUSTLE I pick Sherrone Vails...she has stepped up her defensive efforts this year, battles opposing centers tooth and nail and brings a spark to the Cards lineup when she takes the court.

--POWER IN THE PAINT Going with Cierra Warren, even though her Florida trip wasn't the best. Warren has strength, size and a sweet shot inside...she exudes confidence and swagger on the court...just gotta keep away from the silly fouls and fading away from the basket on close-in shots. Lean in, big girl!

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(SANDY WALKER is a contributing writer for Cardinal Couple. She'll make the trek to Knoxville today to watch #1 Baylor visit the Tennessee Vols and Pat Summitt. Here are her pre-game observations...we look forward to her post-game report.)

#1 ranked BAYLOR and head coach Kim Mulkey are shooting for a shocking three wins in a row over TENNESSEE in a highly anticipated pre-conference duel. It was last March when the Bears and the Vols met up...the Bears showing Pat and company the exit door from the NCAA Tournament. Both teams will be eager to establish and maintain dominance over the other early in this contest...and it could lead to another spring matchup as the schools march to the NCAA tournament.

The teams enter today's game going in different directions. Baylor is fresh off a win over previously #2 ranked Notre Dame and U.T. reeling after an unexpected overtime loss to unranked Virginia.

Emotions will be high today...Vols fans instructed to wear their "WE BACK PAT" t-shirts in honor of their coach and her diagnosis on early onset dementia. Sales of the shirts have raised more than $150,000 for Alzheimer's research programs and the Tennessee Athletic Department will present checks to ALZHEIMER'S TENNESSEE and UT MEDICAL CENTER before the game.

(Thanks to Sandy for a wonderful pre-game preview. CARDINAL COUPLE received (2) WE BACK PAT orange t-shirts earlier this year as a gift from our friend Joe Hill...who recently moved back into the Gatlinburg area after "retiring to Florida". WE can honestly say that WE are UT Women's basketball fans this year...we were even UT football fans yesterday, but they couldn't extend the win streak over Kentucky...losing 10-7 in Lexington.)

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Starting lineups announced for Lady Cards vs. Lady Vols

FRIDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

-The Vols are coming, the Vols are coming

-Dyer could be out several weeks

-Marra keys Cardinal MBB romp

-Those crazy Underdogs

-Volleyball on the road

Welcome to the Friday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE. Tonight it happens in the KFC YUM Arena, with the Tennessee Vols facing Jeff Walz's Lady Cards. The #4 Vols are searching for the right starting lineup and Pat Summitt (pictured here) will send Angie Bjorklund, Shekinna Stricken, Taber Spani, Alicia Manning and Glory Johnson out for the opening tip. It is a first attempt for Summitt to find a starting five out of her talented troop. Seeing them go "small" without 6'6" Kelley Cain or 6'4" Vicki Baugh getting the starting nod would appear that "the Pat" is looking for defense and mobility.

Jeff Walz will counter with Monique Reid, Tia Gibbs, Shoni Schimmel, Asia Taylor and Keisha Hines out as starters. Four out of the five have played against UT in the past and Schimmel, a freshman from Portland, Oregon, gets the nod at point guard.

Expect both teams to do quite a bit of rotation and substitution. Louisville will need some long range bombing from Becky Burke and Antonita Slaughter to keep UT honest on the defense.

Walz vs. Vols. The action starts at 7 p.m. and will be shown on a delayed basis on CBS College Sports at 9:30. ET. If you go, try to be in your seats early for the 6:45 p.m. ceremony for Angel McCoughtry. Her jersey will ascend to the rafters of the YUM. About as high as she used to jump in Freedom Hall....

CBS College Sports will also show the BIG EAST Soccer Tournament semifinal match between UofL and WVU at 7:30 p.m. If you're not in the YUM cheering on the Lady Cards tonight, give it a view...

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Freshman forward Shawnta Dyer suffered a fractured heel in the scrimmage against Marshall last weekend and will miss several weeks of action. She started against Indiana Wesleyan and was expected to see significant playing time this season. Hate to see the injury bug rear its head so early in the Lady Cards season. Dyer will either be put in a cast or have a pin inserted. Dyer's length and defense will be missed...at least this year there are others available to step it up in her absence. Get well soon, Shawnta'.

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A nice 96-54 exhibition win last night for the men's team against Kentucky Wesleyan. Mike Marra had the hot hand from outside...burying six of eight treys and finishing with a game high 22 points in only 20 minutes of court time. Peyton Siva (18 pts.) and Terrence Jennings (15 pts.) joined him in double figures. Preston Knowles sat out the contest with a thigh bruise.

Marra's deep range bombing and several electrifying dunks by Jennings got the 19,227 in the YUM fired up. Pitino played 12 and 11 scored, with George Goode failing to swish the hoop. Elisha Justice is a scrapper...nailed two of his three treys and showed some excellent passing and ball handling skills. The crowd, in typical Cardinal fashion, began the exodus at the half...with Louisville up 51-25. The road gets harder for Rick's guys Tuesday night with NCAA Tournament runner-up Butler in town.

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Volleyball is in Milwaukee tonight for a match against the Marquette Golden Eagles. Louisville can solidify their hold on 2nd place in the BIG EAST with a win tonight. The BIG EAST Volleyball tournament is a week away...in Pittsburgh. The Volley Cards will close out the regular season at Syracuse.

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Dave Jennings and Tony Vanetti are the AFTERNOON UNDERDOGS and they host a sports talk show on WKRD 790 AM/101.7 FM Monday thru Friday that starts at 3 p.m. It's usually a pretty good show and they get some great guests on there. They got a little off topic (and off color) yesterday in OUR opinion when talking about Lady Vols head coach Pat Summitt. References to her looking like Denny Crum and comments about her wearing a cheerleading outfit last year and the questionable innuendos surrounding that is pretty much sophomoric humor. Stick to sports, guys. There was a great comedy duo on Louisville radio years ago when Terry Meiners and Ron Clay hosted a morning show on WLRS and WQMF.

You ain't the second coming...boys.

Why does sports talk radio have to be all about the "shock and wow" effect these days? Van Vance never needed it and he was the best at it ever on the Louisville airwaves. The "Dogs" lost a good one when Adam Neft skipped town to do Columbus, OH. radio. Some say they haven't recovered his leaving. If you're going to talk about women's sports, try to put the events in a favorable light.

Why drag down the show's credibility with potty humor about the best coach in women's basketball? I guess that's what happens when you stick a classic rock disc jockey and 'has been' bowler on sports radio...

(Pictured above is former UofL men's basketball head coach Denny Crum. We see no resemblance between Denny and Pat. Maybe Jennings and Vanetti need glasses or lasix surgery...)

EPILOUGE

I ran into Tony Vanetti at the Tennessee game and told him of the displeasure his actions had given one of the co-owners of CARDINAL COUPLE. He pointed out that it had been a caller who made the original Crum reference. He did offer an apology, though. Vanetti is a class guy...even if he is a disc jockey. He also thinks Pat is an attractive woman. After a couple of glasses of wine....

Trout fishing with Charlie Ray

It is a sport I attempt once or twice a year. The field of competition is a clear, cold mountain stream. The opposition consists of rainbow and brown trout. There is no time limit except darkness. It is a solitary sport...this trout fishing...although I make a point of going with my long time buddy Charlie Ray when I am in Gatlinburg.

I made the arrangement phone call weeks in advance. We would spend a few hours walking "the spot"...casting, hip waders on and accompanied by his blue tick hound "Spotter."

It is good to see Charlie Ray again. I arrive at his cabin/farm around 4 p.m. I bring gifts from Louisville...his wife brings out sweetened iced tea and we sit on the veranda porch for a few moments, talking about the year that has passed since we last saw each other. Retirement seems to be treating both of them well. Charlie Ray has put on a few pounds since I last saw him...good pounds, though...and his craggy face is a dark brown. His wife has a full vegetable garden started...already red tomatoes on the vine and squash and green beans extending from the earth.

We load his pickup truck, Spotter hops in the truck bed and off we go. The drive is short and consists mostly of gravel road. To gain access to the stream, we have to walk about 1/4th of a mile. The first hundred yards or so are thru deep weeds and Spotter leads the way...dashing to and fro and letting all snakes and critters know that we are here. It is a spot that not many besides the locals know about. They keep the first 100 yards or so uncut...after that, the path is well marked and worn. There are wooden rails to help with the descent and climb to and from the creek.

We descend to the creek and spend the next three hours wading, casting, talking and watching Spotter run the banks. My casting is rusty at first but I eventually start hitting the pools and eddys I am aiming for and by the time darkness descends on us...I have caught 4 nice sized browns, a rainbow and numerous smaller trout. Charlie has done well also and since his freezer is full of previous trips..we are catching and releasing today. The time goes quickly...we discuss politics, religion and sports whle we fish. Charlie is a big UT Vols fan...he follows the Lady Vols avidly and might travel to Louisville to see them play the Cards this year. He reminds me that the Vols eliminated the Cards in softball this summer. I remind him that UT football hasn't been the same since Phil Fulmer left. We take a short break after a couple of hours to munch on turkey sandwiches his wife has prepared for us and sip cold water.

The trip back offers a few deer viewable from the road. We arrive, unpack and sip tea before I leave. Charlie is an accomplished mandolin player and he plays several songs as we sit on the porch and watch evening envelope us. I try to follow on guitar...but my playing is very rusty. I leave with the promise of getting together next year...and possibly this fall if I can work out the details. I drive back to the chalet...tired but satisfied with the day's activities. The moon is almost full and the sky bright with stars. It has been a fun and active last several hours.

All are asleep when I reach the chalet...and I spend some time on the porch...reflecting on a perfect afternoon and hearing the chirp of crickets, cicadias and other night creatures of the East Tennessee woods performing a lullabye that will have me sleeping soon. For tonight, there are no worries about bills, deadlines, commitments or issues. It is a good change.