This week high school seniors were able to sign their Letter of Intent and commit to play basketball at the next level. The University of Louisville Women’s Basketball program signed another highly ranked class. To introduce the ladies of the class of 2016 to the rest of Card Nation, the coaching staff put together a pretty creative video. Great to see the personalities of the coaches on display.
You may never listen to Adele the same way.
Tonight the University of Louisville Women’s Basketball Team will be a part of ESPN’s Big Monday. They are playing at Duke and the game will be televised on ESPN2. Normally I follow the games on my SportsCenter app which is a convenient way to keep up with the score, but it’s not the same as watching it live. Of course, I would love be at Cameron watching the game, but it’s pretty exciting they will be on ESPN.
ESPN also featured a great article on the women’s program at Louisville. They are doing well in their first year in the ACC, but play both Duke and Notre Dame this month, which will both be good games. This article talks about the growth of the program and where they are headed. Click on the link to check it out: Louisville coach Walz masters art of succession
While we are still waiting for a second opinion on whether Sydney will undergo surgery, it appears that her freshmen season at U of L will be interrupted. She has been having some soreness in the repaired knee and experienced some pain while landing in practice a couple of weeks ago. She had a scan done and it seems that surgery is in her near future.
Coach Walz made mention of it on his radio show last week and the news took to Twitter and other social media. I was a little surprised that our local newspaper, the Wilmington News-Journal, picked up on it. They talked about Syd in an article which featured another Clinton County athlete who is looking to take the next step of playing football after college.
Mark Huber’s article was well-written and pointed to Syd’s faith as she moves toward potential surgery and rehab. Here is a portion of the article that appeared in the November 14, 2014, edition of the News-Journal.
I also ran across a nugget from the Louisville Courier Journal, via Google-alert, that reported Sydney Brackemyre will miss the upcoming college basketball season because of a knee injury.
The LCJ story reported Louisville head coach Jeff Walz said during his radio show that Brackemyre may not have had a major impact on the Lady Cardinals season in 2014-15 but the knee injury and subsequent surgery puts an end to her season before the first official game.
Brackemyre, a 6-1 forward, is a 2014 graduate of Clinton-Massie High School.
Both of these athletes have a strong faith in God and even though their news is on opposite ends of the spectrum, you can be certain both will take the news in stride — the good for Rollins who will not take anything for granted and keep working just as hard and the bad for Brackemyre who will likely work harder to return to form — and continue on the path they believe God has set for them.
The Louisville Women’s Basketball team starts their regular season play this week. The Courier-Journal posted this article talking about the upcoming season and the role the freshmen will play on the team.
To replace what was probably the best group of seniors the University of Louisville women’s basketball program has ever known, coach Jeff Walz added one of the Cardinals’ best freshman classes.
The newcomers will get their chance to shine right away.
Walz, in his eighth year, signed five players, including McDonald’s All American Myisha Hines-Allen and Mariya Moore, in a 2014 class that ranked No. 5 nationally by ProspectsNation.com.
“We recruited these young ladies with the idea that they were going to have come in here as freshmen and contribute and compete, and all of them are doing that,” Walz said. “I’m really excited about that. We couldn’t afford to miss out on this recruiting class.”
Despite the change in identity, expectations remain high for U of L, which is No. 12 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 and picked to finish third behind Notre Dame and Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Hines-Allen, a 6-foot-2 forward from New Jersey, and Moore, a 5-11 wing from California, are candidates to start, helping fill the huge void left by departed seniors Shoni Schimmel, Antonita Slaughter, Asia Taylor and Tia Gibbs.
“Coach Walz said he doesn’t want any of our freshmen to act like freshmen or play like freshmen,” Hines-Allen said. “So we just have to be aware of who we’re playing and come with confidence every game, every practice. … We have to make a presence.”
Hines-Allen, who plays both forward positions, has impressed Walz with her rebounding and ability to finish around the basket. She can also make an occasional 3-pointer.
“Her physicality and ability to withstand contact and just embrace it is what’s going to give her the advantage and ability to play early,” he said.
Moore is an all-around player – a good shooter and passer who was a member of the U.S. U18 National Team that won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas tournament over the summer.
“I know I’m not going to be able to give them everything that they lost, but I just want to give everything that I can,” Moore said. “As many assists as I can give, defense around the court, anything.”
Hines-Allen and Moore are physically ready to contend with the contact, size and speed of the college game, but the other freshmen will need a bigger adjustment period.
Long Beach, Calif., point guard Arica Carter is a good defender and dribble penetrator who shapes up as the primary backup to Jude Schimmel, but she needs to gain strength to play major minutes.
Sydney Brackemyre of Ohio is a “stretch” power forward with good offensive skill and decision-making, and wing Ariana Freeman of Northern Virginia can carve a nice with rebounding and defense, the coach said.
“I’m confident that all five are going to be a big part of this team,” said Walz, adding that U of L’s five seniors, including Sara Hammond, have done a good job helping bring the freshmen along.
Last year’s seniors were responsible for 55 percent of the Cards’ scoring and 43 percent of their rebounding. They carried U of L to a 33-5 season and Elite Eight appearance a year after finishing as the national runner-up. They helped U of L to 107 victories over four years, and Schimmel, Taylor and Slaughter all were selected in the WNBA draft.
Schimmel left as the school’s No. 2 all-time scorer and leader in 3-pointers, and Walz hopes a collective effort of veterans and freshmen will offset the loss of a singular superstar.
“We’re not trying to just replace Shoni; we’re going to have kids that do different things,” Walz said. “We might not have someone as splashy as Shoni with the ball or being able to hit the stepback threes that she could, but I feel really good about our nucleus and the caliber of players we have right now.”
Hines-Allen was as big a fan as anyone of the Schimmel-led Cards last season. One reason she wanted to come to Louisville was to play the fast, exciting style U of L used to great success.
She thinks the new crop of Cards can keep the good times rolling.
“It was just like a show watching every last one of (last year’s seniors),” Hines-Allen said “… It’s going to different, but we can still wow the crowd.”
Strength
• Seniors Sara Hammond, Bria Smith and Jude Schimmel have played in a ton of big games, including the 2013 Final Four, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see any or all of them have a breakout season. Coach Jeff Walz has said he’d like all three to average 4-6 more points per game to offset the losses of last year’s stellar senior class that included All-American Shoni Schimmel. If Hammond – stronger than most smaller forwards but quicker than most bigger centers – has improved her shooting and ball-handling and cuts down on fouling, she could be one of the top players in the country. Walz seems confident that she’s developed the confidence and skills to be the Cardinals’ go-to player.
Weakness
• U of L goes from being one of the country’s most dangerous 3-point shooting teams to one of the most questionable. Departed seniors Shoni Schimmel (118), Antonita Slaughter (54) and Tia Gibbs (49) made 221 of U of L’s 257 3-pointers last year, and the ability of Schimmel – by far the school’s career leader in threes – to pull up from deep in transition or catch and shoot off screens is something this year’s team lacks. There’s not a proven dead-eye shooter on the roster. Jude Schimmel, who made 21 of 65 (32.3 percent) from beyond the arc last year, and Hammond, who made just 10 threes, will have to step up. A team that took 19 threes per game last season may take half that this season.
Keys to success
• U of L needs seniors Sheronne Vails and Shawnta’ Dyer, who both were sidelined with injury last season, to stay healthy and provide interior depth. At 6 feet 4, Vails is U of L’s tallest player and best shot-blocker. Dyer has played in just 26 games the past two years, but she’s one of the Cards’ best post scorers.
• Sophomore Emmonnie Henderson, whose improved conditioning has earned Walz’s praise, will need to be able to play for long stretches. She has the strength and athletic ability to be a major contributor.
Key newcomers
• Freshman forwards Myisha Hines-Allen and Mariya Moore were McDonald’s All Americans who might start from Day 1. Arica Carter will probably be the backup point guard. Ariana Freeman and Sydney Brackemyre figure to see spot duty.
I just saw a tweet with a link to an article on GoCards.com.
The article lists the various games that will be broadcast. There are a few games on ESPN2 and ESPN3. So, if you can’t make all the games during the season (like me), there will be some opportunities to watch at home! Go Cards!!
Here’s a copy of the article:
The University of Louisville women’s basketball program is gaining additional coverage for the 2014-15 season. The Cardinals are slated to have 22 of their games available either on television or online.
On Wednesday, it was announced that five of Louisville’s home games were selected to be broadcast on ESPN3. Games also are available on the UofL Sports Radio Network produced by Learfield Sports, including locally on WKRD (790 AM) in Louisville.
Since the 2010-11 season, Louisville has appeared on ESPN’s family of networks 45 times, including 21 last year.
The Cardinals’ contest against in-state foe Western Kentucky on Nov. 25 is the first to be produced on ESPN3 followed by the Dec. 4 matchup against Iowa, which serves as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Louisville’s next game, a Dec. 7 tilt against Kentucky in the Battle of the Bluegrass, also will be featured on ESPN3. It marks the 50th meeting between the two programs since women’s basketball became a varsity sport at Louisville in 1975.
The other two additional games available on ESPN’s digital platform come during league play. Entering their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Cardinals’ league opener against Georgia Tech on Jan. 2 as well as the Jan. 14 game against NC State both will air on ESPN3.
Prior to the announcement, seven of Louisville’s regular-season contests were tabbed for television in addition to an ESPN3 broadcast at Florida State on Jan. 22.
The Cardinals are scheduled to make two appearances on ESPN2’s Big Monday, first at Duke on Feb. 2 and then at Notre Dame on Feb. 23 in a Play 4Kay contest. Contests against Virginia (Jan. 18), Miami (Fla.) (Jan. 25), and Virginia (March 1) are slated for RSN/FOX, and the home game against North Carolina on Feb. 15 will be broadcast on ESPN2. Louisville’s road trip to Cal on Dec. 21 was picked up to be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
Louisville’s nine home games not selected for television coverage will be available to CardsTV subscribers through GoCards.com.
Louisville, ranked 12th in the Associated Press preseason poll, opens the 2014-15 campaign on the road at IUPUI on Nov. 14 before five-consecutive games at the KFC Yum! Center, beginning with UT Martin on Nov. 16.
Yesterday was Media Day for the University of Louisville Women’s Basketball program. Various members of the media were present to conduct interviews and to take picture.
There was a good interview with Coach Walz as he gave an update on where he sees the team and the things they need to do as they prepare for the start of the season. He spoke specifically about the returning players and the five freshmen that are a part of the team this year. He talked about the development that is happening with the freshmen class and speaks specifically about each individual.
I’ve listened to several interviews of Coach Walz over the past few seasons. He always has interesting things to say and includes humor in his responses. I loved this quote as he talked about recruitment: “If you are a good coach with bad players, you are a bad coach. If you have really good players, you look like a good coach.” You can watch a video of the interview on the Women’s Basketball page on gocards.com
There is also a Photo Gallery from Media Day on the website. The picture above is from the gallery. I like the ones below as well.
Looking forward to a great season!
Some good news came out this week for Louisville Women’s Basketball (or at least for those of us who follow them). The full schedule came out a couple of days ago for the 2014-2015 season. This will be Louisville’s first season in the ACC and the competition will be tough every night. The schedule is below.
The Cardinal Sports Zone had an article on the schedule release and carried the following quote from Coach Walz: “The strength of this league from top to bottom is remarkable. We know we’re going to be tested every single night, and that’s only going to make us better as we prepare for postseason. I think our fans are in for a real treat with this schedule.”
You can view the schedule below.
In other related (and really good!) news, one of the top players in the class of 2015 committed to play ball for Louisville. Asia Durr, a guard from Georgia, picked Louisville over several other schools and joins a very strong class. She is ranked #1 or #2 by many services. She will come to Louisville with these three commits: Erin DeGrate, Taja Cole and Brianna Jones. You can read more at Inside The Ville and Prospects Nation.
| Date | Opponent / Event | Location | Time / Result |
| 11/14/14 | at IUPUI | Indianapolis, Ind. | TBA |
| 11/16/14 | vs. TENNESSEE-MARTIN | KFC YUM! CENTER | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 11/20/14 | vs. BELMONT | KFC YUM! CENTER | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 11/23/14 | vs. BALL STATE | KFC YUM! CENTER | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 11/25/14 | vs. WESTERN KENTUCKY | KFC YUM! CENTER | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 11/28/14 | vs. LAFAYETTE | KFC YUM! CENTER | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 11/30/14 | at Valparaiso | Valparaiso, Ind. | TBA |
| ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE | |||
| 12/04/14 | vs. IOWA | KFC YUM! CENTER | 7:00 p.m. ET |
 |
|||
| 12/07/14 | vs. KENTUCKY | KFC YUM! CENTER | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 12/15/14 | vs. OLD DOMINION | KFC YUM! CENTER | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 12/18/14 | at Grand Canyon | Phoenix, Ariz. | TBA |
| 12/21/14 | at California | Berkeley, Calif. | TBA |
| 12/29/14 | vs. EVANSVILLE | KFC YUM! CENTER | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/02/15 | vs. GEORGIA TECH # | KFC YUM! CENTER | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/04/15 | at Pittsburgh # | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/11/15 | at Wake Forest # | Winston-Salem, N.C. | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/14/15 | vs. NC STATE # | KFC YUM! CENTER | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/18/15 | vs. VIRGINIA #  |
KFC YUM! CENTER | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/22/15 | at Florida State # |
Tallahassee, Fla. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/25/15 | vs. MIAMI (FLA.) # |
KFC YUM! CENTER | 5:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/29/15 | vs. SYRACUSE # | KFC YUM! CENTER | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/02/15 | at Duke # |
Durham, N.C. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/08/15 | vs. PITTSBURGH # | KFC YUM! CENTER | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/12/15 | at Clemson # | Clemson, S.C. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/15/15 | vs. NORTH CAROLINA # |
KFC YUM! CENTER | 1:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/19/15 | at Virginia Tech # | Blacksburg, Va. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/23/15 | at Notre Dame # |
South Bend, Ind. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/26/15 | vs. BOSTON COLLEGE # | KFC YUM! CENTER | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 03/01/15 | at Virginia # |
Charlottesville, Va. | 1:00 p.m. ET |
| ACC TOURNAMENT | |||
| 03/04/15 | TBD | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA |
| 03/05/15 | TBD | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA |
| 03/06/15 | TBD | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA |
| 03/07/15 | TBD | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA |
| 03/08/15 | TBD | Greensboro, N.C. | TBA |
With the arrival of March Madness, people all over the country are filling out brackets and giving their opinions on who is going to win it all. ESPN W is dedicated to women’s athletics and they interviewed several of the nation’s top recruits to see who they were pulling for in the Women’s March Madness Tournament. One of those interviewed was Sydney.
Here’s what they posted:
Sydney Brackemyre, Louisville
Brackemyre, a 6-foot forward from Clinton-Massie (Clarksville, Ohio), keeps it simple when explaining why she likes Louisville’s chances.
“Two words: Jeff Walz,” Brackemyre said of the Louisville coach when asked why the Cardinals could go a step beyond their runner-up finish from a year ago. “The entire Louisville staff does a great job of preparing the X’s and O’s and scouting the opponent.
“I think Louisville has a chance to get back to the championship game because history repeats itself. Their past success will repeat itself, in my opinion.”
While Brackemyre agrees that UConn and Notre Dame are the favorites, she also has been impressed with South Carolina (27-4), the No. 1 seed in the Stanford Regional.
“[Coach] Dawn Staley is doing a great job with the program,” she said.
Brackemyre said she will watch most of the tournament at home decked out in her favorite Louisville T-shirt, but there is also a chance she will catch some games in Louisville since the city will host a regional.
As for players to watch outside of Louisville, the No. 3 seed in the Louisville Regional, Brackemyre listed two: “Tricia Liston of Duke – I love how she plays. She is so skilled. And Diamond DeShields has been blowing up this year. I want to see how she does in her first NCAA tournament.”
Check out the entire article called FUTURE-SCHOOL SPIRIT FROM TOP RECRUITS
I was forwarded this link to Inside The Ville where they offer their thoughts on the incoming freshmen class joining the Louisville Women’s Basketball program. We are excited to see how Syd and the rest of the 2014 class will impact CardNation. (Of course they spelled Brackemyre incorrectly, but we’ll just go with it.)
Louisville coach Jeff Walz has assembled one of the top women’s basketball programs in the country. The Cardinals are coming off an NCAA runner-up finish and are currently ranked in the Top 5 nationally. Walz has parlayed UofL’s on-court success into one of the nation’s best recruiting classes.
Louisville expects to sign five prospects — F Myisha Hines-Allen, F Mariya Moore, PF Sydney Brackemeyer, W Ariana Freeman and G Arica Carter – during the early signing period, which began Wednesday, who are rated in the Top 70 nationally by All Star Girls Report.
“I think they signed a great group,” said ASGR publisher Brett McCormick. “All of them are good. I think he has a good mix of players. They’ve got a solid class with five player in the (national) Top 66.”
Hines-Allen is Louisville’s high-ranked recruit at No. 16 nationally by All Star Girls Report; Moore is rated No. 22; Brackemeyer No. 39; Freeman No. 41 and Carter No. 66. McCormick calls Louisville’s recruiting class highly versatile with players who can play multiple positions on the basketball court.
“What gives Walz an advantage is Hines-Allen can play the 2, 3 or 4, Freeman can play 2 or 3 and Moore can play several positions,” said McCormick.
McCormick, a former college coach, helped break down the Cards recruiting class, which ranks No. 6 nationally by All Star Girls Report.
Star Recruit
“(Myisha) Hines-Allen is their headliner because she’s strong and athletic. She really improved from last year to this year. She has the inside game and the outside game. She’s a beast. She can post people up and step out and shoot the three.”
Highest IQ
“Sydney Brackemeyer is such a smart player. She can play inside and outside. She can shoot, she can pass it well. That’s what’s good about her. She does everything well. She can impact the game by not scoring.”
Most Athletic
“(Ariana) Freeman is a great athlete, she’s probably the most athletic in terms of speed and athleticism. She can pass and do other things.”
Most Versatile
“Mariya Moore can play multiple positions. She shoots it, she can post up, she goes coast to coast with it. She can think the game too.”
Best Shooter
“Arica Carter can flat shoot it and score. That was kind of a gift (recruit). That was a really nice pick up for Louisville.”
Biggest Sleeper
“That would have to be between Brackemeyer and Carter. I think Brackemeyer is really the sleeper of the class because a lot of people look at her as not being athletic as the others but she’s so smart and can do everything. She is kind of like Sara Hammond. She’ll do whatever it takes to help the team win. She will be a good teammate.”
Most Likely to Play in WNBA
“I’d say Hines-Allen, but probably Mariya Moore too; but definitely Hines-Allen. She’s a beast. She’s so athletic and strong, she can defend a guard or guard the post. Her game has really gotten a lot better from the perimeter. She used to play but the four but this summer she played the three well, shooting the three and putting it on the floor. And when she gets it inside she’s tough to handle.”
Syd made her official visit to the University of Louisville, got to spend time with the team, check out the campus and get excited about her arrival next year. While there we were able to meet two of the young ladies who have also made a verbal commitment to play at U of L. Kind of hard to believe that this time next year they will all be teammates.
Over the weekend, Louisville Women’s Basketball picked up a fifth commitment in the class of 2014 – Arica Carter from California.
ESPN Hoop Gurlz has a list of all five of the girls who plan to be a part of CardNation. You can read more about each of the ladies on the ESPN website.
Scout.com also had an article on the five commits. You can check it out here.
Thoughts from a Hoosier Fan in the Buckeye Land 