ESPNW Features UofLWBB and Mariya Moore

This past Sunday, the Louisville Women’s Basketball team overcame a 10 point deficit and a bunch of turnovers to defeat #17 ranked North Carolina. It was televised on ESPN2 and showed what a great program Louisville has. There were over 13,000 at the KFC Yum! Center to watch the game and cheer on the Cards. It’s a great environment for basketball.

The team responded well in the second half and were led by one of the freshmen, Mariya Moore. She had a great game and scored a season high 28 points. ESPNW featured Mariya and the team on their Weekend Wrap. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the article, you can see it on the ESPNW Weekend Wrap.

U of L WBB on TV Tonight…plus a great article

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

Syd Likely to Red Shirt with ACL Surgery

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.

Media Day for U of L Women’s Basketball

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!

Louisville WBB Schedule is Out

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

 

U of L Women’s Basketball Summer Update

Since the first part of June, the U of L women’s team has been conditioning and practicing getting ready for the school year and the start of the season. Coach Walz held a press conference today giving an update on the team. With the recent success of the team and the departure of several seniors, he talked about where the team is going next in light of joining the ACC this season.

There is a video of the press conference and some cute pics of Coach Walz’s little girl on the Courier-Journal site.

The Courier-Journal posted this article today.

Louisville’s women’s basketball team faces a major task in 2014-15: Replacing several major pieces of a team that reached the Elite 8 a year after making the national championship game.

On Tuesday, U of L coach Jeff Walz said his program is on task and headed in the right direction, despite the challenges presented by the departures of WNBA All-Star Shoni Schimmel, standout forward Asia Taylor and two other key seniors.

Having five freshmen ready to play is a big factor in that transition, Walz said.

“I’m really excited about where they are now and even more excited about where they’ll be in two or three months,” Walz said.

The freshman class is built around wing Mariya Moore, a McDonald’s All-American who will play for the USA under-18 team this summer. Walz is an assistant coach for that team.

Moore and fellow freshmen Sydney Brackemyre, Arica Carter, Ariana Freeman and Myisha Hines-Allen join a returning core of seniors that includes forward Sara Hammond and guards Jude Schimmel and Bria Smith.

Louisville is losing four of its top five scorers from last season, but Hammond (10.4 points per game), Smith (7.6) and Schimmel (5.6) scored their share. Hammond was the second-leading rebounder on the team; Schimmel was second in assists.

“I’m expecting more of them,” Walz said of his seniors. “I’m really excited to see what our returning players are going to do.”

Hammond in particular will play a key role this upcoming season. The 6-foot-2 post won the FIBA 3-on-3 world championships this summer, and Walz hopes that experience will translate to a larger leadership role at U of L.

“She learned to play quicker,” he said, noting that the 3-on-3 shot clocks are 12 seconds. “It really worked on her in terms of the speed of things. She’s going to have to be a leader for us. She’s got everything you need in that role.”

Walz said guards Starr Breedlove and Monny Niamke decided to transfer, though they haven’t found landing spots yet. Neither played major roles on last season’s team.

He also said Louisville’s nonconference schedule includes matchups at California and at home against Kentucky, in addition to games against Iowa, Western Kentucky and Belmont.

That slate precedes Louisville’s first season in the ACC, which Walz called, “top to bottom, without a doubt the best league in the country.”

National runner-up Notre Dame is the team to beat, with Louisville, North Carolina, Duke and Syracuse each possessing programs that regularly challenge for league titles.

But joining a new league won’t change what U of L does, Walz said, whether it’s on the court or recruiting prospects.

“It’s going to be fun,” Walz said. “It really makes for an enjoying X’s and O’s time … You’ve got to come to play every night in the ACC.”

1st Game on Calendar: B1G/ACC Challenge

I posted yesterday that Sydney has started her freshman year at the University of Louisville. While the basketball season doesn’t begin for a few months, the first game in on the schedule.

Louisville is moving this year to the ACC, so they will be a part of the B1G/ACC Challenge. The match ups were released today at Louisville will host Iowa on Thursday, December 4 at the Yum! Kind of exciting to think about already!

Here’s an infographic of all the games. Go Cards!

Louisville Recruiting Class Breakdown

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.”

5 Commits to Louisville WBB

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.

U of L Lady Cards Preseason Workouts

Coach Jeff Walz tweeted the link to this YouTube video showing some of the workouts the women’s basketball team is doing gearing up for the season. Pretty intense stuff!