The Case Of The Missing Banner

Part of the observer’s duties for a decade was managing large meetings. When one is responsible for a special event, you plan, practice and rehearse, leaving nothing to chance. 

That’s why he  was embarrassed for the University of Louisville women’s basketball team Sunday when the team’s 2009 NCAA National Finalist banner was to be unfurled.

Roll the highlights video, Angel McCoughtry greetings from Russia, Candyce Bingham’s remarks.

Drum roll … time to reveal the banner.

The spotlight lights up, searching, searching for the banner. The inept spotlight operator can’t find the banner, clumsily turning the beam this way and that.  No idea where it is, resorting to opening the lens to full frame. Never to land on the intended.

It isn’t until the overhead lights go on that fans are finally able to spot the banner.  A “teachable moment” for whoever is running the show … by the seat of his or her pants.

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Speaking of Angel McCoughtry, she has a great-looking new web site here. Thanks to Sonja for the find.

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San Antonio Cuts Candyce Bingham

By Sonja Sykes

The San Antonio Silver Stars waived former University of Louisville forward Candyce Bingham from the roster Monday. Bingham, a third round draft pick, played in one exhibition game with the Silver Stars. San Antonio returned several veteran forwards and also acquired front line depth through trades during the off season.

WNBA teams carry 11 players on each roster and final cut day is  Friday. Although Bingham could be picked up by other teams, most teams are  paring down and Candyce’s chances of being picked up appear to be pretty slim.

Still, options are available. Overseas leagues offer former college stars a chance to continue playing at a livable wage. Also, several exhibition teams tour the country annually playing college women’s basketball teams in preseason games. As of Wednesday, however, Bingham’s future was open …but here’s hoping she gets a chance to continue the game in a venue somewhere if that’s what she really wants to do.

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Lady Cards One More Time

By Paul Sykes

About a thousand fans showed up on Fourth Street Live to celebrate one more time the University of Louisville’s women’s basketball team’s incredible march through the NCAA Tournament. Despite the overcast, gloomy skies, the atmosphere was a bright and cheerful one….with the national champion Lady Birds doing dance routines and the Cardinal Pep Band playing for the crowd.

Coach Jeff Walz and the players talked of the march to the Arch being just the beginning of success in Lady Cards hoops for the future. It was also a time for “thank you’s” being exchanged between the players and fans.  The players were still busily signing autographs when I left, and it was good to see the tons of young people there, the the future of women’s basketball at the Ville.

“It’s been the best two years of my life,” exclaimed senior forward Candyce Bingham. Her valuable contributions to the Cards will be missed. Replacing the offense generated by her and All-American forward Angel McCoughtry will be one of the many things that coach Jeff Walz and his staff will have to contend with during the 2009-2010 season.

Dez Byrd took a positive and optimistic approach to the upcoming season. “We are family on this team and the new recruits will find that out. Look at what this year’s group of freshmen did, and we’ve got some great ones coming in.” Byrd wouldn’t comment on next year’s speculated change to shooting guard, saying only that “he (Coach Walz) will make the best decision for the team. If he needs me to put it up, I’ve got no problem with that”

Longtime fan Tommy Wilson recalled the magical journey. “I thought at the start of the year that we’d be OK…maybe make it into the tournament and win a couple…but as I saw this team grow and continue to win, I thought…hey, we could play with anyone in the country. Except UConn. Still, second place is pretty special. I think it’s the beginning of great teams for the Lady Cards every year.”

Good times, great memories and the promise of a bright future.

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Playing For A National Championship

Cards Nip Oklahoma 61-59, Face UConn Once Again

By Sonja Sykes

One had to wonder durng the first half if Oklahoma had kidnapped Angel McCoughtry and put someone else in her place, the senior All American missing badly only her first eight shots. Her promise to get Louisville to the championship game was in serious jeopardy.

The Lady Cards were not playing the defense necessary to stop Oklahoma while managing only 22 points, a season low in the first half against a team that wasn’t really doing to stop them.  Lousy 22% shooting will get you a halftime lecture, and Jeff Walz delivers some fire and brimstone versions.

• The Cards trudged into the locker room down by 12. Need any more reasons besides Angel’s meltdown?
• Not getting back on the fast break. Oklahoma’s first eight points were on fast breaks.
• Letting Whitney Hand get shots off from trifecta land. Three of them for the freshman in the first half. She also went after McCoughtry defensively, sometimes way too aggressively, but it was working.
• Poor shooting Cardinals. Missing their first 13 shots from the field to start the contest.

So, what does Jeff Walz do at halftime? Tells the Cards to follow the game plan. Asks them to play for pride and challenges Angel to get involved. Tells them to believe, pick up the defense and create the turnovers. Or go home.

And, they did. The Cards erupting to wipe out the lead, take command and turn the tables with a 15-1 run to start the second half. Key factors in the win:

• Two clutch threes by Becky Burke to put the Cards up by five, with 4:54 to go then by six with 3:22 left.
• Angel showing her determination. Coming back for a double-double.
• Monique Reid’s job on Courtney Paris inside and the hustle after Bingham’s missed free throw with 7.2 second, managing to stymy any desperation miracle shots by the Sooners.
• UofL turning up the defensive pressureca, using 16 turnovers and shutting down Oklahoma, inside and outside.

Game over. On to the championship game.

A nail-biting come from behind game and Louisville advances to where Angel McCoughtry said the Lady Cards would be, making good.

This Magical Mystery Tour is alive and well.

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Show Time: NCAA Women’s Final Four

By Sonja Sykes

Show time in St. Louis, the semi-finals, the Final Four, the University of Louisville vs.the Oklahoma Sooners. Let’s get it on.

Providing a significant chuck of the offense for Oklahoma are Courtney and Ashley Paris, variously described as the work horses, the Clydesdales, the tanks, the anti-aircraft carriers. They are enormous and talented.

Courtney is a four time All-American and is a master at working the paint for baskets, putbacks and rebounds. Former coach Tom Collen used to point to Courtney when Tise Wright was under his tutelage and tell Tise that she could “be a Courtney” with hard work and diligence.

The Paris sisters aren’t the only threats to the Lady Cards, though.  Guard Danielle Robinson poured in 23 for Oklahoma against Purdue and is a deadly spot up shooter. Whitney Hand is a clever and crafty playmaker who can also make you pay with the jumper.

They’ve even got an Olajuwon (daughter of Hakeem) and Roethlisberger (sister of Big Ben) that see significant playing time. Wouldn’t surprise me if they have a Michael Jordan daughter and Lebron James sister waiting in the wings.

So how do the Lady Cards deal with this bevy of superstars and impresarios? Same way they’ve dealt with the powerhouses of the Big East and the NCAA Tournament. Execution. Pressure defense. Transition when you can et it. Penetrate the paint and make them try to stop Angel.

Rutgers is a scarier opponent than Oklahoma and the Cards handled them twice. Pittsburgh a more difficult team to keep off the boards and the Cards put them away twice. We’ve seen tougher and beat tougher.

Of course, the dreaded Huskies wait down the road if they can get by the well-disciplined Stanford Cardinal and the she-god Jane Appel.

One game at a time. One win at a time. Been Walz’s philosophy all season long and it’s worked pretty well.

Bubba Paris…get ready to dip into that saving account and pay Courtney’s tuition. The road stops here for the Sooner express.

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Lady Cards Douse Red Storm, 89-60

By Paul Sykes

The Lady Cards tonight reminded me of the old jalopy I drove around town as a teenager. Always had trouble getting it started but once it was running it was a smooth, sweet ride.

After five minutes, Louisville was on the wrong end of a 8-5 deficit to St. John’s. Shots weren’t falling, defense was lagging and the players were having trouble getting started. Saddled with two early fouls, Candyce Bingham was a spectator. It was Angel time and the crowd was ready for it. Five minutes later, thanks to the efforts of the All-American, the Cards finished a 12-0 run and never looked back, leading 41-25 at half, 89-60 at the end.

There were a lot of things to like. Let’s look at a few:

– 9 for 17 three-point shooting. The most the Lady Cards have sank all season. Angel McCoughtry with three, part of her 28 points and reserve Janae Howard knocking down two in the first half.  Dez Byrd got into the act, also, with two.

– Out-rebounding the Red Storm by 21. Monique Reid grabbing seven and looking like the heir apparent to Candyce Bingham inside. Angel seemingly collecting them at her whim. Bingham with nine in the second half.  The opponent felt the wrath of the block out and the out hustle.

– Candyce Bingham with 16 second half points after going scoreless in the first 20 minutes. Two spectacular blocked shots and doing what she does best…working in the paint and sinking the soft jumper.

– Angel with 17 first half points. Taking the game over and showing why she’s been Big East Player of the Week five times this year. Slowed down a little in the second half but drilled a couple of nice threes from the top of the key. Always the competitor, not wanting to leave the game with a couple of minutes left, but relaxing and actually laughing and smiling as she watched the reserves mop up.

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Life On The Road

The challenges of playing on the road are many for athletes. Not only are players competing in unfamiliar venues but they are facing hostile crowds, which can be intimidating not only to the players but to the officials calling the games.

Then there are situations like those described by Lady Card Candyce Bingham in her University of Louisville blog about the recent trip to play Georgetown in Washington, D.C.:

“When we arrived at our hotel and went to our rooms there was only one bed and a pull out couch along with a kitchen. I lucked out and had my own room while many had to flip a coin about who was going to sleep on the bed the first night and who would end up on the couch.

“We then went to practice and were supposed to go to Outback Steakhouse to eat dinner. Our bus driver wasn’t even from around area and had no idea where he was going. We literally drove around for an hour because he couldn’t find the Outback and ended up at Don Pablo’s, which was just down the street from our hotel.

“After the game on our way to the hotel we seemed to get into a fender bender. Our bus driver was going to make a right turn at a light but I guess the person to the right of us grew impatient and decided that they wanted to keep creeping up. Which meant the bus was hitting the side of the car and for a while he didn’t know that. We had no idea until Brandie Radde said the bus had just hit this car next to us.”

Life on the road. One has to wonder whether some bus drivers are aware of  GPS technology.

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