FRIDAYS WITH DARYL
Good morning everyone and welcome back to my favorite day of the week!
Cardinal Couple officially welcomes Amanda Butlerto the Louisville women's basketball staff and the city of Louisville and I got the chance to pop over to the practice facility at meet our new coach!
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| Daryl Foust (l) and Amanda Butler (r) |
So I wanted to share a couple things we chatted about! I really appreciate Amanda's time and look forward to supporting another basketball season from the sidelines.
Coach says she spent the first solid week in Louisville and will be going out recruiting trips soon. Says they have gone to check out some restaurants with some of the coaching staff and is taking recommendations of where to visit. Enjoys cooking at home with family (has two boys 4 and 7). Fan of bourbon. From Tennessee, family lives right across the border.. which made a 'personal pull' for her to want to relocate to Louisville.
Amanda Butler:Thank you for the coverage cant underestimate how important that is and telling our stories and generating coverage beyond social media. Its so important. We've got a great product and a great leader we want to soar from the mountain tops and we appreciate the megaphone you provide us.
Daryl Foust: How are you getting acclimated with the city and the program.
AB:Love the city, been here many times. Majority of times its to recruit and to play so you don't get to enjoy and experience the charm and the city and all that Louisville has to offer, always watch the Derby every year and (Head Coach) Jeff's been a friend over the years and you have an idea of Louisville but actually being here and living here and seeing the things, eating food and learning the places outside just the work experience. Then there's the eliteness of what Louisville basketball means and the program that's been built and the eliteness of the people that are drawn to it, the student athletes the staff that Walz has put together, its fantastic to be a part of something so special.
DF: You familiar with Walz prior to this so how did this link up come to fruition?
AB: The basketball community is big and small. its big as in its grown significantly but its small in that if you are fortunate enough to stay in the business for a long time you create connections and relationships and if you're fortunate enough to be in a position where there is an opening and this is what were looking for you could have someone in your network of people who think 'this might be a good idea', it was something we talked about a couple times and here we are.
DF: We are glad to have you and look to help take the program to the next level, a national championship..
AB: Its a definite goal and a definite challenge. I really hope I can contribute in a way that helps us achieve that. I'm doing a lot of learning right now, the processes, the culture. Walz and Steph Norman and AJ and when you have a player like Cortnee Walton who's played here, you've got a tremendous combination of people who have been around the program for a long time who have who have worked very hard to put us in the position were in and where we can have legit final four , national championship, ACC championship conversations. An athletic culture that Josh has created to win national championships
DF: What was your knowledge of the program before you arrived and now that you're in it?
AB:Jeff is one of the most underrated coaches, the level of consistency and the string of elite 8's, throw in a few final fours, you can count on one hand who have done the things he has done in the post season. Its a very hard thing to do to go to an elite 8 and final four and to be able to claim multiple ones, not enough people understand what an accomplishment that is.
When you're competing against that, you know they're going to be tough he's an excellent strategist and great in game adjustments. They've always done an outstanding job of recruiting the players that can be successful here. Whether it's a top 10 or 20 kid or it's seeing the fit for someone who isn't, but they're a championship level competitor. Jeff and his staff are known for their creativity and work ethic in recruiting so its exciting to be a part of that and hopefully contribute but also learn a lot as well. The culture, the steadiness, the toughness, and the pride that's the magic in what Jeff has done. He's gone out and got superstar players (like Dana Evans and Myisha Hines Allen) and then will combine them with someone who's super foundational (like Mykasa Robinson) and made magic happen.
DF: You played, so are you drawn to that position when coaching?
AB: Always been drawn to point guard position. I think when you have an extended HC career, that's the low hanging fruit because that's what I played but then you develop more curiosities about other parts of the game and you find what you value in a "big" or a shooting guard. But really, I'm a student of the game, I'm a basketball junkie. I have been getting to work early, leaving late and when I'm not at the office I have a game on at home. I really love what I do, I love strategy and solving problems, I'm drawn to all of it. Right now I'm the rookie on the staff so right now I'm trying to get to know everyone and find out how I can help everyone get what they need whether that be a co-worker or a player. If Coach Walz gets back from Türkiye and asks me to coach the "bigs" or defense, I'm all in!!
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Quick Questions!
Coach Butler's responses are in bold caps
Tacos or SUSHI ?
DOGSor Cats ?
MUSICor BOOKS (tie)
Mountains or BEACH ?
Skydiving orSCUBA ?
APPLEor Android ?
TEXTINGor Calling ?
Polka dots or STRIPES ?(vertical)
Only 115ish days until another WBB season! We wish Coach AB success in her new found home here in Louisville and look forward to covering the Cardinals all the way to a national championship!!!
As Always
Go Cards!
~Daryl
