By RUSS BROWN • Photos by: UofL Athletics
Louisville women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz knew he was taking a gamble by staking his program’s immediate future and beyond on freshmen, bucking the trend of many by many of his peers of investing heavily in experienced transfers. Walz signed a top 10 freshman class, but no matter how talented they’re still rookies who need seasoning to acclimate to a higher level.
At the time Walz explained his reasoning this way:
“Extra experience is great, obviously. But at the same time, we’re looking for ones that can come in here and make an impact for us. And I think this freshman class is very talented. It’s probably the most competitive freshman class we’ve had in a while considering the depth of it. When you’re out there recruiting, you’re trying to figure out what’s the best that we could possibly get. We were fortunate. Everything kind of fell into place.”
So how is Walz’s roll of the dice going at this early stage of the season? Well enough that he certainly hasn’t regretted his approach and thinks it will pay dividends sooner rather than later.
Walz entered his 18th season at U of L looking to improve on last year’s first-round NCAA Tournament exit with seven true recruits joining five upperclassmen and a redshirt freshman, composing one of the youngest teams he has had since his 2010-11 squad included six newcomers. Last year marked the earliest departure from the tournament in his career.
So how have the freshmen performed?
“They’ve all had an impact,” Walz said. “I want to see us continue to grow. We know what we have to do. There’s a huge assignment in front of us. We’ve got to play tough; we’ve got to play physical, we’ve got to play smart.”
And get more playing experience as they adjust to a different level.
“It’s going to take games for them to experience college,” Walz said. “They may have been great in high school, but this is different. You’re a senior in high school 17, 18 years old playing against 15 and 16-year-olds. Then you get to college and you’re playing against 22-23-year olds. The physical changes that take place in women from 18 to 22 is amazing...the strength they build when they get to the weight room.
“They’re adjusting to going against stronger players. And then the officiating. In high school you breathe on someone, and they call a foul. In college they let you play. And the other thing, now scouting reports come into play. If you don’t like going to your left, they’re going to make you go left, whereas in high school it didn’t matter what they tried to make you do because you were just better. For us, I’m proud of them all, but they have to be better and I’m expecting all of them to be really good.”
The most impactful freshman has been 5-10 guard Tajlanna Roberts (5-10) from IMG Academy. She has played a team-high 28.3 minutes per game, leads the Cards in scoring at 14.3 points per game and is shooting 50 percent from the floor, including .429 from 3-point range.
“I think all our freshmen are making strides,” Walz said. “But for Taj I think the game is played at a slower pace than some of the other freshmen, which is what you want as a player. You want the game to be processed slowly where it’s not like your mind’s just spinning. I think she sees what’s coming at her, what the defenses are trying to do, what her next move is going to be. She’s really good at not predetermining what she’s going to do, and I think that’s what separates your freshmen that are able to have success right away compared to ones that take a little time.”
Roberts, a Los Angeles native, is one of two newcomers who have started every game, joining 6-0 forward Mackenly Randolph, the daughter of former Michigan State and NBA star Zach Randolph. Mackenly is averaging 4.8 points and 2.3 rebounds. Another rookie, 5-10 guard Imari Berry, is the first sub off the bench, averaging 19.4 minutes while contributing 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing.
Rounding out the starting lineup are a trio of veterans -- grad student and five-year Cardinal Olivia Cochran (9.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg) at forward; senior guard Ja’Leah Williams (8.3/5.3); and junior forward Nyla Harris (9.0, .484 shooting percentage).
The freshmen were thrown into the fire early against top-notch competition, with both of Louisville’s two losses in the opening weeks coming against top 20 teams -- No. 4 UCLA in Paris (66-59) and No. 20 Kentucky in Lexington (71-61 in overtime).
And there are plenty more challenges on the nonconference schedule before U of L begins ACC play on Dec. 15 against No. 13 NC State in the KFC Yum! Center: Trips to USF, Colorado, No. 2 UConn in the Barclays Center and Oklahoma at home. So, the learning curve needs to be quick for the young Cards.
U of L’s loss to UK snapped a 7-game winning streak in the rivalry series. Walz says he knows how important the game against the Wildcats is to Card Nation, but he doesn’t attach much significance to the defeat otherwise, noting that it will have little effect on how his team fares the remainder of the season.
“It’s not like the season’s over,” Walz said. “It’s not going to dictate how this thing goes. I can go back to our 2012-13 team when we had them beat at home and we foul a 3-point shooter with under a minute to go. We lose and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, my God the world’s coming to an end.’ And then we beat No. 1 Baylor and get to a Final Four and all of a sudden everybody forgot about that game in December. I know the importance, but at the same time you can’t lay it all on this game, win or lose.”