LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Life moves quickly for all college basketball coaches. But Jeff Walz is attacking it on skis. No, really. The University of Louisville women’s basketball coach is taking efficiency to new heights – and using a ski lift to do it, occasionally.
With his family on vacation in Breckinridge, Colo., he had Bluetooth in his ski helmet and could talk with transfer portal targets while winding his way down the slope with his kids. In the Mountain Time Zone, he was able to have Zoom calls with recruits finished before dinner time with the family.
It's not optimal. But it is necessary. Coaches’ families know. The game never stops. And neither does Walz.
He has been invited by the U-20 National Team in Turkey to be an assistant coach for a team that will feature Louisville player Elif Istanbulluoglu, who just completed her freshman year.
“I’ll get a chance to work with E for about three weeks, and then I'll be a part of their staff that plays in the under-20 European Championships that will be held in Lithuania the first of July,” Walz said on his radio show. “So really looking forward to that because I'm excited about being able to be over there with her.”
Walz has lots of news. Yes, the program came up short of the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in five years this season, with a transfer-heavy club that nonetheless finished with a record of 24-10.
“I’ll never apologize for what we’ve done here,” Walz said. “. . . In 15 years (to make the NCAA Tournament) we’ve been to 12 Sweet Sixteens, eight Elite Eights and four Final Fours. I don’t think it’s bad.”
It's the opposite of bad. There are few examples like it, of a women's program going from zero to consistent national player in that kind of span.
At a pivotal time in women’s college basketball, when television ratings are up and the value of these programs is on the rise, Walz has been working hard to keep Louisville in the lead lap – and to keep the program moving forward.
It will be on the move next season. It has accepted an invitation to open the season with a game in Paris, France. It will face UConn in the Women’s Champions Classic in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with Iowa and Tennessee playing in the other game. It will play in Orlando twice before Thanksgiving, a WBCA event against South Florida and three games in an exempt tournament. It will play in the ACC-SEC Challenge. And Walz is trying to get a game at Memphis in the FedEx Forum.
He will travel with a team of seasoned returnees and a flashy freshman class that includes a trio of five-star players and four in the ESPN Top 100, just a year after not signing any freshman recruits.
The last piece came last week, when Imari Berry, a 5-10 guard from Clarkesville, Tenn., chose Louisville over Kentucky and North Carolina. The No. 16 overall prospect in the 2024 class and a McDonald’s All-American, Barry averaged 23.8 points per game and was the Tennessee Class 4-A Miss Basketball, as well as the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. She originally signed with Clemson, but asked for her release when the coach was let go. Before signing there, she had been recruited by UConn, Tennessee, South Carolina and Louisville.
Walz also landed Mackenly Randolph, a McDonald’s All-American and former teammate of JuJu Watkins at Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, Calif. She follows in the footsteps of her dad, NBA standout Zach Randolph, who also was a McDonald’s All-American before playing at Michigan State and helping the Spartans to a third straight Final Four. The 6-foot forward chose Louisville over Notre Dame and Michigan State.
Her high school teammate, Izela Arenas, also is coming to Louisville. The No. 88-ranked player in ESPN’s Top 100, she’s the daughter of NBA standout Gilbert Arenas.
Then there’s Tajianna Roberts, a 5-10 guard out from La Jolla, Calif., who played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. She chose Louisville over Kentucky, Duke, Virginia Tech and Cal. She’s the No. 24 ranked player in the 2024 class.
Also last week, Louisville added Ja’Leah Williams, a 5-9 senior transfer from Miami, where she averaged 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists last season, while establishing herself as a top-level defensive player as a third-year starter.
Other incoming freshmen include Detroit small forward Anaya Hardy and Reagan Bender, a Sacred Heart guard who averaged 13.4 points per game as a senior. Isla Juffermans, a 6-4 post player, signed with the program last fall.
They’ll join a solid cast, including fifth-year starter Olivia Cochran, junior forward Nyla Harris, senior guard Jayda Curry, and Merissah Russell, who also returns as a fifth-year senior, as well as Istanbulluoglu and 6-5 redshirt freshman Eseosa Imafidon.
“I know this is a group that the returners are excited about what's in front of them in the offseason, in the summer, and then the fall,” Walz said. “. . . And all these kids that we have added, they're not only great players, they're again, great people. I mean, Ja’Leah has a smile that just goes on forever. You guys are going to love the kid. Same thing with Mack. Same thing with Imari Berry that just signed with us. It's in these times that you're now with NIL, with the portal, you're just trying to figure out, who can you get? Who can you afford? . . . But I’m really happy with the class we have coming in, and all our returning players.”
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