Takeaways from Jeff Walz's Press Conference
October 29, 2020 | Women's Basketball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville women's basketball head coach Jeff Walz addressed the media on Thursday afternoon to discuss the upcoming 2020-21 season, the non-conference schedule, how the newcomers are adjusting and more.
Here are some takeaways from his press conference.
On the 2020-21 team.
"It's going to be probably the deepest team that we've had here. Our guard play is extremely good right now, our post play is getting better. Elizabeth Dixon has had some great improvement over the summer, so I'm excited where she is. Olivia Cochran is a freshman, she's looked better than what I anticipated. I knew she was good, but she's playing even better than what I thought she would this early in her career. So, I'm really excited about it. We're going to get tipped off here in less than a month and it's going to be a fun and interesting season for sure.
What do you like most about your team?
"Well, it's our competitiveness right now. We have 12 players that are eligible to play and I can honestly say that I've got 12 that I can play in every game and it's not a huge drop off. And that's something that you haven't necessarily had in years past. All three of our freshmen - Hailey Van Lith, Olivia Cochran, Merissah Russell are going to play. They're going to come in and play and play significant minutes. Then Ahlana Smith, our junior college transfer, she's played extremely well. Normally with junior college players, that first year they're adapting to the Division I game. So, sometimes it takes about half a year for them to get going. But with Ahlana, she played at UCLA for a year, so she's got that experience at a high level, goes to junior college to really refine some things and get better. And now she's fitting in. So, that's probably been the most exciting thing for me. It's not very often you get four new newcomers that are eligible to play and all four of them are going to be able to come in and compete with a pretty darn good returning group."
On the KFC Yum! Center's announcement regarding fans at games.
"We're just grateful that we're going to be able to have some fans, so our players are excited about that. If we're able to max out at around 3,000 (fans), that's a little bit less than a third of what we would normally get for our games. But, for a lot of the places we go, that would be some of the biggest crowds that school has had for a women's basketball game. So, it's going to change the environment for us, but I have a lot of confidence and faith in our fans that those 3,000 are going to come and make up for the others that aren't there. So, I'm still expecting a very good environment."
On the non-conference schedule.
"It's been a challenge. The unique thing about it is, you go through your schedule and we've had some (games) obviously that were canceled because of when you were planning to play them. At the same time, we're trying to figure out how many conference games we're going to have. We went from 18 to 20 and then they cut down the number of regular season games you're allowed to have to 25. So, now all of a sudden we're at five (non-conference) games. So, we are excited to have announced our (non-conference) schedule and we're looking forward to hopefully being able to play all 25 games."
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.
Here are some takeaways from his press conference.
On the 2020-21 team.
"It's going to be probably the deepest team that we've had here. Our guard play is extremely good right now, our post play is getting better. Elizabeth Dixon has had some great improvement over the summer, so I'm excited where she is. Olivia Cochran is a freshman, she's looked better than what I anticipated. I knew she was good, but she's playing even better than what I thought she would this early in her career. So, I'm really excited about it. We're going to get tipped off here in less than a month and it's going to be a fun and interesting season for sure.
What do you like most about your team?
"Well, it's our competitiveness right now. We have 12 players that are eligible to play and I can honestly say that I've got 12 that I can play in every game and it's not a huge drop off. And that's something that you haven't necessarily had in years past. All three of our freshmen - Hailey Van Lith, Olivia Cochran, Merissah Russell are going to play. They're going to come in and play and play significant minutes. Then Ahlana Smith, our junior college transfer, she's played extremely well. Normally with junior college players, that first year they're adapting to the Division I game. So, sometimes it takes about half a year for them to get going. But with Ahlana, she played at UCLA for a year, so she's got that experience at a high level, goes to junior college to really refine some things and get better. And now she's fitting in. So, that's probably been the most exciting thing for me. It's not very often you get four new newcomers that are eligible to play and all four of them are going to be able to come in and compete with a pretty darn good returning group."
On the KFC Yum! Center's announcement regarding fans at games.
"We're just grateful that we're going to be able to have some fans, so our players are excited about that. If we're able to max out at around 3,000 (fans), that's a little bit less than a third of what we would normally get for our games. But, for a lot of the places we go, that would be some of the biggest crowds that school has had for a women's basketball game. So, it's going to change the environment for us, but I have a lot of confidence and faith in our fans that those 3,000 are going to come and make up for the others that aren't there. So, I'm still expecting a very good environment."
On the non-conference schedule.
"It's been a challenge. The unique thing about it is, you go through your schedule and we've had some (games) obviously that were canceled because of when you were planning to play them. At the same time, we're trying to figure out how many conference games we're going to have. We went from 18 to 20 and then they cut down the number of regular season games you're allowed to have to 25. So, now all of a sudden we're at five (non-conference) games. So, we are excited to have announced our (non-conference) schedule and we're looking forward to hopefully being able to play all 25 games."
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballWBB: Jeff Walz Postgame Presser (Florida State - 2/15/26)
Monday, February 16
WBB: Florida State Highlights (2/15/26)
Monday, February 16
Tajianna Roberts and Reyna Scott Postgame Presser vs. Wake Forest 2.12.26
Friday, February 13
Jeff Walz Postgame Presser vs. Wake Forest 2.12.26
Friday, February 13
