Louisville women’s basketball has been turning some heads in 2020. Here are three takeaways from the early season play of Jeff Walz and the Cards.
I was going to do this after the UNC game because that would have been a quarter of our games. However, with COVID and scheduling uncertainty, now is as good as ever to take a look back. As the 2019-2020 season progressed, we saw Louisville women’s basketball playing hard, and felt some wrongs could be righted in the postseason. All those hopes were dashed, though, when the men’s and women’s tournaments were canceled.
COVID took a lot from us this year, and it took a lot from our athletes. It especially took from Bionca Dunham, Jazzmine Jones, and Kylee Shook. None of those seniors got the chance to right those wrongs.
I sat here this year, sipping bourbon, hoping something good would come out of 2020. It didn’t seem possible. That was until November 25 arrived and the Cards took the court. That’s when I knew what my happy place was.
Entering the season, the media ranked Louisville 5th. I can’t argue with that though after we lost the star power of Bionca, Jazz and Kylee. Additionally, Louisville lost Seygan Robins and Lindsey Duvall to transfer. The roster, essentially, was turned upside down.
Louisville women’s basketball returned Dana Evans, Elizabeth Dixon, and Elizabeth Balogun as the only members to log serious minutes. With this in mind, it’s no wonder the media was skeptical.
Five games into this season, however, I guarantee you no one is skeptical of Louisville’s capabilities.
Louisville women’s basketball: Three biggest takeaways thus far
Dana Evans is a bona fide star
Dana Evans is everything you want from a leader for this Louisville basketball team.
Evans came in as the No. 9 player in the nation and a consensus 5-star prospect. Evans knew she would be behind the sensational Asia Durr, but signed with the Cards anyway. Evans worked to make the ACC All-Freshman team. She averaged 5.1 points per game, was 11th in the ACC with 3.7 assists per game, and fourth in the ACC with 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
In her sophomore year, Evans became the ACC Sixth Player of the Year. She was also on the ACC All-Academic Team. Evans averaged 10.4 points per game and 4.0 assists per game.
Evans’ junior year was the first without her backcourt-mate Durr, so it was up to her to be Louisville’s spark. Evans became ACC Player of the Year. She was the first player in history to win both Sixth Player of the Year and Player of the Year honors. She was All-ACC First Team, All-ACC Academic Team, and Second Team All-American.
Now, entering Dana’s senior year she was ACC Preseason Player of the Year, and on the Naismith watchlist for Player of the Year.
Through the first 5 games, Evans has shown that resilience pays off. She has combined her elite offensive and defensive skills along with her on and off-court leadership to be the catalyst of this team. Dana is averaging 21 points per game and minutes per game. Dana has shown the maturity and leadership skills on the court to let her teammates take the game and if she sees they need her she steps up and takes over. She has shown leadership off the court shares encouragement for all of her teammates.
Louisville’s freshman class may be its best ever
Louisville signed four prospects in the 2020 class: Hailey Van Lith, Olivia Cochran, Merissah Russell, and Ahlana Smith.
The Cardinals lost three valuable seniors to greaduation and two players to transfer. We knew these four freshmen were going to have to play significant minutes. Louisville knew that, understood that, and came in ready for the action.
Van Lith came in as the No. 1 guard, and No. 7 overall prospect in the class. Van Lith was the last signee of the class, but the one that Cardnation was most excited about. So far, she has not disappointed. Van Lith has come in playing like a seasoned veteran. She is averaging a team-high 29.2 minutes per game and adding 15.6 points per game.
Cochran came in as the No. 4 forward and No. 18 overall player. With the departures of Shook and Dunham, the Cards were going to need help down low, and Cochran has come in and provided that since game 1. She is averaging 13.8 points, 9 rebounds, and 19 minutes per game.
The third recruit of the 2020 class was Merissah Russell. Russell was the No. 29 guard of the 2020 class, and filled a hole that Louisville needed filled after departures from last season. Russell is putting in solid work averaging 12.4 minutes, 3.8 points, and 3.2 assists per game.
The final signee was Ahlana Smith. the Junior College transfer. She was the top Junior College guard coming out, and even though she is new in Louisville, she brings experience. Smith spent one season with UCLA before going to Gulf Coast State college where she was an NJCAA First Team All-American. Smith’s experience has really been a plus for the Cards and she has put in a solid 15.4 minutes per game.
Louisville’s depth is next-level
Coming out of last season with our seniors gone and our two transfers it seemed like depth was going to be an issue. Now, that could not be further from te truth. Coach Jeff Walz has 12 players on his bench and he uses them all. Ramani Parker is the only player that isn’t averaging over 10 minutes, and she is still averaging 7.8 minutes per game. Five players average over 15 minutes, and three of those overage over 20.
While I have talked about the effect the incoming recruiting class has had on the team, there is one thing I have not discussed: Kianna Smith. The long-awaited debut of the Cal transfer came against DePaul, and man did she make a debut. Smith scored 21 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. In her three games played she is averaging 23.3 minutes, 15.3 points, and 3.3 rebounds.
Of course, Evans is the workhorse averaging 27.8 minutes and 21 points per game. Elizabeth Balogun is averaging 17.8, Elizabeth Dixon is averaging 15.2, Norika Konno is averaging 13.2, and Mykasa Robinson is averaging 17.8 minutes per game. When you can run this much solid talent and never really have a drop off you are in a great spot to make a run.
One piece of news that dropped on Wednesday is on redshirt freshman, and former McDonald’s All-American, Nyah Green. After five games, Green decided to put her name in the transfer portal. Green was putting in solid work off the bench with 10.4 minutes, 2.2 points, and 2 rebounds per game. We wish Green the best of luck moving forward.
Looking to the future for Louisville women’s basketball
So what is the future outlook for Louisville?
At the beginning of the season, I’m not sure we knew what to think. We knew what we lost, we knew what we had coming back, and we were aware we had a special class. After 5 games I think it is safe to say that this Louisville team is not going to miss a beat, picking up where previous teams left off.
Walz has always been great at reloading and having that talent prepared to play when the season started. This season, we may have been a little more worried because of the turnover and COVID-shortened offseason.
I believe Walz has proven why he and his staff are one of the best if not the best in college basketball. Walz has his players prepared and can plug anyone in at any time. After back-to-back 100 point games, and setting the program record for points in a game, I believe the sky is the limit for this team.
We may have lost a lot over the last two seasons, but it seems like we gained even more with this 2020 class.
Bold Prediction:
I believe with UCONN not being the UCONN of old, and with no truly dominant team, that 2020-21 could be the year. I honestly do believe this is the year that Walz and Louisville women’s basketball hang a banner at the Yum Center.
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