LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- You have permission to call Jeffrey Jacob Walz simply Jeff Walz.
But not that Jeff Walz.
He is Jeff Walz, the 52-year-old dynamo determined to chase more greatness with the University of Louisville women's basketball program.
He is not the Jeff Walz who is reportedly estranged from his younger brother, Tim, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate and governor of Minnesota.
Got that?
Walz's players know that. Louisville administrators know that. Cardinals' fans know that. I'm optimistic that most regular readers of this column know that.
But America does not know that.
Ask Jeff Walz.
The coach. Not the disgruntled brother.
"The stupidity is running rampant at this point in time," coach Jeff Walz said.
He has the receipts to prove it. A nasty email that was written to him at 12:23 one morning at the suggestion of late night TV serial wise guy Stephen Colbert was the first of several items he mentioned.
Phone calls that resulted in voice mails on Walz's office phone at the U of L practice facility.
This Jeff Walz, the basketball coach, has never been shy about mixing it up. Ask Atlantic Coast Conference officials. Or even the ACC commissioner. Or the NCAA.
If you write to Walz and include your telephone number, he is likely to dial your number. On Tuesday, during the Cards' annual media day gathering, he shared this story about one call he made to somebody who sent him a biting political e-mail.
As Walz remembers it, the exchange went like this:
'I have one gentleman that for about three minutes was like "Who's on first? (A classic Abbott and Costello comedy routine).
"He kept asking me about my brother, Tim. I said that I don't have a brother, Tim.
"He said, 'So you disowned him?'
"No, I don't have one.
"He said, 'So you're not acknowledging you have a brother, Tim.'
"I'm saying, 'No, I don't have one.'
"That went on for about two and a half minutes. And I finally said, 'I do have brothers, Scott and Brian.'
"And he said, 'Well, what would your mother say?'
"Same thing. Don't have one (named Tim).
"And then I was kind enough, and I thought I was nice enough to ask him, 'Did you look at the email you sent this to? You sent this to 'Jeff at GoCards com.'
"He said, 'Yeah.'
"You Googled it?
"And I hear him typing it. (He says), 'Oh, so you're a basketball coach.
"That's me.
"He reads down and goes, 'So you do have a brother, Scott and Brian and a sister, Jamie?'
"I said, 'Yeah, that's true.' And no brother Tim.
"He goes, 'OK, thanks.' Click. Hung up."
Walz laughed at the silliness Tuesday because he has a raging sense of humor that he mixes with his dogged pursuit of basketball success.
Although half of his 2024-25 team will be freshman, Walz said that he expects this team to make another NCAA Tournament and that by January he will know if the Cardinals can contend for an ACC title.
His stellar freshman class is led by point guard Izela Arenas, the daughter of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, and Mackenly Randolph, the daughter of another former NBA all-star, Zach Randolph. Walz said that he believes his young players have the ability to deliver the way many of his top players have delivered in the past.
"We'll get a good chance over these next few weeks to see who is going to separate themselves and earn that playing time," Walz said.
"Because at this point in time, I've been really impressed with all of them … Everybody here wants to win. There are no egos involved."
As usual, Walz has arranged a Denny Crum style schedule. In addition to the usual ACC heavyweights, the Cardinals will play UConn, UCLA (in Paris), Kentucky, Colorado and Oklahoma. They will even make a trip to Tennessee-Martin, a road game most Top 15 programs would avoid. Not Walz.
"But you now it's not just playing them," Walz said. "We're going to have to find a way to win some of them, too.
"I've always said you can put a great, competitive schedule together but if you don't win some of them, it's not doing any good."
Over his career Walz has consistently found a way to win about 78% of them.
This Jeff Walz. Not the other one.
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