LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Asia Durr drove the University of Louisville women's basketball program to the Final Four in 2018 and an Elite Eight in 2019.
Then Durr departed for the WNBA as the second overall draft pick, and Louisville women's basketball did not disappear or collapse. Jeff Walz won 81.4% of his games in the four seasons since Durr moved on, making one Final Four and a pair of Elite Eights.
The Cardinals needed four seasons to return to the Final Four after Angel McCoughtry and Shoni Schimmel took the program that place in the bracket. But they got there.
Walz did not mention those tidbits late Wednesday morning during his first media availability since another Elite Eight appearance and the jarring decision by Hailey Van Lith to take her all-American talents to Louisiana State University.
I looked them up to reinforce my outlook for the Louisville program:
Losing Van Lith for her senior season stings. Having Walz to navigate the path forward will make the recovery quick, complete and relatively painless.
With U of L adding five players from the transfer portal to a roster than includes five returning players and no freshmen, I asked Walz if his 17th Cardinals' squad would be another NCAA Tournament team.
There is zero flinch in Walz.
"I would sure hope so," he said.
Laughter.
"No, I mean, I'd be disappointed if we're not," he said. "Then you might be finding a GoFundMe page (for his buyout)."
More laughter.
Most coaches would have talked around that question. Too soon to tell. Let's wait and see. We'll be young. This is hard. One game at a time.
Not Walz. Expectations never put a furrow in his brow. Neither has the transfer of a player that ignited angst in his fan base.
"I'm really excited about this group," Walz said. "I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a fun year.
"Are we going to go undefeated? No. I'll throw that out there now. We didn't go undefeated last year. We lost 12 games, and everyone thought the world was coming to an end."
The world did not come to an end. Louisville powered to a regional final against Caitlin Clark and Iowa. Then Van Lith announced her decision to join Kim Mulkey's defending national championship team at LSU.
That kicked up "The World is Coming to an End," conversation. In an interview with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report that was released last week, Van Lith was not directly critical of the program or Walz but said in addition to enjoying the highest of highs at Louisville, she also endured the lowest of lows and that she gave herself "the grace and the opportunity to find something better."
Hailey Van Lith and Jeff Walz after UofL defeated Michigan in the Elite Eight.
Walz has the same opportunity. He has the opportunity to create something better. It will begin next month when Louisville will play four games in Toronto in the international GLOBL JAM tournament.
His team will be led by returning center Olivia Cochran, a player Walz believes can average double figures in points and rebounds. Nyla Harris and Merissah Russell should earn more playing time.
But all five transfers Walz recruited averaged at least 11.6 points at their schools last season — and two (guard Nina Rickards from Florida and Jayda Curry, a guard from the University of California) played at the Power 5 level.
"It wouldn't surprise me if we had four or five kids average in double figures," Walz said. "Which I think would be great because then it makes you a lot harder to guard."
Unlike, maybe, having one player (Van Lith) average 19.7 and only one other average more than 8.9, the way the Cards did last season?
That's my observation, not something Walz said. Make a note of that.
The most eye-brow raising quote that Walz offered was this one:
"It's been a great off-season so far, preseason, spring and summer. Our chemistry is as good as it's been in a long time. Just really been impressed with how well they're all bonding and getting to know each other."
I asked Walz if that meant the chemistry was not great last season.
"It's not that it wasn't great," he said, "I mean, it's just watching them all here, especially when you have as many new ones that you have, it's kind of like OK, 'How are we all going to mesh?'
"And I'm just really impressed with how coachable they are. They want to be coached and they want to be challenged.
"So yeah, it's been as good as it's been in a long time. It makes my life easier as well."
Hmmmmm. Interpret that they way you want to interpret that.
The most direct statements that Walz made about Van Lith came after I asked if he talked to her before she departed and tried to convince her to stay.
"No," Walz said. "I tried to schedule some end of year meetings with players before I left with my family for a few days. Because I always try after the year to get out of town with my girls and my wife.
"(Van Lith) had a photo shoot in in New York, I think, so she wasn't able to make that. So then we actually just did a zoom call.
"And her Dad was on the call and she was on the call and it wasn't a … there was no arguing or anything like that.
"I've always been one that, you know, if you think there's something better, someplace else and you want to make that move, that's fine. I wasn't trying to convince her to stay or anything like that.
"I was just. you know, 'Is there anything we can do to help? Anything?
"And she just said she wanted to make a change and was looking to do something different for herself and be happy and all that stuff.
"So I wished her the best and her parents (the best) and yeah, and I hope she does great."
And that Louisville does great, too. Because over 16 seasons the record shows that is precisely what a Walz team will do.
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