CRAWFORD | Louisville rains threes and confetti as Walz hits career win No. 500 | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville women’s basketball players rained confetti down on coach Jeff Walz after his 500th career victory on Sunday in the KFC Yum! Center. The real gift, though, is how this team is playing.

Walz reached the milestone with an 85-60 win over Virginia Tech. It was No. 13 Louisville’s seventh-straight win, a streak that includes a blowout victory over a ranked Tennessee team in New York and a road win over then-No. 12. North Carolina.

There were lots of congratulations. A post-game text from Tom Jurich. A pregame text from Rick Pitino. Athletic director Josh Heird greeted him after the win. Walz has not had the most talented team on the court in a good many of his 500 wins. But he had the team that played harder, more together, and was, yes, better coached.

Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford

His current team is beginning to show some of those same tendencies. Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell said preparing for Louisville is like getting ready for three or four different teams, because of the different types of lineups Walz can, and does, employ.

“We can play fast if needed. We can set it up and execute in a half court, we can press at times,” Walz said. “It's fun for me, because I'm getting a chance to coach, which I haven't really had a chance to do the past two years, in the terms of mixing things up at a time out or gambling some, because this group is bought into what we're trying to do.”

This Louisville team is getting better. And as Walz teared up a bit watching a career retrospective video, his players had another thought.

“It’s super inspiring and motivational,” sophomore Mackenly Randolph said, after an 11-point, 4-rebound performance. “You see the faces, and Walz is crying in the videos and the girls. They just look so happy. Just imagining those moments, I’ve been watching basketball since I was zero. Going to the Final Four would be crazy. Of course, it’s the goal, but we’re one day at a time.”

It’s a lot more realistic goal right now than people might’ve thought earlier in the season, and not because Walz took a team ranked ranked lower than this one at this point in the season to the Final Four in 2013.

Jeff Walz and players — Louisville coach Jeff Walz dodges the confetti after his players shot off a celebratory round following his 500th career win.
ERIC CRAWFORD

As pieces have come online for Walz’s Cardinals, they have begun to mesh in some effective combinations, and Walz used almost all of them to pick up his 500th win,

“I think it was really good for them to see,” Walz said of the video. “… I think this team is a special group, and I'm hoping we can stay grounded and realize that it's not one player, it's all of us. We don't have a Dana Evans that I can just throw the ball to at the end of the shot clock and Dana was getting by anybody and getting any shot at any time. Asia Durr same way, and Shoni (Schimmel). But we've got seven or eight that you have to guard.”

On Sunday, Virginia Tech came in focused on keeping Tajianna Roberts from having a big night. Instead, Ziegler had 18 poits, nine rebounds and four assists. Imari Berry added 13 points, and Randolph 11. The Cards made 11 of 19 threes and had 23 assists on 34 field goals.

Anaya Hardy and eight points and eight rebounds, all on the offensive end. Roberts and Elif Istanbulluoglu had nine points each.

And Walz had a memorable afternoon, but even more important, has a pretty intriguing future, as his team heads to Miami with a record of 14-3, 4-0 in the ACC.

“It's special for sure,” Walz said. “I mean, it's been 19 years, and I've been very blessed to have wonderful staff throughout the years to help. It's all about getting players that are willing to buy in and want to be a part of something. And we've been very, very fortunate and blessed to get players that love the University of Louisville and give us everything they have. We're not always the most talented team when we step out on the floor through 19 years, but we have kids that believe in what we're doing and believe in us as coaches, and it's what makes it as much fun as it is. I mean, I've yet to make a basket. Sure, it goes down for 500 wins for me, but there are a lot of players that have scored a lot of baskets to make this possible.”