LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – For Olivia Cochran, it was time to stand up. As a senior leader for the University of Louisville women’s basketball team, she could hear the rumblings in the fanbase after the departure of leading scorer Hailey Van Lith, and she wanted to deliver a message not just to her teammates, but to the fans, that things were going to be fine.
“I’m big on loyalty,” she posted on her Twitter account. “Y’all don’t have to worry about me leaving! . . . I never feed into media but when y’all trying to put a narrative on something that’s not true I’m going stand up and say something and that’s about any situation or issue , because I’m not afraid to speak my mind!”
It wasn’t the first time Cochran had stepped forward, but it was her most definitive leadership statement off the court.
“Hailey is my sister forever,” Cochran said. “I wish her the best. But me being a 4-year vet, I just think people needed to know that we're going to be good. We don't depend on one person. It's a team effort. And that's what my message was trying to get across. Not me picking at nobody. Just trying to be honest, you know, because I feel like our fans needed that. And because people doubted. People have been doubting us every year, so I felt like I needed to say something because it's not just about Hailey. It's about Louisville, and I'm part of Louisville. I just I felt like I had to get that off my chest. And I did it for Coach (Jeff) Walz because people were saying negative things. You know how the internet is. I just felt like I had to step up and say something.”
On the court, she has been making statements for a while, and has been at her best in the most important situations. She came in with Van Lith, and was an McDonald’s All-American herself.
Louisville's Olivia Cochran drives for a basket during a 2022 win over Cincinnati.
In the Elite Eight in 2022, she took a crucial charge from Michigan All-American Naz Hillmon with just over 2 minutes to play, then scored 3 of her 4 field goals – and made a pair of key free throws – to carry Louisville to the Final Four. She had 14 points and 4 rebounds in the subsequent loss to South Carolina.
And this past season, against Iowa, she had career highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds in an Elite Eight loss.
“The big lights don't scare her,” Walz said. “You know, she likes to play in front of big crowds. She enjoys the moment. And she's one that I'm really excited for. She's worked extremely hard on her conditioning in the offseason. She’s in the gym before practice working on her touch. We're working on finishing around the basket. She she's one that I think, you know, with our change in personnel and the transfers we have coming in, we'll look to get the ball into the post. I think we've got some guards that can make the those passes. So, I think Olivia is really going to be able to show what she can do.”
Cochran said a major emphasis in her offseason work has been expanding her offensive game to include more ability to create her own offense, as well as finishing down low. She said she’s been working with coach Jonneshia Pineda to improve on that end.
“I feel like me getting to the basket with moves and just creating stuff or creating for my shot,” Cochran said, when asked about improvements to her game in the offseason. “I feel like that’s what I've been working on all summer and coach JP has been holding me accountable for coming into gym early before practice, just getting up more shots and working on my ball handling and my 3-point shot, just doing what I need to do for my role for the team this year. I’m just trying to be a star in my role – that’s all I’m trying to do.”
As she has already shown, she’s already equal to the leadership role she finds herself in.
“I felt like, going into my senior year, I just have to elevate,” Cochran said. “You’ve got to elevate your game. That’s what’s needed from me, the next step, doing everything extra, just taking the extra mile of getting my conditioning up, getting extra reps of what I need to do, knowing every spot on the floor, knowing every defensive assignment, and just talking more uplifting people. So I feel like that's, that's mainly my job this year. . . . I feel like my coaching staff needs me to be more vocal this year, because I am the leader, and I've been here for four years. So, it's just picking us up. Because when we get down, I feel like everybody gets quiet, so I have to be that voice of uplifting everybody.”
For Cochran, that job is well under way.
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