LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - Being yourself is always key to success. But so is stepping out of your comfort zone.
Louisville women's basketball head coach Jeff Walz knows his star freshman in Tajianna Roberts is naturally more reserved. It is why he has pushed her to play with more emotion, something he hopes to keep seeing as Louisville looks to push its winning streak to seven on Thursday night at home against Syracuse.
"We have great crowds here, and you'll make a great play, and then you'll look like you missed it," Walz said he has told Roberts. "Let the crowd know you're excited because our crowd will get behind you. They want to see that as well.
"And I think she's starting to have more fun with it. It's OK to show emotion and show excitement. And then, I think she's seen how everybody else feeds off of that as well."
Roberts has not relented in being the most consistent Cardinal scorer this season. She leads Louisville with 13 points and 29 minutes per game, which helped her earn the ACC's Rookie of the Week honor for a third time. Since the Cardinals joined the conference, no other freshman has gotten that honor three times in one year.
"She's doing exactly what we thought she could," Walz said. "I've just been very, very impressed with her patience, how the game has come along to her, how she's seeing the game. It's one of the things when you come in as a freshman, sometimes, it's so much quicker and stronger. And for her, it plays out slow."
Tajianna Roberts looks to drive in a Louisville women's basketball victory in the KFC Yum! Center.
The veteran head coach goes back to his guard's personality. Roberts, who was a five-star recruit coming out of high school, is someone Walz describes as being quiet.
"She's witty and pays attention to what's going on," Walz said. "She really watches what's happening. I enjoy being around her."
That shows itself on the court too. Walz has seen plenty of great players come through his program, ones who maybe had more flash to their games. So, he does not have a direct comparison for Roberts.
"She probes as well as anybody that we've had here, being able to dribble in front of somebody, get them on their butt and can really make that little pull-up shot," Walz said. "She's that kid that when the game's over, and everybody is leaving the arena, they're like, 'So hey, who was the leading scorer? Oh, it was Roberts.'
"They're like, 'Really?' Because it's the way she does it. You look up after three quarters, you're like, 'Man, she has 12 already. She's got 14.' It's not like a highlight film."
Her patience in letting her game come to her is highlighted by efficiency. The California native has shot at least 44% from the field in four straight games while averaging about 14 shots per contest. She has hit the 40% mark in 12 games.
That, according to Walz, is as much of a product of her patience as anything else. He wants her to draw more fouls to shoot more free throws, but enjoys that she is not forcing her offensive game.
"So when she gets it, it's not like all of a sudden, there's nine people running around," Walz said. "She sees what she's trying to do. She sees the pass she's trying to make. She sees the driving lane that's in front of her.
"And that's a tribute also to the work. I mean, she's put the work in, and it's just exciting, because I think she's continuing to get better and better."
Defensively, Roberts has just two games this season where she did not get a steal, tying for the team lead with 31 for the year. Her 36 assists rank second behind Miami transfer Ja'Leah Williams. It is all part of what Louisville expected her to be: herself.
"Taj just does her thing," Walz said. "She makes an impact on both ends of the floor."
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