By Aj Pfeiffer
Women’s basketball head coach Jeff Walz was noticeably excited on Wednesday, Oct. 27 as he addressed reporters in the new KFC Yum! Center during media day. The source of his excitement is shown all around the city of Louisville, on promotional billboards that tout this season’s freshman recruiting class. Walz, known for his recruiting, beamed about his incoming players, a class that ranks Top 5 in the nation.
“We are really seeing the effect of the Final Four trip starting to pay off,” said Walz.
When asked why only the freshmen were selected for the promotion, he responded jokingly.
“I told the returning players that, after last season, the last thing anyone wanted to see on a billboard was me or you guys,” said Walz.
As for the freshmen, with the high level of talent and accolades collected in their high school careers, Walz is sure they will have no trouble stepping into college play. One player he has particularly high hopes for is freshman guard Shoni Schimmel.
A recruit from Mission, Ore., Schimmel is the No. 6 all-time scorer in Oregon basketball history and was an All-American her senior year. As a senior at Franklin High School, she averaged 29.8 points, 9 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 4.4 steals per game.
Junior forward Monique Reid said she was excited to see the impact of Schimmel and the other freshmen on the team.
“The freshmen have been great, especially Shoni and Antonita [Slaughter],” said Reid. “We’ve all been learning from each other and really coming together as more of a team. They’re going to be good.”
The rest of the recruiting class is also worthy of the Top 5 ranking. Forward Shawnta’ Dyer was named District 6 Player of the Year in Ohio, along with being the MVP of the 2010 Ohio-Kentucky All-Star game. Forward Polly Harrington won the Direhnz Award twice and competed in the Midwest All-Star Classic, winning the honor of co-MVP of the West team. Point guard Charmaine Tay was named the best rebounding point guard in New Jersey history and was an ESPN All-American. Center Sheronne Vails was a McDonald’s All-American nominee and was named Player of the Year in her home county in Maryland. A Kentucky native, guard Antonita Slaughter is the sister of former Western Kentucky University guard A.J. Slaughter and was named the Region 7 Player of the Year.
Slaughter said working against her brother was a helpful tool in preparing for college play.
“A.J. is the toughest player I’ve ever had to guard,” said Slaughter.
Another highlight to watch for, not this season but next, is sophomore transfer Cierra Robertson-Warren. The 6-foot-4 center who played in 31 games for the University of North Carolina last year is ineligible this season, due to NCAA rules, but has found her place among the new faces on the Cardinal roster.
“They all call me a freshman, even though I’m a sophomore,” said Robertson-Warren. “We really do a lot of bonding here. Everyone gets along great and you can see it in how we are playing as a team.”
Robertson-Warren chose to come to U of L mainly because of Walz’s coaching style, saying that she was a fan of his at the University of Maryland and that the Atlantic Coast Conference vibe seemed to have followed him. Robertson-Warren most looks forward to playing against the University of Connecticut.
That kind of hunger is evident in everyone on this year’s women’s basketball team. From the freshmen to the returning favorites – including the ever-improving sophomore forward Asia Taylor, 3-point specialist junior guard Becky Burke, and last year’s starting point guard sophomore Shelby Harper – the entire team is poised to grow together and go out and win games. When asked about team goals, all of the women responded with the exact same two words: Final Four.
These are definitely high hopes, but Walz promises that this season, the first in the new arena, will be full of excitement and a showcase of great things to come.
