Why is Walz considered a great recruiter?

[Wonkster]

If you take a look at last year's Top 10 girls basketball players (all classes) in his home state of Kentucky, it looks like Jeff is getting shut out, at least among players who have committed as of December, 2012:

1) Becca Greenwell - Duke
2) Makayla Epps - Kentucky
3) Kyvin Goodin-Rogers - Kentucky, even though her Dad played for U of L
4) China Dow - Middle Tennessee State
5) Kayla Styles - Xavier
6) Larryn Brooks - Indiana
7) Ashton Feldhaus - Butler
8) Kayla Rankin - no school given, but in jail as of last January
9) Nora Kiesler - sophomore, but Wally World lists her as a recruit
10) Aeron Smith - Butler

 

[UConnCat]

Epps and Goodin-Rogers were both UL commits; they subsequently de-committed in favor of Kentucky.

 

[Wonkster]

Epps and Goodin-Rogers were both UL commits; they subsequently de-committed in favor of Kentucky.

And this demonstrates ... what?

 

[boontonbomber]

i think walz is overrated in more than just his recruiting ability. i will say he is #1, though, in sideline whining.

 

[Artifact]

That shirt he wore in the ' National Championship Game' says it all for me !

 

[Wonkster]

That shirt he wore in the ' National Championship Game' says it all for me !

You mean the one he had made out of the tablecloth from the last team dinner?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

i think walz is overrated in more than just his recruiting ability. i will say he is #1, though, in sideline whining.

Not even close, although he is a bit dramatic at times.

Among others, Charlie Turner Thorne, Andy Landers, Kristie Currey and of course Kim Mulkey come to mind. I sit in a center section but towards the visitors bench at AZ and I thought Thorne, who I generally have liked in the past, was actually embarrassing to watch.

 

[Vowelguy]

Whoever said Walz was a great recruiter?

 

[UcMiami]

Yeah - not sure I remember seeing anything praising him as a great recruiter. His strength seems to be on the bench and he has been very successful there in a fairly short time. He had a decent team to start so that helps his overall stats, but in his eight years as HC he has two NC games which matches or surpasses all but Geno

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Walz gets the players he needs to fit his system.

Since McCallie has been at Duke, the Blue Devils have had four recruiting classes ranked in the Top 3 (2014 will be the fifth). Zero Final Fours to show for it.

In that same time, Walz has been to the NCAA Championship game twice, with zero recruiting classes in the Top 3.

 

[Geno-ista]

Great points- jeff Walz obviously knows how to coach!

 

[jennyo70]

If you take a look at last year's Top 10 girls basketball players (all classes) in his home state of Kentucky, it looks like Jeff is getting shut out, at least among players who have committed as of December, 2012:

1) Becca Greenwell - Duke
2) Makayla Epps - Kentucky
3) Kyvin Goodin-Rogers - Kentucky, even though her Dad played for U of L
4) China Dow - Middle Tennessee State
5) Kayla Styles - Xavier
6) Larryn Brooks - Indiana
7) Ashton Feldhaus - Butler
8) Kayla Rankin - no school given, but in jail as of last January
9) Nora Kiesler - sophomore, but Wally World lists her as a recruit
10) Aeron Smith - Butler

Of these players, Walz only recruited the top 3. Epps and Rogers were verbals, but later flipped to KY. Greenwell had Louisville in her top 3. It is disappointing that of those top 3, they all got away. However, when louisville is in a top 3 with ND and Duke...well, not surprised to lose that battle, due to the academic differences of the institutions.

Epps and Rogers still stings. Not that they changed their mind, per se, but that they changed and chose KY. There is no love lost between Louisville and KY. There are rumors and stories aplenty about what happened with those two, none of which I will repeat.

IMHO Walz is a very good coach and is very, very good at getting the best out of his players. On paper the kids he has should have never beaten Baylor, TN or Cal. Now, some of that has to do with the coaching (or lack there of) from the opposition, but, Walz gets the best out of his kids.

What surprises me most is that with Samantha Williams on the sidelines(what is now her 3rd season I believe), who is heralded as one of the best recruiters in the business, that more elite talent has not found it's way to Louisville . I continue to watch this aspect very carefully.

 

[UcMiami]

Of these players, Walz only recruited the top 3. Epps and Rogers were verbals, but later flipped to KY. Greenwell had Louisville in her top 3. It is disappointing that of those top 3, they all got away. However, when louisville is in a top 3 with ND and Duke...well, not surprised to lose that battle, due to the academic differences of the institutions.

Epps and Rogers still stings. Not that they changed their mind, per se, but that they changed and chose KY. There is no love lost between Louisville and KY. There are rumors and stories aplenty about what happened with those two, none of which I will repeat.

IMHO Walz is a very good coach and is very, very good at getting the best out of his players. On paper the kids he has should have never beaten Baylor, TN or Cal. Now, some of that has to do with the coaching (or lack there of) from the opposition, but, Walz gets the best out of his kids.

What surprises me most is that with Samantha Williams on the sidelines(what is now her 3rd season I believe), who is heralded as one of the best recruiters in the business, that more elite talent has not found it's way to Louisville . I continue to watch this aspect very carefully.

Looking at Louisville vs Uconn on recruiting strategy I do feel that Walz might be a little to scattershot in his approach. LV always seems to have a full roster but of somewhat unspectacular players. I think he might benefit from making a few less offers and concentrating on the top end of his wish list even if it means a thinner roster some years.

 

[Outside Shot]

I still don't understand how people have the belief that Louisville hasn't had top players. Schimmel and Smith were both Top 5-10 recruits. Hammond was Top 15-20. Vails was Top 25. Can't remember who else, but the notion that they are somehow "undertalented" is preposterous.

 

[UcMiami]

I still don't understand how people have the belief that Louisville hasn't had top players. Schimmel and Smith were both Top 5-10 recruits. Hammond was Top 15-20. Vails was Top 25. Can't remember who else, but the notion that they are somehow "undertalented" is preposterous.

Most of the top teams have recruits that were top 3 or at least top five. Most years there is a drop off in talent of recruits between the top few and all the others, and that talent is a vital ingredient in success. TN previously and Uconn more recently have had a string of top 3 talent in multiple years which has helped create their incredible success. LV has certainly gotten a number of good recruits that were pursued by multiple top teams, but I do not believe they have yet to land a top five recruit let alone one in the top 3. And while Shonni is certainly talented as are Smith, Hammond, and Vails, none of the players since Angel have been in the conversation for best at their position.

 

[jennyo70]

Ucmiami, I agree. Both Shoni and Bria Smith were ranked 8th coming out if high school. Hammond was 12. Shoni and Bria at # 8 are the highest ranked recruits to sign at Louisville.
The good news ( for fans of Louisville) is that Walz has his program in the conversation and the short lists of elite players ( Russell and Greenwell in 2013, Vibians was ranked 6 by some services in 2014, and we made her top3). It is only a matter of time before he snags one of the top kids in the country, IMO. That can not come quick enough, though, if they are to take the next step and win a NC.

 

[John Glass]

I still don't understand how people have the belief that Louisville hasn't had top players. Schimmel and Smith were both Top 5-10 recruits. Hammond was Top 15-20. Vails was Top 25. Can't remember who else, but the notion that they are somehow "undertalented" is preposterous.

Rankings are just a guess at who will be good in college. A high ranking is no guarantee of success in college.

Smith is a mediocre shooter, and not worthy of her HS ranking. Vails was never a top 25 player, she lacks the strength to be a good post player. Schimmel is streaky . Slaughter was not ranked high, but has developed into a good player.

 

[Outside Shot]

I agree that rankings are not gospel, but the gist of this conversation is about landing highly ranked recruits. Louisville has done that. We can critique current college players all day long. According to Slaughter's bio, she was #45 in her class. That's Top 50. Most programs would love to have a Top 50 player on their roster.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I did a google search of "Jeff Walz great recruiter" and couldn't find anything in about a hundred hits that included a mention of him as a great recruiter, so Wonks, I think the premise is a little off. Many of the articles called him a good or great coach, but that doesn't equate to great recruiter. One article did cite him as a "well-known" recruiter, but it was from seven years ago, does not equal "great", and I think that the coaches of most basketball programs that have been to a couple of NCs are pretty well known in their field.

And I have yet to find an article that talks about all the BY posters who whine about his supposed whining, which is perhaps a good thing. The Summitteers always loved to scream at Geno about his "whiny-ass" antics, so I guess the log is often in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Fightin Choke]

I did a google search of "Jeff Walz great recruiter" and couldn't find anything in about a hundred hits that included a mention of him as a great recruiter, so Wonks, I think the premise is a little off. Many of the articles called him a good or great coach, but that doesn't equate to great recruiter. One article did cite him as a "well-known" recruiter, but it was from seven years ago, does not equal "great", and I think that the coaches of most basketball programs that have been to a couple of NCs are pretty well known in their field.

And I have yet to find an article that talks about all the BY posters who whine about his supposed whining, which is perhaps a good thing. The Summitteers always loved to scream at Geno about his "whiny-ass" antics, so I guess the log is often in the eye of the beholder.

Did he recruit well for Brenda Frese at Minnesota or Maryland? I know he was credited with helping to get the Terps their NC. Was coaching his only true contribution there?

 

[John Glass]

Did he recruit well for Brenda Frese at Minnesota or Maryland? I know he was credited with helping to get the Terps their NC. Was coaching his only true contribution there?

Walz was a vital part of Maryland's recruiting. I heard him tell the story of a recruit asking him about the DC sniper, he told the recruit the shootings were a long distance from Maryland. In fact the shootings were a few miles away.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Walz was a vital part of Maryland's recruiting. I heard him tell the story of a recruit asking him about the DC sniper, he told the recruit the shootings were a long distance from Maryland. In fact the shootings were a few miles away.

He may have been, but I always thought his contribution to MD was x and o's. I have heard, but cannot vouch for, the fact that Brenda is not, or has not at times, been the play designer. Of course, she would not be the only one to delegate - Blair won a NC while delegating either the offense or defense (I forget) to his associate head coach.

 

[Sonny44]

I don't see the need to rag on Jeff. I think he is a credit to the game.
We just need to get the season started.

 

[Outside Shot]

Chris, you've been posting that nonsense all over the internet for years now.

 

[ctkaiser]

Great points- jeff Walz obviously knows how to coach!

That a Geno-ista is a smart guy!