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Jeff Walz’s freshmen fit right in

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Jeff Walz’s freshmen fit right in

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CHARLOTTE, NC — A home-cooked meal is the fastest way to Olivia Cochran’s heart.

She takes the same approach as her Louisville women’s basketball teammates.

On Sundays, you’ll find Cochran in her dorm room in Denny Crum Hall preparing everything from Italian chicken to lamb chops, cabbage to cornbread. When she’s done, the 6-foot-4 forward from Columbus, Georgia, brings the food to the common area to share with the rest of the Cardinals.

“I’m just showing them my big sister love,” Cochran said Wednesday during ACC Tipoff, “making the connection first before we worry about basketball.”

Freshman forward Mackenly Randolph’s favorite dish of hers is the baked macaroni and cheese.

“It reminds me of being home,” she said.

Cochran, who is entering her fifth and final season at U of L, is shaping the guidance she received from Dana Evans and Mykasa Robinson when she first stepped foot on campus in 2020. It’s an especially crucial role right now, as head coach Jeff Walz signed eight freshmen in the Class of 2024 – the most of any ACC program.

Someone has to teach them the ropes, and it has to be an abbreviated crash course; because they will be called upon early and often as the ticket jockey for a position in a competitive conference and will look to improve on last season’s exit in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Cochran and Walz believe they are up to the challenge.

“These are definitely different freshmen,” Cochran said.

“Do we always do the right thing? No, but they do it hard,” Walz added. “That’s one thing we talk about and I always talk about: ‘We can teach you and try to show you what to do, but if we have to teach effort and coach effort, it’s not going to happen.'”

Randolph was the only freshman to attend the women’s portion of ACC Tipoff. When asked why he brought her along, Walz said she was “one of our most consistent players” during the preseason.

“Not just making shots, but being vocal – being a leader, being positive,” he added. “I was very impressed with it, and I was like, ‘Okay, come on. You’re coming. Try not to embarrass your family.'”

Randolph’s father is Zach Randolph, who spent 17 years in the NBA and was named Most Improved Player in 2004. Joining her on U of L’s roster is fellow freshman Izela Arenas, whose father, Gilbert Arenas, was named Most Improved Player in 2003.

Before joining the Cards, Randolph and Arenas won district, state and national championships at Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles. They weren’t the only members of the class of 2024 to play with such high stakes.

Of course, Louisville native Reagan Bender won four straight state titles with Sacred Heart. Anaya Hardy won three straight Detroit Public School championships at Renaissance High School. Imari Berry, from Clarksville, Tennessee, was a McDonald’s All-American. Tajianna Roberts helped IMG Academy to the Chipotle National Finals. Rebekah Graves was the 4-6A defensive player of the year in Texas, and Isla Juffermans represented her native Australia on the international stage.

Now imagine these ladies getting to know each other during 3-on-3 games at the Planet Fitness Kueber Center. Randolph said they haven’t played in a while with the season approaching, but it’s mostly Roberts, Berry and Hardy versus a combination of her, Arenas, Bender, Graves and Juffermans.

“It’s going to be really competitive,” Randolph said. “Sometimes people get kicked out of the gym.”

Cochran has seen that spirit translated into practice.

“I’m not saying (last season’s) team wasn’t hungry, but they are more competitive,” she said. “They’re basically doing everything they can to claim Louisville basketball.”

Randolph can vouch for that. One of the accomplishments she is most proud of since joining college is hitting 450 pounds on the leg press.

“I pushed myself to limits I’ve never experienced before,” she said.

The goal, though, is to get Louisville back to familiar territory: a deep NCAA tournament run. Last season marked the first time in Walz’s 17-year tenure that the Cards failed to advance beyond the first round when they reached March Madness.

“Many programs may be excited to participate in the tournament,” Walz said. “That is not the expectation here.”

Cochran nodded with a serious look on her face as Walz said this. Randolph noticed.

This is how a culture is passed on.

Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

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