Louisville Cardinals
Overall Rank: #5
Conference Rank: #2 ACC
Louisville is coming off another trip to the Final Four, where they lost to Mississippi State in overtime. Coach Jeff Walz has turned this into a consistent program and, with seven of their top eight scorers returning, this is a Cardinals team that will be eyeing another ACC title and a trip to the Final Four. The one key departure is a very important one though. Myisha Hines-Allen has had a superb collegiate career and averaged 14.0 points and 9.6 rebounds during her senior season before being selected 19th overall in the WNBA Draft.
2017-18 Record: 36-3, 15-1
2017-18 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Jeff Walz
Coach Record: 299-96 at Louisville, 299-96 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Myisha Hines-Allen, Forward, 14.0 ppg
Sydney Zambrotta, Guard, 3.4 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Asia Durr, Senior, Guard, 18.7 ppg
Sam Fuehring, Senior, Forward, 9.9 ppg
Jazmine Jones, Junior, Guard, 8.9 ppg
Arica Carter, Senior, Guard, 7.6 ppg
Dana Evans, Sophomore, Guard, 5.1 ppg
Kylee Shook, Junior, Forward, 4.9 ppg
Bionca Dunham, Junior, Forward, 4.6 ppg
Jessica Laemmle, Junior, Guard, 0.9 ppg
Key New Players
Yacine Diop, Senior, Guard, Grad Transfer from Pitt
Lindsey Duvall, RS Freshman, Guard
Molly Lockhart, Freshman, Forward
Seygan Robins, Freshman, Guard
Mykasa Robinson, Freshman, Guard
Projection:
Asia Durr will once again be Louisville’s top player. The senior guard averaged a team high 18.7 points and connected on 41.5 percent of her 277 attempts from beyond the arc. When Durr is knocking down shots, which is most of the time, few teams can stop her from scoring in bunches. There are plenty of options to find a new secondary scorer to replace Hines-Allen. Jazmine Jones is a big guard who is very effective attacking the basket. Arica Carter will run the point again after averaging 7.6 points and 4.0 assists. Carter is a very efficient shooter and can score more if necessary. With Dana Evans adding another ball handler to the roster and a few talented newcomers, Coach Walz should be able to find a couple double digit scorers on the perimeter. Yacine Diop comes to Louisville from Pitt where she averaged 15.7 points and 6.4 rebounds last season. Incoming freshmen Mykasa Robinson and Seygan Robins have the talent to make an immediate impact. The greater concern is in the frontcourt. Sam Fuehring is a proven interior scorer and Kylee Shook is the team’s top shot blocking threat, but Louisville will need more productive minutes from Bionca Dunham and Shook in order to have enough depth in the frontcourt to compete for a spot in the Final Four.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.7 (30th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 57.1 (27, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 48.2 (7, 2)
Field-Goal Defense:37.4 (48, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.2 (137, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.1 (22, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 75.2 (42, 2)
Rebound Margin: 7.1 (31, 4)
Assists Per Game:16.8 (19, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.6 (61, 2)
Madness 2019 WNBA Draft Rankings:
#5 Asia Durr
Madness 2018 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#30 Mykasa Robinson
#67 Seygan Robins
