Cardinals hire Maryland assistant as coach

3/27/2007 3:47 PM

By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -Jeff Walz was hired Tuesday as the women's basketball coach at Louisville after spending the last five seasons as a Maryland assistant.

Walz replaces Tom Collen, who left to coach Arkansas. Walz was an assistant under Brenda Frese when the Terrapins won the 2006 national championship. Walz previously worked as an assistant at Minnesota, Nebraska and Western Kentucky.

``This is a dream come true,'' he said. ``The opportunity to come to a program like this and coach is something I never thought would happen.''

Louisville went 27-8 this season, losing to Arizona State in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals finished tied for fifth in the Big East and cracked the top 25 for the first time in school history.

Louisville loses just one starter to graduation and returns forward Angel McCoughtry, the Big East Player of the Year.

``The talent level is very good,'' Walz said. ``I think they've got an outstanding group of young ladies who are eager to get things going again, and I'm really excited about what's going on here.''

The 35-year-old Walz expects to incorporate some of the frenetic style that carried the Terrapins to the title.

``We're going to go out there and get out there on defense,'' he said. ``I expect to use some fullcourt press at times, and we're going to try and take the best shot as early as we can.''

Walz is from Fort Thomas, about 100 miles from Louisville. He said he was surprised Collen left a program that cracked the Top 25 for the first time, and he didn't hesitate when approached by athletic director Tom Jurich.

``Jeff was the type of person that was incredibly well-rounded,'' said Jurich, who needed just five days to find Collen's successor. ``He's someone that really stood out. His Kentucky ties were an added bonus. ... There certainly is no better rising star than Jeff.''