Jeff Walz Anticipating Hailey Van Lith to Play More Aggressively in 2021-22
(Photo of Hailey Van Lith: Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville women's basketball guard Hailey Van Lith entered the collegiate ranks as one of the most heralded prospects in the nation. Not only was she a McDonald's All-American, but was the Gatorade and MaxPreps player of the year in the state of Washington, as well as a finalist for the Naismith High School Player of the Year.
Needless to say, the freshman came on campus bringing a lot of expectations. Instead of succumbing to the weight of said pressure, she made a seamless transition to college, and established herself as one of the top three scoring and playmaking threats for the Cardinals during the 2020-21 season.
That being said, head coach Jeff Walz is anticipating a big step out of his point guard for next season. Not necessarily in production, but in assertiveness. With star player Dana Evans heading to the WNBA and Van Lith, Walz is expecting her to assume a much bigger role.
"As a freshman at times, you're trying to get a feel feel for things, and when you've got a player of Dana's abilities as a senior, you kind of just let the game play. You're letting Dana do what Dana does. and she was pretty impressive," he said earlier this week. "Now, I think Hailey is ready to take that next step, where you'll start seeing her be more aggressive - at the offensive end scoring the basketball, and verbally on both ends of the floor."
The 5-7 point guard very well could make the jump in her overall game from an aggression standpoint, but Walz isn't expecting her to assume duties as the 'lead guard', per se. Louisville returns a loaded backcourt, consisting of Kianna Smith, who was the Cardinals' second-leading scorer behind Evans, as well as Mykasa Robinson, who exploded in the second half of the season. Norika Konna, Ahlana Smith and transfer Chelsie Hall are also expected to be solid contributors as well.
"With our team coming back, you're going to have several players that it's not going to be a one where you're just looking to get it to this person as the point guard," Walz said. "Kianna, Hailey, they've played plenty of point throughout their career. I don't think we're really going to have just one where we're saying, 'get them the ball'. I think you're gonna see the ball move a little bit better this year, just because I think we're going to have that balance at that spot."
The Wenatchee, Wash. native ranked second on the Cardinals with 30.2 minutes and 1.2 steals per game, third with 11.2 points and 5.2 rebounds and fourth with 2.1 assists. She also shot 42.9% from the field, 38.3% on three-point attempts to lead the team, and 83.0% on free throw attempts. She was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team as a result.
Louisville posted a 26-4 record during the 2020-21 season, winning the ACC regular season title and claiming a berth in the ACC Championship game. They reached the Elite Eight as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, falling 78-63 to eventual national champion Stanford.
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