The University of Louisville women's basketball team is playing in its fourth straight Elite Eight on Monday night when it faces Michigan at 9 p.m. Eastern in Wichita, Kansas.The success is nothing new for the Cardinals since Jeff Walz was hired as head coach in March of 2007."It's been fun," Walz said. "For our program, you know, it's -- a lot has changed for the fact of in '09 no one really 맥스카지노� I got hired in '07-'08 was my first year, then '08-'09, and the goal was to get to a Sweet 16. And our first year we got to a Sweet 16. It was a big deal, it was an exciting time at Louisville. And then in year two with Angel and Candyce and Des Byrd and Becky Burke, Monique Reid, just to name a few of those kids on that team, I think we kind of shocked everybody, and we get to a Final Four."Overall, Walz has led the Cardinals to three Final Four appearances. The most recent one came in 2018.More from the Cards: UofL's Emily Engstler a 'difference maker'"Our program has been built on honesty because I tell our kids all the time, and Angel will tell you, I go into halftime our Oklahoma game, and I can remember Rebecca Lobo was the sideline reporter," Walz said. "She was kind enough to flip her heels off so she wasn't so much taller than I was and she asked me about Angel and I said she was terrible, that's the worst half of basketball I've seen her play and if she continues to play this way, we have no chance. People were appalled. I can't believe you would say that about a kid. I can't believe you would say that about a player. What's wrong with the truth? See, we speak the truth. When I got into halftime I told Angel, I said, Angel, they asked me about you. I told them you were terrible, and she was like, well I was. And she goes, it's going to change. Sounds good."We go out there and roll off the first 15 points and she had 9 of them. That's how we built our program, on honesty and just telling kids the truth. Some like it, some don't, but at the end of the day, I sleep well at night, because I know how we do it is the right way. Because we're not just preparing them for the game of basketball, but we're preparing them for the game of life."The players seem to appreciate that honesty."Coach Walz is a unique character," Louisville forward Emily Engstler said. "He's funny. He can be tough on you, but he's also sensitive and emotional. You need that in a man coach. We don't want to say it, but we are women. I like that he's emotionally available and at the same time he's tough and witty."He's someone that you can speak to off the court. He's someone that you can speak to on the court. Even when you don't agree, at the end of the day, he's never going to hold a grudge, which is a very hard thing to do. I love playing for him. I think most of us do. I think that he's going to get us to a championship game."Guard Kianna Smith added that his on-the-court coaching also deserves a lot of credit."I think his passion for the game, it just shows in Louisville basketball culture," Smith said. "It's from top to bottom, every single assistant coach, every player on this team shows that passion for the game just like Coach Walz does, that intensity."And also it shows in his preparation. I think he really prides himself in scouts and the X's and O's part of the game. He really has us prepared. So I think the intensity shows in our Louisville basketball culture."