No. 14 Taja Cole To Louisville

No. 14 Taja Cole To Louisville
No. 14 Taja Cole To LouisvilleTaja Cole

Taja Cole is looking to replace the flair and playmaking of Shoni Schimmel when she arrives in Louisville in 2015. *Photo by Chris Hansen.

Taja Cole of Richmond, Va., is the newest member of the Louisville Cardinals family. The No. 14 ranked player in the class of 2015 made a verbal pledge to Jeff Walz and his staff yesterday evening, joining four-star guard Maya Behnam of Douglassville, Ga., as the second member of Louisville’s 2015 recruiting class.

After an impressive summer in which she tried out for the USA Baskteball Under-16 national team and stood out as a major contributor on her Boo Williams Summer League team, Cole earned the right to be considered one of the premier prospects in the 2015 class. At 5 feet 8 inches Cole brings a combination of size and athleticism to the point guard position. She has the ability to attack the rim and make things happen and has continued to improve as a perimeter shooter throughout her prep career.

Her addition to Louisville gives them an elite weapon at the guard spot to replace the production lost by current point guard Shoni Schimmel and although there will be a year’s gap between when Schimmel leaves and Cole walks in the door, Cole will be poised to take the ball and run very early during her time playing in the KFC Yum Center.

Cole chose Louisville over finalists Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, NC State, Virginia Commonwealth and West Virginia.

“The up and down style of play and the great IQ of the coach really fits my game.” Cole said. “I see myself getting better every year there, academically and physically.”


'15 ELITE 60 guard Taja Cole. *Photo by Chris Hansen.

Another key aspect to the 2015 guard picking Louisville was their fan support.

“They average 10,000 fans,” Cole said. “Who wouldn’t want to play in front of that?”

Currently, Louisville’s 2015 class is shaping up very well with Cole joining Benham to give Walz and his staff a quick jump heading into the spring and summer recruiting season. With two quality 2015 additions in the books and one of the better 2014 recruiting classes in the country, Louisville is poised to stay in the mix atop of women’s basketball.

This wasn’t lost on Cole.

“The recruiting class we have coming in for the 2014 class is outstanding,” Cole said, “and we're looking forward to recruiting a few more in the 2015 class.”

Cole and Louisville are an excellent fit. Her athleticism and playmaking ability will give one of the top programs in the country even more offensive firepower. While Cole and Schimmel are, in some ways, very different, they also share some similarities when it comes to playing the game with passion and flair.

“(At Louisville) I'm free to play the way I play,” Cole added. “Sometimes I can be flashy and coach is perfectly fine with that. That's why he has Shoni there now.”

Cole is excited about playing at a school that will give her the freedom to play her game and grow as a player, “as long as we get the job done.”


Moore is the Director of Scouting for the JumpOffPlus.com National Scouting Report and international scouting report. He has been a member if the women's basketball community for more than six years as a trainer and evaluator. He can be reached at keil@prospectsnation.com.

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