Mississippi State basketball: Sam Purcell reflects on lessons learned at Louisville

Heading into his second season leading the Mississippi State women’s basketball team, Sam Purcell is looking back on what he learned at Louisville.

Sam Purcell is now heading into his second season as a head coach and as he continues to grow and learn, he’s had plenty of opportunities to look back on all of the lessons he learned at Louisville from Jeff Walz.

Purcell, previously an assistant under Walz’ leadership and guidance, has been able to learn quite a bit before taking over things in Starkville. And during SEC Media Days, Purcell was given the perfect opportunity to talk about his time at Louisville and what he learned under Walz.

And of course, it’s no surprise that Purcell had nothing but praise for his former boss.

“First and foremost, he’s a future Hall of Famer,” Purcell stated, according to the ASAP Sports transcript from SEC Media Days. “What makes Jeff Walz a Hall of Famer, is the way he manages people and players. To be an assistant for Jeff Walz, I’m going to be honest with you, that’s why I was able to have success, confidence and a swagger in year one, because of his leadership style that he mentored me.”

Mississippi State basketball’s Sam Purcell credits Jeff Walz

With as much time as Purcell spent at Louisville, it shouldn’t shock anyone that he would be willing to credit his mentor and former boss for setting him up for success. And as we all witnessed in Purcell’s first season with the Mississippi State women’s basketball programs, it seems like those opportunities to grow and develop as a coach have been beneficial.

So far, it seems like that experience perfectly prepared Purcell to make a smooth transition from an assistant at Louisville to taking on a head coaching role in the Southeastern Conference.

“He set me up for success, taught me the ropes, but he gave me opportunity as an assistant,” Purcell explained. “When given the opportunity at Mississippi State to lead my program, it was an easy transition.”

Now, the Bulldogs have a chance to make some noise in the SEC. This is a program that is still building and probably not ready to content for a championship just yet, but it’s one that is moving in the right direction.

And the leadership principles and coaching lessons Purcell learned at Louisville should be beneficial for Mississippi State basketball fans for years to come.