Speaker 1: The Kyle Whittingham Coaches Show comes your way at six
Speaker 1: o'clock tonight. Should be an entertaining one this evening after
Speaker 1: a tough weekend. So we have one coach at six.
Speaker 1: We have one coach right now. We'll do some Utah
Speaker 1: women's hoops around the road against Northwestern on Thursday night
Speaker 1: at five o'clock start time, and coach Lynn Roberts back
Speaker 1: on the drive on a Tuesday.
Speaker 2: Coach, Happy Tuesday. How are you.
Speaker 3: I'm doing great? How are you?
Speaker 2: I'm well, I'm well all right.
Speaker 1: So some new faces, some familiar faces, a two and
Speaker 1: zero start, neither game has been relatively close.
Speaker 2: We'll kind of get to what's next.
Speaker 1: I do want to talk about this interesting change of
Speaker 1: conference and what it means for your program. But from
Speaker 1: a macro standpoint, what should we know about your team
Speaker 1: this year?
Speaker 2: Again?
Speaker 1: A lot of faces coming back and some new faces
Speaker 1: added to the puzzle.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's well said. You know, we have
Speaker 3: our core group back, Gianna Napkins returning All American, has
Speaker 3: two years left, Kenny McQueen, the hender for Utah Local,
Speaker 3: and Jenna Johnson. Those guys are all seniors in Eshvita
Speaker 3: back Matty Wilke back. We've got some good ones and
Speaker 3: you know, a lot of preseason lists for point guard
Speaker 3: of the Year with a Nash and Jenna's on the
Speaker 3: power forward of the year, you know, one of ten,
Speaker 3: one of ten, one of ten. So we've got some
Speaker 3: good guys back that have been in this program for
Speaker 3: you know, three years, four years, and they also you know,
Speaker 3: beyond being upper class, and they have a lot of experience.
Speaker 3: You know, they've all played every year they've been here,
Speaker 3: they've advanced in the NCAA tournament, and they've won Tactal championship.
Speaker 3: Like there's just a lot of experience, not just age experience,
Speaker 3: but big game experience in winning. So that's a luxury
Speaker 3: as a coach. But then we also have three really
Speaker 3: good freshmen and a couple of transfers that I really like,
Speaker 3: and then some key role players back that are you know,
Speaker 3: they've improved. So I like our roster. It's a great
Speaker 3: mix of new plus just experienced veterans. So I think
Speaker 3: that's a good balance. When you're looking at the season, Well.
Speaker 1: When you lose an all time great, it's tough to
Speaker 1: make up for the absence, and Unlisia has now moved
Speaker 1: on to pro basketball in Minnesota. What have what have
Speaker 1: you tried to do so far? I guess you're just
Speaker 1: relying on, you know, all the girls that have been
Speaker 1: in your program. But again, you don't. You don't just
Speaker 1: replace somebody who is historically great. So how are you
Speaker 1: going about kind of the big hole that Alyssa leaves behind?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean you don't. It's not, as I've said
Speaker 3: a lot, like, it's not zero sum where she graduates
Speaker 3: and you bring in somebody and you wipe her hands
Speaker 3: clean like hey done, Like it's it doesn't work that way.
Speaker 3: And but where it's not like she was the entire
Speaker 3: program either. I think the system played for her. She
Speaker 3: was an incredible generational talent. But we had a lot
Speaker 3: of good players around her too, And so those guys
Speaker 3: you know, are going to step up, like you mentioned,
Speaker 3: and be in some bigger, more uh scoring reliant roles.
Speaker 3: But then we've got we've got a transfer, a grad
Speaker 3: transfer from she's originally from France, graduated at Rhode Island.
Speaker 3: It was all big East out there, and so she
Speaker 3: you know, six three sixty four really long athletic shit,
Speaker 3: twenty two points in our second game she's good and
Speaker 3: she's going to help fill some need there, and then
Speaker 3: it's just, you know, it's my job to put our
Speaker 3: best scoring, our best players and positions to have the
Speaker 3: most impact. But we certainly have the talent to make
Speaker 3: up for it. And it's you know, while it's definitely
Speaker 3: is a loss, it's not something that stresses me out
Speaker 3: in terms of can we still be as effective, if
Speaker 3: not better.
Speaker 1: Through two games? You're still playing the same type of
Speaker 1: flow system. Everybody touches the ball, the ball move. You
Speaker 1: still like to shoot a lot of threes. You know,
Speaker 1: it does look like your style of play. I wonder
Speaker 1: how much of that is based off of and look,
Speaker 1: you do have a lot of players who have been
Speaker 1: in the program. But do you decide exactly what you
Speaker 1: will implement based off of your personnel or you a
Speaker 1: coach that says this is how I know to win,
Speaker 1: and you're going to play in this system, Like, how
Speaker 1: does that process play itself out prior to the start
Speaker 1: of the year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think a little bit of both. I think
Speaker 3: our philosophy remains the same in terms of the way
Speaker 3: we want to play the game. The nuances of that
Speaker 3: it depends on who your players are right now. The
Speaker 3: luxury is that we get to recruit players that fit
Speaker 3: our system. So if somebody cannot shoot at all, we
Speaker 3: probably won't recruit them. That doesn't mean they're not a
Speaker 3: good player, but they're just not a good fit for us.
Speaker 3: And so you know, we're recruiting now to the system.
Speaker 3: But every year is nuanced. And even if we've got
Speaker 3: a bunch of players back and it's you know, a
Speaker 3: lot of the same ingredients, it's still a different recipe.
Speaker 3: Every year is different and that's the fun part of coaching,
Speaker 3: and you've got to keep it new. And so we're
Speaker 3: doing some different things than are nuances. But in terms
Speaker 3: of the philosophy of pace and tempo and space and
Speaker 3: great shot selection, that'll that'll be the same as long
Speaker 3: as I'm coaching.
Speaker 1: How has your recent success conference championships NCAA tournaments, how
Speaker 1: has that affected your ability to recruit on the trail
Speaker 1: to get into doors that maybe three four years ago
Speaker 1: you were not able to get into.
Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3: I mean six great players want to want to win,
Speaker 3: right and they want to be around other great players,
Speaker 3: and so you know, we're fortunate to be at a
Speaker 3: spot with our program where we're nationally known and respected
Speaker 3: and we've kind of earned our earned our keep a
Speaker 3: little bit to where we have. You know, we're able,
Speaker 3: we have the ability to get in there, and you know,
Speaker 3: another huge part of that is our home crowd attendance.
Speaker 3: You know, last season we averaged seventy two hundred. When
Speaker 3: I got the job ten nine and a half years ago,
Speaker 3: we had the year before I got here, they averaged
Speaker 3: six hundred and fifty four people, and so we're up
Speaker 3: to seventy two hundred, and that's a huge part of
Speaker 3: recruiting kids. You know, if you're an elite player, you
Speaker 3: want to play in front of a great home crowd,
Speaker 3: and we want to keep building that. You know, my
Speaker 3: goal is to get to ten thousand and be like
Speaker 3: you know Iowa and Yukon, those types of places that
Speaker 3: have historically had great crowds, like that's South Carolina like that.
Speaker 3: That's the next step. I'm certainly not content with where
Speaker 3: we are, and we just want to keep pushing.
Speaker 2: Is this your tenth year?
Speaker 3: Yes? Can you believe it?
Speaker 2: I feel like you just got hired.
Speaker 3: I know me too, but the bags under my eyes
Speaker 3: tell the.
Speaker 1: Well, tenth year is the head coach, but the first
Speaker 1: year as the head coach in the Big twelve. And
Speaker 1: you know, look, it doesn't necessarily this is just my opinion.
Speaker 1: It doesn't necessarily adversely affect you the way that it
Speaker 1: does Craig, because the Big twelve conference on the men's
Speaker 1: side is ridiculous. But I feel like the PAC twelve
Speaker 1: on the women's side may have been a superior conference overall,
Speaker 1: or maybe it's pretty close. As of now, looks like
Speaker 1: we've got four teams in the top twenty five. Yes,
Speaker 1: after two games, l we're going to break down the
Speaker 1: top twenty five. IOWA Stayed, Case Day, West, Virginia, Baylor.
Speaker 1: But how would you articulate what this Big twelve challenge
Speaker 1: means for the women's side of things? Is it better competition?
Speaker 1: Is it pretty linear? Give me your thoughts there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think I think you're right. I think
Speaker 3: the PAC twelve on the women's basketball side was and
Speaker 3: this is not an opinion, this is statistically factual and
Speaker 3: in terms of tournament, game advancement, statistics, play, you know,
Speaker 3: all the things, net ranking, everything packed twelve on's basketball
Speaker 3: was the best women's basketball conference. And I think what
Speaker 3: made it uniquely elite was that it was from top
Speaker 3: to bottom. Everybody was really competitive. You know, there's a
Speaker 3: lot of a lot of population in the West and
Speaker 3: no other conference that could you know, in the area
Speaker 3: Power five now Power four. But so there was a
Speaker 3: lot of West Coast talent that we got to stay.
Speaker 3: We being packed twelve and it was an elite league
Speaker 3: on the women's side, and maybe you know how you
Speaker 3: might equate the Big Twelve on the men's side, right
Speaker 3: like it was just the best. So you know, everybody
Speaker 3: kind of got absorbed into well not everybody rip Oregon
Speaker 3: State in Washington State, but they'll make it back. Everyone
Speaker 3: kind of got absorbed into other leagues and so we'll
Speaker 3: all kind of be spread out, which I think will
Speaker 3: you know, elevate those leagues too. But the Big Twelve
Speaker 3: is good. You mentioned four teams, but that's not just
Speaker 3: the only four that are good. Arizona's always tough. TCU
Speaker 3: is good, We're good, Colorado's always good. Like it's a
Speaker 3: good league. It's a tough league. And I think for me,
Speaker 3: you know, there's a lot of places being a West
Speaker 3: Coast kid my whole life, there's a lot of places
Speaker 3: I've never you know, competed at new arenas, new travel,
Speaker 3: all of that, new opponents. But that part's kind of
Speaker 3: fun too. It's a new challenge. Change kind of keeps
Speaker 3: you sharp, and so I'm excited. I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 3: I certainly don't think it's gonna be easy for anybody
Speaker 3: in the big twelve on Norman side to cruise through.
Speaker 3: I think it's gonna be everyone's gonna kind of take
Speaker 3: their lumps. No one's going to go undefeated. But I
Speaker 3: think it's a really, really good league.
Speaker 1: What did you ask because you had a lot of
Speaker 1: players coming back from injury, a lot of and unfortunately
Speaker 1: that was an issue that plagued you at the end
Speaker 1: of last year. So what did you ask during the
Speaker 1: off season from some of these young women who played
Speaker 1: for you who were hurt to make sure that they
Speaker 1: were healthy, stay in shape, and were you satisfied with
Speaker 1: the way that your roster came back ready to play.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we've got an unbelievable group that we have to
Speaker 3: and this is the honesty, goodness truth. We have to
Speaker 3: actually lock the gym so they don't get in when
Speaker 3: they're supposed to be having an off day. They are
Speaker 3: so driven and bought in and motivated to be great
Speaker 3: that they work their tails off. So my you know,
Speaker 3: my issue as a coach now is that they overtrain
Speaker 3: more than having to get them going. And that's a
Speaker 3: good problem to have as coach. I'll tell you.
Speaker 1: That of the of the young women you have returning
Speaker 1: to play for you, who would you point out? I
Speaker 1: would imagine Gianna is gonna be on the list as
Speaker 1: far as helping the incoming freshmen of the transfers understand
Speaker 1: because you can only do so much when as the coach,
Speaker 1: and then they're going to go when they're going to
Speaker 1: a class and they're going to go hang out. So
Speaker 1: who are you kind of leaning on to help you know,
Speaker 1: these new players understand what you ask of them as
Speaker 1: being part of this program.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we've got a handful of players that just breathe
Speaker 3: our culture. They live it and that you know John
Speaker 3: Eapns is one, Jenna Johnson and Neeshvita Kennedy, McQueen, Matty Wilke,
Speaker 3: those guys you know, I mentioned em earlier. They they
Speaker 3: are the walking example of what we want and they
Speaker 3: you know, they've completely bought in. And so when your
Speaker 3: best players are doing that, the new guys fall in line.
Speaker 3: I don't have to do a whole lot. It's pretty
Speaker 3: player driven and player led at this point, which is awesome.
Speaker 1: Well, before I said you, Louise, you should know that
Speaker 1: the latest bracketology has you in Region four in Spokane.
Speaker 1: Is an eight seed play in South Dakota State.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, oh that's where we were last year. That
Speaker 3: was a great experience, wasn't it. And uh we played
Speaker 3: South Sacosta State. So I don't anticipate staying as an
Speaker 3: eight seed. The goal is to be a top four
Speaker 3: and host, so I think that's very It's challenging, but
Speaker 3: it's doable. But just like top twenty five poles, I
Speaker 3: don't pay much attention to the bracketology. We just kind
Speaker 3: of stay in our lane and keep our nose down
Speaker 3: and chop wood.
Speaker 1: Man, I wouldn't imagine, So I was surprised that there
Speaker 1: was actually a bracketology available for me to look at.
Speaker 2: After two non con games.
Speaker 1: Before I set you loose, tell me about Northwestern your
Speaker 1: next opponent coming up on Thursday.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I've never in my in my career
Speaker 3: played Northwestern home or away or anywhere, so this is
Speaker 3: a first. I actually don't know if Utah has played Northwestern,
Speaker 3: that'd be a good trivia ever in its history. But yeah,
Speaker 3: I mean big ten team. They've had a they've they've
Speaker 3: lost a couple of close games against really two really
Speaker 3: good teams, so they're going to be hungry to win.
Speaker 3: And it's a you know, our first road game, and
Speaker 3: it'll be a tough challenge. But I think they're well
Speaker 3: coached and they've got, you know, a Big ten roster,
Speaker 3: so we have our hands full. We you know, we're
Speaker 3: the underdog going on the road in the big tenth.
Speaker 1: All right, Lynn, thanks for the time. Great to have
Speaker 1: college hoops back. Safe travels and we'll chat again.
Speaker 3: Okay, okay, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2: On all right, Lynn Roberts.
Speaker 1: She's on social media at youte coach at UT's coach
Speaker 1: rob is where you find her. And as she referenced,
Speaker 1: you know, one of the things that's allowed her to
Speaker 1: really build this program in the right direction is the
Speaker 1: home attendance being what it is now. On the women's side,
Speaker 1: they'll be home next on the eighteenth against McNeice.
Speaker 2: Looks like they'll get rolling.
Speaker 1: They've got Notre Dame coming into town on the thirtieth
Speaker 1: of November. That's the top six team in the country.
Speaker 1: Then they'll launch into Big twelve play a little bit
Speaker 1: later on, so appreciate Lynn's time.