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The University of Utah Athletics
Lynne Roberts Weekly Press Conference
11/1/2017 2:08 PM | Women's Basketball
Opening Statement…
"This is year three for us as a staff here at Utah, it is crazy how time has flown by. It certainly feels like we are in a good place with the program and we are excited about this year. I think everyone in the country is full of cautious optimism about the year. You haven't played any games yet so you are undefeated and players are excited to play. So, it is a fun time to be a part of college basketball right now. We open up tomorrow with our exhibition game against Carroll College at 11 a.m. We are doing a kids' day, so there will be thousands of local elementary school kids that are bused in and they will get to tour campus and see what a university is like and then they will have lunch and come to our game at 11 a.m. So it is always a fun day to see those enthusiastic faces. We will also get a chance to see our team. You know it's an exhibition game, so for us as coaches, it is just a chance to see our team under the lights and see where we are at. At 1 p.m. tomorrow we are still going to be 0-0, so we just want to get a gauge of where we are at. It is a fun time right now, the players are definitely excited and we are ready to get going."
On her senior leadership this year…
"This class I feel like they know me better, they know our staff and they are definitely bought in and are ready to do what we expect and what we want from them as seniors. Wendy Anae unfortunately can't play this season due to an injury. She tore her ACL this summer, but she will still have an important role. She is still somebody that people listen to and value her opinion on things, so that is great for us. Tilar Clark is a transfer for us. People will see this season that she just plays her tail off, she plays harder than anybody, so that is valuable. Tanaeya BoClair and Emily Potter, those have been two starters for me for the last two years and I anticipate that to continue this year. They just kind of get it. They have played a lot of basketball and have played a lot of minutes in the Pac-12. Their experience on the court, you can't teach or coach that, it just kind of has to happen. I think all four of the seniors I am going to rely on a lot. They know what we want and they are program kids at this point."
On having six newcomers on the team and how she thinks they will impact the team this season…
"We have six freshmen, and right now to be honest with you only two are playing because of injury, so we are kind of banged up with that. We had a few that we knew were going to be out this year. Dru Gylten from South Dakota, she tore her ACL in the state championship game of her senior year, so we knew she was going to be out this year. She was someone we were counting on. I thought she would play as a freshman, but this is going to be a valuable experience for her to get stronger, faster and to understand it and see it. Right now, Tori Williams and Maurane Corbin are playing quite a bit and I anticipate them to play as freshmen. I want them to contribute and be impact freshmen for us. For the other guys, we just need to see if we can get them healthy as the season kind of gets going here. But, having six new players, it is fun. They are bringing a lot of enthusiasm, but there is certainly a learning curve that comes with that as well."
On who she thinks are going to be her difference makers this season…
"The one thing I like about our team this year is that there isn't a big drop off from player to player. So our depth is legitimate and I think it is going to be really competitive. I don't mean that to sound 'coach speak' because I think it is legitimately true. Our difference makers might change from week to week and game to game because of that. I anticipate to be somebody different quite frequently."
On how they have put more of an emphasis on defense this year…
"One of the things I mandate from my teams over the years is that we just have a physical and mental toughness to us. There is no better way that it gets manifested than through defense. I am still an offensive coach because the goal at the end of the game is to have more points on the scoreboard than your opponent, so we emphasis defense so that we can get out and run on offense. I think people think in basketball that when someone says the words 'defensive focused', it means that it is slow and we are going to win 52-50. I want to win 85-to-whatever, I want to average a lot of points, created by our defense. We've got to be in great shape, which we are, and we have to be tenacious and tough on defense. We have put an emphasis on it. I thought last year, we died a little bit down the stretch defensively. We just kind of lost that toughness, the edge, that mindset, so I just wanted to get their attention this fall. And it worked and I think defensively, we are way ahead of our offense right now. So far we have just been playing against ourselves and our defense has been kicking our offense's tail, so it will be nice to play against somebody else. But I am also looking forward to seeing our defense against someone else too."
On what kind of benefits the Italy trip this summer will have on this season…
"Those of us who have had the privilege to do it before, it is great. The benefit basketball wise is the 10 practices you get from the NCAA before you go. So that is kind of the benefit, especially when you are talking about having six freshmen. That was really great to acclimate them so that when we did start official practice in October it wasn't like 'whoa' with their hair blown back. So, that part was great. Then we went over and we were in Italy for 10 days and did a lot of sightseeing with all of the culture and history, all of the really cool stuff, but then we also played three games. We won them, which is good. The team was feeling confident after that, but we are still 0-0, they don't really count. They did give us a chance to get a sneak peak of what we have. Like I said at the beginning, I am cautiously optimistic. We are going to have a good year."
"This is year three for us as a staff here at Utah, it is crazy how time has flown by. It certainly feels like we are in a good place with the program and we are excited about this year. I think everyone in the country is full of cautious optimism about the year. You haven't played any games yet so you are undefeated and players are excited to play. So, it is a fun time to be a part of college basketball right now. We open up tomorrow with our exhibition game against Carroll College at 11 a.m. We are doing a kids' day, so there will be thousands of local elementary school kids that are bused in and they will get to tour campus and see what a university is like and then they will have lunch and come to our game at 11 a.m. So it is always a fun day to see those enthusiastic faces. We will also get a chance to see our team. You know it's an exhibition game, so for us as coaches, it is just a chance to see our team under the lights and see where we are at. At 1 p.m. tomorrow we are still going to be 0-0, so we just want to get a gauge of where we are at. It is a fun time right now, the players are definitely excited and we are ready to get going."
On her senior leadership this year…
"This class I feel like they know me better, they know our staff and they are definitely bought in and are ready to do what we expect and what we want from them as seniors. Wendy Anae unfortunately can't play this season due to an injury. She tore her ACL this summer, but she will still have an important role. She is still somebody that people listen to and value her opinion on things, so that is great for us. Tilar Clark is a transfer for us. People will see this season that she just plays her tail off, she plays harder than anybody, so that is valuable. Tanaeya BoClair and Emily Potter, those have been two starters for me for the last two years and I anticipate that to continue this year. They just kind of get it. They have played a lot of basketball and have played a lot of minutes in the Pac-12. Their experience on the court, you can't teach or coach that, it just kind of has to happen. I think all four of the seniors I am going to rely on a lot. They know what we want and they are program kids at this point."
On having six newcomers on the team and how she thinks they will impact the team this season…
"We have six freshmen, and right now to be honest with you only two are playing because of injury, so we are kind of banged up with that. We had a few that we knew were going to be out this year. Dru Gylten from South Dakota, she tore her ACL in the state championship game of her senior year, so we knew she was going to be out this year. She was someone we were counting on. I thought she would play as a freshman, but this is going to be a valuable experience for her to get stronger, faster and to understand it and see it. Right now, Tori Williams and Maurane Corbin are playing quite a bit and I anticipate them to play as freshmen. I want them to contribute and be impact freshmen for us. For the other guys, we just need to see if we can get them healthy as the season kind of gets going here. But, having six new players, it is fun. They are bringing a lot of enthusiasm, but there is certainly a learning curve that comes with that as well."
On who she thinks are going to be her difference makers this season…
"The one thing I like about our team this year is that there isn't a big drop off from player to player. So our depth is legitimate and I think it is going to be really competitive. I don't mean that to sound 'coach speak' because I think it is legitimately true. Our difference makers might change from week to week and game to game because of that. I anticipate to be somebody different quite frequently."
On how they have put more of an emphasis on defense this year…
"One of the things I mandate from my teams over the years is that we just have a physical and mental toughness to us. There is no better way that it gets manifested than through defense. I am still an offensive coach because the goal at the end of the game is to have more points on the scoreboard than your opponent, so we emphasis defense so that we can get out and run on offense. I think people think in basketball that when someone says the words 'defensive focused', it means that it is slow and we are going to win 52-50. I want to win 85-to-whatever, I want to average a lot of points, created by our defense. We've got to be in great shape, which we are, and we have to be tenacious and tough on defense. We have put an emphasis on it. I thought last year, we died a little bit down the stretch defensively. We just kind of lost that toughness, the edge, that mindset, so I just wanted to get their attention this fall. And it worked and I think defensively, we are way ahead of our offense right now. So far we have just been playing against ourselves and our defense has been kicking our offense's tail, so it will be nice to play against somebody else. But I am also looking forward to seeing our defense against someone else too."
On what kind of benefits the Italy trip this summer will have on this season…
"Those of us who have had the privilege to do it before, it is great. The benefit basketball wise is the 10 practices you get from the NCAA before you go. So that is kind of the benefit, especially when you are talking about having six freshmen. That was really great to acclimate them so that when we did start official practice in October it wasn't like 'whoa' with their hair blown back. So, that part was great. Then we went over and we were in Italy for 10 days and did a lot of sightseeing with all of the culture and history, all of the really cool stuff, but then we also played three games. We won them, which is good. The team was feeling confident after that, but we are still 0-0, they don't really count. They did give us a chance to get a sneak peak of what we have. Like I said at the beginning, I am cautiously optimistic. We are going to have a good year."
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
W
/ Women's Basketball
W
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
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