Completed Event: Women's Basketball at Eastern Kentucky on March 19, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 72
Final Score
Women's Basketball
58
at Eastern Kentucky
72
The University of Utah Athletics
Kneepkens Represented Utah at Kelsey Plum's Dawg Class Academy
4/20/2023 10:17 AM | Women's Basketball
Utah sophomore Gianna Kneepkens was one of nine players in the country selected to former Pac-12 and WNBA star Kelsey Plum's inaugural Dawg Class.Â
Kneepkens attended a weekend-long intensive camp created by Plum for the top players in the country to compete, work on their game and bridge the gap between the collegiate and professional levels.Â
"At first it was hard to process," Kneepkens said. "Kelsey Plum is such a big leader and someone people look up to in the basketball community. She's a big advocate and voice for women's basketball. It was really cool to be invited. I was honored because I knew it was the first camp and I'm grateful to have an opportunity like that."
On the first day of camp the players started with a pre-court session. These pre-court sessions consisted of pilates and a whole-body warm-up. They would then hit the court for training and basketball.Â
"We did a lot of 3-on-0, a lot of movement and a lot of three-on-three," Kneepkens said. "After the court sessions we would do a post-court session. The first night was some extra conditioning. One really cool thing about this camp was that Kelsey showed us a lot of skills and techniques that work for her. We were taught the things that she's found successful in games. I learned a lot of off-ball movement and acceleration and deceleration, change of pace moves that I can add to my game."Â
The second day of camp started with a mental training session followed by a morning and afternoon pre-court session, on-court session and recovery. Â
"Kelsey brought in her mental coach that she works with," Kneepkens said. "He gave us some insight on how to be the best on the court. We talked a lot about interferences, the things that take away from you being your best. We talked about ways to avoid those interferences. It's impossible to eliminate them all but we talked about ways to stay locked in when things happen off the court or in games that can keep you being your best."Â Â Â
The last day started with a panel with Plum and representatives from IMG and Under Armour. It featured conversations about NIL and personal branding. The final day also consisted of one more training session and of course a photo op.
"The biggest thing I learned from the panel with building your brand is being true to who you are," Kneepkens said. "Don't ever deviate from what you believe and your truths just to get a deal. If you stay true to yourself the brand deals you want will come."
Kneepkens most enjoyed her time on the court with Plum and the other campers.Â
"There was a lot of on-court time and training but also a lot of time to chill and relax with each other," Kneepkens said. "It was a special opportunity to be with these other women who all have different styles of play, different personalities and be able to compete with them. On the court it was so intense and off the court we got to know each other outside of basketball.
"It was such a high-level competition," Kneepkens added. "Everyone was competing and we got to see what everyone else was good at and see how each person's game differs while trying to incorporate it into yours." Â
During the 2022-23 season, Kneepkens averaged 15.3 points per game. She was a Pac-12 First Team selection as well as a top five finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award. She ended the 2022-23 season shooting 47 percent from the field, 42 percent from the three and 84 percent from the free throw line. Her shooting from three-point range led Utah and sat at No. 16 in the nation. She was also one of Utah's top rebounders averaging 5.2 boards per game.Â
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Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow the Utes on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
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Kneepkens attended a weekend-long intensive camp created by Plum for the top players in the country to compete, work on their game and bridge the gap between the collegiate and professional levels.Â
"At first it was hard to process," Kneepkens said. "Kelsey Plum is such a big leader and someone people look up to in the basketball community. She's a big advocate and voice for women's basketball. It was really cool to be invited. I was honored because I knew it was the first camp and I'm grateful to have an opportunity like that."
On the first day of camp the players started with a pre-court session. These pre-court sessions consisted of pilates and a whole-body warm-up. They would then hit the court for training and basketball.Â
"We did a lot of 3-on-0, a lot of movement and a lot of three-on-three," Kneepkens said. "After the court sessions we would do a post-court session. The first night was some extra conditioning. One really cool thing about this camp was that Kelsey showed us a lot of skills and techniques that work for her. We were taught the things that she's found successful in games. I learned a lot of off-ball movement and acceleration and deceleration, change of pace moves that I can add to my game."Â
The second day of camp started with a mental training session followed by a morning and afternoon pre-court session, on-court session and recovery. Â
"Kelsey brought in her mental coach that she works with," Kneepkens said. "He gave us some insight on how to be the best on the court. We talked a lot about interferences, the things that take away from you being your best. We talked about ways to avoid those interferences. It's impossible to eliminate them all but we talked about ways to stay locked in when things happen off the court or in games that can keep you being your best."Â Â Â
The last day started with a panel with Plum and representatives from IMG and Under Armour. It featured conversations about NIL and personal branding. The final day also consisted of one more training session and of course a photo op.
"The biggest thing I learned from the panel with building your brand is being true to who you are," Kneepkens said. "Don't ever deviate from what you believe and your truths just to get a deal. If you stay true to yourself the brand deals you want will come."
Kneepkens most enjoyed her time on the court with Plum and the other campers.Â
"There was a lot of on-court time and training but also a lot of time to chill and relax with each other," Kneepkens said. "It was a special opportunity to be with these other women who all have different styles of play, different personalities and be able to compete with them. On the court it was so intense and off the court we got to know each other outside of basketball.
"It was such a high-level competition," Kneepkens added. "Everyone was competing and we got to see what everyone else was good at and see how each person's game differs while trying to incorporate it into yours." Â
During the 2022-23 season, Kneepkens averaged 15.3 points per game. She was a Pac-12 First Team selection as well as a top five finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award. She ended the 2022-23 season shooting 47 percent from the field, 42 percent from the three and 84 percent from the free throw line. Her shooting from three-point range led Utah and sat at No. 16 in the nation. She was also one of Utah's top rebounders averaging 5.2 boards per game.Â
Â
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow the Utes on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).
Â
Players Mentioned
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