I did not come into this season and think, ‘Oh, we want to go 8-3 in the preseason and then just …,’ I don’t do that. I used to do that. It just doesn’t work out well. You start thinking too far ahead. You start thinking about the next game when you should be in the moment. – Lynne Roberts
SALT LAKE CITY — As much as Lynne Roberts loved sports as a youngster, Don Roberts never expected his only daughter to make a living in athletics.
“She was always a very strong person, had a lot of personality and a lot of drive,” he said. “But she was always going into science. There was never an idea of being a coach. It was never talked about.”
A lot of local women’s basketball fans are grateful that somewhere in her college basketball career, her passion to compete and her ability to teach persuaded the history major to pursue a career in a much misunderstood and often maligned profession.
Those most grateful for her choice are likely the Utah players who are exceeding the expectations of almost everyone — except their first-year coach.
“I believe in these guys, I really do,” Roberts said after she was asked about the Utes' surprising 4-1 conference start that included upsetting a ranked team (No. 21 Cal) for the first time since 2008. “I did not come into this season and think, ‘Oh, we want to go 8-3 in the preseason and then just …,’ I don’t do that. I used to do that. It just doesn’t work out well. You start thinking too far ahead. You start thinking about the next game when you should be in the moment.”
Even more rewarding for Roberts than the accolades and attention is the transformation in the players she’s leading.
“They’re starting to believe in themselves,” she said. “And that makes it fun.”
Last year, the Utah women’s basketball team went 3-15 in conference play and 9-22 overall.
This year, they’re off to a 4-1 start in Pac-12 play and 12-4 overall. The surprise, albeit a pleasant one, is how quickly Roberts was able to change the expectation for a once strong program that had languished in mediocrity (or worse) the last few years.
Changing the culture of a program can take time. Somehow, Roberts crashed through any residual doubt and negativity to convinced the same players who finished last in the Pac-12 that they could compete with anyone in the conference. The fact that they don’t see themselves as the conference basement dwellers anymore was made crystal clear when they came back from a double-digit deficit to upset Cal last week.
Those who know her best, however, are not surprised by her initial success.
“Lynne is a real go-getter and kind of high intensity,” said Gordy Presnell, her college coach at Seattle Pacific University, who now coaches at Boise State. “Also, I think the kids (in the program) are having a great time. They’re having a lot of fun and getting a lot of work done, so no, I’m not surprised.”
He laughs when asked if he saw her potential as a young player.
“She was kind of a pain as a player, actually,” he said laughing. “Focus has always been a little bit of an issue. … She’s got a little bit of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) in her, but I think she also has a tremendous personality and she has a great impact on the people she’s around.”
Roberts was so competitive that she often got herself into hot water with Presnell.
“She was always in trouble with me,” he said of the player he made an assistant after she graduated. To illustrate his point, he offers the story of the spring before her junior season.
She sprained her ankle and was barred from workouts while she healed. Word got back to Presnell that Roberts was playing in an indoor intramural soccer league, and he questioned her about it.
“She said, ‘Oh, I only play goalie,’” he recalled, adding that she had a tremendous sense of loyalty and duty to her teammates and didn’t want to let them down. “I went to the director of the intramural program and asked him to pull up the stats. …She’d scored three goals the night before.”
He laughs as he describes discussing with her how talented she is to be able to score a hat trick as a goalie. Her punishment was being a player-manager the first semester of her junior season “because of her inability to tell the truth over her competitive nature.”
He said one of her greatest attributes is her ability to "take lumps and grow from it. And she’s able to handle bumps a little better than she used to.” Her dad said that junior season helped her develop the toughness that now is being used to describe her program at Utah.
"She was forced, because of depth issues, to play post," Don Roberts said. "She was a shooter. But I consider that one of her best years. She didn't score nearly as much, but she really had to play tough and rebound. She would be more proud of her rebounds than points."
When Roberts took over the Utah program she said she hoped to infuse a sense of fun into the program. That’s a message her players heard from their very first meeting last spring.
Redshirt sophomore and Springville High alum Malia Nawahine said she’s never worked harder as a college basketball player, nor has she had more fun.
“If everyone works hard together, and we’re working for the same goal, it’s fun,” Nawahine said. “It felt a lot more like work last year. Everyone didn’t seem happy. This year, it’s a lot more upbeat. … Practice is fun.”
And of course, winning is a lot more fun than losing.
“Winning is the great elixir,” she said. “It really makes things fun.”
So how does she avoid allowing her team to settle for a little unexpected success? She talks to them about something every competitive player desires — respect.
“People don’t respect us,” she said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily disrespect, but they’re just not talking about us. They’re not thinking about us.”
When teams see Utah on the schedule, their response isn’t what those wearing crimson want it to be.
“But you’ve got to earn that,” she said. “We’re good. We want people to talk about us and respect us, like they do with the rest of the conference.”
Redshirt junior Paige Crozon said just about everything is different from strength and conditioning to the freedom the team has offensively.
“When I first met coach Rob, I thought she was very positive, very upbeat,” Crozon said. “And that’s been the feel ever since. Win or lose, she’s always very positive, very constructive and it’s all about learning and growing and bettering ourselves as people and players.”
Even when they engage in traditional sports punishments like running for missed free throws, Crozon said they feel their coach only asks them to engage in activities that will make them better on and off the court.
“Even running,” she said smiling, “I know that’s making us better, so it’s all worth it.”
Don Roberts said his daughter has always had an ability to understand and communicate with others.
“She’s very good with people,” Don said. “My wife used to say she wanted to be like Lynne when she grew up. She’s very street smart, understands people and she’s very good with people. That’s part of her success in her career is that she’s been able, whether it’s players, adutls boosters, other coaches, she really connects with them and knows how to communicate. People just like being around her, including me.”
He said his daughter is constantly striving to get better, something coach Roberts cited as her goal each day when she shows up at the gym.
“We have a lot of things we need to improve on,” she said. “(At Cal) we were down 19, how did we get there? We did not play a perfect game. I just want to get better every week.”
Crozon admits the team has exceeded her expectations, but she said it’s actually only made her yearn for more success.
“If we want to be a good team, we have to be consistent,” she said. “We’ve shocked some teams, but we haven’t proven we’re a team that can compete in the Top 25. We just need to keep moving forward and keep getting wins. One good win isn’t going to get us into the postseason.”
Presnell predicts even more surprises from Roberts.
“I think she’s going to have a lot of success,” he said.
And as far as the woman who has won coach of the year awards in two different conferences earning a living in any profession except coaching, Presnell said he can’t imagine it.
“In Lynne’s case,” he said, “I don’t know what else she could do.”
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