Talent, Chemistry: Recipe For Lady Utes’ Success
Jan 29, 2019, 1:08 PM | Updated: 3:51 pm
The Utah Utes bench celebrate a three pointer near the end of the game with the Stanford Cardinal in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019. (Deseret News)
(Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah women’s basketball team is off to a historic start this season and according to head coach Lynne Roberts, it comes down to a blend of a few different factors.
The biggest factors, as she stated in her press conference on Tuesday, are talent and team chemistry.
After all, it wouldn’t be possible for an untalented team to knock off No. 6-ranked Stanford, as the Utes did last week.
Upset City. Population: Utah Women’s Basketball || #21 Utah 75 #6 Stanford 68 || 18-1,7-1 #GoUtes #Elevate pic.twitter.com/4Ofvp16kBC
— Utah Women's Basketball (@UTAHWBB) January 27, 2019
As for how the Utes have gotten off to a record 18-1 start and a No. 14 ranking in the polls, it comes down to playing well and as a team, said Roberts.
“First off, I should say that we have talent. You have to have talent, we’ve got talented upperclassmen, we’ve got good young people, freshmen that we knew were talented but it’s always a question mark as to how ready they’re going to be and they’ve proven that they’re ready to roll and play at the highest level. So obviously talent goes without speaking,” said Roberts.
Team Chemistry Is Great For Utah
The other factor, team chemistry is a bit trickier for a coach to manage, according to Roberts, but the Utes have done a stellar job of coming together as a team.
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"We just beat an excellent team, what does that mean about us?"
Check the exclusive look inside @UTAHWBB's locker room after its first-ever win over Stanford. pic.twitter.com/au3XQ3TzEQ
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 29, 2019
“I think we’ve had culture buy-in completely, which is fun. The one thing as a coach, the one thing you can’t really control, you try to foster it, you try to develop it, you try to work on it. You can’t really control at all team chemistry,” said Roberts.
“This team has really bought into each other and a lot of that is fluff, but it really is true,” said Roberts.
Huff Leads By Example
A big driver for that is the fact that the Utes don’t really have a dominating personality on the team. Roberts credited center Megan Huff for her selfless attitude that allows her teammates to shine.
Congrats to Huffy on her 2nd @pac12 Player of the Week honor!!! Huff averaged 20ppg&11rpg in wins over Cal & Stanford this weekend! #GoUtes #Elevate pic.twitter.com/PvmcJWBQnZ
— Utah Women's Basketball (@UTAHWBB) January 28, 2019
“What I love about her is that she doesn’t want the attention on her,” said Roberts. “So when your best player is about her teammates and winning, then you have chance to be special.”
The Utes will continue their most difficult stretch of the season on the road against Oregon on Friday and Oregon State on Sunday.
