March 16, 2023
Locked on Women’s Basketball: Utah and Lynne Roberts are ready to make noise in the NCAA Tournament
By The Next
Roberts: 'Salt Lake City's an incredible city'
The latest episode of Locked on Women’s Basketball features host Howard Megdal talking with Lynne Roberts, the head coach of Utah, which earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Utes (25-4 overall, 15-3 in conference) tied Stanford for the regular season title in the talent-rich Pac-12. The red-hot Utes will play No. 15 seed Gardner-Webb Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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Roberts talks with Howard about her journey to head coach of Utah, and how competitive the Pac-12 conference has become in recent years.
“When I took this job eight years ago, it was pretty flatline. And I always joke that my timing of taking over a program in the Pac-12 was bad. You know, since 2013, we’ve had six different teams in the Final Four. Of course, there’s always Stanford who always manages to be a top five team in the country, regardless of who’s on their roster. It’s a tough league. And you know, there is a lot of east coast. You know, a lot of people on the east coast and most of the media’s out there that are not familiar with how good this league is. I mean, it is just ridiculous and competitive and the coaching is elite. So it’s not just ‘oh, we’ve got better talent so we can roll the ball out and expect to win.’ You’ve got to prepare, you’ve got to scout, your team has put the work in on that. And so, when I took the job eight years ago, I saw the potential here; Salt Lake City’s an incredible city.”
Utah head coach Lynne Roberts
Howard talks with Lynne about how players like junior forward Alissa Pili have a strong case to make a WNBA roster. The two discuss if making a WNBA roster is a spoken goal for Roberts and her team.
“I know we talked a little bit about this during your press conference last week about the fact that I hear from [WNBA] coaches who are looking at the offense you’re running. So obviously, it puts people in a position to be able to play at that next level … I mean, clearly, that’s a place where she can go when you were talking to Alissa about coming to Utah. Is that part of the conversation for you guys? And generally speaking, is that part of your thinking about the players you develop at Utah?”
The Next’s Howard Megdal
Lynne Roberts answers Howard’s WNBA question and so much more during this episode of Locked on Women’s Basketball. Utah has become a national force to be reckoned with, and you don’t want to miss this episode!
Make sure to subscribe to the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast to learn more about the NCAA Tournament, the 2023 WNBA Draft, women’s college basketball and much more!
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Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
