'A great fit': Gavin Peterson announced as new head coach of Utah women's basketball

SALT LAKE CITY – The newly named women's basketball head coach choked up as Gavin Peterson answered the last question of his introductory news conference – a question from his star wing Gianna Knipkens.

Peterson tried to find words to make him “excited” about his current roster and began talking about the team's resilience before taking a moment to collect himself.

After a brief pause, his concluding response was: “I don't think they've been given anything, and that's all I've got, so we've got it.”

It was a fitting response to describe the hard work his roster has put in over the past few seasons to develop into an NCAA Tournament team and his ascension to the program's fifth head coach, where he took over for Lynn Roberts. , who accepted the head coaching position for the WNBA's LA Sparks.

Peterson followed Roberts to Utah while they were together at Pacific and spent 10 years with the Utes as an assistant coach, waiting for an opportunity. But Peterson wasn't a passive member of the coaching staff; He was an active participant in what Roberts and her crew built in Utah.

So when it came time for athletic director Mark Harlan and chief operations officer Charmelle Green to promote Peterson as the program's next head coach, it was a no-brainer that they had worked to become the right person for the job.

“It wasn't really a hard decision, I'll just say that. … It just made perfect sense for him to be our next head coach,” Harlan said Friday morning.

Peterson said Utah has always been a “great fit” for him.

“At the end of the day, these are our players,” he said. “I'm not talking about a piece of basketball, I wouldn't trade some of our players, like people, for any other program in the world. So at the end of the day, opportunities can present themselves, but the people we have in this program, it's really hard to leave and I'm glad that I never quit.

“I'm glad I turned down the opportunities that came my way and just gave everything to this program.”

Peterson thanked those who believed in him, recognizing that it was a collective effort to get him to where he is now the team's head coach. And while there may be disagreements at times, Peterson vows that the university will “get the best of me every day.”

“Despite the changes, everything we've worked for and talked about is right in front of us,” he said. “I'm very excited about this group and this team. Our core principles, our foundation, they remain intact. We will lean on each other and rely on each other as we continue our journey together.”

The game itself will be “the same brand of Utah basketball,” he assured, that the players and coaches have “worked hard for years to cultivate.”

“We're going to be an unselfish team, we're going to play fast, we're going to connect, we're going to take great shots; and most importantly, you're going to see our passion and love for each other shine through on the basketball court,” Peterson said.

The style of play and everything that makes Utah women's basketball will remain the same, but Roberts will still be included as a die-hard fan of the program. Peterson said Roberts will still have a home in Utah and will be a regular attendee for games and practices when she is not involved in assignments with the Sparks.

For Peterson, she's still a part of the family, and none of that has changed now that she's no longer the team's coach.

“I want to take a moment to thank Lynn Roberts, I've been with us for 12 seasons and we've accomplished so much together,” Peterson said. “She's always allowed me to contribute so much to our program in so many different areas, and I'm so proud of what we've built together here at Utah. Her guidance and leadership has prepared me for this moment. She's not the only one. She's the one for us. is family.”

“There is a saying: tradition never graduates,” he added. “Well, you don't even graduate families. And we promote it, and people talk about it, people print it on shirts, but we don't do it; we just live it. She's going to follow our methods, she's going. Chasing her dreams and her goals. It's great to have her in our sport and we'll be supporting her along the way.

But as much attention was focused on Peterson and the team's new direction, Friday night's game was the focus. And while the team may have feelings about losing its longtime head coach, Peterson had a message for his team.

“Come out and spit nails. That's it.”