The Utes have played a single game, but one newcomer has already made a big splash.
Freshman Emily Potter scored 24 points on 11-of-17 from the field, grabbed six rebounds and blocked five shots as Utah beat up on the Mary Marauders 81-57 last Friday. It’s incredibly early in her career, but at 6-foot-5-inches, Potter may have quickly become the answer to how the Utes are going to compensate for the loss of Taryn Wicijowski, who will be out for the entire season after tearing her ACL during the summer.
“I was kind of shocked with everything,” Potter said. “I guess the stars aligned, maybe. I mean, we have been working really hard, but I was definitely very pleased [last] Friday. It was more than I expected.”
From Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada, Potter began to realize her potential as a basketball player in ninth grade at Glenlawn Collegiate High School. After having an opportunity to try out for the junior national team in her sophomore year, Potter took the game more seriously and led Glenlawn to a provincial championship in her junior year. Her team finished second her senior year, and she was named the Manitoba Female Player of the Year. In 2013, Potter played for the Canada Junior Women’s National Team and competed for the FIBA U19 World Championship.
Utah head coach Anthony Levrets said Potter has many skills that could make her a big time player. While watching her in the recruiting process, Potter’s versatility combined with her size really stood out to Levrets, something he always looks for.
“That’s what we look for in our post players, the ability to do multiple things,” he said. “Obviously with her size, she can play around the basket. That is kind of a given. Actually, probably the biggest weakness in her game right now is playing closer to the basket. But her ability to shoot the basketball at that size is very, very unique and fits very well in what we do and how we play. If she got stronger and better around the basket, which is hard to say about a 6-foot-6 kid, then she will have a chance to be great, and she is improving rapidly. Has a lot to learn still, but has a chance to be really good.”
The Utah women’s basketball program has a tradition of attracting players from Canada. Names such as Kim Smith and Shona Thornburn, former Canadian Olympians, are embedded in the history of the program. Even now, the Utes have four Canadians on the team, including Wicijowski, Michelle Plouffe, Paige Crozon and now Potter.
Potter’s desire is to play for Canada’s Olympic team, either in 2016 or, if she is not ready then, in 2020. It is because of this goal that Potter came to Utah. She said she did not want to be a limited post player, and she realized the Utah program has helped other Canadians become successful.
“It was definitely a big factor, because it felt like home with all the Canadians,” she said. “The style of play is one of the main reasons why I came here, because of all the Canadians that have come here and had success with the National Team. That is something I’d like to do.”
In the mean time, Levrets and company are looking forward to Potter continuing to blossom here.