Back in November, the Utes were taking on Utah State in Logan. Turnovers and broken plays led Utah head coach Anthony Levrets to employ a habit he has used for a number of years.
To keep his composure, Levrets pulled some medical tape from his pocket and began wrapping it around one of his fingers. Once he was calm, he would talk to a player, coach or official about what was bothering him. By contest’s end, Levrets had a few of his fingers taped up.
“There has been some games where it looks like I have clubbed fingers at the end of my hand,” he said.
Levrets started the habit a couple years back when he noticed a few high school basketball coaches doing it and thought it was a unique idea. Known for being an animated coach that gets into the game quickly, Levrets said taping up his fingers does not necessarily work for him all of the time.
“The first original thought process was, every time there was a call that I did not agree with, I would take the time to take the tape and put it around my finger,” Levrets said. “It was to slow me down so I would not get on the officials too much. That is why I started it.”
Although Levrets admitted it does not work all of the time, it helps to distract his mind for a brief moment that will be long enough to calm him down before reacting. It has also been a way for him to withhold an outburst at his players if they have committed some sort of error.
Though people in the stands may not notice, his players are certainly aware of it. Freshman forward Emily Potter said the team notices, but she herself does not quite understand why he does it.
“I guess it is an anxiety thing,” Potter said. “When he gets angry or frustrated, it helps him.”
The team has had to deal with quite a few curveballs this season. With injuries to key players forcing him to play younger and less experienced players, Levrets has had to make adjustments, which has led to a good deal of frustration at times.
In addition to the changes made during the season, the team has suffered a five-game losing streak, as well as four other games that have gone down to the wire. Although the number is not concrete, Levrets assumed he has gone through many rolls of tape throughout the season. He has relied on this method thus far in the season and will continue to do so for as long as it works.
“Most nights it is effective for me,” Levrets said. “Every now and again, just like a player or anybody else, I lose it. You get involved in the game, and sometimes you need to take a step back and slow yourself down. But for the most part, most nights it helps me.”
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