Locker rooms with players’ names and the places they are from, open offices for the coaches, entire floors dedicated to the men’s and women’s basketball teams and then some. The new Huntsman Basketball Facility has everything the coaches could ever want, and no item was left uncrossed on their wish lists.
Before deciding what would go into the building, men’s basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak, along with a few other people, flew to Kansas State, Oklahoma, Nebraska and UNLV to take a look at their basketball facilities. From these trips, they learned the negatives. They learned that once everything is done, there is no altering it, so if they were going to do it, they were going to have to do it right.
U President David Pershing could not be happier with the finished product and thinks other basketball programs across the country are going to have to take note. He also considers the new facility a home for all the players to not only play, but to study and socialize with one another.
“It sets a new national standard for basketball facilities,” Pershing said. “Without exaggeration, the planning and attention to detail that went into this training facility bears all of the hallmarks of the Huntsmans’ commitment to excellence.”
When Utah guard Brandon Taylor was first recruited to come to the U, coaches asked him if he wanted to help rebuild the the program, something that appealed to him. Had he known the facility was going to be included later down the road, he wouldn’t even have considered any other school and is extremely thankful for all of his opportunities.
Taylor loves everything about the facility but does not like the fact that the Utes may have to stay late for practice now. Before, when the men’s basketball team practiced in the Huntsman Center, they had a set schedule that coincided with the women’s team practices, limiting their time on the court. Now, that won’t ever be a problem, considering each team has their own court.
“As a player like myself, you know how to pace yourself through practice,” Taylor said. “In the Huntsman, if we had practice at about 1:30, we knew the girls were out at 3:30. We knew we had about two, two-and-a-half hours. Now we can go two, two-and-a-half, four, five, six or maybe seven. We know how much Coach K loves the number seven.”
With this facility, Krystkowiak expects nothing but the best from the players, but at the same time he feels as though his team has already won the championship. He also reassured Taylor that his hunch was right.
“Yeah, Brandon, we’re going to practice a long time,” Krystkowiak said in response to his point guard. “We’re celebrating the present. The opportunity to go work here is a celebration, and that’s a blessing. I’m running out of excuses if we don’t start winning.”
Krystkowiak is more than thankful for the people he worked with to make this possible. To have a president and athletic director so supportive of this project makes all the difference to him. He said there are plenty of other programs within the Pac-12 who he has talked to, and they only wish they could do something like Utah, but they do not have nearly the same amount of support.
Women’s basketball guard Dani Rodriguez is excited to be here for her last year, but the timing of the opening is bittersweet.
“The facility is amazing, and I’m pretty jealous that I only get one year with it, but I’m extremely blessed to get to be a part of it at all,” Rodriguez said.
Lynne Roberts, women’s basketball coach, feels lucky, like she is in the right place at the right time. She was recently on a recruiting trip in California, and while she was talking to the potential Ute, she pulled out her iPad to show her pictures of the new facility. Then the girl’s father, who is a Division I men’s assistant coach, reminded his daughter to not base her decision off of the facility.
But after the slideshow, he quickly changed his mind.
“At the end the dad says, ‘Okay, honey, forget what I just said, that place is incredible,’” Roberts said. “It is truly remarkable.”
Overall, all players and coaches already see the benefits and are grateful to have this type of facility on campus.
@kbrenneisen