Utah women’s basketball head coach Lynne Roberts is no stranger to experimenting with her lineups. Over the course of the last season, her first at Utah, she threw out several different lineups to try and gain an advantage through mismatches.
The common denominator in almost each lineup, however, has been 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore Emily Potter at the five spot. That’s why what Roberts has in the works this offseason may surprise some fans and opponents alike.
“We’re going to have Potter play some point guard next season,” Roberts said. “It’s something my staff and I talked about trying this last season, but in the end we decided against it because of the depth we already had at that position this season.”
Potter at the point sounds crazy. At six and a half feet tall, she stands as one of the taller players in all of women’s collegiate basketball. But as Roberts and her assistant Gavin Petersen delved into the Xs and Os of the proposition, it became clear how ingenious it just might be.
“Think about it,” Petersen said. “Potter running the floor at the one, and Erika Bean manning the middle at the center position. Teams won’t even know what’s going on.”
The strategy is not commonplace, but it isn’t without precedent. Unofficially known as the bamboozle offense, the idea is to gain an advantage over one’s opponent by completely bewildering them with your gameplan. The off-kilter philosophy was employed by the likes of NBA legend Red Auerbach, as well as former head coach of the Chicago Bears Mike Ditka. While professional sports have taken steps to discourage the game strategy, citing its unpredictability as “bad for business,” it has survived in the likes of college and semi-pro sports leagues.
In addition to running Potter at the point, Roberts and her staff have some other bamboozlements in the works to throw off their opponents. Some ideas thrown around during a recent coaches’ retreat included playing with partially-deflated balls, having the entire coaching staff and bench wear green-man suits and substituting water for extra-hot hot chocolate during games.
“I’m still not sure about the hot chocolate idea,” Roberts said. “The upside is that the opponents get intimidated seeing us drinking really, really hot hot chocolate instead of water. The downside, I guess, is that we could become dehydrated. Plus I don’t think that the NCAA allows mini-marshmallows in players’ drinks, and if you can’t have marshmallows in your hot chocolate then what’s the point, you know?”
When asked how she felt about the position change, as well as the implementation of experimental offense, Potter responded frankly.
“Honestly, I don’t care what we do,” Potter said. “I’ve signed up for this four-month ‘Power of the Mind’ course in Singapore this summer. Most people only use about 20 percent of their brains, and the idea behind this course is that by unlocking the other 80 percent you can manipulate your physical environment with your mind. I’m planning on leading the Pac-12 in scoring without ever even touching the ball next season.”
In other news, senior point guard Dani Rodriguez has signed a shoe deal with Timberland Boots, and the Daily Utah Chronicle staff celebrates April Fool’s Day.
@WestinJay
