By R.L. Bynum
Lynne Roberts missed her first chance to coach Alyssa Ustby but is delighted to have a second chance.
The first-year Los Angeles Sparks coach couldn’t lure Ustby to Utah, where she coached for nine full seasons, when Ustby was a high school star in Minnesota and decided to play at North Carolina.
“She ended up telling us no, but I’ve always just been a big fan, and got to know her family really well,” Roberts said during a Zoom press conference on Thursday.
Roberts loves a lot about Ustby’s game, but rebounding is one aspect that stands out to her. Last season, Ustby led the ACC in defensive rebounds per league game with 7.64. She left UNC as the school’s all-time leading rebounder with 1,251, which is third on the all-time ACC list.
“What I loved about her then is what I still love about her now, is she’s just a competitor, and her rebounding is elite,” said Roberts, who resigned as Utah’s coach four games into last season to take the Sparks job. “She’s one of the best athletes in the country, and she just has that drive and desire, and that’s what rebounding is. If you can combine that drive and desire with elite athleticism, then the other team has a problem. So we’re happy to have her.”
Without the Tar Heels as a choice this time, it was an easy decision for Ustby to sign a one-year free agent contract with the Sparks after she didn’t hear her name called while watching Monday’s WNBA Draft on TV in Chapel Hill with her mom.
“When I got the call that this was an opportunity for me, I was super-eager to take Coach Roberts up on it, specifically because she recruited me when I was in high school. I’ve had a relationship with her for a long time, and I couldn’t say no to her this time around. So I’m super excited to get this chance to play for her,” said Ustby, who added that this week has produced a “roller-coaster” of emotions.
Ustby finished an outstanding five-year career at North Carolina by earning first-team All-ACC honors and is the only player in program history with a triple-double, pulling that off on Jan. 4, 2024, in a 75–71 home victory over Syracuse with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
Since her college career ended with the loss to Duke in the Sweet 16 in Birmingham, Ala., Ustby said that she has concentrated on recovering from the long season, taking care of her body, and ensuring she is working to “make progress” on her game. She wanted to be prepared for whatever opportunity was ahead, even though she had no idea where that chance might come from.
“I’m obviously super-excited for what’s next, but also just appreciating the chapter that I just closed,” Ustby said. “Having a five-year college career at the same school that I’m really passionate about, a lot of young girls that I’m leaving behind, I’m just reflecting on the impact that I’ve had on them in my program, but really looking forward to what’s next.”
While Ustby has undoubtedly mentored many of the young Tar Heels players, that is the natural progression at a program where she got plenty of advice from former UNC players, particularly Ivory Latta, whose number is retired.
“She’s just been really impactful on my journey,” Ustby said, calling Latta a mentor for her. “Because, like all of us, we’re aware that we’re going into a brand new environment, and the biggest amount of growth happens when you have a big change in an environment and the new challenge ahead. So she’s been really impactful for me.
Signing with Los Angeles capped an emotional 24 hours of uncertainty for Ustby after not being drafted. It isn’t the first time that Ustby has had to prove herself. Before her record-breaking five seasons at UNC, she wasn’t even ranked in the top 100 in the country in her senior class.
“I didn’t hear my name called, and that is just a part of my story,” Ustby said. “And there’s nothing wrong with that, because I’ve always been a kid that just needs a chance, and so I’m really grateful for Coach Roberts and just the whole staff for giving me this opportunity.”
The Sparks won the last of their three WNBA titles in 2016, haven’t made the playoffs since 2020, and finished 8–20 last season, but Ustby is part of an influx of talent.
Los Angeles picked Alabama guard Sarah Ashlee Barker in the first round as the ninth overall pick of the WNBA draft and South Carolina guard Sania Feagin in the second round as the 20th overall pick. In the third round, the Sparks made Notre Dame forward Liatu King the 28th overall selection.
In the offseason, the Sparks acquired point guard Kelsey Plum from the Las Vegas Aces in a three-team trade.
Returning players from last season are 6–2 second-year forward Rickea Jackson, 6–3 10-year veteran forward Dearica Hambry, 5–8 11-year veteran guard Odyssey Sims, seven-year 6–6 forward Azura Stevens, 6–4 second-year forward Cameron Brink and four-year 5–6 guard Aari McDonald.
Training camp opens on April 27, with the first Sparks preseason game on May 6 against the expansion Golden State Valkyries.
Making a WNBA roster is never easy, but if Ustby can do that, her debut in the league will be special: The Sparks open the season on May 18 against the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis, about a 90-minute drive from where she grew up in Rochester.
Photo via @MarchMadnessWBB
tarheeltribune.com 