Gavin Petersen fell to his knees and placed his palms on the shiny hardwood in the Jon M. Huntsman Center, as the buzzer sounded in the 55-year-old arena.
He took a few moments to gather himself while his players shared celebratory chest bumps and high-fives at center court. Petersen then dusted himself off and took a deep breath, almost as if he was exhaling for the first time following the whirlwind of events that had been the past few days.
Coach Lynne Roberts — after a 10-year run with the Utes — stepped down last week to take a job with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. Petersen was then named the head coach, taking over the program already four games into the season.
Just days later, Petersen claimed his first victory as Utah’s head coach with a last-minute defensive stop to beat Saint Joseph’s 72-71 in overtime.
And the final play of the game was, in many ways, exemplary of Petersen’s start with the Utes.
Chaotic. Unforeseen. Maybe even a bit storybook.
“We had a missed assignment,” Petersen said of the final play of his first win. “When you don’t have much time to prepare you have to kind of pick and choose what you can work on. I just felt confident in our players that I’ve just got to let them play. I can’t over-coach this game. But part of that is that we didn’t go over any in-game situations. … We haven’t done that. We haven’t had time.
“So, that’s probably why I fell to my knees. I was like, ‘Holy crap we just won that game,’ and it was just a big exhale.”
Petersen’s parents, Craig and Linda, were in the stands for their son’s first game as Utah’s head coach. His father has been to Utah’s arena before. He was previously a high school referee in the early 1970s before he began refereeing games in the Western Athletic Conference, where he’d take on a full schedule in both Hawaii, the Petersen family’s home state, and in the mainland United States.
During some of those trips, Gavin would travel with his father across the country to stops like Salt Lake City, where he’d watch his father from the stands and learn to love the game of basketball. That made it even more special when Craig, who is now retired, got to watch his son coach his first game as a Power Four head coach.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes head coach Gavin Peterson watches during the first half of the game at Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
Up until when Gavin was 11 years old, Craig even coached his son on basketball before he handed him off to a “real” basketball coach.
Now his son is that coach for a Utah program looking to build upon its recent success.
“We thought Lynne was going to stay here forever,” Craig told The Salt Lake Tribune. “He’s so comfortable here. He loves it. Why would you want to move even if you’re going to be a head coach someplace else? When you’re so comfortable, and the administration backs them up, why leave?”
As described by his parents, the Utes' new head coach is not a “me guy. But he may be a cautious one at times.
Last week, he snuck his wife into their car to make sure his two daughters Breagh, his oldest daughter born in 2011, and Brooklyn, the youngest born in 2013, wouldn’t eavesdrop on the breaking news.
“I’m gonna give you a glimpse into our household real quick,” Gavin said during his introductory news conference. “We have some people who kind of listen to our conversations.”
“So I told (my wife) Karen to get in the car and close the doors.”
He then proceeded to tell her the news while whispering.
“You’re speaking to the next head coach at the University of Utah.”
Next, he informed his parents, who were already en route to Salt Lake City for a planned visit with their son.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes forward Jenna Johnson (22) passes as Saint Joseph's Hawks guard Emma Boslet (3) and Saint Joseph's Hawks forward Talya Brugler (0) block during the first half of the game at Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
Little did they know that their phone would ring immediately as they got off their connecting flight in Las Vegas last Tuesday with Gavin on the other line ready to share some life-changing news.
Gavin’s closeness with his family and selfless approach seeps into his coaching style. That, paired with his learning under Roberts, made athletic director Mark Harlan’s choice to name him the next head coach of Utah women’s basketball easy.
“I always believe that with any program we need to be thinking about moments like this,” Harlan said. “I always felt that Gavin would be the next head coach when Lynne decided to step aside or pursue (another job). So it already was in (Utah deputy athletic director Charmelle Green’s) and my mind to do that. ...
“I think just watching him — I go to practice a lot, and I watch his interactions — I watch how smart he is on the court, but how he is off the court too. He’s such a great person, and he’s got such great skills around young people. In particular, he’s a dynamic recruiter.”
Gavin has already put those traits to work, particularly when the Utes needed it the most. The Utes recently signed three high school recruits to their 2025 class, just days before Roberts decided to leave for the WNBA.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes head coach Gavin Peterson prepares to light the “U” after winning his first game as head coach at Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
Questions arose if the incoming high school seniors, particularly five-star recruit Leonna Sneed, would de-commit following Roberts’ unexpected departure. But, in the last few days, Gavin has earned a reaffirmed commitment from all three recruits.
“We did touch base with them,” Gavin said. “We basically just showed them who we were, and told them that the program is still going to remain the same in terms of the the Utah basketball that resonates with people in college athletics. I’m not here to rebuild it. I’m not here to change a lot. It is going to continue to be the same brand of Utah basketball that this community, fans and alumni has grown to love.”
Alongside the recruits, there’s been unwavering support from the current group of players. That could be seen during his introductory news conference, when he playfully stuck out his tongue at the group of players watching his opening remarks to the media.
Junior guard Gianna Kneepkens — Utah’s leading scorer this season — even made her new head coach grow teary-eyed when she asked him “What about this group of girls makes him excited to take over as head coach?”
After Petersen replied, Harlan added: “I think him being himself will only improve the culture because the student-athletes will see that authenticity in him. He was really trying not to cry. And of course, I took the question not from you guys, but from Gianna, and I think that gave a really insight of what they think about him.”
Those moments are indicative of Petersen’s connection to his current team and why the Utes believed he was next in line.
“I think he’s a warm, caring and loving individual,” his mother said. “He’s always putting others first.”
Gavin’s seamless transition with the players and staff doesn’t mean it hasn’t come without a learning curve. In the first quarter of his first game, the first-year head coach sat down on the bench like he would when he was Roberts' assistant.
His father, jokingly, took notice of it.
“He’s not like the other head coaches so far who roam the sidelines,” Craig said. “He’s still sitting down. Maybe he’s got to get used to it.
“He might be thinking he’ll get a tech if he’s standing up and walking around.”
Without knowing his father’s theory, Gavin confirmed the reasoning behind his first-quarter apprehension to walk around on the baseline.
In fact, it was his first “welcome to head coaching” moment.
“I’ve been told to sit down by referees for so long,” Gavin said. “So, I was sitting down a lot. Then I was ‘Oh my gosh I can stand up.’ ... That was kind of the biggest adjustment. It really was. I’m allowed to stand up.”
Now, two games in, Gavin is still getting a feel for being a head coach for the first time.
He’s off to a 2-0 start, and, surely, there will be more highs and lows along the way.
But, now that the team is his, those closest to him are glad that he decided to pave his own way in Salt Lake City.
“He could have gone to different schools,” Craig said. “He could have had a head coaching job when he was 26 years old.
“But, if you start too early, you might not get another chance. So, I’m glad he took the slow and steady road and learned along the way.”
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