By streamlining operations with automatic filming, video and data for comprehensive analysis, and in-game replay tools, Hudl tools empowered the Utes to achieve success at the highest level.
In Division I basketball, and especially in Power 5 competition, there are no excuses. Every game, every practice, every drill has to build on one another.
Winning demands it.
Since taking over in 2015 as head coach of the women’s basketball program at the University of Utah, head coach Lynne Roberts and her staff have built the Utes into a PAC-12 powerhouse. For her work, Roberts was named the 2022-23 PAC-12 Coach of the Year.
In 2022, the Utes made the second round of the NCAA tournament. The following year, they won the PAC-12 regular season title and earned a 2-seed in the Big Dance, bowing out in the Sweet Sixteen to the eventual NCAA Champions: LSU. It was the Tiger’s closest game of the tournament.
Utah women’s basketball finished the 2024 regular season with yet another bid to the NCAA Tournament, this time with PAC-12 Player of the Year Alissa Pili.
Whether it’s improving game plans, scouting opponents or driving in-game decisions, the Utes leverage theHudl Pro Suite to maximize output despite a small (but mighty) staff.
The Best Automatic Tracking Camera for Basketball
The University of Utah is showing why Hudl Focus is a must-have for elite basketball programs: Focus handles filming for you while providing remote or in-practice review opportunities.
For Joey Treesh, the Director of Video and Analytics for Utah women’s basketball, Hudl Focus has been a game changer by streamlining the team’s video routine.
“Making the change to the Hudl Focus camera has been a huge plus,” Treesh said. “Being able to use the app to start and stop a recording, and to have multiple viewing angles has been huge.”
Filming practice has long been a staple of Treesh’s responsibilities. But with Hudl’s mounted smart camera in their practice gym, he no longer has to orchestrate an intricate, outdated filming setup. Nor does he have to manually track the action. Instead, he’s freed up to add value to the day’s output.
“Using the Focus camera has helped [save me] time and I don’t have to set up a very old system,” he said. “I can also live code from the camera as well. That’s been a great tool for us.”
With a push of a button on the Hudl Focus app, the camera records any drill or scrimmage automatically. After stopping the recording, the film is instantly uploaded to their library for coding or analysis.
Associate head coach Gavin Peterson—responsible for defensive strategy, developing guards as well as leading the charge in recruiting— has liked what he’s seen from the Focus camera as well.
“When we were gone recruiting I would watch practice, whether I was in an airport or a gym,” Peterson said. “It gives us an added feature in terms of being able to make up for your absence. You can kind of see what’s going on and what was being taught so when you get there the next day it’s like you didn’t miss it.”
Always Accessible Video and Analytics
In addition to Hudl Focus, Treesh and the Utah women’s staff have accelerated their scouting routine by leveraging the Hudl League Exchange platform.
With film and analytics accessible on-demand, it reduces the need for the Utah staff to find video and code it themselves.
“It’s been such a huge lifesaver. It’s saved me a lot of time not having to break down game film,” Treesh said. “Here at Utah, our coaches tend to want four to five recent games for an upcoming opponent. Coding each game can take a couple hours depending on how fast you are and what you want to code. But using League Exchange it takes about ten minutes to download five games.”
With ten hours of work reduced to just ten minutes, Treesh and the coaching staff are that much further along in their game planning.
Assistant coach Jordan Sullivan joined the Utah women’s basketball staff prior to the 2023-24 season. Her experiences with other solutions meant she had a learning curve with Hudl, but the overall speed and ease of use made the adoption easy.
The League Exchange platform for basketball scouting and prep has been a huge win for her.
“It’s pretty much all hands on deck when it comes to a game plan. This is a tough league and I think it’s silly to think one person can do it all,” Sullivan said. “If I do wanna work from home, I can just pull up the League Exchange and download as many films as I want. I don’t have to depend on [Treesh] to get me the film.”
With everyone on staff having access to the League Exchange, each coach has full autonomy to start scouting on their own. The platform has everything they need whenever they need it.
Real-Time Replay
Hudl Sportscode is the most trusted software for basketball analytics. But it’s the software’s integration with tools that expand on its inherent value that elevates Hudl to be the comprehensive platform the Utes depend on.
For example, the 2023-24 season was the program’s first year using Hudl Replay. The impact has been substantial.
On game days, the team live codes games with custom analysis, then feeds the video and data to iPads on the sideline via Hudl Replay. Coaches and players can immediately review clips and insights during the game.
“It’s been vital, like if a coach wanted to see a baseline out-of-bounds for example or a previous play from the opposing team,” Treesh said. “It also allows me to track our plays throughout the game so like if something’s not working, I can make that suggestion at halftime. Or if a player wanted to watch a specific clip, they know they have access to it on the bench right there. It’s been a huge tool for us.”
Efficiency and Output, Above All
The Utah women’s basketball program isn’t unlike most Division I programs. The stakes are always high, and winning is paramount.
“How we do things here at Utah and how concise and efficient we have to be with our time and our film because there is so much that you could show,” Sullivan said. “You have to be really efficient about what's most important.”
Investing in solutions that amplify their efforts and empower the staff has proved vital for the Utes. The program’s transformation into a Top-25 mainstay and NCAA tournament team are testament to that.
The speed and accuracy of their routine with Hudl has propelled the program to new heights, and it’s helped the staff do more in less time.
“I’ll have [everything] to the hands of our coaches in 45 minutes after the game, I’ve gotten it down to that quickly,” Treesh said.
The effort and time invested in Hudl stay with the program year after year, helping them improve and stay at the top of their game.
“A lot of what we do evolves and adapts over time, so it’s really good having those tools there for you to go back and look at things,” Peterson said. “Having that being available means everything for us moving forward.”
The Hudl Pro Suite brings the most powerful analysis solutions in the industry to a single platform to streamline operations, maximizing your time and output. Learn more about the Hudl Pro Suite for basketball.
