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SALT LAKE CITY — Assistant coach Gavin Petersen excitedly yelled down the hallway of the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman basketball facility when he saw the name hit the transfer portal.
Lynne Roberts jumped up from her desk when she heard the yell, and wasted no time going to the phone to start a conversation with a player she coveted from when the coaching staff recruited her out of high school. Wisconsin guard Matyson Wilke, or Maty, had to be on Utah's roster this time around.
"We jumped on it," Roberts said.
The Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, native had previously scheduled an official visit to the University of Utah during her high school recruitment, but the COVID-19 outbreak forced a cancellation of the visit, and Wilke eventually settled on her hometown school.
It was a missed opportunity but one Utah had little control over based on the rare circumstances.
"I always loved her, and she's our type of kid and player, so I was crushed," Roberts said. "I mean, COVID was awful for everyone in the world, but it really hurt in recruiting because kids couldn't visit."
But when Wilke's name hit the portal, it felt like that opportunity had fortuitously opened again. This time, though, Roberts' program was in an even better position coming off a Sweet 16 appearance against eventual national champion LSU, while returning the bulk of its contributing talent for another season.
Roberts' quick phone call was a sort of relieving factor to Wilke that she had made the right decision to enter her name in the portal after averaging 11.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists her freshman season at Wisconsin.
"To have her kind of call me the first day, it just kind of took some of the pressure off a little bit," Wilke said. "Knowing that I already had a relationship with her, because I didn't have — like, you don't really have time to create relationships — so to have her call me directly and just kind of have that conversation again, it just kind of made me feel more calm and confident that I didn't make the wrong decision."
Wilke made quick arrangements to finally visit the campus, and committed two days after her official visit — a decision she said came much quicker than she expected. It was an obvious choice to her and her parents — the two coached her as a player through her younger years — that Utah was the right fit.
Utah was a place where Wilke could be herself and have the support of Roberts and the coaching staff, and compete at a high level for the fifth-ranked Utes.
Wilke had lost the passion for the sport, a bit, and she needed a new start — she wasn't having fun playing the game she'd grown up loving. But Utah provided that spark, or fun, that Wilke had been looking for again.
"I just felt like I could easily connect with the girls. Everyone here loves basketball and are just really good people, and I could tell on the court but also off the court," Wilke said. "Since being here, I've had so much fun playing basketball. ... I love coming to practice, I love watching film, I love just talking about basketball, so just that aspect of it.
"I've always wanted to play in March, and I feel like this team this year and then further on, just because of how coach Rob recruits, there's a great chance of that every year, so I just wanted to be a part of that."
It was a similar experience that reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year Alissa Pili had when she transferred from USC to Utah prior to last season.
Wilke isn't expected to have the role Pili had when she joined Utah, but will be another key cog to Utah's rotation as it looks to go deeper in the NCAA Tournament this season.
Wilke, at least initially, is expected to come off the bench and can play anywhere from point guard to small forward, but her experience at the Division I level gives Utah some added depth to help the team not miss a step with its rotations. That experience has already started to become apparent to her teammates in the limited time she's been with the team.
"She's an incredible shooter, great passers, really skilled basketball player and really talented," Jenna Johnson said. "It's elevating that next sixth man spot for us."
Added Gianna Kneepkens: "She brings a lot of experience, and with that experience I've noticed she's very consistent for us. We know what we're getting from Maty, and she's someone you can rely on."
Wilke has been an active participant in all Utah has worked on in the preseason to get ready for the season-opener Monday (4 p.m. MST, Utah Livestream), but has been hampered a bit by a sore back, which has limited her reps in practice and in the team's final exhibition game.
She's healthy enough to play, but the coaching and medical staff have been cautious with her in an effort to keep her later in the season as the team hopes to make a late run in the NCAA Tournament. But it hasn't been easy for her to stay sidelined as she awaits her time to shine on the court for Utah.
"I mean, obviously, it's not something you want, but they've been doing a really good job supporting me through it and just reassuring me that this is the right decision, and working with the trainers and the medical team, too," Wilke said. "I just feel like we're going in the right direction. And, obviously, I want to play now and want to get in reps, but also know, as a team, our goals is to make it really deep into March.
"There's sacrifices that need to be made for us to kind of be the best we can in March, so thinking about it in that way, it was a no-brainer to kind of take time off right now just because I want to play as well as the team in March."
It may be a momentary setback to the start of her career at Utah, but Roberts has the belief Wilke will be ready when it comes time to showcase her skills on the court.
"If anyone could do it, she can," Roberts said. "She's a coaches kid, smart player, but, yeah, there's no substitute for real game-like reps and mistakes and learning, 'Oh, OK, that and this.' So there might be some rust kicking off the first couple games, but I don't think it'll take her too long."
Her time will come soon enough.
