Fresh off her recently signed five-year contract extension that will take her through the 2029-30 season as the UNLV women’s basketball coach, Lindy La Rocque has the Lady Rebels off to a 2-0 start as they prepare to play their third Top 10 regular-season opponent in six seasons.
Under La Rocque, the Lady Rebels faced then-No. 2 Stanford during the 2020-21 season, and last season met then-No. 9 Oklahoma.
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Friday night at Cox Pavilion, the Lady Rebels will complete a home-and-home series with Baylor, the current No. 7 team in the AP Poll.
UNLV lost at Baylor, 71-64, last season.
La Rocque has never shied away from scheduling tough competition, ranked or not, having faced Oklahoma and Arizona in each of the last two seasons.
The 2020 meeting with Stanford was La Rocque’s first season against her alma mater and former coach, and there wasn’t a lot to expect from that.
And with Baylor ranked higher this week than Oklahoma was when the Lady Rebels faced the Sooners last season, this might be the biggest regular-season game of La Rocque’s six-year coaching career.
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After missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years last season, the Lady Rebels could enhance their resume with a win over Baylor.
The Lady Rebels will visit two other Big 12 schools, Arizona State and Cincinnati, before entering Mountain West play, but with high expectations and Cox Pavilion sold out for the nationally televised game, all eyes are on Friday’s clash against the Bears.
The Sporting Tribune recently sat down with La Rocque for a Q&A:
Q: Thoughts on her sixth season
A: “It does kind of fly by. I think six is like, five is still on one hand, then you get to six, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m really getting up there.'”
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Q: Do you think about those first few days?
A: “I try to reflect a lot and do a lot of different speaking things that require me to reflect, which is, I think, a really positive thing. A majority of the time I’m like, ‘Wow, I really had no idea what I was doing,’ but at the same time, I’ve figured it out, maybe at least a little bit. And just really proud of what we’ve been able to do. Obviously, I kind of had big hopes and dreams for not just my personal career, but for this program in particular that is dear to me. I think we’re on our way.”
Q: Have the first five years gone as expected?
A: “I think we’re right there. You know, I don’t know if I totally put together a five-year plan when I got the job. But I think this is pretty close. Maybe even achieved some things even earlier than I thought we could. NCAA Tournament in basically year two is pretty special. To do it that quickly, but then to sustain that success, I think that’s hard, and it takes a lot of hard work. I’m just a believer in climbing the ladder and not just jumping from the bottom to the top, because then that’s how you fall down. But if you climb it the right way, then I think it’s a little bit more sustainable. And I feel like we’ve done that. Now we’re at the next level, and we’re at the next step where we want to continue to feel like we’ve done a great job, but we’ve got more things to do, and more steps to climb.”
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Q: What are the bits and pieces you’re still reaching back and taking from when it comes to former coach Tara VanDerveer and your father, Al?
A: “I think I draw a lot on those experiences and journeys still. And different pieces as we do new things here, whether it was when I was a player or even as a coach. Now having Jocelyn on staff, too, I think we’ve both tapped back into some of those, because now I’ve got someone who lived that. We lived that together, and kind of sustaining our success and being where we’re at, I do have experience in that. It might have been a long time ago, or might have been when I was a player, (but) I recall different things and call upon those memories and experiences so that I can try to help prepare our team and keep us where we want to be.”
Q: On signing her recent contract extension and staying in her hometown to build the UNLV women’s program?
A: “Obviously, I’m really grateful for this opportunity, for the investment in our program from the university and administration and myself. There’s a lot of things here that are hard to put a price tag on for me. For a young family and my parents in my hometown, so a new contract is great. And frankly, that’s what I need to continue to provide for my family: that job security, that investment. And if anything, I want to show to the public, to our fan base, to everyone, to our recruits, to invest too. Stay here, be here, come here, because that’s what I plan on doing.”
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Q: Does being in the same town as the Las Vegas Aces help with recruiting?
A: “Yeah, I think so. They’re champions at the highest level. Players that we are coaching want to play at that level, and so just having that exposure, whether it’s going to games, meeting a player at the grocery store, those things happen here. And I think, especially when it comes to recruiting, the next generation of players, Las Vegas is known as a women’s basketball city and place to be, not necessarily just for us, but because of the Aces and what they’ve been able to do and the success that they’ve had.”
Q: You’ve played with great players, played for a legend, your rolodex runs deep. But have you taken time to give yourself grace, and that they all know you?
A: “I am a product of my network and the people that I know and love and have been fortunate to be around. And I hold those connections very dearly. I think some of the things that sometimes are eye-opening to me are when people call me for advice. Whether it’s coaches and peers or friends, I’ve always kind of viewed myself as the young one trying to learn from all of my people that have helped shaped me. And now, obviously I’m coaching young people, but now that I’m getting calls from my peers on advice on what I do, I’m like, ‘Oh, wow, I actually have done this for a couple years, and I do have advice to give, maybe in some different situations.’ So some of those moments are fun to feel of like trying to help someone else the same way so many people have helped me.”
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Q: What is the next step of winning a couple of games in the Dance and eventually getting to the Elite Eight, getting to the Final Four and potentially winning a national championship?
A: “I think the next step is making this an established program. I think we’ve done a pretty good job the last five years. And so you have to hold on to it, and you can’t lose sight of that. And that takes a lot of work. And then, as you continue to build on that, it is winning those games and getting to the Sweet 16. Obviously, it takes great players and great coaches and great people, which I think we have, continued investment from our university, from our fan base, as this landscape is continuing to change, of revenue sharing and new media deals and markets and all of that. So, some of that isn’t fully in my control, but what is, is the people that I bring here, the work that we put in, and the effort that we’re going to put forth to continue to raise the bar. And I think that’s what I’m trying to do, is raise the bar in everything across the board, and hold anyone that touches our program to that standard of excellence. Because it really takes everything and everyone, from tickets and marketing, to obviously our players and our own team culture, the fan base. Kind of challenging everyone. You want to see us go there, then let’s help us and step up your game. Let’s all make this happen, because it very well can.”
Q: Is there more enthusiasm toward funding this program?
A: “The revenue sharing in particular is great. I think we felt great support for our women. And people, philanthropists and people that have invested in UNLV and the department for a long time have a new motivation to continue to invest in women and in our women’s sports, and I’m happy to maybe be the pillar of that, you know, to really advocate for that, so that, as these new doors continue to open, that women aren’t shut out, you know? And I think that’s what women’s sports across the country are fighting for in all different industries. That gender parity and equal pay, it’s not just a sports thing, but it’s across all fields, and really we’d like sports to lead and not lag behind in some of that progress.”
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Q: How far away is UNLV from having those McDonald’s All-Americans, those top players saying, ‘I want to come to UNLV.’ And getting the No. 1, No. 2, or the Top 10 recruits come in droves here.
A: “I don’t think we’re too far off. I do think there’s a few more steps to take, and then it’ll take a special young person to really make that leap of faith and do that with us. But we’re getting closer and closer. This signing class that we’re about to sign, we’ve got three top 100 kids. We’re not some program that’s in the weeds that no one knows about. So we can feel that in our recruiting, just kind of the respect that we’re garnering across the country, which we’re proud of, and we’ve worked really hard for. But to really tap into that next level of recruits, we’re right there knocking on the door.”
