May 17, 2021
UConn Basketball Names Gavin Roberts Director of Sports Performance

UConn coach Dan Hurley has announced the hiring of Gavin Roberts as the director of sports performance for men’s basketball, pending the completion of the university’s employee onboarding process.

Roberts, 31, has been the head strength and conditioning coach for the men’s basketball team at Purdue University for the past three years and was previously the assistant director of sports performance at Western Michigan. At UConn, he will be responsible for all in-season and off-season aspects concerning strength, conditioning, nutrition, and wellness training for the men’s basketball student-athletes.

uconn“We are excited to add one of the top young sports performance coaches in the country, who is coming to us from an outstanding program,” Hurley said. “At Purdue, Gavin gained experience working with NBA-level players in a program with championship aspirations. He understands the standards and the tradition here with his tri-state area ties.”

Roberts, originally from Somerset, N.J., and a two-sport star at Franklin High School in football and basketball, not only grew up watching UConn sports, he very nearly came to Storrs for college.

“Yes, for me, it was between Purdue and UConn as a football player,” he said.

And the chance to help UConn basketball continue to rebuild its program was part of the attraction of the sports performance position.

“The illustrious history, the prestige, the Big East..,” he said. “And being able to continue to build on what Coach Hurley has built so far.”

During Roberts’ tenure at Purdue, the men’s basketball team posted a 60-35 record overall, 38-21 in the Big Ten, with two NCAA appearances (the 2019-20 tourney was canceled).

“Overall, the greatest aspect an athlete has is his availability … so making sure guys are healthy,” Roberts explained about his philosophy. “The second thing overall is to build athleticism – essentially trying to raise the threshold of these athletes so they are able to absorb and redirect force and be at their best on the court.

“Then, from a mentality standpoint, to find a system ultimately that they need for themselves in order to thrive. Providing information and support from a mental standpoint, from a nutrition standpoint, from a strength aspect, a conditioning aspect, providing that recovery aspect. Ultimately, it’s about empowering guys so they can build themselves into the best person they can be in college and beyond.”

Roberts, a defensive back and special teams player for the Boilermakers, graduated from Purdue in 2013 with a degree in Health and Fitness and earned a master’s degree in Technology, Leadership, and Innovation from Purdue in 2015.

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Prior to his time at Western Michigan, he spent time as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Purdue during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years, implementing an individualized program to develop athletes for the NBA.

Roberts and his wife Alanna are the parents of two children, daughter London and son Cairo.




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