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Alyssa Ustby on going from #UNC to pro basketball in Italy, with the role changes and the growth
Jul 8, 2026
To listen to the entire Episode 2 of the "Tar Heel Tribune" podcast, follow this link: https://youtu.be/tqhrHH55VBg
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0:00
And to say the least, you had an
0:01
impressive season in Italy in Serie A.
0:04
I'm not sure if there are any other
0:05
players who won awards cuz it seemed
0:06
like you won them all.
0:08
>> [laughter]
0:09
>> Player of the year, prospect of the
0:10
year, guard of the year, three all
0:12
league teams, scoring title.
0:14
Uh tell me about your season over there.
0:17
Um
0:17
and and how much How much
0:19
How much Italian did you know before you
0:21
went out there?
0:22
>> Yeah, so I have played my first
0:24
professional basketball season overseas
0:26
in Italy. I played right outside of Rome
0:30
in a town called Roseto. And Roseto is a
0:32
small beach town. It has a really strong
0:35
women's basketball community. And I was
0:37
really excited to get out there. And
0:39
something that was interesting after
0:41
having a 5-year college experience, I'm
0:43
going onto a team that's brand new, a
0:45
program that's new to that Serie A top
0:48
division, and playing for a coach and
0:51
teammates that I've never met before.
0:53
And so it was an opportunity for me to
0:55
reestablish myself in a new environment.
0:58
And I think I did a great job of taking
1:00
advantage of that opportunity because
1:01
when I got in there, I felt like I was
1:05
able to explore more areas of my game
1:08
that not necessarily my college game
1:10
limited, but because college we have we
1:13
recruit very specific pieces to fill
1:15
certain needs. We can kind of share the
1:17
effort that it takes to be a high-level
1:20
D1 basketball team. But overseas, every
1:22
year you're getting a brand new bunch of
1:24
girls and you're figuring out how the
1:26
pieces fit. And so I decided early on
1:28
that I was going to take on the role of
1:30
being a point guard, shooting the ball,
1:32
getting downhill, producing,
1:35
uh just night in and night out
1:37
double-doubles, and getting in the 20s
1:39
consistently every single game. And so
1:42
it was a great opportunity for me to
1:44
grow on the court as well. I felt like I
1:45
really expanded my game as a player, and
1:47
that was something that's so exciting as
1:50
an athlete in any sport. Like to explore
1:53
more of yourself.
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