Speaker 1: In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams is an
Speaker 1: iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. Welcome to another edition of In Case You
Speaker 1: Missed It with Christina Williams. And I know it's been
Speaker 1: three long weeks, y'all, but I'm so happy to be
Speaker 1: back and better than ever. It's been a long, long week.
Speaker 1: Your girl had her birthday last week, and I spent
Speaker 1: it in Puerto Rico. So much fun in the sun,
Speaker 1: much needed reset. But I'm back and March madness is
Speaker 1: slowly creeping up upon us. And I'm super excited about
Speaker 1: this week's guest because Selection Sunday is coming up as well,
Speaker 1: and this week's guest she's gonna help me break down
Speaker 1: all of what's happening in and around women's college basketball.
Speaker 1: She is a friend to the show, so please welcome
Speaker 1: back to the show. S and Y host in sideline
Speaker 1: reporter Chelsea Charad to the show.
Speaker 2: Chelsea, I am so happy to be back. This is
Speaker 2: one of my favorite things to do, and it's a
Speaker 2: good way for us to just, you know, catch up
Speaker 2: because they're both kind of all over the place at
Speaker 2: this point in the year. So I'm really excited to
Speaker 2: be here. Thanks for having.
Speaker 1: Me, Thanks for coming back, girl. I know there's so
Speaker 1: much to talk about. I know that the Big East
Speaker 1: just won. Yukon just won the championship for the Big East.
Speaker 1: So let's start there, break down the incredible season that
Speaker 1: Yukon has been having this year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that the Big East Tournament, especially the
Speaker 2: championship game, pretty much was just a culmination of the
Speaker 2: dominance that Yukon has displayed all season in the Big East.
Speaker 2: I mean, they went undefeated in the regular season and
Speaker 2: then they won each game in the tournament by at
Speaker 2: least twenty twenty or twenty points, so they won by
Speaker 2: about twenty yesterday. But yeah, I think, as everyone knows,
Speaker 2: like in the Big East, Yukon, there's obviously a big
Speaker 2: gap between them and everyone else. They played Creighton in
Speaker 2: the championship, and Creighton had a great year. They were
Speaker 2: number two in the conference, and so obviously that's the
Speaker 2: best matchup that Yukon was going to see in the conference,
Speaker 2: and that's how it should have been in the championship.
Speaker 2: But I think from where this team started this season,
Speaker 2: where there was a lot of uncertainty as to who's
Speaker 2: going to start, what does the starting rotation look like.
Speaker 2: They had a lot of young players. Azy Fud wasn't
Speaker 2: one hundred percent, Aurey Griffin wasn't back, and so they
Speaker 2: had a lot of things that they needed to figure out.
Speaker 2: But I think the fact that they were able to
Speaker 2: be so dominant in the conference kind of, I guess
Speaker 2: just was like a reminder of Okay, this is Yukon basketball.
Speaker 3: But I'm sure it.
Speaker 2: Felt really good for them, especially over the weekend, to
Speaker 2: kind of be playing their best basketball at.
Speaker 3: The right time.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And you know is champions Week, UCLA has won
Speaker 1: the first Big Ten title in their first year in
Speaker 1: that conference. TCU Haley Manlyft she kind of had like
Speaker 1: a revenge or was able to lead her team to
Speaker 1: their conference championship. We talked about Yukon South Carolina's dominating
Speaker 1: the SEC, the defending champions, and Duke with the ACC.
Speaker 1: How do you feel the Big East compares to those
Speaker 1: other conferences?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's a really great question, Christina, and
Speaker 2: that's been a question that has been asked all year,
Speaker 2: And to be frank, the Big East doesn't necessarily stack
Speaker 2: up with conferences like the ACC. The ACC or the SEC,
Speaker 2: and I think that part of that has to do with,
Speaker 2: you know, the transfer portal. I think that with the
Speaker 2: growth of women's basketball, we're seeing other teams grow.
Speaker 3: There are you know, other.
Speaker 2: Big name coaches out there who are able to recruit
Speaker 2: certain types of players. And this is all great for
Speaker 2: the game, This is great for sport, but unfortunately, I
Speaker 2: think that the Big East just isn't exactly where it
Speaker 2: was years ago.
Speaker 3: And Yukon's been dominant for so long.
Speaker 2: We were talking about how they won their twelfth Biggiest
Speaker 2: Conference championship yesterday, but the competition lovel just isn't there.
Speaker 2: And that's been a question mark for Yukon going into
Speaker 2: the tournament because it's like, how high was the competition
Speaker 2: throughout the regular season? What do these wins actually mean
Speaker 2: or what do they actually show if you're able to
Speaker 2: run through your conference winning by twenty twenty five points
Speaker 2: every night. And so I think the answer to that
Speaker 2: was when we saw them playing some non conference opponents
Speaker 2: and granted they got that huge and over South Carolina
Speaker 2: and everything was firing on all cylinders for them in
Speaker 2: that game, and I think that kind of came from
Speaker 2: them losing those games to USC, to Notre Dame, to Tennessee,
Speaker 2: and so, yeah, the biggiest it's not where it used
Speaker 2: to be, and I don't think it's where it needs
Speaker 2: to be. And you can ask any biggiest coach and
Speaker 2: they will tell you this day exact thing. Joe Tardamella
Speaker 2: from Saint John's actually was asked that after the quarterfinals
Speaker 2: game against Yukon, and he talked about the portal, and
Speaker 2: he talked about just recruiting, and I think, you know,
Speaker 2: maybe there just needs to be a reset, so to speak,
Speaker 2: to try to build up the competitive level because every year, granted,
Speaker 2: these teams are going to, you know, fight for what
Speaker 2: they can and put out their best effort. You don't
Speaker 2: want to go into a season and saying it's Yukon
Speaker 2: here and then everyone else is here like that doesn't
Speaker 2: really help anyone. So I'm kind of hoping moving forward
Speaker 2: that the Big East gets a little bit better.
Speaker 3: I guess that's the right word.
Speaker 1: Well, we certainly see how the shift and realignment of
Speaker 1: conferences has helped teams like UCLA and USC, So hopefully,
Speaker 1: you know, the competitive nature of the Big East can
Speaker 1: get back to the glory days. Yeah, but looking ahead
Speaker 1: to what's happening here in March, and obviously all talks
Speaker 1: are on Pagebeckers, who is projected to be number one
Speaker 1: pick in the twenty twenty five WNBAH draft. I mean
Speaker 1: you've covered this team all season long. Where do you
Speaker 1: see Pagebeckers ranking among the Yukon gretes?
Speaker 2: Oh man? I mean Pages up there with the best
Speaker 2: of the best. I mean everyone has their Yukon Mountain Rushmore.
Speaker 2: I mean Mount rush Rushmore will look very different from
Speaker 2: another person's Fountain Rushmore. But Paige is one of the
Speaker 2: best players to have played at Yukon. Page has gone
Speaker 2: through a lot in her career as far as injuries,
Speaker 2: as far as you know COVID injuries to her teammates.
Speaker 2: We talk about how little she and Asy have even
Speaker 2: played games together. But Page is incredible. I mean, she's
Speaker 2: a two thousand point scorer. She's, you know, the fastest
Speaker 2: Husky to get there. I think she tied Maya Moore
Speaker 2: to get to like a thousand or something as the fastest.
Speaker 2: But Page has missed like fifty nine games in her career,
Speaker 2: and for her to be able to reach these milestones
Speaker 2: and to be climbing the all time scoring list, and
Speaker 2: even in the Big East Tournament. I mean, she was
Speaker 2: named most out Standing Player for the third time. No
Speaker 2: other Husky has done that. And when you go down
Speaker 2: the list of the incredible players that have played there,
Speaker 2: which is like a thousand of them, it's kind of
Speaker 2: wild that Page was able to do that, given how
Speaker 2: her career went, given you know, the team that she
Speaker 2: was surrounded by. I think that Page is one of
Speaker 2: the best playmakers to come out of Yukon. I definitely
Speaker 2: put her in my top three, So I think that
Speaker 2: she's very high up on that list. I think that
Speaker 2: if you asked Gino, he'd probably say the exact same.
Speaker 2: The difference with Paige and players like Maya more Stewie,
Speaker 2: Diana Tarazzi, Sue Bird is that she hasn't won a
Speaker 2: national championship yet, and so that could be something that
Speaker 2: people will use in an argument to say maybe she's
Speaker 2: not among the greats. I would disagree, obviously. When you
Speaker 2: go to Yukon, it's national championship or bust. But for
Speaker 2: her to be there when a you know, conference tournament
Speaker 2: championship every year, she's there, to be able to reach
Speaker 2: these scoring milestones and some of these awards that she's been.
Speaker 3: Able to win. I think she has to be up there.
Speaker 1: I think she has to be I agree. I think
Speaker 1: she's definitely up there. And when we think about great
Speaker 1: college players, this is something I spoke to Simona Augustus
Speaker 1: about one of the earlier episodes, and she talked about
Speaker 1: how she never wanted LSU, but we still see her
Speaker 1: as one of the greatest to come out of LSU.
Speaker 1: I mean, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: People talk about great players who've never won. Kitlyn Clark
Speaker 1: has never won a championship, a national title, but she
Speaker 1: is ranked among one of the greatest women's college basketball players,
Speaker 1: and so do championships measure greatness? I think it's situational.
Speaker 1: I think it's very situational. But I think about Paige
Speaker 1: Becker's and what she was able to do with an
Speaker 1: injured Yukon team last season, leading them to reach the
Speaker 1: Final Four with limited players on that roster. Looking back
Speaker 1: at that loss against Iowa and now we see this
Speaker 1: new and refreshed Yukon team coming into March, what should
Speaker 1: people look out for?
Speaker 2: Oh Man, I think that the biggest difference between Yukon
Speaker 2: this year and the Yukon last year who lost to
Speaker 2: Iowa in the Final four is death. They basically were
Speaker 2: like limping their way to the final four. No one
Speaker 2: had them. I made this joke all the time because
Speaker 2: I tweeted. I was like, you know, I got to
Speaker 2: have Yukon making it to the final four when I
Speaker 2: first put out my bracket and I was like, wow,
Speaker 2: no one believed me. And granted I was probably crazy
Speaker 2: for thinking that, but they were so depleted. So I
Speaker 2: think that this year their biggest advantage is their death.
Speaker 2: And so I think one thing to pay attention to,
Speaker 2: and we saw this in the South Carolina game is
Speaker 2: the Big three Number one Paige Becker, Sarah Strong, and
Speaker 2: Azy Fud. I mean having Asy Fud out there is
Speaker 2: kind of like a cheat code anyway, because when you
Speaker 2: think about it, she can shoot better than a lot
Speaker 2: of players that I have seen, Like her shot is
Speaker 2: like on auto, Like it's so crazy how quickly it
Speaker 2: comes out of her hands. But you have like Page
Speaker 2: as the first option, maybe Sarah as the second option,
Speaker 2: and then you got Asy outside like on the wing.
Speaker 2: That's really hard for teams to guard, especially when they're
Speaker 2: hitting shots. So I think the depth for them, especially
Speaker 2: as far as the guard play is concerned, is going
Speaker 2: to be huge for them during the tournament. So I
Speaker 2: think that's something to look out for. If they are
Speaker 2: hitting their shots. That's one thing that we've seen with Yukon.
Speaker 2: Sometimes they'll go on these scoring droughts and it'll be
Speaker 2: like three or four minutes and they haven't hit a basket,
Speaker 2: and that's something that we saw on the Biggiest Tournament,
Speaker 2: and that's something that they're going to have to work on,
Speaker 2: especially if they want to make a deep run into
Speaker 2: the tournament. Their biggest demise is there inside game. I
Speaker 2: think that could be something to also look out for,
Speaker 2: only because that is something that's been a bit of
Speaker 2: a challenge for them because they're so young. Inside, they
Speaker 2: do have Aubrey Griffin who returned from acl injury. Over
Speaker 2: the past few weeks, she's looked really good. I think
Speaker 2: she's kind of back to where we all have seen
Speaker 2: Aubrey at that level. But she didn't play in the
Speaker 2: tournament and Gino said that it was because of soreness
Speaker 2: and they want to arrest her for her to be
Speaker 2: one hundred percent. But without Aubrey they have Jenna Laffi,
Speaker 2: who's about a six five six to sixth center from Egypt,
Speaker 2: and they have Ice Brady, who is a sophomore, a
Speaker 2: red shirt sophomore, and Ice is I think that her
Speaker 2: path this season hasn't necessarily been linear. She's dealt with
Speaker 2: some injuries and I think that she's also dealt with
Speaker 2: some challenges as far as what her confidence look looks like.
Speaker 2: And I think that's because she hasn't played a lot
Speaker 2: of games and gotten into a group. Janna can get
Speaker 2: into foul trouble. We've seen it a lot in the
Speaker 2: Big East. But the one thing for Jana that I
Speaker 2: think could be to her benefit is that when they
Speaker 2: play these bigger teams and these bigger matchups, she thrives.
Speaker 2: Maybe it's because they're letting them play a little bit
Speaker 2: more in the post and then box a little bit.
Speaker 2: But without that, if she does get into fool trouble,
Speaker 2: that can be tough. So two things to look out
Speaker 2: for their death, especially at the guard position, and then
Speaker 2: also kind of how they're big show up in the tournament.
Speaker 1: Absolutely and looking ahead to selection Sunday. What is exciting
Speaker 1: you the most overall about March madness.
Speaker 2: Oh, I think in Christina, I'm sure you probably could
Speaker 2: agree with this. I think the best or the coolest
Speaker 2: thing about this year is that for me, I feel
Speaker 2: like and then conversations that I've had with colleagues and
Speaker 2: things like that, I feel like the field is open
Speaker 2: where I think there's about six to eight teams that
Speaker 2: could potentially make it to the championship game, win the Natty.
Speaker 2: So it's like, I think that's probably the best part
Speaker 2: about it because you don't know who it's going to be.
Speaker 2: On any given night, someone can go down. I know
Speaker 2: over the past couple of weeks we saw some you know,
Speaker 2: big losses to some of these top teams by some
Speaker 2: of these top teams. So I think that's the coolest
Speaker 2: thing is that you just don't know who it's going
Speaker 2: to be. And I think years ago, you know, you
Speaker 2: were thinking, Okay, it's going to be Tennessee, and it's
Speaker 2: going to be Yukon, or it's going to be Noted.
Speaker 2: And I think now you think about the USCS, the UCLA's,
Speaker 2: the Texas teams, the Notre Dames, the South Carolina's. I mean,
Speaker 2: I think so many people in South Carolina, I'm sure
Speaker 2: the past maybe month and a half of the season,
Speaker 2: I guess outside of their conference tournament may not have
Speaker 2: gone necessarily the way that they wanted to, But South
Speaker 2: Carolina is a front runner. Like I was looking the
Speaker 2: other day and I was like, Yukon has the best
Speaker 2: odds to win the national championship, which is a shock
Speaker 2: to me and I cover the team. So I think
Speaker 2: the coolest thing is that the field is so wide open,
Speaker 2: and it's gonna make the game so much more exciting
Speaker 2: to watch because they're going to be so much more competitive.
Speaker 3: So that's what I'm excited to watch.
Speaker 1: Okay, Chelsea, I know it's early, but your prediction for
Speaker 1: who will be hoisting up the trophy in April.
Speaker 2: Oh man, that's hard. I'm obviously very scared of South Carolina.
Speaker 2: I'm very scared of you see, And I think the
Speaker 2: biggest integrants to like USC pretty much has UCLA's number
Speaker 2: this season, even though they lost to them in their
Speaker 2: conference championship. But I think for me, what it might
Speaker 2: come down to is just the inside game. Like Okay, USC, Yes,
Speaker 2: they have Kiki Aryfan who's been playing great, and I
Speaker 2: think the two man game between her and Juju is amazing.
Speaker 3: But I just I don't know.
Speaker 2: I think like UCLA had a great year South Carolina,
Speaker 2: I mean, winners win like it's it's they have a winning.
Speaker 3: Culture over there. It's very hard.
Speaker 2: As shocked as I am that Yukon has the best
Speaker 2: odds to win the National Championship, would I also be
Speaker 2: shocked or not as shocked if they did. Absolutely, Like
Speaker 2: Paige Becker's is on a mission right now, and based
Speaker 2: on what I've seen from her over the past couple
Speaker 2: of weeks, she has turned a corner where she's being
Speaker 2: much more aggressive. She's she calls it hunting. She's been
Speaker 2: hunting her shots more offensively. And when Yukon's defense is
Speaker 2: what they are like, they're flying around like they are
Speaker 2: just when it's fluid, it is so on and it
Speaker 2: can be detrimental to opponents. So I guess to answer
Speaker 2: your question, that's it's a really hard one. It's really
Speaker 2: really hard.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 2: Would I be surprised if Yukon held up the National
Speaker 2: Championship trophy?
Speaker 3: Yes and no.
Speaker 2: Would I be surprised if South Carolina did?
Speaker 3: Yes and no. I don't know.
Speaker 2: I mean, earlier in the season, I thought it was
Speaker 2: gonna be Notre Dame, you know what I mean. So,
Speaker 2: like I have no idea.
Speaker 1: I think I totally agree with you, Like the field
Speaker 1: is so open that it could be anyone's game. And
Speaker 1: I do think that team's like South Carolina, like the
Speaker 1: UCLA is, like the Yukon's experience is going to play
Speaker 1: a major factor in how all of this is going
Speaker 1: to play out. And so I think that when it
Speaker 1: comes to those teams, continuity, right, having that chemistry of
Speaker 1: being in those big moments. I think that when it
Speaker 1: comes to tournament time, you know, stars are made in March,
Speaker 1: and so I'm excited to see some of the emerging
Speaker 1: stars come out. Who is gonna step up in the
Speaker 1: biggest lights, in the biggest moments. I think that that's
Speaker 1: what makes March so exciting. So I have no idea
Speaker 1: who's going to win. I'm right along there with you.
Speaker 1: Some days I'm like South Carolina is definitely gonna, you know,
Speaker 1: go back to back, And then I'm like, but u
Speaker 1: c LA's just.
Speaker 2: Been you don't know, Like you just don't know, and
Speaker 2: it can be you know how they say in like
Speaker 2: the NFL, like any given Sunday, it's like on any night,
Speaker 2: someone will step up. And that's what March madis is about, right,
Speaker 2: It's about these underdogs, so to speak, like going on
Speaker 2: a run. Who's gonna be the Cinderella of the tournament?
Speaker 2: And I'm excited to.
Speaker 1: See that absolutely well. Looking ahead also to the w
Speaker 1: NBA Drapp we talked a little bit about page Backers
Speaker 1: being a projected number one pick. Obviously not amongst the media,
Speaker 1: but fans on social media have been speculating whether she
Speaker 1: wants to, you know, possibly go to Dallas. Will she
Speaker 1: you know, fourgo I mean, obviously she's already stated the
Speaker 1: multiple time she's going to the draft and she doesn't
Speaker 1: want to play Ucon anymore, But do you see Dallas
Speaker 1: as the right fit for her? And then also going
Speaker 1: back to a z buck, will she be back next year?
Speaker 3: Wow? These are two loaded questions.
Speaker 2: Yes, man, Okay, So I don't want to assume or
Speaker 2: presume here, but I do think that, you know, a
Speaker 2: lot of people going into the lottery, they definitely may
Speaker 2: have thought that the Sparks would have gotten the first pick.
Speaker 2: I think there were a lot of people who were
Speaker 2: kind of surprised when Dallas did even though it's not
Speaker 2: up to us like it literally is like as far
Speaker 2: as the Wings are concerned, So you know, I was
Speaker 2: looking at their roster as it's currently constructed, and so
Speaker 2: you know, I could see Page and a Rique like
Speaker 2: Page running point Erique, you know, being a two and
Speaker 2: kind of coming off the ball, which I think I
Speaker 2: would like more so she doesn't necessarily feel like she's
Speaker 2: forced to run the offense and things like that. I
Speaker 2: could see, you know, Paige and Namissa Smith that kind
Speaker 2: of two man game situation going on, which could be
Speaker 2: really cool. Lu Lopez Seneschal who played at Yukon. That
Speaker 2: could be nice to kind of, you know, reignite them
Speaker 2: as teammates again. And Matty segres Is there who played
Speaker 2: at Villanova, who's the leading scorer in the Big East
Speaker 2: for women's basketball.
Speaker 3: That could be cool.
Speaker 2: I could see some pick and rolls happening with her
Speaker 2: and Paige. But I did see that they also picked
Speaker 2: up Djn A Carrington, and so the Wings.
Speaker 3: Have a lot of guards.
Speaker 2: Page is obviously an incredible player, I mean, I could
Speaker 2: I could see it fitting. Djna is an incredible defender.
Speaker 2: She obviously would run should obviously play the same position.
Speaker 2: I don't know if Djna plays it too much, but
Speaker 2: usually she.
Speaker 1: Plays guards adjustments.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they definitely would have to. I mean what coach
Speaker 2: wouldn't want to have Page on their team. Kurt Miller
Speaker 2: was up here at the Big East Tournament, Matty Segriss
Speaker 2: was here. Obviously Villanova was playing, so they were in
Speaker 2: Connecticut the weekend. I definitely could see a fit. I
Speaker 2: mean I could see. I think the thing that's most
Speaker 2: intriguing is Paige and Arika Gumuale.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I mean I could see it working.
Speaker 2: I think in any situation, Page would go there and
Speaker 2: put her best foot forward, So we'll see how that
Speaker 2: plays out. I think Marika tweeted right after they got
Speaker 2: the number one over all draft pick and she was
Speaker 2: like super excited about it. So I'm sure she knows
Speaker 2: that like a player like Page could potentially be picked first.
Speaker 2: So I think if she's happy about it, everyone else
Speaker 2: would be too, because she's a superstar.
Speaker 3: As far as Easy is concerned.
Speaker 2: As if you know Asy Pud, if you've had conversations
Speaker 2: with her, and I love talking Easy, She's amazing to
Speaker 2: talk to. She always gives me really great, thoughtful answers.
Speaker 2: But Asy is really hard to read and so I
Speaker 2: don't really know where her head is at as far
Speaker 2: as that's concerned.
Speaker 3: I mean, if you were to ask her.
Speaker 2: Today, she would tell you that she kind of just
Speaker 2: wants to get through the rest of the season and
Speaker 2: then make that decision. I'm in the space where I'm like,
Speaker 2: what else do you need to accomplish at UCO? Given
Speaker 2: her injury history, I would say, go to the league.
Speaker 2: I think she's prepared for She's ready for. U COME
Speaker 2: prepares its players to play professionally in a way that
Speaker 2: not a lot of other teams do. Asy right now
Speaker 2: is averaging her best three point percentage in her career.
Speaker 2: And granted she hasn't played, you know, a ton of
Speaker 2: games relatively in college, but I think that she could
Speaker 2: play on a WNBA roster.
Speaker 3: She could come off the bench for a team. She's
Speaker 3: a sharpshooter.
Speaker 2: So I think for her it's like, while you're healthy,
Speaker 2: when you're playing at this level, you kind of prove
Speaker 2: to everyone that you can come back and be at
Speaker 2: the level that you were before. Why not go to
Speaker 2: the league? What else do you need to prove staying
Speaker 2: in college? I know we could talk a lot about
Speaker 2: nil and you know all the money that they're making,
Speaker 2: and I know that nil translates to the PROG because
Speaker 2: you can keep those partnerships and sponsorships. But that is
Speaker 2: also an argument as well. You know, does she want
Speaker 2: to stay in college and just kind of coast for
Speaker 2: a year, make a lot of money, and then go
Speaker 2: to the w You So there's a lot up in
Speaker 2: the air for Azy. I personally think that she should
Speaker 2: make the transition and enter the draft. For sure, she
Speaker 2: can be like a top fifteen pick.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree, Why wouldn't you want to maximize the opportunity,
Speaker 1: especially with expansion coming and the new CBA in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty six. There are a lot of WNBA teams right
Speaker 1: now who need sharpshooters and coaches who are now coming
Speaker 1: in with that three point mindset. I think about the
Speaker 1: LA Sparks hiring their new coach and how Lynn is
Speaker 1: like hell bant on threes players who can shoot threes.
Speaker 1: I think about the Atlanta coach and Carl spasco who
Speaker 1: who also is like listen, I want sharp shooters on
Speaker 1: my team. So yeah, a lot of teams that can
Speaker 1: use players like.
Speaker 3: Azy for sure.
Speaker 2: And I think this is also just like showing us
Speaker 2: the evolution of the game and how the game is changing.
Speaker 2: And I think we're also kind of seeing that with
Speaker 2: a new wave of coaches as well. Players are different,
Speaker 2: the game is different. Players are way more athletic than
Speaker 2: they used to be, They're way more skilled than they
Speaker 2: used to be. And so, yeah, I think that this
Speaker 2: is the perfect time for a player like Asy to
Speaker 2: get into the w So we'll see what she decides.
Speaker 1: We'll see we'll definitely keep our eyes on what she
Speaker 1: will decide to do. Before you get out of here,
Speaker 1: let's talk about Yukon great Diana Tarazzi, who has announced
Speaker 1: her retirement after twenty years playing with the Phoenix Mercury.
Speaker 1: How would you describe DT's impact overall on women's basketball.
Speaker 2: I don't even know how to put that into words, honestly.
Speaker 2: I mean, Diana Trazzi is my favorite player growing up.
Speaker 2: I think that DT, well, she's obviously one of the
Speaker 2: greatest players that we've ever seen play basketball.
Speaker 3: Kerrie and I think that, yeah.
Speaker 2: But I think that one of the coolest things about
Speaker 2: Diana Tarazi and that era of players is that she
Speaker 2: became a household name, known around the country, known around
Speaker 2: the world before social media was what it is today,
Speaker 2: and I think that that says a lot about how
Speaker 2: amazing she is. The platform that she had and the
Speaker 2: reach that she had while.
Speaker 3: She was playing.
Speaker 2: I mean, we can go down the list of accomplishments
Speaker 2: that she has, but I think that at the end
Speaker 2: of the day, we talk about Mount Rushmore's and things
Speaker 2: like that.
Speaker 3: For me, she's on my Mount Rushmore. I think that
Speaker 3: she brought.
Speaker 2: A grit to the game that was necessary, and I
Speaker 2: think that she was able to do that because one
Speaker 2: of the players that she was surrounded by, because obviously
Speaker 2: her and Sue and a.
Speaker 3: Bunch of other players on Yukon that we can.
Speaker 2: Name are very close, but they have different personalities so
Speaker 2: to speak. But I think that Diana Tarazzi's personality was necessary.
Speaker 2: I think was necessary to show that you can be
Speaker 2: this type of player who when you're out on the court,
Speaker 2: like I'm seeing red, so to speak, but also just
Speaker 2: be a player of quality and class and have these
Speaker 2: conversations and be warm and welcoming, willing to talk to
Speaker 2: fans and younger players and things like that. So, I mean,
Speaker 2: Dana Tarazzi is just a legendary figure in women's sports.
Speaker 2: As a whole, but in women's basketball, the fact that
Speaker 2: she's had the longevity that she's had and the fact
Speaker 2: that she's been able to win on the level she's
Speaker 2: been able to win at just speaks volumes, I think
Speaker 2: to any basketball.
Speaker 1: Fan, absolutely, And you know what's so crazy. I had
Speaker 1: the opportunity not too long ago to talk to DT
Speaker 1: about how she viewed her legacy. So I want you
Speaker 1: guys to take a listen to what she had to
Speaker 1: say about how she viewed her legacy.
Speaker 4: You know the beauty about legacies, You don't get to
Speaker 4: write it. I mean, I have no say and how
Speaker 4: other people perceive my legacy. All I can do is
Speaker 4: put together this little body of work and then here
Speaker 4: you guys do what you want with it.
Speaker 5: I really don't get to say I never short changed it.
Speaker 5: I've evolved as the game has evolved. I've always try
Speaker 5: to make sure that I was always present for every
Speaker 5: team I've been on, you know, and I think.
Speaker 3: That's what sets people apart.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you're on the court, being off the court and
Speaker 5: being in luck and being at great teammate, that's just
Speaker 5: as important to make sure you have success in your
Speaker 5: team does too, I.
Speaker 4: Know the work, the time, the effort, the things that
Speaker 4: I've had a sacrifice to keep playing basketball. And you know,
Speaker 4: I look back on those times. Penny and I talk
Speaker 4: about it all the time. Would you trade this for that?
Speaker 4: And I wouldn't trade anything in the world for what
Speaker 4: I've gotten to experience playing basketball. So that would be
Speaker 4: my My legacy is if you're willing to give up
Speaker 4: your life, you have a chance.
Speaker 1: So one of the things I love about DT is
Speaker 1: that she did it her way her entire career. She's
Speaker 1: literally one of one, and that's why she is literally
Speaker 1: the WNBA logo. She comes from a different class of
Speaker 1: athletes who has that mama mentality. They call her the
Speaker 1: white Mama, have that mama mentality of as she said,
Speaker 1: you give it your all, and she was willing to
Speaker 1: do that her entire career but also give back to
Speaker 1: the next generation. And so that's what I appreciate about GT.
Speaker 1: And when she talked about other people writing her legacy
Speaker 1: and leaving it up to those who watch her play,
Speaker 1: I think that's great, where she's just like, I gave
Speaker 1: the game all that I had. Now it's up to
Speaker 1: you guys to write the rest of the story. I
Speaker 1: can respect that.
Speaker 2: No, absolutely, And I think also what I took away
Speaker 2: from that was like, you can only show up as yourself,
Speaker 2: and it's up to other people to receive that, and
Speaker 2: they're going to receive it the way that they want to.
Speaker 2: But I think if you show up authentically doing something
Speaker 2: that you're passionate about and that you love, and you
Speaker 2: put your best foot forward and on top of that,
Speaker 2: you have.
Speaker 3: An immense amount of success.
Speaker 2: I think that that's all that you can ask for,
Speaker 2: and I think that that could be part of her legacy.
Speaker 2: I agree with her that it is up to everyone
Speaker 2: else to determine what that legacy looks like, what that
Speaker 2: means to them. But I think something that's always said is,
Speaker 2: you know, one of the greatest things that you can
Speaker 2: do is inspire, and I think that Diana Tarazzi has
Speaker 2: inspired multiple generations of basketball players, not just women or girls,
Speaker 2: but men as well, just because of the way that
Speaker 2: she showed up as her true self. Kobe Bryant is
Speaker 2: like everything to me, and she always reminded me of him,
Speaker 2: and I try not to, you know, compare women and
Speaker 2: men's basketball players, but she reminded me of him because
Speaker 2: of her mindset and because of the way that she
Speaker 2: showed up and like you mentioned, that was the older
Speaker 2: generation of players where there's a certain hunger that I
Speaker 2: approached the game with, and I think that that was
Speaker 2: its necessary to show that I, Dana Trazzi as a
Speaker 2: woman playing in this league, a league that is growing
Speaker 2: at a very fast pace, I'm able to do that,
Speaker 2: and I'm able to do it well enough to be
Speaker 2: able to inspire other people to be able to do
Speaker 2: that as well. So, I mean, she's incredible. I haven't
Speaker 2: had the chance to really sit down with her and
Speaker 2: talk to her, but I am incredibly inspired by her.
Speaker 2: She's got a swag about her, which I think is
Speaker 2: so cool. But I'm just really happy for her in retirement.
Speaker 2: She gave the game everything that she could, and you've
Speaker 2: got to be content and fulfilled when you're able to
Speaker 2: walk away healthy and kind of open up that next
Speaker 2: chapter of your life.
Speaker 1: So absolutely, I'm looking forward to seeing what she does
Speaker 1: in her next chapter. DT. If you're listening, thank you
Speaker 1: for everything that you've contributed to the game. And I
Speaker 1: certainly remember sitting down with you for my very first
Speaker 1: episode of In Case you missed It last summer at
Speaker 1: All Star. You were the very first person to walk
Speaker 1: through that door and sit down with me for this
Speaker 1: very show. So I appreciate you so so, so, so
Speaker 1: so much. I think that's kind of legendary, like being
Speaker 1: able to say I had DT on my first episode
Speaker 1: of this show. The show has already reached goat satus,
Speaker 1: but I think that the show was I just remember
Speaker 1: the interview being so funny, and she's like, this is
Speaker 1: really nice, and she just spoke life into the show
Speaker 1: and she was like, I had so much fun doing
Speaker 1: that interview. And I kind of heard when the door
Speaker 1: closed her talking to her PR team. It was like,
Speaker 1: this was really fun. I really enjoyed it. So it
Speaker 1: wasn't just like I'm here to do this interview, but
Speaker 1: she really enjoyed like being on the show. So DT,
Speaker 1: we can't wait to have you back. But happy retirement,
Speaker 1: enjoy all the things, celebrate take a shot for us.
Speaker 1: We appreciate everything that you've done for the game of
Speaker 1: women's basketball and beyond, and Chelsea, thank you for being
Speaker 1: on the show this this week to break down Yukon
Speaker 1: and to preview March Madness. We are going to look
Speaker 1: forward to everything that's happening in the tournament. Looking forward
Speaker 1: to selection Sunday as well. Thank you so much, Chelsea.
Speaker 2: Yes, thank you so much for having me. You know,
Speaker 2: I love doing this with you. I'm always down to
Speaker 2: beyond and yeah, looking forward to a really great tournament.
Speaker 2: So we're going to have to circle back on our
Speaker 2: predictions and things happens.
Speaker 1: Thank you absolutely well. I don't I'm not sure if
Speaker 1: we made one hundred percent sure predictions, but as we said,
Speaker 1: anybody can win on any given day. All right, y'all,
Speaker 1: we're going to take a quick little break and when
Speaker 1: we get back, we're going to be joined by Oregon
Speaker 1: women's basketball's Dasha Kelly, so stay with us. As you
Speaker 1: all know, Selections Sunday is slowly approaching, and it's about
Speaker 1: to be that time, March Madness, the time that we
Speaker 1: look forward to all year long and women's college hoops.
Speaker 1: Joining me this week on the show to break it
Speaker 1: all down and to talk about her prestigious collegiate career
Speaker 1: is Oregon Ducks point guard Daja Kelly. Deja. Welcome to
Speaker 1: the show.
Speaker 3: Hi, thank you for having me, Thanks.
Speaker 1: For being here. So I want to start off by
Speaker 1: asking a question that I tend to ask all of
Speaker 1: the guests that come through to the show, when did
Speaker 1: you first fall in love with basketball?
Speaker 6: Man, I have been playing basketball since I was like
Speaker 6: three years old. I want to say when I first
Speaker 6: started to kind of develop a passion was around like
Speaker 6: third grade. That's when my mom had first started a
Speaker 6: team for me. She already had her own organization and
Speaker 6: coached for a while, so I asked her to start
Speaker 6: a team for me, and that's kind of when I
Speaker 6: was like, Okay, I think this is something that I
Speaker 6: want to try to be really good at. I want
Speaker 6: to actually put the time in. Ever since then, it
Speaker 6: was just that's when I started writing down goals. We
Speaker 6: made goals together.
Speaker 3: That's when I.
Speaker 6: Started doing extra workouts, extra practices, just kind of starting
Speaker 6: to make those sacrifices if this was something that I
Speaker 6: really wanted to pursue in a huge light. So I
Speaker 6: want to say I was pretty young when I knew
Speaker 6: that this was my passion. And of course both my
Speaker 6: parents played basketball, so I kind of grew up around
Speaker 6: the game and watching them kind of be around it.
Speaker 3: So at a very early age was when I kind
Speaker 3: of fell in love with the game.
Speaker 1: You just mentioned how both your parents were collegiate athletes.
Speaker 1: How has that influenced the way that you approach the game?
Speaker 6: It just it gave me a different perspective at such
Speaker 6: a young age. I think just being able to talk
Speaker 6: with them about their experiences, asking them questions about, you know,
Speaker 6: what it would look like for me, just seeing if
Speaker 6: this was something that I wanted to do and wanted
Speaker 6: to really take on seriously. My dad went to Texas,
Speaker 6: so I was kind of always following in his footsteps
Speaker 6: at a young age, and that's when I had committed
Speaker 6: to Texas at an early age and seventh grade. And
Speaker 6: so I think just having that having my mom as
Speaker 6: a coach and my trainer, like, I think that instilled
Speaker 6: a different type of iq with playing the game. When
Speaker 6: you play for your mom or having your mom as
Speaker 6: a coach, I think that just gives you a different perspective.
Speaker 6: And just overall it's just kind of broadened my experience
Speaker 6: with basketball and again just really helping me tap into
Speaker 6: my passion with that, and they've guided me so much
Speaker 6: along the way. So overall, it's just it's been great
Speaker 6: to just have two parents who were both tapped into
Speaker 6: the sport.
Speaker 1: You mentioned your Texas roots. And you know, obviously the
Speaker 1: w NBA was embedded in Texas before with the San
Speaker 1: Antonio Stars now known as the Las Vegas Aces. How
Speaker 1: was it just growing up and just being able to see,
Speaker 1: you know, women reach the highest level of the sport.
Speaker 6: Oh man, it was amazing. We would go to the
Speaker 6: Silver Stars games all the time. I remember being at
Speaker 6: act man. Becky Hammond was my favorite player growing up.
Speaker 3: So I watched her a lot.
Speaker 6: I really idolized her and just wanted to play like her.
Speaker 6: I remember watching her distinctly Sophia Young like that whole
Speaker 6: that whole team was so fun to visualize as a
Speaker 6: young girl because I knew that that was I wanted
Speaker 6: to be on that floor one day and you know,
Speaker 6: be in their shoes, and that was something just being
Speaker 6: able to have that experience so young and just being
Speaker 6: able to see, Okay, this is what I want to
Speaker 6: really pursue. This is I want to be a professional.
Speaker 6: I want to be a pro. And just being able
Speaker 6: to have like that to look up to and continuously
Speaker 6: watch in my city, that was just a great experience
Speaker 6: for me and again just gave me a broader perspective
Speaker 6: at such a.
Speaker 1: Engaged, and I want to fast forward to now. So
Speaker 1: after spending four seasons that you and ce you made
Speaker 1: the decision to transfer to Morgan for your final year.
Speaker 1: What had what was the driving factor for that decision
Speaker 1: coming into your fifth year?
Speaker 3: It was a variety of things.
Speaker 6: There was a list of things that I was kind
Speaker 6: of looking at just to get out of my last year.
Speaker 6: For me, of course, being able to spend four years
Speaker 6: at Carolina, being able to graduate get my degree, that
Speaker 6: overall was just a phenomenal time that I had, and
Speaker 6: it allowed me to really build my brand and build
Speaker 6: my game and just overall just you know, it built
Speaker 6: my foundation from a collegiate standpoint. And I think that
Speaker 6: for my last year, I was really kind of just
Speaker 6: looking for what can just best help me prepare for
Speaker 6: the pros And because luckily we were blessed enough to
Speaker 6: be granted that fifth year, so I was like, why
Speaker 6: not try to take that extra time to get ready
Speaker 6: and prepare and be my best? And I think that's
Speaker 6: something that I was really looking for. Oregon has a
Speaker 6: different system, a different style of play, obviously a completely
Speaker 6: different experience, but I think the Oregan's offense is more
Speaker 6: pro style and lots of ball screens, being able to
Speaker 6: make reads on the fly. It's kind of just more
Speaker 6: free flow and I think that's something that will definitely
Speaker 6: help translate to the pros. And that's something that I
Speaker 6: kind of visualize myself just needing to get better at
Speaker 6: and a system that I needed to get better in.
Speaker 6: And that was just kind of a big step that
Speaker 6: I took in my last year. I didn't know what
Speaker 6: to expect, but from a basketball standpoint and like an
Speaker 6: analytical standpoint, that's kind of what I was looking for.
Speaker 6: And really just getting back to just having fun and
Speaker 6: just hooping. I think that was the biggest thing, and
Speaker 6: luckily I found that. It's been a great staff, of
Speaker 6: a great experience, great team, But overall, I think I've
Speaker 6: just seen my growth in a system like Oregon has,
Speaker 6: and just overall as a basketball player, the reads that
Speaker 6: I'm making that are different. Just being able to be
Speaker 6: a leader on the floor and in the true point
Speaker 6: guard that's just something that I've been able to grow
Speaker 6: at and that's what that's all I could have asked
Speaker 6: for in my last year. So it's been such a
Speaker 6: fun experience, but not done yet, of course, But that's
Speaker 6: really what I was looking for out of my fifth year.
Speaker 1: You talked about wanting to getting back to having fun.
Speaker 1: Was there a point in your collegiate career where you
Speaker 1: felt like you lost that joy?
Speaker 3: Yes, I think unfortunate.
Speaker 6: There's so much that comes with being a collegiate basketball player,
Speaker 6: and then NIL was kind of a big thing, so
Speaker 6: you're in this different light, and especially with the route
Speaker 6: that college basketball is going on, which is great because
Speaker 6: there's so many more eyes, there are bigger audiences, bigger
Speaker 6: fan bases, but sometimes it could get to a point
Speaker 6: where it's just, you know, it's it's exhausting at times,
Speaker 6: and if you don't know how to fully manage it
Speaker 6: and fully work through it, you can kind of just
Speaker 6: take yourself a hole. And I feel like that's kind
Speaker 6: of what I was in, especially last year, to where
Speaker 6: it was just, you know, I was just trying to
Speaker 6: struggling to just find the joy and playing. And of
Speaker 6: course I love the game of basketball. I love I
Speaker 6: have a passion for it, but I could just feel
Speaker 6: like that wasn't really there at that moment. So that's
Speaker 6: kind of what that was one of the biggest things
Speaker 6: I was searching for when leaving again, my passion for
Speaker 6: the game.
Speaker 3: Never went away. It was just like, how am I
Speaker 3: going to find out again?
Speaker 6: And just figuring out how to you know, help myself
Speaker 6: and build myself back up to how I know I
Speaker 6: can play to who I know Desia is overall as
Speaker 6: a player and as a person. So that was just
Speaker 6: kind of what I was looking for and wanted to
Speaker 6: find again.
Speaker 3: In terms of that.
Speaker 6: But the passion for the game never went away, but
Speaker 6: it was just, you know, it was just do I
Speaker 6: need a different environment to find that?
Speaker 3: And so far I have?
Speaker 1: Was there any specific thing that happened? And then I
Speaker 1: also want to touch on you brought up nil and
Speaker 1: I know that when you were a freshman, it kind
Speaker 1: of didn't exist, and then that next year there was
Speaker 1: a huge jump and obviously you've been able to grow
Speaker 1: your brand and a master of social media following and
Speaker 1: presence to over a million across all of your social
Speaker 1: media accounts. Just talk about how Anil has changed the
Speaker 1: game for you, and just going back to that point
Speaker 1: of was there anything specific that kind of turned for
Speaker 1: you in the last year.
Speaker 6: Yeah, Nio was a huge boost for everyone, but for
Speaker 6: me specifically. Yeah, our freshman year of course it was COVID.
Speaker 6: We were kind of on still rebuild, and that's what
Speaker 6: I knew that I was going into on my freshman year.
Speaker 6: I knew when I chose Caroline my goal was just
Speaker 6: to help put us back on the national map. And
Speaker 6: we've made a huge jump from that freshman year to
Speaker 6: sophomore year. And of course with Nil coming into play,
Speaker 6: that completely changed the landscape. That completely changed my life
Speaker 6: in such a different way because it automatically brings.
Speaker 3: More eyes, It automatically brings more attention just to.
Speaker 6: Not only your game, but you know, the social media aspect,
Speaker 6: and I think that was something that I was really
Speaker 6: trying to figure out once it first started, because it
Speaker 6: all happened so fast, I didn't expect to kind of
Speaker 6: do as well as I have since then. And it's
Speaker 6: been great, but I think there there are some downsides
Speaker 6: to it, and I think for me, it just took
Speaker 6: me a little while to try to figure out and
Speaker 6: navigate and kind of filter both of those the.
Speaker 3: Negative sides of things.
Speaker 6: And I think that overall that kind of carried over
Speaker 6: to not even to the court, I want to say
Speaker 6: it was mostly basketball, to where I was just like
Speaker 6: not feeling like myself, and I think it was it
Speaker 6: was a mix of, you know, just kind of my environment,
Speaker 6: the fan base that was it is kind of something
Speaker 6: that took a toll on me.
Speaker 3: And overall, I was just like, I think I just
Speaker 3: need a fresh start.
Speaker 6: And me, I was really content with I was here
Speaker 6: four years again, I'm getting my degree, I'm graduating. So
Speaker 6: I gave all I could to this program, and for me,
Speaker 6: I felt like I just needed kind of just a
Speaker 6: fresh start, a new experience, a new environment, and I
Speaker 6: think really it was going to help best prepare me
Speaker 6: for the next level for the pros, because you don't
Speaker 6: know where you're going to end up, you don't know
Speaker 6: what to expect, you don't know who you're going to
Speaker 6: play with, but you got to figure it out on
Speaker 6: the fly. And I think so that's that's why I'm
Speaker 6: super happy that I took that leap of faith to
Speaker 6: be able to leave my last year and you know,
Speaker 6: just kind of hope and pray that it was going
Speaker 6: to be a great experience for me and that I
Speaker 6: was going to get better from it. And overall I
Speaker 6: have just as a person, but more you know, of
Speaker 6: course as a player, because I've just learned so much.
Speaker 6: I've grown so much. I've seen the game in a
Speaker 6: different perspective, and overall, I'm just happy with my decision.
Speaker 1: And yeah, keeping the main thing the main thing and
Speaker 1: getting that fresh start, changing your perspective on basketball. I
Speaker 1: think that the Big Ten has taken, you know, the
Speaker 1: women's college basketball scene by storm. What has it been
Speaker 1: like being able to compete in the Big Ten and
Speaker 1: how's that shaped your game this season?
Speaker 6: Yeah, the Big Ten is a phenomenal conference. And from
Speaker 6: the other side, when I was at the ACC, I
Speaker 6: was like, oh, this is the best conference, like we are.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and the Big Ten is different.
Speaker 6: I mean the media coverage of course, like you just
Speaker 6: have way more eyes on you, which is great, but overall,
Speaker 6: just the consistent gauntlet that you're playing in. I mean
Speaker 6: we have I think it says as of now thirteen
Speaker 6: teams that are probably making the tournament. We have eighteen
Speaker 6: in the conference. So like every night you were playing
Speaker 6: against some other pros, future pros, you were playing against
Speaker 6: some really good team to have played together.
Speaker 3: For a while.
Speaker 6: So it was just it's been a great transition for me,
Speaker 6: and it took me a little bit to kind of
Speaker 6: get used to and just kind of figure out, you know,
Speaker 6: what I'm playing with and how to just play through
Speaker 6: a different system. But once I got you know, back
Speaker 6: to myself and you know, just getting my groove, I
Speaker 6: was like, this is but just overall seeing the experience
Speaker 6: and the conference, it was just like, this is something
Speaker 6: that you know, a lot of people should look at overall,
Speaker 6: the if you want to be battle tested every single night.
Speaker 3: If you want to really grow your game. It's a
Speaker 3: different style.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 6: Sometimes it's a little bit slower, it's kind of more
Speaker 6: big dominant some teams, and then you have some teams
Speaker 6: that are you know, faster paced, a little more guards.
Speaker 6: So I think you get it's really versatile too. You
Speaker 6: get an experience of it all. But it has been
Speaker 6: so much fun playing in the Big Ten and again
Speaker 6: I think it truly is probably one of the best
Speaker 6: or is the best conference in the country for sure.
Speaker 1: Obviously, Selection Sunday is coming up, and after Oregon's tough
Speaker 1: loss to Indiana and the Big Ten Tournament, you know,
Speaker 1: you guys are probably still processing that result. But how
Speaker 1: do you stay motivated as you kind of await that
Speaker 1: uncertainty heading into the selection Sunday?
Speaker 6: We've known that we were going to make the tournament.
Speaker 6: I know that we have. You know, we have the
Speaker 6: resume to prove it. We have the wins prove it.
Speaker 6: None of our losses were bad, so I think and
Speaker 6: just overall, just us being able to completely flip this
Speaker 6: program around from where it was last year with nine
Speaker 6: new faces, I think that's something that can't go unnoticed.
Speaker 6: So for us, you know, I think we're going into
Speaker 6: March Madness really confident and just excited.
Speaker 3: You know, we have a lot again, we have a
Speaker 3: lot of new.
Speaker 6: People who have never played in a postseason ever, and
Speaker 6: so I think that's just a fun experience. You get
Speaker 6: a different type of energy from the team and a
Speaker 6: different type of confidence. And just as a leader who
Speaker 6: has been there before too, I'm just trying to instill
Speaker 6: that in my teammates as well and just make sure
Speaker 6: everyone knows that we belong because we do. There was
Speaker 6: never any doubt that, you know, we might not make
Speaker 6: the tournament. We don't know, and of course you know,
Speaker 6: we'll see Sunday, but you know, there's there's no doubt.
Speaker 6: And I think for us, this is the best time
Speaker 6: of the year, and this is one of the best
Speaker 6: experiences that you'll ever have. So I think for our team,
Speaker 6: I think everyone's really understanding that. And you know, we
Speaker 6: got the Big Ten tournament kind of out of the way,
Speaker 6: like obviously that didn't go how we wanted. But I
Speaker 6: think we're going into March Madness and Selection Sunday just
Speaker 6: really excited for what's to come, really excited for the challenge,
Speaker 6: and we'll take.
Speaker 3: It a head on.
Speaker 1: You brought up how you've been able to lead the
Speaker 1: team in terms of having a new environment, a new roster,
Speaker 1: nine new players on your team. How would making the
Speaker 1: tournament feel in terms of like your personal journey just
Speaker 1: knowing all the things that you've been through in your
Speaker 1: collegiate career and the growth that you've experienced as a
Speaker 1: player and as a leader, as an athlete and as
Speaker 1: a leader.
Speaker 6: Yeah, from a personal standpoint, I think for me, it'll
Speaker 6: to be able to lead a team, my team to
Speaker 6: a tournament for five years. I think that's something that
Speaker 6: you know can't go overlooked, but it's just it's something
Speaker 6: that shows that how I can contribute to winning, my
Speaker 6: value to winning, my impact, and you know, obviously for
Speaker 6: the next level that just you know, that just gives
Speaker 6: a different light. But for us to have nine new
Speaker 6: players and be able to put that together really quick
Speaker 6: than a matter of a couple of months, and I
Speaker 6: think that was really impressive and something that honestly, I
Speaker 6: did not expect for us from the jump.
Speaker 3: It was just I knew that there was gonna be
Speaker 3: some growing pains.
Speaker 6: I knew that there was gonna it was gonna take
Speaker 6: time for us to do and sometimes I got lost
Speaker 6: and I forgot that kind of throughout the season. Like
Speaker 6: I mean, I you know, playing that well off each other,
Speaker 6: Like there are games and I'm like, we are new,
Speaker 6: so let me let me slow down, let me get
Speaker 6: this grace. But like, just for us to be able
Speaker 6: to figure that out, and again for me, it was
Speaker 6: it took me taking on an even bigger leadership role
Speaker 6: than I have had for four years to be able
Speaker 6: to help guide my team and kind of help us
Speaker 6: navigate through, you know, the challenges up and downs. But
Speaker 6: it's it's overall for us to be able to play
Speaker 6: how we played and have a winning season and finish
Speaker 6: eighth in the Big Ten. I think they had us
Speaker 6: finishing between like thirteen and fifteen, So you know, for
Speaker 6: us to be able to do that, I'm like dearrid,
Speaker 6: but yeah, like just for us to be able to
Speaker 6: do what we've done, and from a personal standpoint, for
Speaker 6: me to continue to keep the team that I'm playing
Speaker 6: on at a top level and playing at a high level,
Speaker 6: I think that just speaks volumes and it's something that
Speaker 6: I really take parte in.
Speaker 3: I really take pride.
Speaker 6: And being a leader and trying to be my best
Speaker 6: at that and doing whatever is needed for us to win,
Speaker 6: and doing whatever is needed for my team.
Speaker 3: So if that's really.
Speaker 6: Facilitating playmaking, great, If that's scoring when I need to,
Speaker 6: which is what I've kind of been having to do
Speaker 6: towards the end, great, And I think that, you know,
Speaker 6: for our team, that's something that we're super unselfish, and
Speaker 6: we have so many pieces and so many different things
Speaker 6: that people bring and everyone knows that and respects that.
Speaker 6: And for me, this is a team that I've been
Speaker 6: on that probably respects each other the most and expect
Speaker 6: respects each other's game and each other's value and really
Speaker 6: appreciates that. So it's definitely been a lot of fun
Speaker 6: overall just to be a.
Speaker 1: Part of Okay, y'all, it's time to pay some bills.
Speaker 1: But when we get back more from this conversation with
Speaker 1: Dasha Kelly, stay with us. When I think about the
Speaker 1: growth of the women's game, especially in the last several years,
Speaker 1: I feel like you've been in a thick of it
Speaker 1: in terms of having that COVID year, basing adversity, the
Speaker 1: March mad is Brandon being able to be being used
Speaker 1: now in twenty twenty two and beyond, and just the
Speaker 1: increase in visibility and the growth of the game. Personally,
Speaker 1: how has that shift in you know, the growth of
Speaker 1: the game been for you and where do you think
Speaker 1: it's headed for the future.
Speaker 6: It has shifted college sports, women's college basketball, and a
Speaker 6: magnitude of ways overall that we've seen. You know, you've
Speaker 6: seen the viewership, You've seen the fan bases grow, You've
Speaker 6: seen the tenants grow. I think for me personally, yeah,
Speaker 6: being in the thick of it seeing how it was
Speaker 6: from COVID to now is insane. How the jump has
Speaker 6: been made. But it took a lot of work. You know,
Speaker 6: it took a lot of players like me. You've seen
Speaker 6: so many big name players you know, speak up on
Speaker 6: and trying to help the matter and just really emphasize
Speaker 6: how important women's college basketball is, women's sports are in general,
Speaker 6: but just being able to really experience that and kind
Speaker 6: of shift that and be in the midst of it
Speaker 6: while it's shifting and changing. Being able to experience that
Speaker 6: growth as we've gone and as I've gotten to this
Speaker 6: point has been a lot of fun. It's just really
Speaker 6: cool to see how.
Speaker 3: So many people can who were so unaware, and.
Speaker 6: I think you would be, like, you know this, college
Speaker 6: basketball has been so much fun and March madness for
Speaker 6: a long time, but now that we have more eyes,
Speaker 6: it's just it takes to a whole another level.
Speaker 3: And you're you're talking about players you.
Speaker 6: Know in the same sentences as NBA players, as WNBA players.
Speaker 3: It's just it's just a hot topic of discussion.
Speaker 6: And for us to be able to have that to
Speaker 6: carry on once we leave college, once we enter the
Speaker 6: pros and so forth, I think that's something that has
Speaker 6: definitely been a great platform for us overall.
Speaker 3: On a good foundation.
Speaker 1: I think one of the things that is kind of
Speaker 1: crazy to me still is the time between when the
Speaker 1: tournament finish finishes in the WNBA Draft. Obviously, you continuously
Speaker 1: talked about wanting to be a pro. Will you declare
Speaker 1: for the twenty twenty five WNBA Draft?
Speaker 3: Yes? I will.
Speaker 6: Yes, I am super excited again. Just being able to
Speaker 6: have the fifth year to be able to continue to
Speaker 6: grow my game was great. But yes, I am finally
Speaker 6: excited to.
Speaker 3: Declare the job.
Speaker 6: I don't have no more years of eligibility, so no
Speaker 6: one asked me, so yes, I am declaring for the
Speaker 6: twenty twenty five draft.
Speaker 1: What do you hope w NBA gms and scouts know
Speaker 1: about you? About your game? What do you want them
Speaker 1: to know?
Speaker 6: I feel like there's so much, but no, I think
Speaker 6: for me overall, you know, in the four years that
Speaker 6: I was at Carolina, I think everyone GM's coaches have
Speaker 6: been able to see what I can do in terms
Speaker 6: of just my scoring ability, my playmaking ability, as well
Speaker 6: as just my competitiveness. I think that's something you can't teach,
Speaker 6: just having that killer mentality consistently and be able to
Speaker 6: try it and so that in my teammates as well.
Speaker 6: That's something that I consistently did at North Carolina. Now
Speaker 6: with a shift to Oregon, I think that something that
Speaker 6: I would want or would help gms and coaches see
Speaker 6: is one the ability to challenge myself. I mean that
Speaker 6: was a huge challenge to be able to take on
Speaker 6: and wanting to get better. I think that was something
Speaker 6: because going to Oregon, I knew that it was going
Speaker 6: to be again a different system and they see the
Speaker 6: type of style, the style of play that Oregon plays
Speaker 6: with and has played with for years with you know,
Speaker 6: Sabrina and Satoo. But yeah, just me being able to
Speaker 6: take that on, it shows that I wanted to grow
Speaker 6: my game just from mostly a playmaking standpoint.
Speaker 3: Everyone knows I can put the ball in the basket.
Speaker 6: That's what I've done my whole career, but just my
Speaker 6: playmaking ability and my leadership, you know, just really being
Speaker 6: taking control of a team and leading a team and
Speaker 6: running a team. I think that's something that has been
Speaker 6: a huge part of my growth and something that I
Speaker 6: would have to do at the next level. I think
Speaker 6: I'm probably a little too little to play, you know,
Speaker 6: off the ball, and you know we'll see.
Speaker 1: Business small guards get love to the w right exactly.
Speaker 6: But you know, I've always been a little bit of
Speaker 6: a combo guard, so just being versatile in that way,
Speaker 6: but also really just showing that I can again, like
Speaker 6: I said, runner team have the ball in my hands,
Speaker 6: be a point guard in that sense, a scoring, playmaking
Speaker 6: point guard, you know, just for them to see that
Speaker 6: and something that I've grown in in this past year again,
Speaker 6: and I think that's super important. And again just my
Speaker 6: impact to winning and how I contribute to winning in
Speaker 6: all different ways defensively, offensively, Like that's something that you know,
Speaker 6: just sacrificing for the team, and I think that's something
Speaker 6: that I hope they see and that I'm excited to
Speaker 6: continue to show in March Madness. But yeah, something that
Speaker 6: I've shown all year, so I'm really feeling good about it.
Speaker 6: I was really excited with my play and again my
Speaker 6: growth this season, so I know it'll.
Speaker 1: Pay off and I know it will as well. I
Speaker 1: know you mentioned that Becky Hammond was someone you watched
Speaker 1: growing up, But there is there any other w NBA
Speaker 1: player now, past or president that you sort of feel
Speaker 1: like inspired you or that you model your game after.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean there's been a number that have inspired me.
Speaker 6: I grew up watching basketball since I started playing, just
Speaker 6: with my mom being a coach, she always had it
Speaker 6: on the TV. So I'm sitting there with her watching
Speaker 6: and I'm like who's that okay cool noted like, and
Speaker 6: then I just grew up watching them. But yes, Becky
Speaker 6: Hammond was definitely one of the first that I grew up.
Speaker 6: I probably I probably have so many pictures of me
Speaker 6: at games with her, But once I really started watching
Speaker 6: like college basketball, Skyler Diggens of course, was like the
Speaker 6: blueprint for me. Just watching her, you know, competitiveness at
Speaker 6: Notre Dame and her fierceness and then her ability to
Speaker 6: be you know, the business woman that she is off
Speaker 6: the court. That was truly admirable. But you know, I
Speaker 6: grew up watching my More and Diana Tarrossi and Chelsea Gray.
Speaker 3: So as of late, I think for me, just.
Speaker 6: Chelsea Gray is a big one, especially in the mid range,
Speaker 6: but just as a point guard, just me really watching
Speaker 6: and trying to, you know, see her playmaking and see
Speaker 6: how she creates feathers as well as creates for herself.
Speaker 6: And someone else that I watched really closely this past
Speaker 6: year was Courtney Williams.
Speaker 1: I think her, Yeah, Vidy is crazy is and for me,
Speaker 1: you know, that is my bread and butter.
Speaker 6: So just watching how she gets to her spots as
Speaker 6: well as watching how she helped run her team, So
Speaker 6: I think it's just a good mix.
Speaker 3: Those are kind of people that I've watched. I watched
Speaker 3: Kelsey plom you know.
Speaker 6: Her scoring ability, how she can get downhill and create
Speaker 6: her own shot. So I think, uh, you know, I
Speaker 6: don't really try to model my game after anybody necessarily,
Speaker 6: but I definitely do try to take business pieces and
Speaker 6: you know, try to make it to you just added
Speaker 6: to my game. And there's so many good players in
Speaker 6: the league. There's so many good players out of the
Speaker 6: league as well, but so much to learn from, so
Speaker 6: many people to learn from. And again, just having that
Speaker 6: growing up and just continue to watch and watch these
Speaker 6: players grow as well into what they are now has
Speaker 6: been such a blessing. And I'm just they're they're great
Speaker 6: for our game. It's great to have them to kind
Speaker 6: of look up to.
Speaker 3: For sure.
Speaker 1: I think that speaks to the testament of the growth
Speaker 1: of this sport, because I remember a time where people
Speaker 1: did not even know or could not name a women's
Speaker 1: basketball player, or even years ago where collegiate players like
Speaker 1: I don't watch the w and it's like, how do
Speaker 1: you want to be a pro? You don't right watch it?
Speaker 1: So I think that is great that there's like a
Speaker 1: new generation of college players who you know are watching
Speaker 1: or who are growing up with the game. You mentioned
Speaker 1: how Skyler digg and Smith, how her being a businesswoman
Speaker 1: inspired you to, you know, handle your business off the court.
Speaker 1: Talk about some of your off the court initiatives and
Speaker 1: your aspirations of wanting to be in broadcasting one day.
Speaker 6: Yes, that is something that I have kind of grown
Speaker 6: a passion for leading up to college, and then of
Speaker 6: course once I got into school, that was my major.
Speaker 6: That's what I was really studying and just really wanted
Speaker 6: to tap into. Of course, I think growing up watching
Speaker 6: so much basketball, I saw all the pregame interviews, I
Speaker 6: saw all the postgame interviews, like I would stay to
Speaker 6: watch all of those, and that became something I was like, Oh,
Speaker 6: this is something that I can do and I want
Speaker 6: to do.
Speaker 3: And when I was younger, my mom always had me.
Speaker 6: In front of the camera, so I was like I
Speaker 6: could be in front of the camera. But then just
Speaker 6: being able to talk the game. I know, I have
Speaker 6: a high IQ. And then as I got older and
Speaker 6: really started studying it and getting hands on practice and
Speaker 6: being able to shadow. I was shadowing Andrea Carter I've
Speaker 6: had conversations with Taylor Rooks, Malika Andrews, just being able
Speaker 6: to get some knowledge from them and really make sure
Speaker 6: that this was the route that I wanted to take
Speaker 6: in one is and again once I got to Oregon,
Speaker 6: the Big ten Network being as big as it is,
Speaker 6: being able to get some hands on practice with them
Speaker 6: as sideline with Color has been such a fun experience,
Speaker 6: and that's definitely something I want to pursue. That's more
Speaker 6: so for like longevity, but of course if the opportunity
Speaker 6: is there while I'm still playing or in the off
Speaker 6: season whatever that looks like, I would definitely love to
Speaker 6: pursue that career as well, you know, like Leah Boston's doing,
Speaker 6: like Candice did, Chelsea Gray did it for the ACC
Speaker 6: Network with us. So just being able to see that,
Speaker 6: I know that that's something I can also pursue as well,
Speaker 6: and that's a great career. I mean for me, I'm
Speaker 6: just really excited to tap into it, and I'm really
Speaker 6: blessed to have already had some practice and experience before
Speaker 6: I even leave school.
Speaker 1: All Right, so before you get out of here, I'm
Speaker 1: going to ask you to put on your analyst hat
Speaker 1: and take away the fact that you know you're currently
Speaker 1: playing in college basketball. So as March approaches, well we're
Speaker 1: already in March, but like March Madness, as it approaches,
Speaker 1: what excites you about the tournament? And who do you
Speaker 1: have as a sleeper team analysts?
Speaker 6: Okay, okay, the player because I don't be biased, I
Speaker 6: think for March Madness, I think the most exciting thing
Speaker 6: is we've seen such a the top teams fluctuates, and
Speaker 6: you've seen so many different teams one, see two, see all,
Speaker 6: I think, and you've seen so many upsets already throughout
Speaker 6: the whole season. So I think for March Madness, you
Speaker 6: can expect it to be just exciting as it always
Speaker 6: has been.
Speaker 3: But I think.
Speaker 6: We'll probably see a little bit of some upsets, We'll
Speaker 6: probably see some surprises. But I think you know this,
Speaker 6: this is when everyone shines, and we're the big names,
Speaker 6: big players shine.
Speaker 3: So I'm really excited to see that.
Speaker 6: Of course, and I think a big sleeper team from
Speaker 6: an analyst standpoint, I think it would have to be
Speaker 6: Oregon women's basketball.
Speaker 3: Of course, that's my choice.
Speaker 6: But they have a great squad, we have a great
Speaker 6: some great players, just a great system. Overall and they
Speaker 6: can defend their bets off. So Oregon is my choice
Speaker 6: for the sleeper team.
Speaker 1: Keeping that analysts is on Styeah, keeping it on, keeping
Speaker 1: it on. Page Becker's is projected to be the number
Speaker 1: one overall pick in the twenty twenty five draft. What
Speaker 1: do you see about her game that stands out to you?
Speaker 1: And as a competitor, As a competitor and as an analyst.
Speaker 6: She's just so she's so efficient in her movements. You know,
Speaker 6: when I've seen her and played against her as well,
Speaker 6: you know she was hard to guard because it was
Speaker 6: she's constantly moving. She's constantly setting experience for others, which
Speaker 6: gets her more open.
Speaker 3: And I think she does.
Speaker 6: A lot of her scoring and just movements and very
Speaker 6: few dribbles, which I think is impressive. And again just
Speaker 6: her playmaking ability at her size as well, that's that's
Speaker 6: really impressive. Page is a great player, she always has been,
Speaker 6: and I think she's so humble about it too. I
Speaker 6: think that's something that you know, as a as a competitor,
Speaker 6: you like to see they right now they have us
Speaker 6: in their in their region, so I'm like, hopefully we'll
Speaker 6: play them again, which I would be really excited about
Speaker 6: being Paige or friends easy all them, so we kind
Speaker 6: of grew up friends, so I would be excited to,
Speaker 6: you know, play against them. And but yeah, I mean,
Speaker 6: Paige is definitely a great player. Everyone knows that she
Speaker 6: is exactly who people think she is and exactly the
Speaker 6: player that people think she is. So yeah, I'm excited
Speaker 6: to see, you know, what she does in the future
Speaker 6: as well, and obviously wish the best to her.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, Weldasia, It's been a pleasure having you on the
Speaker 1: show this week. Wishing you all the best for selection
Speaker 1: Sunday and beyond, and I'm really looking forward to seeing
Speaker 1: you in the w n B A one day. Thank
Speaker 1: you so much for joining us this week.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1: All Right, chall we're gonna take another quick break and
Speaker 1: when we get back, it's the Things that I Love
Speaker 1: this week. Welcome back to in case you missed it
Speaker 1: with Christina Williams, and I just want to thank both
Speaker 1: Chelsea Charad and Dasha Kelly once again for dropping through
Speaker 1: to the show this week as we get into March madness.
Speaker 1: But for now, it's time for my favorite part of
Speaker 1: the show. Here's the Things that I Love this week. Okay.
Speaker 1: Also at the top of the show, I talked about
Speaker 1: how it's been a little bit of a hiatus for
Speaker 1: the show. The girl has been traveling, celebrating my birthday,
Speaker 1: moving a lot of different things. Okay, So one of
Speaker 1: the things that I love this week was being able
Speaker 1: to travel. I guess I've been all over the place.
Speaker 1: I went to Nashville to for AU Athlete to Limited
Speaker 1: Basketball for their championship weekend and Matti Segris was named
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty five AU champion. But what I loved
Speaker 1: about being in Nashville was being able to just take
Speaker 1: a step back and hang out with my friends. Shout
Speaker 1: out to the brunch crew was with Tarika Fostin Rasbee
Speaker 1: front to the show and Katot You guys may remember
Speaker 1: him from the top New York Countdowns show. Yeah, we
Speaker 1: had a time in Nashville. Shout out to Izzy Harrison though,
Speaker 1: because we went out to watch a Dironte Davis fight
Speaker 1: in Nashville and we went to this restaurant where they
Speaker 1: told us it would be a thirty five minute wait
Speaker 1: for a table, and so we waited past thirty five
Speaker 1: minutes and then at the like the forty minute Mark
Speaker 1: is He Harrison, who is the newest member of the
Speaker 1: New York Liberty. She walked into the bar and she
Speaker 1: says to the host I know you guys all have
Speaker 1: my friends sitting down waiting for a table, and I
Speaker 1: kids you not, I kid you not. The hostess didn't
Speaker 1: even look to see through there was a table free. Automatically,
Speaker 1: there was a table free for us, and we didn't
Speaker 1: have to wait in the lobby of the restaurant. And
Speaker 1: not only did they give us a table, they gave
Speaker 1: us a VIP booth and gave us extra food. So
Speaker 1: after that weekend, I nicknamed Izzy Harrison the Mayor of Nashville,
Speaker 1: because obviously she's from Nashville, played for Tennessee. He was
Speaker 1: there for AU But literally she said, I know you
Speaker 1: guys all have my friends waiting, And it was a
Speaker 1: joking matter, not like a stuck up snobby. It was
Speaker 1: like a really playful matter, and they gave us the
Speaker 1: table right away. So shout out to Izzy Harrison, the
Speaker 1: Mayor of Nashville, and I'm looking forward to seeing you
Speaker 1: in the New York Liberty colors in the WNBA season.
Speaker 1: I also enjoyed going to Puerto Rico y'all. I spent
Speaker 1: a lot of time in pr for my birthday and
Speaker 1: just to take a quick reset. As a pisc's girly,
Speaker 1: I appreciate the water, so I loved being at the beach,
Speaker 1: being able to take in all the sun before it
Speaker 1: came back to New York City for the cold weather.
Speaker 1: But I guess it kind of warmed up this week.
Speaker 1: But yeah, that's the thing that I love she just
Speaker 1: spending time with my friends, being able to have a
Speaker 1: quick reset for the craziness of the tournament starts and
Speaker 1: also the w NBA season. Sometimes it's just okay to
Speaker 1: not feel guilty about having a little reset. But I'm
Speaker 1: so excited to be back here with you guys after
Speaker 1: our little NBA All Star hiatus. I hope you enjoyed
Speaker 1: the last few episodes of the show. I certainly had
Speaker 1: a great time in San Francisco filming with Cheryl Swoops
Speaker 1: and Turka Fossil Brasby at Club thirty. Shout out to
Speaker 1: Steph Curry as well, and also breaking news, Steph Curry
Speaker 1: was named an investor for Unrival Basketball. So love that
Speaker 1: he is taking the initiative to continue to use his
Speaker 1: platform to invest in the next generation of athletes, especially
Speaker 1: women athletes. So shout out to Steph Curry, thank you
Speaker 1: again for you and your team hosting us. The NBA
Speaker 1: all start at Club thirty for our shows, and that's
Speaker 1: gonna do it. For this week's things that I Love,
Speaker 1: I guess it was a lot of things that I
Speaker 1: love because it's been about three weeks, y'all, So don't
Speaker 1: forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast, and
Speaker 1: we'll be back next week with special guests Christina. Anyway,
Speaker 1: So see you next week in case you missed it
Speaker 1: with Christina Williams is an iHeart women's sports production in
Speaker 1: partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find
Speaker 1: us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: get your podcasts.