1
00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:02,680
Speaker 1: Welcome to a good game with Sarah Spain, where we

2
00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:06,520
Speaker 1: can't stop moniaghally and enthusiastically waving at everyone we pass

3
00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:09,080
Speaker 1: on the street, just like Sidney Colson waved at NFL

4
00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,280
Speaker 1: quarterback Joe Burrow. Peep the video in the show notes.

5
00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,120
Speaker 1: It's Wednesday, December eighteenth, and on today's show, we'll be

6
00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,640
Speaker 1: talking to USC women's basketball megastar Juju Watkins and head

7
00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:21,520
Speaker 1: coach Lindsay Gottlieb about their electric ten to one start

8
00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,200
Speaker 1: to the season, Juju's mogul status, and returning the USC

9
00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,200
Speaker 1: program to its former glory. Plus, there's a ton of

10
00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,280
Speaker 1: money moving in the women's basketball space. Pro softball players

11
00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,800
Speaker 1: are banding together, and we've got some of your favee

12
00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,600
Speaker 1: women's sports pop culture references to share. It's all coming

13
00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:49,720
Speaker 1: up right after this Welcome Backslices. Here's what you need

14
00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:55,240
Speaker 1: to know today in soccer news. We can't believe we're

15
00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,080
Speaker 1: saying this, but US women's national team defender, former captain,

16
00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,600
Speaker 1: two time World Cup champion, and Olympic gold medalist Becky

17
00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,920
Speaker 1: Souerbrunn confirmed on Tuesday that she's retiring from professional soccer.

18
00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,199
Speaker 1: Via a post on Instagram, she posted a slide show

19
00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,479
Speaker 1: featuring some of the most memorable moments of her career,

20
00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,320
Speaker 1: with a caption that began, quote, it's time you work hard.

21
00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,479
Speaker 1: You take each moment, and then it happens. You wake

22
00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,160
Speaker 1: up one day and realize you're still dreaming, And then

23
00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,280
Speaker 1: you work even harder to do the impossible, to hold

24
00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:25,920
Speaker 1: on to that dream, to shape it, to stretch it

25
00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:28,440
Speaker 1: out for as long as you can, knowing full well

26
00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:30,399
Speaker 1: that one day you would either have to let it

27
00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:32,720
Speaker 1: go or watch it slip from your grasp. But you

28
00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,319
Speaker 1: do it anyway because it's worth it. End quote. That's

29
00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:38,360
Speaker 1: just the beginning. Oh, I can't read anymore without crying.

30
00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:40,080
Speaker 1: So we're just going to link to her full Instagram

31
00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,640
Speaker 1: post in our show notes and remind you that the

32
00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:44,360
Speaker 1: thirty nine year old is one of the US women's

33
00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,000
Speaker 1: national team's most beloved players, having earned two hundred and

34
00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,520
Speaker 1: nineteen caps over the span of a sixteen year international career.

35
00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,080
Speaker 1: She also played in every season of the National Women's

36
00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,040
Speaker 1: Soccer League for FC Kansas City, the Utah Royals, and

37
00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,000
Speaker 1: the Portland Thorns. She won two championships with Kansas City,

38
00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,600
Speaker 1: won with Portland, and was a four time NWSL Defender

39
00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,279
Speaker 1: of the Year. Shout out to Claire Watkins at scout

40
00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,880
Speaker 1: Ripley on X who reminded us that we don't just

41
00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:10,600
Speaker 1: love Becky for what she gave us on the field,

42
00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,000
Speaker 1: but also for the way she approached the game. Claire

43
00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:15,840
Speaker 1: posted on X quote always loved this quote from Becky

44
00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,480
Speaker 1: Sowerbrun a few years ago. Quote. I would say that

45
00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,040
Speaker 1: I would hope that I'm remembered, but that I'm not missed,

46
00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:23,480
Speaker 1: because if I'm missed, then I didn't do my job.

47
00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,240
Speaker 1: But if I'm remembered that I had an impact, and

48
00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,919
Speaker 1: I would be just fine with that end quote. We'll

49
00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:33,760
Speaker 1: remember you so hard, Becky. More footing news. Emma Hayes,

50
00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:35,560
Speaker 1: who led the US women's national team to the Olympic

51
00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,880
Speaker 1: gold medal in Paris in just her tenth match as

52
00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,280
Speaker 1: the team said coach, has been named the Best FIFA

53
00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:42,720
Speaker 1: Women's Coach of the Year for twenty twenty four. Three

54
00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,079
Speaker 1: key members of that gold medal winning side, captain and

55
00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,799
Speaker 1: midfielder Lindsay Horan, defender Naomi Germa, and goalkeeper Alissa Nayer,

56
00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,680
Speaker 1: were named the Best FIFA Women's eleven and by virtue

57
00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:53,680
Speaker 1: of her being named to the Best eleven Neyor won

58
00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,800
Speaker 1: the Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper for twenty twenty four. Not

59
00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,440
Speaker 1: a bad way to end a career, Uncle Nayor. And finally,

60
00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,560
Speaker 1: we're sending a big old congrats to Marta, Brazilian soccer

61
00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:07,000
Speaker 1: legend and recent NWSL champion with the Orlando Pride, for

62
00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:11,239
Speaker 1: winning the inaugural FIFA Marta Award. We know what you're thinking,

63
00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,040
Speaker 1: and yes, it is named after her. The award was

64
00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,679
Speaker 1: introduced this year to recognize the best goal in women's football,

65
00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:19,720
Speaker 1: and the thirty eight year old won it for a

66
00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,920
Speaker 1: stunning solo scoring effort back in June against Jamaica and

67
00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:25,400
Speaker 1: an international friendly. We'll link to a video of that

68
00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:27,480
Speaker 1: goal in our show notes. I don't know can you

69
00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:29,240
Speaker 1: create award called the Marta and then not give it

70
00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:31,960
Speaker 1: to Marta. I mean, there were other nominees, but it

71
00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:34,920
Speaker 1: just feels right. In college basketball news, there's a new

72
00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,520
Speaker 1: tournament in town, South Carolina. UCLA, Duke and Texas will

73
00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,000
Speaker 1: compete in the Player's Era Women's Championship next season around

74
00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:44,840
Speaker 1: robin event in Las Vegas that'll happen during Thanksgiving week.

75
00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,360
Speaker 1: The tournament will give athletes on each team the chance

76
00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,960
Speaker 1: to engage in at least one million dollars of NIL

77
00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,160
Speaker 1: activities with the title group and sponsors. South Carolina head

78
00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:56,560
Speaker 1: coach John Staley spoke highly of the tournament, which took

79
00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:58,320
Speaker 1: place on the men's side for the first time just

80
00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,240
Speaker 1: last month. She told the AP quote, We're excited to

81
00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:03,760
Speaker 1: be among the first women's teams invited to play in

82
00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,480
Speaker 1: the Player's Era Women's Championship. This innovative event brings together

83
00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,680
Speaker 1: everything we're looking for, quality games early in the season,

84
00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,080
Speaker 1: a great location for fans to come and enjoy, and

85
00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:17,400
Speaker 1: nil opportunities for our players end quote. Super exciting stuff,

86
00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,720
Speaker 1: especially with so many concerns swirling about top teams lacking

87
00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,240
Speaker 1: strength of schedule early in the season. This is going

88
00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,360
Speaker 1: to help. Kind of wish the women's tournament would have

89
00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:27,039
Speaker 1: started up this year too, though, because of how well

90
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,240
Speaker 1: the game Cocks, UCLA, Duke Texas, all ranked in the

91
00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,240
Speaker 1: top ten, have been to start this season. But got

92
00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:37,680
Speaker 1: something to look forward to next year. More college basketball entrepreneur, philanthropists,

93
00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,679
Speaker 1: husband of tennis legend Serena Williams and University of Virginia

94
00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:44,039
Speaker 1: alum Alexis Ohanian has made what his alma Mater called

95
00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,719
Speaker 1: a multi year transformational gift to its women's basketball program,

96
00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,480
Speaker 1: good for the largest gift in program history. The exact

97
00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,040
Speaker 1: dollar amount has not been disclosed. This is nothing new

98
00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:56,080
Speaker 1: for Ohanian. He's got a track record of investing in

99
00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,400
Speaker 1: women's sports. He's an investor in Angels CITYFC of the NWSL,

100
00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,000
Speaker 1: raed the off season and WSL reality series with Gotham

101
00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:05,680
Speaker 1: FC forward Mitch Purse, and now his hope is that

102
00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:07,960
Speaker 1: this gift can help UVA return to its form from

103
00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,000
Speaker 1: the nineties, when folks like Don Staley propelled the team

104
00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,960
Speaker 1: to deep runs in the NCAA tournament on a regular basis.

105
00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:17,479
Speaker 1: More Hoops News and more Don Staley, She and USC

106
00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,600
Speaker 1: starred Juju Watkins are among those who contributed cash to

107
00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,080
Speaker 1: the unrivaled women's three on three league's latest investment round,

108
00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,479
Speaker 1: which raked in a whopping twenty eight million dollars per

109
00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,240
Speaker 1: sport Ago. That round brings unrivals total capital rays to

110
00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,440
Speaker 1: thirty five million before a single game has even been

111
00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,560
Speaker 1: played now. For reference, the WNBA brought in seventy five

112
00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,960
Speaker 1: million in the league's first ever capital raise back in

113
00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:43,679
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, just after concluding its twenty fifth season.

114
00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,599
Speaker 1: Unrivaled has an eight million dollars salary pool and is

115
00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,680
Speaker 1: already paying each of its thirty six players an average

116
00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:52,839
Speaker 1: salary higher than the regular max contract of two hundred

117
00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,159
Speaker 1: and fourteen thousand plus for the twenty twenty five WNBA season.

118
00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:59,919
Speaker 1: More Unrivaled news, Los Angeles Sparks forward Cam Brink a

119
00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:01,479
Speaker 1: deal to play in the league.

120
00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:01,640
Speaker 2: Now.

121
00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:03,760
Speaker 1: She won't suit up this season, she's still making her

122
00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:06,599
Speaker 1: way back from an acltair suffer during a WNBA game

123
00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,000
Speaker 1: back in June, but her multi year deal means she

124
00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,080
Speaker 1: will take the court for the Lunar Owls Basketball Club

125
00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,640
Speaker 1: during the twenty twenty six Unrivaled season. Think we're done

126
00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,000
Speaker 1: with hoops today, while we are not, because we've got

127
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,800
Speaker 1: some WNBA news. Per ESPN's Sham Sharania. On Tuesday, Las

128
00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,320
Speaker 1: Vegas ASA star Asia Wilson is signing a six year

129
00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,479
Speaker 1: contract extension with Nike in one of the richest shoe

130
00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,440
Speaker 1: deals for a women's basketball player ever. The three time

131
00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,840
Speaker 1: WNBA MVP and two time champ will Ink this deal

132
00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,400
Speaker 1: after being named to Nike's roster of signature athletes back

133
00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,279
Speaker 1: in May and following the announcement of her signature shoe

134
00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,440
Speaker 1: that A one set to release before the next WNBA

135
00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:46,080
Speaker 1: season in spring of twenty twenty five. In Softball News,

136
00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:48,320
Speaker 1: a group of more than sixty softball players have formed

137
00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:52,800
Speaker 1: the Professional Women's Softball Players Association, abbreviated as the PWSPA.

138
00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:55,560
Speaker 1: The group says it aims to amplify athlete voices and

139
00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,200
Speaker 1: foster the growth of professional softball, and is calling for

140
00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,839
Speaker 1: things like minimum salaries, comprehensive how healthcare coverage, and childcare assistants.

141
00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:04,359
Speaker 1: The news comes after several players spoke out about the

142
00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:07,119
Speaker 1: working conditions during the twenty twenty four Women's Professional fast

143
00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:09,559
Speaker 1: Pitch season, with players on one of the teams saying

144
00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:11,840
Speaker 1: that there were missed payments and that they were provided

145
00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:16,680
Speaker 1: with inadequate facilities and housing. Got to take a quick

146
00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,320
Speaker 1: break when we come back striking the right balance With

147
00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:28,520
Speaker 1: Juju Watkins and Lindsay Gottlieb, it's time for another group

148
00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:30,080
Speaker 1: chat where we take the tea from the text to

149
00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,680
Speaker 1: put it on the airwaves. This time it's with USC

150
00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,280
Speaker 1: Basketball joining us. She's the head coach of the USC Trojans,

151
00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:38,720
Speaker 1: previously the head coach of the UC Santa Barbara Gaucho's

152
00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:41,440
Speaker 1: and the California Golden Bears, and a former assistant coach

153
00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,200
Speaker 1: for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the MNBA. In her second

154
00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,120
Speaker 1: season with cal she led the team to their first

155
00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:48,600
Speaker 1: final foreign school history, was named PAC twelve Coach of

156
00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:50,520
Speaker 1: the Year by the media, and What's one of four

157
00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,240
Speaker 1: finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year. Hooper

158
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:56,040
Speaker 1: herself at Brown University, she played while also acting as

159
00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,640
Speaker 1: a student assistant working with the coaching staff, and she's

160
00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:01,760
Speaker 1: been a professional coach since the day after she graduated college.

161
00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,280
Speaker 1: She's not related to Doug Gottlieb, and she, like me,

162
00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:06,680
Speaker 1: comes from a family of lawyers. It's coach, Lindsay Gottlieb.

163
00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,480
Speaker 3: What's up, Coach, Hey, Sarah, how are you? I've been

164
00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:11,680
Speaker 3: called a lot of things, Hooper was never one of them,

165
00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:13,040
Speaker 3: so I appreciate that.

166
00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,920
Speaker 1: We're gonna give it to you. You played account alongside her.

167
00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:18,840
Speaker 1: She's the star of the USC Trojan's Team and the

168
00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:21,559
Speaker 1: star of the sixth part NBC and Peacock DOCU series

169
00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:24,559
Speaker 1: On the Rise Juju Watkins. In her first season at USC,

170
00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,240
Speaker 1: she was named unanimous First Team All American, won the

171
00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:29,840
Speaker 1: ann Meyers Drysdale Award, presented annually to the best shooting

172
00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,320
Speaker 1: guard in the NCUBA, and she led USC to the

173
00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,239
Speaker 1: Elite eight. She received National Freshman at the Year recognition

174
00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:37,840
Speaker 1: and set the nc double A Division one freshman scoring

175
00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:40,240
Speaker 1: record as a high school senior. On senior Night, she

176
00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:43,679
Speaker 1: scored a career high sixty points and was named California

177
00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,560
Speaker 1: Gatorade Player of the Year, Miss Basketball, Gateorade National Player

178
00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:48,360
Speaker 1: of the Year, and Naysmith Prep Player of the Year.

179
00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:50,640
Speaker 1: Ranked the number one recruit in her class by ESPN,

180
00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:53,200
Speaker 1: she signed with Clutch Sports Group while still in high school,

181
00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,200
Speaker 1: becoming the first female athlete represented by the agency. She's

182
00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:58,920
Speaker 1: got nil deals with tons of brands, including Nike, and

183
00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,600
Speaker 1: in October she extended or contract with them, signing a

184
00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:04,559
Speaker 1: shoe deal, making it one of the richest shoe endorsement

185
00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:09,640
Speaker 1: deals and women's basketball Get that bag, girl. It's Juju watkids,

186
00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:11,480
Speaker 1: what's up? Jujuo?

187
00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:12,280
Speaker 2: How are you?

188
00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,000
Speaker 1: I'm good, but I spent a long time trying to

189
00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:17,880
Speaker 1: get your bio down to a reasonable number of minutes,

190
00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,920
Speaker 1: because good lord, you are already so accomplished, and I'm

191
00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,080
Speaker 1: so excited to talk to both of you, so much

192
00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,240
Speaker 1: fun to watch this season and last season, the last

193
00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:28,839
Speaker 1: couple of years. As the program continues to rise and coach,

194
00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:30,840
Speaker 1: I want to start with you. Currently ranked number seven

195
00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,480
Speaker 1: in the nation ten and one. Tell me about the culture.

196
00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:35,760
Speaker 1: Tell me about the vibe of this year's team.

197
00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:40,080
Speaker 3: This year's team is incredibly fun to be around. You know,

198
00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,560
Speaker 3: the way college athletics is, you're always adding new pieces,

199
00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,560
Speaker 3: whether it be freshmen. We have big freshman class this

200
00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,959
Speaker 3: year and some portal transfers, so it's a little bit

201
00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,520
Speaker 3: different every year. That's the fun of it. But I

202
00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:53,280
Speaker 3: think we have a group that really gets along off

203
00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,079
Speaker 3: the court, very serious minded on the court. You know,

204
00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,359
Speaker 3: I think the big word for us this year as expectations.

205
00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:00,840
Speaker 3: They're here, We're not running for them. It's a lot

206
00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,679
Speaker 3: at times, but I think as long as we can

207
00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:06,199
Speaker 3: kind of keep the joy and keep the standard high,

208
00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:08,200
Speaker 3: then you enjoy coming to work every day, and then

209
00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,280
Speaker 3: you enjoy the grind and we're going to see where

210
00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:12,439
Speaker 3: that takes us, which which we hope is pretty far.

211
00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:17,000
Speaker 1: Expectations include a lot of celebs sitting courtside, a lot

212
00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,280
Speaker 1: of hype about the LA rivalry with the team across town,

213
00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,040
Speaker 1: use CLA. Have you found that that's helped you to

214
00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:24,960
Speaker 1: drum up even more support and excitement?

215
00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:25,200
Speaker 2: Coach?

216
00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:29,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think this is unprecedented what we're experiencing.

217
00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,040
Speaker 3: I said it last year. A lot of it, I

218
00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,760
Speaker 3: mean is because of the young woman that's sitting with us.

219
00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,600
Speaker 3: Juju is a magnet. She's really exciting. There's also two

220
00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:40,360
Speaker 3: really good basketball teams, and you know we have other

221
00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:42,800
Speaker 3: good players too, but there's a level I think of

222
00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:45,920
Speaker 3: celebrity and the tension that that only comes when you

223
00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:47,760
Speaker 3: have that kind of star power. And it's really neat

224
00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:49,839
Speaker 3: to see it happen in LA. It's really neat to

225
00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:52,280
Speaker 3: see it happen for women's basketball. But there's no question

226
00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,040
Speaker 3: it adds a flavor to it that you know, we

227
00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:57,360
Speaker 3: embrace and every day we just try and put the

228
00:10:57,400 --> 00:10:59,480
Speaker 3: best basketball team, you know, on the court. We can

229
00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:02,280
Speaker 3: where we're work in progress for sure, but the stuff

230
00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:04,480
Speaker 3: that's come with it, I think is good for women's basketball,

231
00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:07,400
Speaker 3: and it's certainly good for women's basketball in LA. Yeah.

232
00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,760
Speaker 1: We love an organic rivalry to help drum up storylines

233
00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,000
Speaker 1: and pit people against each other, even if they're best friends.

234
00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:14,640
Speaker 1: We don't care. We're going to make it a rivalry

235
00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,120
Speaker 1: and we're going to love to tell the stories about it. Juju,

236
00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:19,760
Speaker 1: you really could have gone anywhere to play South Carolina.

237
00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:21,800
Speaker 1: Stanford high on the list. Why did you end up

238
00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:22,480
Speaker 1: choosing USC?

239
00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:25,839
Speaker 2: You know, for so many reasons, I chose this, see,

240
00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:29,040
Speaker 2: but I think one of the biggest thing that stood

241
00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:34,400
Speaker 2: out was just the culture here. This staff, coach Lindsay,

242
00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:37,840
Speaker 2: all the assistant coaches. I just you know, got a

243
00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,920
Speaker 2: really good vibe here, and you know, I kind of

244
00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,679
Speaker 2: feel like everything fell into place in perfect time and

245
00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:45,679
Speaker 2: making my decision and.

246
00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:49,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, coach, what do you remember about the recruiting process?

247
00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:52,480
Speaker 3: Well, the first thing I'll say is, you know, she

248
00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,280
Speaker 3: kind of downplays it, but in women's basketball, it is

249
00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:57,880
Speaker 3: exceedingly rare for someone who's a top player to go

250
00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:00,439
Speaker 3: to a program that's not already established as a women's

251
00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:02,439
Speaker 3: basketball There's just been a handful of teams that are

252
00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:03,959
Speaker 3: kind of the it ones, and you can kind of

253
00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:06,640
Speaker 3: almost guarantee you're going to get to a Final four.

254
00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,960
Speaker 3: So I think that, you know, for Juju to stay

255
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,760
Speaker 3: home and believe in herself and bet on herself and

256
00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:15,920
Speaker 3: on us is pretty significant. So for us in the

257
00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:19,040
Speaker 3: recruiting process. What I remember was we had to create

258
00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,640
Speaker 3: this vision that no one had seen yet. We had

259
00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:23,719
Speaker 3: to sort of say, there could be this, there could

260
00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:25,960
Speaker 3: be that you could do this, but it hadn't been

261
00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:30,720
Speaker 3: done since you know, Cheryl Miller and and Cynthia Cooper.

262
00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:33,600
Speaker 3: So I remember just trying to create that vision while

263
00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:36,680
Speaker 3: also getting to know her as a young person. You know,

264
00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,760
Speaker 3: there were there were visits here where we didn't play

265
00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:42,360
Speaker 3: well and we had to kind of, you know, talk

266
00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:44,240
Speaker 3: her through that. There were times where I'm like, oh man,

267
00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,320
Speaker 3: there's only gonna be a couple hundred people in the crowd.

268
00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:48,080
Speaker 3: Are we sure we want Juju to come, you know?

269
00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,679
Speaker 3: But we wanted her just to see what it was

270
00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,600
Speaker 3: and what it could be. And those are the things

271
00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,800
Speaker 3: I remember, really just building the relationship and and and

272
00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,319
Speaker 3: together kind of saying, Okay, what can this become if

273
00:12:58,360 --> 00:12:58,880
Speaker 3: you come here.

274
00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:01,760
Speaker 1: I think some of the greats that I've spoken to

275
00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:04,920
Speaker 1: have said they wanted to make a program. They didn't

276
00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:06,600
Speaker 1: want to become a part of one that already had

277
00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:09,319
Speaker 1: all the superstars. And for those just listening and can't

278
00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:11,839
Speaker 1: see Coach, She's got wall decals of some of the

279
00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,360
Speaker 1: greatest women's basketball players from USC So there is a

280
00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:16,439
Speaker 1: history there, but you're right to be able to make

281
00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:18,440
Speaker 1: a program and change it from a couple hundred people

282
00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:20,880
Speaker 1: to all the celeb sitting court side and the enthusiasm

283
00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:23,720
Speaker 1: around the program. Speaking of enthusiasm, Juju, you have a

284
00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,400
Speaker 1: docu series already on the rise, Touju Watkins. One of

285
00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,240
Speaker 1: the show's executive producers is none other than Lebron James.

286
00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,160
Speaker 1: No big deal, Uninterrupted is involved, and you're working as

287
00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:34,520
Speaker 1: an executive producer on it. So how's the experience been

288
00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,360
Speaker 1: both getting used to them shooting you and following around

289
00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:39,400
Speaker 1: and then being in part of making the series.

290
00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:44,199
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's definitely been an adjustment with the cameras being around,

291
00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:47,040
Speaker 2: and then I think the one of the worst parts.

292
00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,120
Speaker 2: They're not the worst part, but like it's me like

293
00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:53,280
Speaker 2: watching the film back, I hate like watching that so

294
00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,760
Speaker 2: like it it's so it's cringey to me. So I've

295
00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,640
Speaker 2: definitely had to get used to that. But Interrupted has

296
00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:05,880
Speaker 2: been great, like in terms of like making the decisions

297
00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,040
Speaker 2: or like agreeing to the edits, because you know, there's

298
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,920
Speaker 2: been a lot of those from myself, but it's just

299
00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:14,840
Speaker 2: been really patient with me throughout this whole process, and uh,

300
00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:17,760
Speaker 2: this was like one of the biggest projects I've you know,

301
00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,760
Speaker 2: ever worked on, and I'm so excited for it. But yeah,

302
00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,920
Speaker 2: I have not watched it at all. I watched some

303
00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:28,000
Speaker 2: of the edits, but I haven't watched it. But I've

304
00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:30,480
Speaker 2: heard really great reviews, so I'm happy about that.

305
00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:33,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's tough to watch yourself. It really is. Eventually

306
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,160
Speaker 1: you'll be able to because you'll figure out how to,

307
00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,360
Speaker 1: you know, use it to make you better on camera

308
00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,040
Speaker 1: and all the other stuff as you're continuing to be

309
00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:41,600
Speaker 1: a little mogul. Why did you want to tell your

310
00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:42,240
Speaker 1: story like that?

311
00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:43,600
Speaker 3: I don't know.

312
00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:46,320
Speaker 2: I just feel like, you know, it hasn't really been done.

313
00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:50,640
Speaker 2: And I love watching movies, I love watching TV shows.

314
00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:54,800
Speaker 2: It's you know, it's it's one of my passions and hobbies.

315
00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:57,640
Speaker 2: So to kind of fuse that with something else I

316
00:14:57,680 --> 00:14:59,640
Speaker 2: love to do, which is basketball, and it's it's also

317
00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:03,000
Speaker 2: my and so to fuse those two together and partner

318
00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:05,680
Speaker 2: with Uninterrupted and Clush to kind of bring it to life.

319
00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,800
Speaker 2: It was just a great opportunity for me that, you know,

320
00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:10,440
Speaker 2: I wanted to take advantage of.

321
00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:15,320
Speaker 1: How has it been balancing the demands of classes, basketball,

322
00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:18,360
Speaker 1: making the series, all your business deals. Do you have

323
00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:21,320
Speaker 1: any tips for other aspiring moguls or people who are

324
00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:22,040
Speaker 1: just real busy.

325
00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,720
Speaker 2: I would say just take it day by day. There's

326
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,920
Speaker 2: just there's a lot to do. But I think just

327
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:32,080
Speaker 2: kind of staying present is the most important thing. I

328
00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:34,040
Speaker 2: think if you look too far ahead, you'll just get

329
00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,600
Speaker 2: so overwhelmed. So I just take it day by day

330
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:40,520
Speaker 2: and just yeah, do what I had to do.

331
00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,320
Speaker 1: That's really smart. A lot of people claim they're great

332
00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,160
Speaker 1: at multitasking, and then I tell them that neuroscientists say

333
00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,440
Speaker 1: that there is no such thing as multitasking. It's like

334
00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,240
Speaker 1: opening up a desktop and then dropping files into all

335
00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,520
Speaker 1: the wrong folders because you don't have just one open

336
00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:54,720
Speaker 1: and you're trying to do it all at once. So

337
00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:56,840
Speaker 1: it sounds like being present in the moment, one day

338
00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:58,600
Speaker 1: at a time. That's a great way to approach all

339
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,280
Speaker 1: of this. Coach, you've got to deal with a brand

340
00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,640
Speaker 1: new kind of athlete because of NIO, because of the

341
00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:08,560
Speaker 1: transfer era, players commitments to deals and sponsorships and making

342
00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:10,400
Speaker 1: their tiktoks and all the other things. It's a business.

343
00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:12,280
Speaker 1: It's not a distraction. It's a part of what they're

344
00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:14,720
Speaker 1: doing now. But how do you manage allowing players to

345
00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,280
Speaker 1: get that money, build that brand and also know how

346
00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:20,320
Speaker 1: much time they need to spend focusing on hoops.

347
00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:23,080
Speaker 3: I mean, I think the first thing is philosophically. I

348
00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:24,800
Speaker 3: believe they should have been able to do this for

349
00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:26,560
Speaker 3: a long time. So it wasn't like a hard sell

350
00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:27,960
Speaker 3: for me. I wasn't you know one of these people

351
00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:29,480
Speaker 3: who did it for thirty years. Oh gosh, Now these

352
00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,120
Speaker 3: players make money too, Like my mindset from the beginning

353
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,920
Speaker 3: is that they should have been having these opportunities. And

354
00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:36,760
Speaker 3: then I think having spent some time in the NBA

355
00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:38,960
Speaker 3: where you really are living the business side of it

356
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:42,080
Speaker 3: too and coming back has made it a little more seamless.

357
00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,360
Speaker 3: And then I just we have really good people doing it.

358
00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:48,120
Speaker 3: I mean, Juju's very authentic, Like she doesn't want to

359
00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:51,000
Speaker 3: watch herself on film. She's not. She's got the business mind,

360
00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:53,720
Speaker 3: but she's also you know, very present in her day

361
00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:57,600
Speaker 3: to day, a great teammate. You know, in practice it's

362
00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:00,320
Speaker 3: about basketball, and then when there's other things going on,

363
00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:02,040
Speaker 3: it makes me happy, you know, for her to be

364
00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,280
Speaker 3: able to do it. I remember when I had the

365
00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:07,720
Speaker 3: first one of her team members at Clutch and the

366
00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,159
Speaker 3: producer asked me to go to breakfast, and I said, so,

367
00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:12,520
Speaker 3: what do you think about you know, this documentary that

368
00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:14,159
Speaker 3: we're already doing, What do you think about it? Following

369
00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:16,560
Speaker 3: her to USC And first of all, I think they

370
00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:18,639
Speaker 3: bet on the right person, right, Like I think in

371
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:20,920
Speaker 3: women's basketball, they only tell the stories of the people

372
00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:23,239
Speaker 3: who are already there, like Yukon once they've won one

373
00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:24,760
Speaker 3: hundred games in a row, you know. And I thought

374
00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,000
Speaker 3: it was great to try to tell the story. And

375
00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,320
Speaker 3: of course you just have to be open minded and say, okay,

376
00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:31,720
Speaker 3: bring the cameras in and we all adjust a little bit.

377
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:33,800
Speaker 3: But I think if you're doing it with the mindset

378
00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:35,879
Speaker 3: that this is a new era, it's a chance to

379
00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:38,840
Speaker 3: empower women. It's a chance to grow our sport and

380
00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:42,600
Speaker 3: female athletes in a way financially and platform wise we

381
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:44,400
Speaker 3: haven't had before. Like who wouldn't want to be part

382
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,480
Speaker 3: of it? But I don't really think it's changed the

383
00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,080
Speaker 3: integrity of our locker room. I think players are still

384
00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:51,320
Speaker 3: about the right things. They just have to be able

385
00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,520
Speaker 3: to manage and handle things on the outside, and we

386
00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:55,760
Speaker 3: trust them to do that. And you go forward day

387
00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:57,760
Speaker 3: by day and kind of adjust to the new landscape

388
00:17:57,880 --> 00:17:59,000
Speaker 3: and try and be good at it.

389
00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:01,680
Speaker 1: What's the biggest way you think it's changed your job

390
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:02,240
Speaker 1: as a coach?

391
00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:07,280
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. In college basketball, x's and o's was

392
00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,280
Speaker 3: always a little portion, you know, people think that's all

393
00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,040
Speaker 3: we do. We're managing other things, And now it's even

394
00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:14,760
Speaker 3: smaller of a portion, right Like you you have entities

395
00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:19,240
Speaker 3: you're dealing with, you know, besides just academics and travel logistics.

396
00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:23,000
Speaker 3: Now it's agents and it's you know, media, and it's

397
00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:25,439
Speaker 3: nil things. But I've hired a great team around me

398
00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:29,040
Speaker 3: to help with that, and it just it just makes

399
00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:30,879
Speaker 3: more of the other stuff and so we have to

400
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:33,880
Speaker 3: compartmentalize and focus on basketball. It's time to focus on basketball,

401
00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:36,040
Speaker 3: but be able to handle the outside things as well

402
00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:38,280
Speaker 3: to be to be successful, and.

403
00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:40,320
Speaker 1: You've got a GM for your team. Not often or

404
00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,240
Speaker 1: right ever, really the case in college troops, it's very

405
00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,800
Speaker 1: rare to help manage this stuff. Was that the decision

406
00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:49,040
Speaker 1: you made or something that the school thought was necessary.

407
00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:51,480
Speaker 3: I think with the way that last year went and

408
00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:53,560
Speaker 3: all the growth that we had and the attention that

409
00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,560
Speaker 3: you do is getting in the team my athletic director

410
00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,160
Speaker 3: proactively said, hey, there's things coming at you guys. It's

411
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,040
Speaker 3: going to be too much for the coaches to handle,

412
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:04,280
Speaker 3: and so she suggested the GM role, which is becoming,

413
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:06,280
Speaker 3: you know, a little bit more of a thing in

414
00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:08,280
Speaker 3: college athletics, but we were at the forefront, and so

415
00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:10,880
Speaker 3: it's been great to be able to help. The way

416
00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,840
Speaker 3: we utilize it is to help with NIL and branding

417
00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:18,239
Speaker 3: and helping the players, you know, grow outside of just

418
00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:20,119
Speaker 3: you know, what we do on the basketball court and

419
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:20,840
Speaker 3: in the classroom.

420
00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:26,840
Speaker 1: That's smart juju. As it stands now, the WNBA Collective

421
00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:29,560
Speaker 1: Bargaining Agreement kind of requires athletes to play four years

422
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,160
Speaker 1: of college basketball before they go pro, which is different

423
00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:34,120
Speaker 1: from the men's side, where players can be won and done.

424
00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,760
Speaker 1: It allows this incredible growth enthusiasm around women's college hoops,

425
00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,119
Speaker 1: but it also decides for you what your timeline looks like.

426
00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,200
Speaker 1: Feel a little awkward asking in front of your college coach,

427
00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,560
Speaker 1: but I'm curious if you have any thoughts on whether

428
00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:49,840
Speaker 1: that rule should change, either as part of the ongoing

429
00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:51,640
Speaker 1: CBA negotiations or down the road.

430
00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:59,440
Speaker 2: I I want to say personally, I'm enjoying my experience coach.

431
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:05,679
Speaker 2: I mean, I definitely think we should have the option.

432
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:09,440
Speaker 2: There's there's just been such a growth in college basketball

433
00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,040
Speaker 2: where it's like, you know, why would you kind of

434
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,800
Speaker 2: want to leave because you're able to kind of have

435
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,480
Speaker 2: that experience and build your brand here in college as well.

436
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:21,840
Speaker 2: So I would say we should definitely have the option.

437
00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:25,919
Speaker 2: But you know, I think college is a you know,

438
00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:28,200
Speaker 2: a way to prepare us for the pros as well.

439
00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:32,360
Speaker 2: So I don't know, it's a touchy subject, but yeah,

440
00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:33,720
Speaker 2: I'm bored.

441
00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:36,240
Speaker 1: I think there's a lot more money in this space too,

442
00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:38,520
Speaker 1: But a long time it was really to protect players

443
00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,720
Speaker 1: from limited roster spots and the fact that there isn't

444
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,919
Speaker 1: as much longevity and money in women's pro basketball. So

445
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:46,960
Speaker 1: if you don't have a degree and other things to

446
00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,960
Speaker 1: fall back on, it's a little bit less clear what's

447
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:50,480
Speaker 1: going to happen.

448
00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:50,600
Speaker 3: Then.

449
00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:52,560
Speaker 1: Maybe in the men's game, although we've seen plenty of

450
00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:54,440
Speaker 1: college one and done's that I haven't been able to

451
00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,560
Speaker 1: thrive at the next level either. Coach, what do you

452
00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:57,359
Speaker 1: think of that role?

453
00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:01,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I'm look, if it was ever better

454
00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:04,240
Speaker 3: for Juju or any of my players to leave and

455
00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:06,280
Speaker 3: go pro, I mean, on the men's side, if there's

456
00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:08,720
Speaker 3: an opportunity to make, you know, ten million dollars in

457
00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:13,240
Speaker 3: their first contract or even three years later, hundreds of

458
00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:16,720
Speaker 3: millions of dollars, it's hard to delay that. But the

459
00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,800
Speaker 3: women's game has just been so different, right, like you said, Sarah,

460
00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:21,879
Speaker 3: the money hasn't been there, the longevity hasn't been there.

461
00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,840
Speaker 3: The degree of value is more important. So certainly I

462
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,360
Speaker 3: think if it wasn't in the CBA, it wouldn't stand

463
00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:29,840
Speaker 3: up in court, right, Like, how could it that? The

464
00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,240
Speaker 3: fact that the players have written into the CBA is interesting,

465
00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:34,679
Speaker 3: says something about you know the league because there are

466
00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,480
Speaker 3: such limited spots. The other thing I think that's interesting,

467
00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:39,440
Speaker 3: even just from a financial standpoint, is if you look

468
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,280
Speaker 3: at someone like Caitlin Clark, the platform of women's college

469
00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,560
Speaker 3: basketball remains bigger, the eyes on the game remained bigger,

470
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,760
Speaker 3: So the deals that she gets coming into the w

471
00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,760
Speaker 3: and the financial power she has is greater because of

472
00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:55,920
Speaker 3: the platform she had those last two years in college.

473
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,120
Speaker 3: And she had left after her sophomore year, she would

474
00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:01,600
Speaker 3: have been ready basketball wise, possibly, but she wouldn't have

475
00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,359
Speaker 3: brought what she brings. So I think the financial conversations

476
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:06,280
Speaker 3: are a lot more nuanced on the women's side than

477
00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:08,680
Speaker 3: on the men's side. But I'm with Juju on the right.

478
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:10,800
Speaker 3: I think should be there if they change that collective

479
00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,879
Speaker 3: bargainment agreement and then you know, coaches who really believe

480
00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,159
Speaker 3: in doing right by their student athletes should have honest

481
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:20,640
Speaker 3: conversations about what's better, you know, for them. And yeah,

482
00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:22,480
Speaker 3: I mean, obviously I wish I could coach Juju here

483
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:24,639
Speaker 3: for twenty years, but it's not going to be the case.

484
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,760
Speaker 3: And whenever she's you know, a WNBA player, i'au bes

485
00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:30,919
Speaker 3: sitting courtside. But you know, if it if the rules change,

486
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,520
Speaker 3: then you know, they should have that option. It's just

487
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,119
Speaker 3: a matter of really being smart about what's best for

488
00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:38,679
Speaker 3: female athletes long term.

489
00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, completely agree, and for each individual player, depending on

490
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:46,320
Speaker 1: their circumstance. For sure, Juju, your freshman campaign was insane.

491
00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,119
Speaker 1: That's so good right from the start. How do you

492
00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,080
Speaker 1: go about setting goals for this season?

493
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the main thing is when he always

494
00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,760
Speaker 2: you know, I just want to win, and you know,

495
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,240
Speaker 2: there's so much to learn on and expand on off

496
00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:08,560
Speaker 2: of last season, just maturing IQ wise and figuring out

497
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,600
Speaker 2: different ways to evolve and I worked a lot this

498
00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,520
Speaker 2: offseason to grow my game and continue to get better

499
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:19,400
Speaker 2: and just yeah, I mean there was just so many

500
00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:21,840
Speaker 2: ways I could grow and we'll continue to do so.

501
00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:25,840
Speaker 2: But I think the focal point this year is honing

502
00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:30,919
Speaker 2: into to the team and just winning.

503
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,600
Speaker 1: Are there players across the college or pro game that

504
00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,680
Speaker 1: you look to for specific kinds of skills or moves

505
00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:38,520
Speaker 1: that you're trying to work on.

506
00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:45,119
Speaker 2: I love watching basketball, I would probably say Asia Wilson.

507
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,120
Speaker 2: I just I just love her game, even though we're

508
00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:50,240
Speaker 2: kind of different. Just her the way she's able to

509
00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:53,760
Speaker 2: just dominate the game and her post moves, it's just

510
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:54,879
Speaker 2: really beautiful to watch.

511
00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,080
Speaker 1: It's a decent person to watch, I'd say. If you're

512
00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:01,639
Speaker 1: looking for improvements, Yeah, what's been the biggest difference? Have

513
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:03,480
Speaker 1: you noticed the difference playing in the Big Ten after

514
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:04,879
Speaker 1: the dissolution of the PAC twelve?

515
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,840
Speaker 2: Honestly have not. We haven't started a conference yet. We

516
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,960
Speaker 2: just played organ which was definitely a familiar face and

517
00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,200
Speaker 2: not too far from here, so I haven't really experienced

518
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,639
Speaker 2: that yet, but I'm curious to see what that'll be like.

519
00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:21,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, at the athlete level, I think, in particular, you're

520
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,320
Speaker 1: not dealing with a lot of the logistics of what

521
00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:26,440
Speaker 1: conference you're in. It's who's in front of you on

522
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:28,720
Speaker 1: every given day. Coach, Have you noticed a difference.

523
00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:30,639
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think we're looking forward to it.

524
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:32,640
Speaker 3: I think for me, the biggest difference, and I think

525
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,800
Speaker 3: for the players too, is the lack of familiarity. We're

526
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,000
Speaker 3: going to watch film. Everyone else is going to watch film.

527
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,119
Speaker 3: But that's really different than having coached against someone for

528
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:42,600
Speaker 3: eight years and I sort of know what they're going

529
00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:43,920
Speaker 3: to do out of a time out, or what they're

530
00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:45,960
Speaker 3: going to come with when they're winning or losing or

531
00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:48,480
Speaker 3: what have you. And for us, I think the excitement

532
00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:49,879
Speaker 3: for the team is like we have to prepare for

533
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:53,200
Speaker 3: every game like it's an NCAA tournament game, and same

534
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:54,840
Speaker 3: We're going to come to all these arenas and all

535
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,200
Speaker 3: these places that have never seen Juju, that have never

536
00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,440
Speaker 3: seen the rest of the team, and I think that'll

537
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,879
Speaker 3: be exciting. Try to take the logistics off their plate,

538
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:04,320
Speaker 3: you know, make it as seamless as possible so they

539
00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:06,440
Speaker 3: can just show up and play. But I think there's

540
00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:08,439
Speaker 3: a level of excitement in that it's a whole new

541
00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,399
Speaker 3: league and you know from what I've heard there's a

542
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,240
Speaker 3: little more more scoring in some ways and the Big

543
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:16,000
Speaker 3: Ten in the past, and maybe we can bring a

544
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,240
Speaker 3: different style that people haven't seen. And you know, we're

545
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:20,760
Speaker 3: looking forward to the challenges. But shoot, it's a loaded league.

546
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,679
Speaker 3: I mean, I think half the league is in the

547
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:24,960
Speaker 3: top twenty five at this point. And we know there's

548
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:26,840
Speaker 3: a target on our back, so it'd be very interesting

549
00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,000
Speaker 3: to it too, you know, attack all these arenas that

550
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,480
Speaker 3: are going to be full trying to beat us. So

551
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:32,560
Speaker 3: to be a good challenge.

552
00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,240
Speaker 1: And you know women's basketball, if you're a top program,

553
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,040
Speaker 1: you tend to travel to find some great games. But

554
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:39,360
Speaker 1: there will be a lot of travel as a results

555
00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:41,200
Speaker 1: of the move. Are you doing anything in particular to

556
00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:42,000
Speaker 1: prep your team for that?

557
00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:44,080
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that's been again more me and our

558
00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,520
Speaker 3: training staff and our nutrition staff. It's I mean, Juju

559
00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:48,800
Speaker 3: is not gonna like to hear me say, but it's

560
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:53,520
Speaker 3: really just about hydration, nutrition, sleep. You know, we try

561
00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:55,960
Speaker 3: to pump up with fluids twenty four hours hours a day.

562
00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:58,199
Speaker 3: That's the best you can do. The good thing is

563
00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,880
Speaker 3: our players are very resilient. They don't I think about

564
00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:02,320
Speaker 3: it way more than they do. They sleep on the

565
00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:03,959
Speaker 3: plane and then they go to sleep, and then they

566
00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,919
Speaker 3: get up and they I mean, they're very resilient. But

567
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:09,720
Speaker 3: it's our job to kind of make youse planes. Yes, exactly,

568
00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:12,440
Speaker 3: to be to be young. But yeah, we just try

569
00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:15,960
Speaker 3: to keep them good from a health standpoint. We'll prepare

570
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,200
Speaker 3: them for the games and I think they'll come out

571
00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:20,400
Speaker 3: ready to compete every night, which I think would be fun.

572
00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:23,600
Speaker 1: Juju. I think we just unlocked something there. I saw

573
00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,400
Speaker 1: in exchange when she talked about needing to get fluids?

574
00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:29,000
Speaker 1: Are we someone who tends to Are we doing the

575
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,080
Speaker 1: tests and showing up dehydrated a lot?

576
00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:36,119
Speaker 2: I can't say. I can say that I'm trying my

577
00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,360
Speaker 2: best to be high as high good as I can.

578
00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:43,080
Speaker 1: So that water is your friend, bro, come on, we

579
00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:45,399
Speaker 1: gotta we gotta embrace it. The older I get, the

580
00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,080
Speaker 1: more I'm just constantly walking around with water all the time.

581
00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:51,800
Speaker 3: As sacred is this is this you know, generational talent.

582
00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:53,760
Speaker 3: She's as good as anyone. And I'm like, what did

583
00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,159
Speaker 3: you meet at halftime? Do you need another PBMJ? Like?

584
00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,560
Speaker 3: These are the secret tricks I have? Right, It's it's

585
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:01,400
Speaker 3: it's the the joy of coaching.

586
00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:03,879
Speaker 1: Yeah, these are the things though that if you're not

587
00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:05,520
Speaker 1: doing that and you're already as good as you are,

588
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:08,320
Speaker 1: imagine what it'll look like when you kind of professionalize

589
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:10,199
Speaker 1: in that way. That's fantastic.

590
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:12,920
Speaker 3: She's good. She's good. She does We're always on her.

591
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:15,000
Speaker 3: She could be even better, but she's very compliant.

592
00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:17,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, listen, I remember the year in chart.

593
00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:20,080
Speaker 1: I still think about it sometimes. I'm like, I can

594
00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:21,840
Speaker 1: tell right now, I can tell I need to put

595
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:25,240
Speaker 1: some liquids in there. That's that's great. I kind of

596
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:26,919
Speaker 1: love that. It makes you feel a little more human

597
00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:29,760
Speaker 1: that you've that you're still struggling with some of that stuff.

598
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:31,480
Speaker 1: We're still trying to figure out the exact right way

599
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:34,200
Speaker 1: to do it. Coach, you did mention you you spend

600
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:36,160
Speaker 1: some time coaching in what we call here on the show,

601
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,240
Speaker 1: the m NBA. Is there anything from that that you

602
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,520
Speaker 1: brought back to women's hoops any great revelations?

603
00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:44,040
Speaker 3: Well, first, if you're going to mention the Cavs, we've

604
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,880
Speaker 3: got to mention that they are now the best team

605
00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,439
Speaker 3: in the m NBA. You FIGHTE me on it, me

606
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,879
Speaker 3: on it. They're so good. Uh, you know from an

607
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:54,560
Speaker 3: exs like from an ex's and O standpoint, it was

608
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:56,960
Speaker 3: a really incredible time to be able to just focus

609
00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,680
Speaker 3: on basketball and relationships. Right there was no classes of recruiting,

610
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,399
Speaker 3: really spacing in angles of things, you know, sort of

611
00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:09,600
Speaker 3: more nuanced like details of how you create space with

612
00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:14,160
Speaker 3: such you know, first of all large individuals, but also

613
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:18,280
Speaker 3: really skilled and talented players. Just being able to simplify

614
00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,240
Speaker 3: actions and getting players to you know, their kill spots

615
00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:25,480
Speaker 3: and places that they can really be effective. How you

616
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,080
Speaker 3: you know, manage really talented players with other really good

617
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:30,399
Speaker 3: role players. And just I took a lot in I

618
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:32,960
Speaker 3: learned a lot, and some of it really translates, and

619
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,120
Speaker 3: some of it's just different because we're you know, dealing

620
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,080
Speaker 3: with college students. But I would say a ton of

621
00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,640
Speaker 3: things relative to the x's and o's. And then for

622
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,040
Speaker 3: me just as a human, you know, being in a

623
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:46,920
Speaker 3: situation that you know, was very different than I was,

624
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,320
Speaker 3: what I than what I was used to, and I

625
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,720
Speaker 3: think just makes me a more well rounded person and

626
00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:55,560
Speaker 3: able to empathize and you know, connect with with all

627
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:57,720
Speaker 3: kinds of people that I end up coaching.

628
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,720
Speaker 1: For sure, to do there a couple areas across the

629
00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:03,600
Speaker 1: country well known for their basketball culture and producing a

630
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:07,000
Speaker 1: lot of elite players. New York is one producer Meiches beloved,

631
00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:10,040
Speaker 1: d m V is one. No One in my production

632
00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,440
Speaker 1: staff wanted to put my hometown of Chicago, but they're

633
00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,200
Speaker 1: sleeping on it because Chicago is a place that is

634
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,600
Speaker 1: a hotbed for great women's players. And of course Los Angeles.

635
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:20,240
Speaker 1: So you grew up in Watts. You talk a lot

636
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,720
Speaker 1: about your appreciation for the community in which you were raised.

637
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:24,960
Speaker 1: What sets it apart from everywhere else? What makes it

638
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:25,520
Speaker 1: so special?

639
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:31,560
Speaker 2: Honestly, I just love the field of being home people

640
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:37,120
Speaker 2: super grateful for for where I'm from. And I think

641
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,120
Speaker 2: one of the things that you know, kind of helped

642
00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:43,520
Speaker 2: me get to where I am today is is just

643
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:47,200
Speaker 2: a strong sense of community here in LA and especially

644
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,600
Speaker 2: in Wat's where I'm from. And just knowing that, you know,

645
00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,200
Speaker 2: whenever we play a game there's there's people from my

646
00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:57,040
Speaker 2: hometown coming to watch. It means everything and is a

647
00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:01,360
Speaker 2: full circle moment for me just to you know, just

648
00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:04,480
Speaker 2: to remind me of you know, where I come from

649
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:06,440
Speaker 2: and where I'm striving to be.

650
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:09,840
Speaker 1: Are there hometown players that you remember growing up watching

651
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:10,440
Speaker 1: or looking up to.

652
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,680
Speaker 2: I would probably say tomorrow that he was in my era.

653
00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:18,480
Speaker 2: I was probably like five or something when he was

654
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:22,440
Speaker 2: yeah or something. But I just love his game and

655
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:25,959
Speaker 2: him being a USC alum as well, just having that

656
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:31,680
Speaker 2: sense of you know, I don't know, just just being

657
00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:35,520
Speaker 2: able to reach out to him and knowing that he's

658
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:38,000
Speaker 2: kind of in our backyard is is amazing.

659
00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:41,160
Speaker 1: Yeah, Damar is such a good dude too. Jamar DeRozan,

660
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:43,480
Speaker 1: for those who don't know, I was bummed to lose

661
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:45,200
Speaker 1: him with the Bulls, but I also wanted him to

662
00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:49,440
Speaker 1: go somewhere that wasn't trash right now, so I am

663
00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:51,800
Speaker 1: happy for him. He escaped, but he was so great

664
00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:53,880
Speaker 1: here and has been just such a good role model

665
00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:57,560
Speaker 1: in so many ways across the league. Some breaking news

666
00:30:57,600 --> 00:30:59,680
Speaker 1: just from the last couple of days. You are an

667
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:05,120
Speaker 1: investor and unrivaled. Congratulations. I'm loving all the college players

668
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,000
Speaker 1: that are diversifying their portfolios more than I am as

669
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,479
Speaker 1: a full ass adult. It is really impressive to watch

670
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:13,520
Speaker 1: safe to say that you have plans to play in

671
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:14,560
Speaker 1: the league when you turn pro.

672
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:20,000
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, for sure. I'm just really committed to trying

673
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:21,800
Speaker 2: to grow the game as best as I can, and

674
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:25,000
Speaker 2: if I'm able to do that now of course, that's

675
00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:26,520
Speaker 2: that's what I'm going to do. So I was super

676
00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:28,640
Speaker 2: excited to be a part of this new wave. And

677
00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:32,160
Speaker 2: you know, hopefully we be playing in the league some day.

678
00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:35,160
Speaker 1: So you've got that, You've got the show, you've got basketball,

679
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:36,920
Speaker 1: You've got all your nil deals. Tell us about the

680
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,120
Speaker 1: Nike deal. What do we have coming up with them

681
00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:39,520
Speaker 1: with this?

682
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:43,320
Speaker 2: With the shoe deal, I can't really say yet, but

683
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:47,040
Speaker 2: I'm super excited for for for everything that's to come.

684
00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:52,880
Speaker 2: I think right now, main focus is the team. So yeah,

685
00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:55,560
Speaker 2: I'm just really lacking on what we're doing here, and uh,

686
00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:56,960
Speaker 2: stuff will come along the way.

687
00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,760
Speaker 1: She's got all that going on. Coach, you've got sort

688
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:05,360
Speaker 1: of being the face of the team, the president sort

689
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:07,000
Speaker 1: of of the team as well as the X and

690
00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:09,280
Speaker 1: o's and the coach. And you've got your own kids.

691
00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:12,680
Speaker 1: You're telling us about before we started recording, your kids

692
00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:15,200
Speaker 1: being on the bus. One of them's destroying your AirPods,

693
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:18,360
Speaker 1: one of them's aods. Tell us about your kids, How

694
00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:20,080
Speaker 1: old are they, how many you got and how has

695
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:21,080
Speaker 1: that balance been for you?

696
00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:23,640
Speaker 3: First of all, I'm definitely not the face of the team.

697
00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:25,640
Speaker 3: When you have Juju, when you have Kiki, like I

698
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:28,560
Speaker 3: shouldn't be right, No, seriously, like these players are I.

699
00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:32,000
Speaker 1: Guess many business meetings in the school in the large

700
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:32,680
Speaker 1: you know what I mean.

701
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,760
Speaker 3: A lot of the weight. But I hope they're the face.

702
00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,560
Speaker 3: I am so fortunate to be able to have my

703
00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:44,560
Speaker 3: dream job and also have an amazing family. So I've

704
00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:49,080
Speaker 3: got a seven year old boy, Jordan, who began good

705
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:54,200
Speaker 3: name thank you yep, and he uh, he's a basketball junkie.

706
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:56,240
Speaker 3: Maybe it was forced upon him, I don't know, but

707
00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:58,239
Speaker 3: it's kind of come organically. You know, from when he

708
00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:00,680
Speaker 3: was two to when he was four, he thought his

709
00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:05,000
Speaker 3: best friends were Darius Garland and Colin Sexton. And now

710
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:08,400
Speaker 3: you know, he thinks our team, you know, is top

711
00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:11,120
Speaker 3: of the universe, as he should. So he's a he's

712
00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:14,280
Speaker 3: a little junkie. He's always asking me trivia questions. His

713
00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,720
Speaker 3: friends are now asking me to have Juju sign their

714
00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:18,040
Speaker 3: basketball cards. It's really cool.

715
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:19,080
Speaker 4: So he's in it.

716
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:22,440
Speaker 3: He's in the LA basketball culture. And then Reese is

717
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,120
Speaker 3: two years old. Talk about Cringey. I had to see

718
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:29,400
Speaker 3: myself pregnant on Jew's documentary because I was pregnant with

719
00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:33,360
Speaker 3: Reese during her recruiting process. So they have a special bond,

720
00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:37,960
Speaker 3: Reese says, Juju. Anytime we see her face somewhere, it's

721
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,360
Speaker 3: really cute. Uh. My husband Patrick helps with them, obviously,

722
00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:43,960
Speaker 3: and has his own life and his own job as well,

723
00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,000
Speaker 3: so it's a it's a lifestyle job. But I'm just

724
00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:49,000
Speaker 3: really fortunate that my kids get to grow up like

725
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,800
Speaker 3: in this and around this, and I try to be

726
00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:54,400
Speaker 3: present with them when I when I'm home, and I

727
00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:56,440
Speaker 3: try to be present for our team when I can,

728
00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:59,720
Speaker 3: and sometimes there's integration of both, which which is pretty fun.

729
00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:02,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, and of course they'll decide for themselves, but there

730
00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:06,240
Speaker 1: are some pretty good stories already of mama coaches whose

731
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,560
Speaker 1: sons were around the team, learned from the players, and

732
00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:11,680
Speaker 1: went on to the NBA. So you know, no pressure, Jordan,

733
00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:15,640
Speaker 1: no pressure. But well, you guys are fantastic for giving

734
00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:17,840
Speaker 1: us this time. We have one more question for you, Juju.

735
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:20,200
Speaker 1: It might be, you know, a tough one to answer

736
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:22,080
Speaker 1: because we're all looking into the future trying to figure

737
00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:23,840
Speaker 1: out what's next, but we might have to say goodbye

738
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,480
Speaker 1: to TikTok. What are you going to do and what

739
00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:29,800
Speaker 1: platform are you jumping ship to if TikTok goes away?

740
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:35,399
Speaker 2: TikTok is my last hope for society. Think you're rid

741
00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:38,280
Speaker 2: of that. I'm just I'm deleting social media as a whole.

742
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:40,279
Speaker 1: So WHOA, don't put that out there.

743
00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:46,839
Speaker 2: You don't understand, so I don't know. Hopefully we can,

744
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,760
Speaker 2: we can figure this out and as a nation.

745
00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:55,239
Speaker 1: No contingency plans. She's just holding fast to the fact

746
00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:58,040
Speaker 1: that they will not take her TikTok away. She doesn't

747
00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:01,799
Speaker 1: want to even picture a future without it. I don't

748
00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:04,400
Speaker 1: blame you. So good, Thank you both so much. Congrats

749
00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:06,879
Speaker 1: on a great season so far, continued success and we're

750
00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:11,840
Speaker 1: just having a blast watching you. Thank you, Thanks Sarah,

751
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:13,879
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Juju and Lindsay. We have to take

752
00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:17,040
Speaker 1: another break. When we come back. Everything bagels everywhere, all

753
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:27,600
Speaker 1: at once. Welcome back, Slices. We love that you're listening,

754
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:29,120
Speaker 1: but we want you to get in the game every

755
00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:31,560
Speaker 1: day too. So here's our good game play of the day.

756
00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:35,120
Speaker 1: Follow Juju and coach Gottlieb on social media. We'll link

757
00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:37,480
Speaker 1: to their pages in the show notes. Also, mark your

758
00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,920
Speaker 1: calendars for Saturday at eight pm Eastern, when the number

759
00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:43,560
Speaker 1: seven ranked Trojans take on Pagebeckers and the number four

760
00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:47,719
Speaker 1: rank Yukon Huskies on Fox. That should be a good one. Also,

761
00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,799
Speaker 1: keep those women's sports pop culture references coming. We got

762
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:53,759
Speaker 1: a couple good ones. Slice, Katie Stanton wrote us to

763
00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:57,440
Speaker 1: the Grove question mark. My favorite women's sports reference is

764
00:35:57,480 --> 00:35:59,400
Speaker 1: not a TV show, but instead a line in the

765
00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:03,840
Speaker 1: iconic Nicki Minaj slash ludacrous song my chick bad trash

766
00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:05,760
Speaker 1: talk to him. Then I put him in a hefty

767
00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:08,680
Speaker 1: running down the court. I'm dunking on him, Lisa Leslie

768
00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:10,200
Speaker 1: and she said.

769
00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:12,919
Speaker 4: That, Sarah, I gotta stop you right there because there's

770
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:14,640
Speaker 4: no way I can let you butcher my middle school

771
00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:15,560
Speaker 4: pregame song like that.

772
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:16,560
Speaker 1: I just can't.

773
00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:19,239
Speaker 4: Trash talk to him. Then I put him in a

774
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,000
Speaker 4: hefty running on a court. I'm dunking on him. Lisa

775
00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:27,160
Speaker 4: Leslie is going down basement Friday the thirteen. Guess who's

776
00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:30,560
Speaker 4: playing Jason Tuck yourself and you better hold on to you, Teddy,

777
00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:32,080
Speaker 4: it's night maron elm straight.

778
00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:35,960
Speaker 1: I guess let's fly it Friday, much better, much better.

779
00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:36,600
Speaker 1: You're welcome.

780
00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:36,960
Speaker 2: Uh.

781
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,040
Speaker 1: Katie says that's one of her go to karaoke songs,

782
00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:43,080
Speaker 1: and she always yells that line the loudest dunking on him,

783
00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:47,120
Speaker 1: Lisa Leslie. Thanks Katie, that's a good one. At Corneelie

784
00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:50,040
Speaker 1: on Blue Sky said Jackie Daytona's support of the local

785
00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:52,799
Speaker 1: women's volleyball team, the Bucks on the show What We

786
00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:55,160
Speaker 1: Do in the Shadows. I have not seen that show.

787
00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:57,080
Speaker 1: I need to watch it. I have heard incredible things,

788
00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:58,800
Speaker 1: So thanks for that. Corey. If you don't have a

789
00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:01,360
Speaker 1: favorite reference, maybe let us know what shows or artists

790
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:03,799
Speaker 1: you'd like to see. Make one instead. We've been talking

791
00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:05,960
Speaker 1: about Taylor Swift going to a women's sporting event. Just

792
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,000
Speaker 1: throw them all in your songs, girl, Just make a

793
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:11,000
Speaker 1: whole song about all the WNBA teams. Why not give

794
00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:12,960
Speaker 1: it a shot. We love to hear from you. Hit

795
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,279
Speaker 1: us up on email, good game at wondermediaetwork dot com,

796
00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:17,080
Speaker 1: or leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two

797
00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:21,279
Speaker 1: four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe. Rate in

798
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:27,600
Speaker 1: review slices, It's real easy. Watch everything Bagels rating five

799
00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:30,840
Speaker 1: out of five. Doughey Delights covered in poppy seeds, toasted

800
00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:35,080
Speaker 1: sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and salt. Review. At

801
00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:38,200
Speaker 1: first I tried to resist everything Bagels. I figured something

802
00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:41,839
Speaker 1: with that much stuff on it couldn't be good or necessary.

803
00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:44,759
Speaker 1: But then I saw the light and I can never

804
00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:47,200
Speaker 1: go back to who I once was. I mean, I

805
00:37:47,239 --> 00:37:50,040
Speaker 1: have a bad habit of not eating anything in the morning.

806
00:37:50,719 --> 00:37:53,560
Speaker 1: But everything bagels that's the perfect thing to kick start

807
00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:56,080
Speaker 1: the day, especially with a little cream cheese, some sliced tomato,

808
00:37:56,120 --> 00:37:59,480
Speaker 1: sliced avocado. If I know I got some on deck,

809
00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:02,520
Speaker 1: I go to at night excited to wake up and

810
00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:05,680
Speaker 1: eat my everything bagel. I'm like Glinda the Goodwitch, everything

811
00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:10,040
Speaker 1: bagels because I knew you. Life has changed for the good. Insummation.

812
00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 1: Everything bagels are everything. Now it's your turn, rate and review.

813
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,560
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, See you tomorrow. Good game, Juju, Good game, Coach,

814
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:22,480
Speaker 1: Gottlieb you everything from the everything bagel that doesn't make

815
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:24,319
Speaker 1: it into your mouth but does make it into your

816
00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:26,439
Speaker 1: car seat cushions and the tiny gap between your oven

817
00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:28,160
Speaker 1: and your counter and your chairs and your floor and

818
00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:33,560
Speaker 1: everything else. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart

819
00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:36,920
Speaker 1: women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.

820
00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:39,760
Speaker 1: You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

821
00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:43,280
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network.

822
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:46,480
Speaker 1: Our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive

823
00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:50,240
Speaker 1: producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.

824
00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:53,640
Speaker 1: Our editors are Emily Rudder, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and

825
00:38:53,719 --> 00:38:57,080
Speaker 1: Lindsay Cradowell. Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm Your

826
00:38:57,080 --> 00:38:58,080
Speaker 1: Host Sarah Spain