1
00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:04,160
Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where predictably, Christmas

2
00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,880
Speaker 1: shopping is yielding more presents for us than for our

3
00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:10,760
Speaker 1: loved ones. I just keep seeing so much stuff. I

4
00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:15,000
Speaker 1: need plush one. It's Friday, December sixth, and on today's show,

5
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,600
Speaker 1: we chat with UCLA basketball head coach Corey Close and

6
00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,479
Speaker 1: starguard Kiki Rice about being the number one team in

7
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,919
Speaker 1: the land taken down the defending champion game Cocks, how

8
00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:26,120
Speaker 1: the coaching game has changed over the last three decades,

9
00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:29,320
Speaker 1: and being a mini mogul at the age of twenty plus.

10
00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,760
Speaker 1: Toronto Tempo president Teresa Rush pops by to talk about

11
00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,280
Speaker 1: the WNBA expansion side's big name and brand reveal and

12
00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,319
Speaker 1: the accidental leak that spoiled some of the fun. It's

13
00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:55,920
Speaker 1: all coming up right after this Happy Friday Slices. Welcome back.

14
00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:00,800
Speaker 1: Here's what you need to know today INNA news. The

15
00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,160
Speaker 1: league was a real one. It's permanent, not tempo rary.

16
00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:07,960
Speaker 1: On Thursday, the WNBA officially announced that the Toronto expansion

17
00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,559
Speaker 1: side will be named the Toronto Tempo colors blue and red.

18
00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,040
Speaker 1: The logo a basketball with a T on it and

19
00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,039
Speaker 1: speed lines trailing behind it. Much more on that later

20
00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,440
Speaker 1: in the show. Another expansion side is having a busy week.

21
00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,000
Speaker 1: Two Tonight is the Golden State Valkyries Expansion Draft, the

22
00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:26,680
Speaker 1: first step in the team's roster creation. You can watch

23
00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,800
Speaker 1: live on ESPN at six thirty pm Eastern. The team

24
00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,440
Speaker 1: put out a helpful video explaining the ins and outs

25
00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,360
Speaker 1: of an expansion draft, so we don't have to here

26
00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:36,840
Speaker 1: you go, let's.

27
00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:41,120
Speaker 2: Explain the WNBA Expansion Draft. On December sixth, the Golden

28
00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,679
Speaker 2: State Valkyries will introduce their new roster of players acquired

29
00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:46,760
Speaker 2: through the WNBA Expansion Draft.

30
00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:47,960
Speaker 1: Here's how it works.

31
00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,280
Speaker 2: Currently, the WNBA has a total of twelve teams. Twelve

32
00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:56,400
Speaker 2: players make up a standard WNBA roster. Each current team

33
00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:00,480
Speaker 2: can protect up to six players from being selected. The

34
00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:05,880
Speaker 2: Valkyries can then select one non protected player from each team.

35
00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:08,880
Speaker 2: The Valkyries can also agree to select a player from

36
00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,240
Speaker 2: one team and trade them to another, or the Valkyries

37
00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,560
Speaker 2: can agree to select a player from one team and

38
00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,520
Speaker 2: trade them for cap space. They can also choose to

39
00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,560
Speaker 2: not select any player from a team out of the

40
00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,440
Speaker 2: pool of non protected players. Some will be twenty twenty

41
00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,600
Speaker 2: four unrestricted free agents. The Valkyries can only select one

42
00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:33,239
Speaker 2: of these players across the league. In addition, the Valkyries

43
00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,560
Speaker 2: won't be able to select any player that is under

44
00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:39,000
Speaker 2: core designation from a team. These core players are not

45
00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,880
Speaker 2: counted towards one of the six players teams can protect.

46
00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,639
Speaker 2: Once all of these decisions are completed, the Valkyrie selections

47
00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,840
Speaker 2: will be revealed on December sixth, twenty twenty four, at

48
00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:51,880
Speaker 2: three point thirty Pacific on ESPN. Make sure to tune

49
00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,280
Speaker 2: in on this historic night as we welcome our very

50
00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:56,480
Speaker 2: first players to the Golden State Valkyries.

51
00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:01,080
Speaker 1: Thank you for that, Valkyries. More WNBA. The Seattle Storm

52
00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:05,000
Speaker 1: announced on Wednesday that an external investigation into alleged harassment

53
00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:09,080
Speaker 1: and bullying by their coaching staff concluded with no violations found.

54
00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,919
Speaker 1: The same day, sources told the Chicago Sun Times Annie

55
00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:16,000
Speaker 1: Constable that two time WNBA champion Jewel Lloyd has requested

56
00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,320
Speaker 1: a trade out of Seattle. Sources told Costable that Lloyd,

57
00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:21,440
Speaker 1: the number one overall pick for the Storm in twenty

58
00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,040
Speaker 1: fifteen and that season's Rookie of the Year, was a

59
00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,000
Speaker 1: part of the investigation into Seattle after filing a complaint

60
00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:31,160
Speaker 1: detailing allegations against the team's coaching staff college basketball this

61
00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:33,359
Speaker 1: weekend lots of games on the slate. Here are a

62
00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,760
Speaker 1: couple matchups between ranked teams to keep an eye out for.

63
00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,520
Speaker 1: On Saturday at nine pm Eastern, Number two U con

64
00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,680
Speaker 1: takes on number twenty two Louisville on Fox. On Sunday

65
00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,400
Speaker 1: at four pm Eastern, Number twelve Ohio State hosts number

66
00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,800
Speaker 1: twenty one Illinois. Then at seven pm Eastern on ESPN two.

67
00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,200
Speaker 1: This is a big one. Number three South Carolina taken

68
00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,280
Speaker 1: on number nine TCU. They're the authors of that big

69
00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,680
Speaker 1: win over Notre Dame last week. Unrivaled News, the three

70
00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,320
Speaker 1: on three league tipping off in January, has signed Flaje

71
00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:03,400
Speaker 1: Johnson to an nil partnership. The LSU Star joints fellow

72
00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,640
Speaker 1: college hooper Paige Becker's already affiliated with the league. In

73
00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,720
Speaker 1: addition to the NIL deal, Flage, a successful rapper in

74
00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,520
Speaker 1: addition to being a hooper, will collaborate with Unrivaled on

75
00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,240
Speaker 1: content throughout the season. In college soccer, the semi finals

76
00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,360
Speaker 1: of the Ncaattorney aka the College Cup take place today.

77
00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,719
Speaker 1: It's an all acc field. The Atlantic Coast Conference, the

78
00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:25,640
Speaker 1: first league in the forty three year history of the

79
00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,960
Speaker 1: tournament to send four teams to the national semifinals. At

80
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,200
Speaker 1: five eastern it's Wake Forests versus Stanford, then at seven

81
00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,440
Speaker 1: thirty eastern It's Duke versus UNC. Both games are on ESPNU,

82
00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,400
Speaker 1: NWSL News. With the season over, a lot of shakeups

83
00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,880
Speaker 1: at teams happening already. The Houston Dash officially split with

84
00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:47,920
Speaker 1: interim manager Ricky Clark. Angel City and GM Angela Hucles

85
00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,280
Speaker 1: mangan Wo have mutually agreed to part ways with assistant

86
00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,680
Speaker 1: Matt Wade Filling and his interim GM effective immediately, and

87
00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,040
Speaker 1: expansion club Boss Nation have announced their first front office hire,

88
00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,880
Speaker 1: naming EXFC Barcelona head of Management for Women's Football Dominic

89
00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,960
Speaker 1: GWASH as their new GM. College vib's first round matchups

90
00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,719
Speaker 1: in the NCAA tournament continue today, including all four number

91
00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:11,880
Speaker 1: one seeds in action, with play continuing through the weekend.

92
00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:13,800
Speaker 1: We'll link to the bracket in our show notes so

93
00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:16,719
Speaker 1: you can follow along. This week, ESPN announced this was

94
00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:19,800
Speaker 1: the most watched regular season of college volleyball ever, with

95
00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,680
Speaker 1: average viewers up twenty one percent year over year. Softball

96
00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,680
Speaker 1: News Athletes Unlimited Softball League AUSL has announced the names

97
00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,279
Speaker 1: of the four teams facing off in its inaugural season

98
00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,320
Speaker 1: the Blaze, the Volts, the Bandits and the Talons. The

99
00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:36,920
Speaker 1: first season will be a touring league before settling into

100
00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,719
Speaker 1: cities beginning in twenty twenty six. Finally, this year's Forbes

101
00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,600
Speaker 1: thirty Under thirty Sports class features a handful of women athletes,

102
00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,839
Speaker 1: including the Indiana Fevers, Caitlin Clark, LSU guard Flage Johnson,

103
00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:53,120
Speaker 1: USA rugby star alon Omar, USA hockey forward Leila Edwards,

104
00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:57,120
Speaker 1: Team USA soccer star mal Swanson, track phenom Gabby Thomas,

105
00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,640
Speaker 1: boxer Claressa Shields, and friend of the show, former UNC

106
00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,160
Speaker 1: field hockey standout turn head coach Aaron Mattson. We'll put

107
00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,159
Speaker 1: a link to the full list in our show notes.

108
00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:10,240
Speaker 1: We got to take a quick break slices. When we

109
00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:14,039
Speaker 1: come back. We're number one. We're number one. We'll talk

110
00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:24,839
Speaker 1: to UCLA coach Corey Close and starguard Kiki Rice joining

111
00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:26,840
Speaker 1: us now. She's the head women's basketball coach for the

112
00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,479
Speaker 1: UCLA Bruins, has been since twenty eleven. Before UCLA, she

113
00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:32,719
Speaker 1: had stops as an assistant coach at Florida State, U

114
00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,200
Speaker 1: SEE Santa Barbara and UCLA as a player for UC

115
00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:37,560
Speaker 1: Santa Barbara. She was a team captain during the ninety

116
00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:39,320
Speaker 1: two and ninety three seasons and led them to the

117
00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,080
Speaker 1: NCAA Tournament. In both seasons. She was mentored by legendary

118
00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:45,600
Speaker 1: coach John Wooden. She drops knowledge while driving in her car,

119
00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,760
Speaker 1: rides with Corey series and we've sipped bevies on the

120
00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,680
Speaker 1: floor of the New York Stock Exchange together. It's Corey close.

121
00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:52,120
Speaker 1: What's up?

122
00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,160
Speaker 3: Corey? Hello there, Sarah. Thanks so much for having me.

123
00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,320
Speaker 1: Thanks for being on joining her. She's a guard for

124
00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:00,360
Speaker 1: the UCLA Bruins. In her sophomore seas and she was

125
00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:02,760
Speaker 1: named All Pac twelve by the coaches and media and

126
00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,240
Speaker 1: made ap All America Honorable Mention, leading the Bruins and assists,

127
00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,000
Speaker 1: free throws made, and defensive rebounds, and was second on

128
00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,440
Speaker 1: the team in steels. She was named Gatorade Athlete of

129
00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:13,280
Speaker 1: the Year and Gatorade National Player of the Year her

130
00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,600
Speaker 1: senior year of high school at Sidwell Friends School in DC,

131
00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:17,560
Speaker 1: and was one of the top recoups in her class.

132
00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,080
Speaker 1: She was also a soccer star in high school. She

133
00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,520
Speaker 1: was the first college athlete to sign an NIL deal

134
00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,040
Speaker 1: with Jordan Brand. So let me borrow pair ones Kiki

135
00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:27,440
Speaker 1: and we hung out on a yacht together in the

136
00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,160
Speaker 1: south of France this summer. It's keky Rice, what's up?

137
00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:32,720
Speaker 4: Keeke Hi Sarah, Thank you for having me.

138
00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:35,280
Speaker 1: Thank you both for joining me. It's a little less

139
00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:37,440
Speaker 1: glamorous than when we were hanging out in can but

140
00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,200
Speaker 1: it'll have to do on zoom. As you guys are

141
00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,360
Speaker 1: very busy being the number one team in the country,

142
00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:48,559
Speaker 1: let's go so exciting. Coach, I want you to start

143
00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,520
Speaker 1: by taking me into the locker room before that game

144
00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,640
Speaker 1: with South Carolina. They're the number one team, they're defending champs,

145
00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,120
Speaker 1: they've got a forty three game win streak. How do

146
00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,520
Speaker 1: you get your team to show up confident, not intimidated,

147
00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:00,320
Speaker 1: and ready to ball?

148
00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:05,440
Speaker 3: One word preparation. You know we uh, there was a

149
00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:09,760
Speaker 3: calm confidence in the room, and you know, we have

150
00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:14,080
Speaker 3: a phrase that we've really adopted that it begins before

151
00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,000
Speaker 3: it begins, That it's not when it tips, it's all

152
00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,600
Speaker 3: the things before that. How you see yourself, you know

153
00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:24,320
Speaker 3: what the preparation is, your attention to detail. There really was.

154
00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,160
Speaker 3: We were sitting there and there was literally just a calm.

155
00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,240
Speaker 3: We just were reminding ourselves where our focus needed to

156
00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:33,840
Speaker 3: be and that we would have some emotional state changes

157
00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:36,320
Speaker 3: as we call them, and that those are just fuel

158
00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:40,440
Speaker 3: and you had to embrace those and you know, get

159
00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:42,840
Speaker 3: back to neutral and then make the next right step.

160
00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,720
Speaker 3: But literally, it really came down to one word, and

161
00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:46,520
Speaker 3: that's preparation.

162
00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,360
Speaker 1: What a nice feeling for you to look around and

163
00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:52,080
Speaker 1: be like, WHOA, everybody's ready to go. Everybody's calm and

164
00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,880
Speaker 1: with it, Kiki. The size of that moment is very real,

165
00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,679
Speaker 1: National television celebrities in the crowd. This is a chance

166
00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,320
Speaker 1: to make a real statement about all the hype coming

167
00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,600
Speaker 1: into this season. Were you able to stay in a

168
00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:06,920
Speaker 1: normal routine and not get overwhelmed by the moment?

169
00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:08,080
Speaker 5: Yeah?

170
00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:09,720
Speaker 6: I think you know, I did my best, and everyone

171
00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:11,720
Speaker 6: else on the team as well, just trying to keep

172
00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:14,560
Speaker 6: our routine and you know, treat it as obviously this

173
00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:16,320
Speaker 6: is a big game, but you know, we be prepared

174
00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:17,280
Speaker 6: for games all the time.

175
00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:19,480
Speaker 7: You know, I'm a junior now, so I've played in

176
00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,000
Speaker 7: a few NCAA tournament games and big conference games and everything,

177
00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,640
Speaker 7: so I kind of understood what the environment would be like,

178
00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,160
Speaker 7: and I just tried to stay true to my normal

179
00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,120
Speaker 7: pregame routine and kind of stay focused in on the

180
00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,319
Speaker 7: game and not too caught up in all the extra

181
00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:36,560
Speaker 7: stuff going on. So I think just that focus on

182
00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:39,720
Speaker 7: you know, on court and being ready and getting prepared

183
00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:40,360
Speaker 7: really helped us.

184
00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:40,520
Speaker 8: All.

185
00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:42,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what they always say. You just have to

186
00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:44,960
Speaker 1: tie yourself. It's just a basketball game. I've done this

187
00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,760
Speaker 1: so many times, just a basketball game. It's hard sometimes

188
00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:50,560
Speaker 1: when you're looking over and seeing the famous faces and

189
00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,480
Speaker 1: knowing what's on the other side. Coach, you entered that game, oh,

190
00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,480
Speaker 1: win twenty against teams ranked number one in the AP pole,

191
00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,040
Speaker 1: and then after that game, the next time the poll

192
00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,600
Speaker 1: comes out, you our number one, first time in program history.

193
00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:04,000
Speaker 1: What's different this season?

194
00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,560
Speaker 3: Well, I mean I have a great set of players.

195
00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,960
Speaker 3: Our depth in versatility is you know, really elite. We

196
00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,200
Speaker 3: can really be both you know. And don Staley. I

197
00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:17,880
Speaker 3: first want to give her a shout out. I thought

198
00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:21,480
Speaker 3: she was so classy and just you know, gave us

199
00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:24,480
Speaker 3: sort of our flowers so to speak, in that moment,

200
00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:26,520
Speaker 3: which is not easy to do in her position. And

201
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,079
Speaker 3: I just think she's been really consistent, whether she was

202
00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:32,040
Speaker 3: on the winning side or in this case, the losing side.

203
00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,080
Speaker 3: I got to give her a lot of credit for that,

204
00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:35,640
Speaker 3: But one of the things she said in the press

205
00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:38,240
Speaker 3: conference is that it wasn't just one side of the ball,

206
00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,680
Speaker 3: like our ability to have elite defensive pressure and to

207
00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:45,080
Speaker 3: have matchups that are beneficial to us, and to create

208
00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:49,320
Speaker 3: offense off of our defense, and our versatility between Lauren

209
00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:54,040
Speaker 3: Betts being able to draw so much attention inside, keky

210
00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,920
Speaker 3: Rice being such a prolific scorer off the bounce getting downhill,

211
00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,000
Speaker 3: and now we're able to really shoot it. And I

212
00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,520
Speaker 3: think that's put spacing situations on teams that we haven't

213
00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:07,319
Speaker 3: had before. So, you know, I think that we're just

214
00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:09,320
Speaker 3: a different team. We're better, you know, I mean, I

215
00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:11,240
Speaker 3: think that's the reality of it. But I also think

216
00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,920
Speaker 3: there's a mental side of it. You know that we

217
00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:16,880
Speaker 3: talk a lot in our program about how you can't

218
00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:19,959
Speaker 3: outperform yourself image and you need to see yourself at

219
00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,600
Speaker 3: that level. Like if I we can have all the

220
00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:24,720
Speaker 3: talent in the world, but if you don't believe that

221
00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:26,880
Speaker 3: is what you've earned, it's not going to happen. It's

222
00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:28,960
Speaker 3: not going to manifest itself the way you want it to.

223
00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,600
Speaker 3: And so but I think this team really does believe

224
00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:35,840
Speaker 3: in what they've earned and I think they believe and

225
00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:38,600
Speaker 3: who we are collectively and the work they've put in

226
00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:40,880
Speaker 3: and we you know, it takes what it takes, and

227
00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:42,960
Speaker 3: you have to earn that kind of confidence, but I

228
00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,120
Speaker 3: think this team really has. But the secondary part about

229
00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,800
Speaker 3: that is, you know, let's have some humility and go.

230
00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:50,800
Speaker 3: You know, there's a lot of people who came before

231
00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:55,440
Speaker 3: us that taught us that sacrifice, that blaze the trail

232
00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:58,560
Speaker 3: that we now walk in. And we had over sixty

233
00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:00,000
Speaker 3: alumni at that game.

234
00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:00,440
Speaker 8: Wow.

235
00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:03,760
Speaker 3: That was one of my favorite parts is being able

236
00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,679
Speaker 3: to share it with so many people that have believed

237
00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,440
Speaker 3: in us and bought in and have continued to support us,

238
00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:11,520
Speaker 3: but also blaze the trail that we now walk in.

239
00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,760
Speaker 1: And truly in the college game, that matters because recruits

240
00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,319
Speaker 1: are showing up at places that have the history and

241
00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,480
Speaker 1: the continuity and the legacy that they want to be

242
00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:22,760
Speaker 1: a part of. And that is very cool that so

243
00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,520
Speaker 1: many of them were there to watch that moment. That's incredible.

244
00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:28,440
Speaker 1: Speaking of that, Kiki, you could have gone pretty much

245
00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,439
Speaker 1: anywhere top recruit out of high school a couple of

246
00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:33,920
Speaker 1: years ago. You have to make that big decision. What

247
00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:35,120
Speaker 1: drew you to UCLA.

248
00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,079
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think, you know, when I came on my visit,

249
00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,160
Speaker 7: I immediately felt like the combination the coaching staff, the

250
00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,679
Speaker 7: players here at the school, just everyone that I was

251
00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:46,240
Speaker 7: meeting and going to be around was the right kind

252
00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:46,840
Speaker 7: of people for me.

253
00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:51,120
Speaker 4: And I was really just really happy to hear Coach.

254
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,040
Speaker 7: Boy's message about how she felt like she developed me

255
00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,240
Speaker 7: into the player, into the young moment that I wanted

256
00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:57,199
Speaker 7: to become. So feeling like I was going to go

257
00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:00,360
Speaker 7: to a place that not only parts my develop on

258
00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,679
Speaker 7: the basketball court, but also everything that I'm interested off

259
00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,200
Speaker 7: the basketball court was definitely a big draw. And I

260
00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,400
Speaker 7: think another one for me, honestly was like wanting to

261
00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:09,520
Speaker 7: go somewhere where we hadn't won a national championship, we

262
00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:11,600
Speaker 7: hadn't been to a Final four, and to be part

263
00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:13,760
Speaker 7: of that first group to do that at school, I

264
00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:15,960
Speaker 7: think felt like UCLA that was a perfect place to

265
00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,120
Speaker 7: do that. And you know, as I can see everything

266
00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:21,120
Speaker 7: coming together and we're becoming, you know, the program that

267
00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:22,880
Speaker 7: we all want to be, it's just really exciting for

268
00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:23,959
Speaker 7: me to see.

269
00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:27,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's such an interesting attitude to have to instead

270
00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:29,800
Speaker 1: of saying I want to be somewhere that's known for this,

271
00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,000
Speaker 1: to say maybe I can be there and make it

272
00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:34,120
Speaker 1: known for that, which is a lot to put on

273
00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:35,760
Speaker 1: your shoulders, but says a lot about you as a

274
00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:39,480
Speaker 1: player and who you want to be, which is really cool. Coach,

275
00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:42,560
Speaker 1: we saw how much Caitlin Clark benefited from having this

276
00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:46,439
Speaker 1: organic rival in angel Rees. How much has the natural

277
00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:50,800
Speaker 1: rivalry with the other ascending team in la USC benefited

278
00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:51,520
Speaker 1: your program.

279
00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:54,640
Speaker 3: I think I'm leaning fully into it. I think how

280
00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:57,840
Speaker 3: great every time someone asked me about that weekend when

281
00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:00,760
Speaker 3: Notre Dame was here playing USC and we were playing

282
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:04,959
Speaker 3: South Carolina, I was like, this is Final four in November.

283
00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,360
Speaker 3: Let's go like, how awesome is this? I'm telling recruits

284
00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:12,040
Speaker 3: go to both games, go both places, you know, And

285
00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:14,200
Speaker 3: there's only one way I want to lean into that.

286
00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,120
Speaker 3: She's a great player, no question about it, and it's

287
00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,000
Speaker 3: made the rivalry even more fun.

288
00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,520
Speaker 1: And she being Juju Watkins, I presume direct.

289
00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:23,320
Speaker 3: Yeah, you can say that. I'm not supposed to say no,

290
00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:27,960
Speaker 3: I'm just teasing, but no, I mean, and she Juju

291
00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,040
Speaker 3: Watkins is a great player, and she's sort of the

292
00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:33,880
Speaker 3: celebrity darling. She's the you know, we had a lot

293
00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:36,640
Speaker 3: of celebrities. They had even more celebrities. But that's sort

294
00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:40,240
Speaker 3: of what the differences of our programs, right It's it

295
00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:42,840
Speaker 3: just goes to show you can build programs and really

296
00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:46,640
Speaker 3: good ones in different kind of ways. They're very, uh,

297
00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,720
Speaker 3: celebrity minded, and they have a lot of like flash,

298
00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:54,240
Speaker 3: and we're sort of this like substance kind of you know,

299
00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:56,680
Speaker 3: just do this, do the work behind the scenes. And

300
00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,160
Speaker 3: I think there's probably I'm probably building it up as

301
00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:02,440
Speaker 3: bigger difference, and it is, but I think it's awesome.

302
00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,680
Speaker 3: It's awesome for our game. It's awesome for role modeling

303
00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,800
Speaker 3: in LA, it's awesome for the competitive drive it's going

304
00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:12,800
Speaker 3: to take going into you know, obviously we all want

305
00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:14,880
Speaker 3: to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. That's

306
00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,119
Speaker 3: what we're all working towards. And to have these markers

307
00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,520
Speaker 3: against a high level rivalry team right here in our

308
00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:26,160
Speaker 3: own backyard thirteen miles away, I think that just prepares

309
00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,080
Speaker 3: us for what kind of run, what it's going to

310
00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:30,360
Speaker 3: feel like, the urgency. You're going to need to have

311
00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:33,240
Speaker 3: the game planning when you know each other really well.

312
00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:35,600
Speaker 3: Not only do we play against each other and see

313
00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,040
Speaker 3: each other all the time, heck, our players have played

314
00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,840
Speaker 3: pickup together in the summer, you know, like it's there,

315
00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:45,160
Speaker 3: there's no shortage of familiarity. But I just think that

316
00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,120
Speaker 3: adds to the drama, like who can lock in, who

317
00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,880
Speaker 3: can do things and take away the other team strengths?

318
00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:53,160
Speaker 3: How does that strategy pull out? How does our game

319
00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,200
Speaker 3: planning adjust to that? And we both have very different

320
00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:00,040
Speaker 3: rosters really than what we had last year, but the

321
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,120
Speaker 3: rivalry is just as good. But you know, I think

322
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,480
Speaker 3: you've always done a great job with this, Sarah, and

323
00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:06,840
Speaker 3: I really appreciate the way you've grown our game and

324
00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:11,000
Speaker 3: grown women's sports. But I really see this not only

325
00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,600
Speaker 3: is good for UCLA and USC women's basketball, but I

326
00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:16,960
Speaker 3: see it as good for growing the game. And that's

327
00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:18,280
Speaker 3: really really important to me.

328
00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,080
Speaker 1: It's so important as sports media to have stories to

329
00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,600
Speaker 1: cover that catch the eye in a different and unique way,

330
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,760
Speaker 1: and having that rivalry in LA is a huge way

331
00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,480
Speaker 1: of doing that and your storytelling of separating the teams.

332
00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:33,240
Speaker 1: We're the blue collar team, they're the flashy celebrity. That's

333
00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:35,040
Speaker 1: helpful too, and that's a great way to motivate your

334
00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:39,760
Speaker 1: players as well. But you've got some celebrities on your

335
00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:41,920
Speaker 1: squad as well. I mean, Kiki is the star of

336
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,200
Speaker 1: a docu series. You were part of the ESPN plus

337
00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,520
Speaker 1: Full Court Press alongside Kitlyn Clark Camila Krdo, So it's

338
00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:49,600
Speaker 1: so fun to watch, great to see your life behind

339
00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:52,560
Speaker 1: the scenes. How was that experience for you? Did you

340
00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:53,120
Speaker 1: enjoy it?

341
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:55,480
Speaker 4: Yeah, a very cool experience.

342
00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:57,680
Speaker 7: I mean just being able to be a part of

343
00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:00,760
Speaker 7: Full Core Press and be with Kitland and and kind

344
00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:01,920
Speaker 7: of be able to tell our stories.

345
00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:03,720
Speaker 4: It definitely took some time to get you ste all

346
00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:04,920
Speaker 4: the cameras being around.

347
00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:07,800
Speaker 7: They were in the film room at practices back in

348
00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:11,000
Speaker 7: my apartment, so that took some just adjusting too, because

349
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,399
Speaker 7: I've never, you know, been in that kind of environment.

350
00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:14,960
Speaker 7: But it was a really cool opportunity so to kind

351
00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:17,840
Speaker 7: of just get to tell my story in a more

352
00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:20,000
Speaker 7: in depth way. And I think as an athlete, like

353
00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,520
Speaker 7: I was always drawn to other athletes too, I felt

354
00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:25,479
Speaker 7: like I knew not just as a basketball player, but

355
00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:27,399
Speaker 7: you know, some people be on the court, So I

356
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:29,760
Speaker 7: think for me to be able to kind of model

357
00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,359
Speaker 7: that for other young fans and everything, it was really

358
00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:34,480
Speaker 7: felt like a really cool opportunity and one that I

359
00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:35,479
Speaker 7: didn't want to pass up on.

360
00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:37,720
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was really fun to hear about your family,

361
00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,520
Speaker 1: all the Yale's and all the folks that we know

362
00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:43,000
Speaker 1: for other reasons that are part of your family. Did

363
00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,000
Speaker 1: you have ultimate edit both of you, coach, I'm sure

364
00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:47,400
Speaker 1: there were moments where you're like, yeah, you can't put

365
00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,600
Speaker 1: that in there. Wait, hold on, that's proprietary. Did you

366
00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:51,080
Speaker 1: all at the end get to look through and make

367
00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:52,320
Speaker 1: sure you got to cut what you wanted.

368
00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:54,000
Speaker 7: We were both able to see all the clips and

369
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,720
Speaker 7: everything before it was cut out, so definitely, yeah, definitely

370
00:17:57,760 --> 00:17:58,480
Speaker 7: were able to see them.

371
00:17:58,520 --> 00:17:59,680
Speaker 4: There wasn't I don't really.

372
00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,560
Speaker 7: Yeah that much of anything at all that I was like, now,

373
00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:03,320
Speaker 7: don't put in there.

374
00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:05,600
Speaker 4: So it ended up being pretty good.

375
00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,480
Speaker 3: I think they really had credit to them that they

376
00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,159
Speaker 3: really got the heartbeat of our program. And you know,

377
00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,000
Speaker 3: I really there's only one thing, and it had nothing

378
00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:17,760
Speaker 3: to do with content. It had to do with like

379
00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:20,520
Speaker 3: licensing and things like that, you know, so I really

380
00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,919
Speaker 3: didn't have a need to take anything out when I

381
00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,080
Speaker 3: got to see it in advance, So it was I

382
00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:28,159
Speaker 3: just thought it was great storytelling and I think just

383
00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,480
Speaker 3: to get to know someone like Kiki in a more

384
00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:33,600
Speaker 3: in depth way, but also the rest of our team.

385
00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:34,440
Speaker 3: It was really cool.

386
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:37,639
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, you had a lot of people ready to

387
00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:39,080
Speaker 1: run through a wall for your coach, So I think

388
00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:40,639
Speaker 1: you came off on the right side of that in

389
00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,280
Speaker 1: terms of recruiting people being like, wait, I want to

390
00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:47,199
Speaker 1: play for her, Kiki. You're just twenty, you're starring a

391
00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,640
Speaker 1: reality series, you're the first nil athlete for Jordan Brand,

392
00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:54,240
Speaker 1: You're traveling the world, you're a mini mogul, and you

393
00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,600
Speaker 1: can't rent a car legally in most states. How are

394
00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:01,120
Speaker 1: you keeping yourself grounded and trying to stay a kid

395
00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:02,560
Speaker 1: in the ways that still matter?

396
00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:07,600
Speaker 7: Yeah, that's an interesting question because I feel like it's

397
00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,240
Speaker 7: just the lifestyle and what I go through on a

398
00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:12,560
Speaker 7: data basis is just all what that I'm used to

399
00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,000
Speaker 7: because it's all really that I've been able to experience,

400
00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:18,440
Speaker 7: So it honestly doesn't feel too crazy to me. But yeah,

401
00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:20,480
Speaker 7: it is, like it is crazy sometimes to think about

402
00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:22,040
Speaker 7: there's a lot of things that I can't do yet,

403
00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:25,639
Speaker 7: and just because I'm twenty, but I've also had so

404
00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:28,040
Speaker 7: many incredible experiences that a lot of people don't get

405
00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:31,080
Speaker 7: to have throughout their entire life. So I'm really grateful

406
00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:32,840
Speaker 7: for that, but I think it's like it's crazy to

407
00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:34,879
Speaker 7: see all the doors that fastball is open for me

408
00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:36,840
Speaker 7: yet just already at such a young age.

409
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,400
Speaker 3: So gratitude on that, yeah, go ahead, Because people ask

410
00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:43,880
Speaker 3: me all the time like, oh my gosh, you're trying

411
00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:46,560
Speaker 3: to lead an NIL, You're trying to do all these things.

412
00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:49,840
Speaker 3: What is it like to have your locker room that way?

413
00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:53,000
Speaker 3: And how terrible that must be and how hard? And

414
00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:56,080
Speaker 3: I can tell you right away for the reason it's

415
00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:59,880
Speaker 3: not is because our highest earning athlete and who's had

416
00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:03,320
Speaker 3: the most opportunities, has the perspective of Kiki Rice, who

417
00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:07,320
Speaker 3: has humility, who is still others centered, who really just

418
00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:09,879
Speaker 3: sets the tone with her work ethic no matter what.

419
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:13,480
Speaker 3: And so when you have a player, one of your

420
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:18,680
Speaker 3: most accomplished players, especially in the NIL space, and has

421
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:22,399
Speaker 3: the most humility and has the highest level of work ethic,

422
00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,240
Speaker 3: she's changed our entire culture in terms of the extra

423
00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,520
Speaker 3: work that's put in. It really isn't hard at all.

424
00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,359
Speaker 3: And so I just want to give you, Kiki a

425
00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,440
Speaker 3: shout out for your character and the tone that you've

426
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,919
Speaker 3: said in our program, especially in these first two years

427
00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,200
Speaker 3: of NIL. It would be a very different story if

428
00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:43,720
Speaker 3: Kiki Rice wasn't the young woman that she is with

429
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:45,200
Speaker 3: the character that she possesses.

430
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, that is so true. That really sets such a

431
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:50,919
Speaker 1: precedent for the rest of the team and also making

432
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,160
Speaker 1: it feel like you're still part of everything, even if

433
00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:54,919
Speaker 1: there are ways that you're separated from the rest of

434
00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,000
Speaker 1: your squad, and Kiki, that gratitude is so important to

435
00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:00,240
Speaker 1: hang on to that because to your point, you know

436
00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:02,760
Speaker 1: any different, right, But I'll tell you what you want

437
00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,640
Speaker 1: to learn about it being different. Go ask a great

438
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,879
Speaker 1: player from ten years ago what their college life was

439
00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,000
Speaker 1: like despite their talent, vastly different from what you're getting

440
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,280
Speaker 1: to experience now. Or I'm sure just ask one of

441
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,200
Speaker 1: your friends at school that isn't an nil top athlete

442
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,560
Speaker 1: at us LAY, just an average twenty year old and

443
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:21,879
Speaker 1: they're going to help you realize pretty quick just what

444
00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:24,560
Speaker 1: a gift it is. But I love your attitude around it.

445
00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,240
Speaker 1: It's just it's so good. Coach you. You kind of

446
00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,560
Speaker 1: set me up for my next question, which is, you

447
00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,359
Speaker 1: know you've been coaching in some capacity for over thirty

448
00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,760
Speaker 1: years and I would love to hear the biggest ways

449
00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,440
Speaker 1: your job has changed since nineteen ninety three. Cell phones

450
00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:42,879
Speaker 1: were a new wrinkle at one point, then nil deals

451
00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,080
Speaker 1: players being businesses on their own while still in school,

452
00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:49,440
Speaker 1: the massive leap and TV coverage in popularity, the transfer portal,

453
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,800
Speaker 1: I mean, besides the basketball, the x'es and o's that

454
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,040
Speaker 1: you get to mostly keep and hang on to. The

455
00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,560
Speaker 1: job of player management and team building has changed so vastly.

456
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:00,320
Speaker 1: So what stands out to you.

457
00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:03,160
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, you just did a very good synopsis

458
00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,920
Speaker 3: through the years. I mean, I do. I am still

459
00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:08,080
Speaker 3: of the age that I remember when cell phones came

460
00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:10,560
Speaker 3: into play and you know, like the craziness of that

461
00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,879
Speaker 3: and text messaging, and now we're talking about hundreds of

462
00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,840
Speaker 3: thousands of dollars and you know per player that they're

463
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,320
Speaker 3: going to be, you know, making you know, I have

464
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:24,000
Speaker 3: really two sides of it. That one is, I think

465
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:28,680
Speaker 3: it's awesome for women specifically. I you know, women unfortunately

466
00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,560
Speaker 3: are not taught to think like entrepreneurs. They're not thought

467
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:34,879
Speaker 3: to think about leveraging and maximizing all of the platforms

468
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,040
Speaker 3: that they actually have that they just never have been

469
00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:40,480
Speaker 3: taught how to leverage in an appropriate fashion. And the

470
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:44,960
Speaker 3: reality is is that I'm having different financial conversations with

471
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,720
Speaker 3: our women that I ever have before. They're interested in

472
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,000
Speaker 3: investing and how that they go about building their futures.

473
00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,359
Speaker 3: You know. We we've brought in a person who's really

474
00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:56,920
Speaker 3: a financial consultant for all of our players and from

475
00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:01,000
Speaker 3: everything from taxes to investing to say to you know,

476
00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:03,440
Speaker 3: planning things out for the short term and the long term.

477
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:06,720
Speaker 3: And I think that's very exciting that, you know, the

478
00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:10,040
Speaker 3: fact of twenty years down the road, they're not going

479
00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:13,840
Speaker 3: to need basketball. They might want to have basketball still,

480
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,280
Speaker 3: but they will not need it. And I think that's

481
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,480
Speaker 3: a tremendous opportunity. And women are great storytellers, and so

482
00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:24,280
Speaker 3: this whole situation with social media, we didn't even mention

483
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,720
Speaker 3: that piece, you know, coming into play in addition to

484
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,960
Speaker 3: everything else. But for them to learn that to handle

485
00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,000
Speaker 3: that in the right way. You know, there's obviously wrong

486
00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:35,919
Speaker 3: ways and difficult traps that you can get into. But

487
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,440
Speaker 3: so does money. You know, money can be a tool

488
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:42,879
Speaker 3: that opens up opportunities, or it can foster greed and jealousy,

489
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,040
Speaker 3: and so our challenge is to you know, use those

490
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,600
Speaker 3: things in the right way, you know. But I think

491
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,240
Speaker 3: the biggest thing is time for my from my shoes right.

492
00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:56,399
Speaker 3: Basketball coaching has been a lifestyle choice and an all

493
00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:00,159
Speaker 3: encompassing job for a long time, and now it's even hard.

494
00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:04,400
Speaker 3: And just speaking from me as a leader, I struggle

495
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:07,200
Speaker 3: the most with the burden that's been placed on assistant

496
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,600
Speaker 3: coaches and support staff. They are now doing twice the

497
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:15,280
Speaker 3: work for not any more pay because the all the

498
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,200
Speaker 3: money you know, from revenue producing and whatever else. I

499
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:23,200
Speaker 3: am afraid of losing really good people from this job

500
00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 3: because it is just so much and and that is

501
00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:30,000
Speaker 3: my biggest concern is how do we push it forward,

502
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,879
Speaker 3: How do we take advantage of all these things, How

503
00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:33,960
Speaker 3: do we do all these great things for the sake

504
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,640
Speaker 3: of these incredible young women which is why we're doing

505
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:41,359
Speaker 3: this job, and not lose amazing mentors, because I do

506
00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:43,400
Speaker 3: think that's a danger. You saw it in some head

507
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,240
Speaker 3: coaches already, right that are either jumping to the w

508
00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:51,640
Speaker 3: NBA or like you know, from Virginia's coach to Jay

509
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,600
Speaker 3: Wright on the men's side, they're like, I don't need this,

510
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:58,200
Speaker 3: I'm out just retire, No, and so, but those are

511
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,919
Speaker 3: incredible x's and o's coaches, but also mentors of young people,

512
00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,399
Speaker 3: and so that is my concern of it. There are

513
00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:09,320
Speaker 3: incredible progress, you know, points that we should celebrate, and

514
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,120
Speaker 3: I want our women to have as many opportunities as

515
00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,879
Speaker 3: they possibly can. I just don't want the unintended consequences

516
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:17,840
Speaker 3: to overshadow those.

517
00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, sounds like we're calling on some brands to do

518
00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:25,560
Speaker 1: nil style sponsorship deals for assistant coaches. Some brand that's

519
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:30,080
Speaker 1: about lending a helping hand, supporting, assisting. We need someone

520
00:25:30,119 --> 00:25:32,040
Speaker 1: to step in and start telling the stories of some

521
00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:35,560
Speaker 1: of these, you know, coaches that don't get as much shine,

522
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:37,479
Speaker 1: but like you said, are putting in a ton of

523
00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,600
Speaker 1: work to help benefit the athletes and the programs. And

524
00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,000
Speaker 1: it is true. It is a lifestyle. It is an

525
00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:45,320
Speaker 1: all encompassing job that you really have to care a

526
00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,560
Speaker 1: lot about. And now you have players that might be

527
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,000
Speaker 1: making more than the coaches. A lot of players make

528
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:52,520
Speaker 1: more than the coaches, most of them, and it's great

529
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:55,639
Speaker 1: to be professional in their approach and it probably helps

530
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,960
Speaker 1: you start treating them professionally as well. But yeah, it's

531
00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:01,760
Speaker 1: a different dynamic than it ever was before, which is interesting.

532
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:03,960
Speaker 3: Well, just gives me a chance to say thank you

533
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,359
Speaker 3: to all those people that are sacrificing so much for

534
00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,000
Speaker 3: the progress of our current women, which I want that,

535
00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:11,440
Speaker 3: but I also don't want to burn them out.

536
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's interesting you look at someone like Abby Wambach,

537
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,240
Speaker 1: who part of the reason that Angel City came together,

538
00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:18,320
Speaker 1: as she gave this speech at the sb Awards about

539
00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:20,560
Speaker 1: retiring at the same time as Kobe and Peyton being

540
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:22,840
Speaker 1: honored in the same way at the sb's walking off

541
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,080
Speaker 1: the stage and thinking, shit, I need a whole new

542
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,919
Speaker 1: career now. And the two guys don't have that. They

543
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,080
Speaker 1: have generational wealth that their kids and their kids' kids,

544
00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:34,080
Speaker 1: and I got nothing, And these young women athletes can

545
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,840
Speaker 1: start to accumulate wealth, can start to invest. I was

546
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,960
Speaker 1: reading Kiki's bio while I was looking at Flage doing

547
00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:45,119
Speaker 1: nil deals for unrivaled. Paige Becker's is already investing in

548
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,800
Speaker 1: spaces as a collegiate athlete. Flage has got a bunch

549
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:50,520
Speaker 1: of lands she bought, and I'm like, man, they're passing

550
00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:53,200
Speaker 1: me by in my forties because they're already getting set

551
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,440
Speaker 1: up as entrepreneurs to your point, which is just so impressive.

552
00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,040
Speaker 1: And it's going to create also this generation of female

553
00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,040
Speaker 1: athletes that have the capacity to be in ownership and

554
00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:04,240
Speaker 1: to be in front offices and spaces. That is going

555
00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,000
Speaker 1: to change the landscape of women's sport because it won't

556
00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:10,119
Speaker 1: be all men running things and women being the pawns

557
00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:13,480
Speaker 1: that they're operating with, which is going to be absolutely huge.

558
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:15,520
Speaker 3: You're Thatkiki, that's your deal, right.

559
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,760
Speaker 1: That's you. That's you. But it's about the basketball too, right.

560
00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:20,919
Speaker 1: You get and you earned what you got because of

561
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,919
Speaker 1: your basketball. And I want to know who you're watching.

562
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:25,960
Speaker 1: What are the players that you model your game after,

563
00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:28,159
Speaker 1: or you know, folks you watch because you want to

564
00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:29,840
Speaker 1: steal some of their skills for your own bag.

565
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,640
Speaker 7: Yeah, I'd say this last season of the w NBA

566
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,359
Speaker 7: was probably my favorite that I've uh.

567
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:38,880
Speaker 4: That I've watched in recent years.

568
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,080
Speaker 7: I mean, of course the playoff run and the finals

569
00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:45,399
Speaker 7: Liberty and in lengths, that was definitely one of the

570
00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:48,199
Speaker 7: best sporting events that I've that have been able to

571
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,040
Speaker 7: watch across all sports.

572
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,760
Speaker 4: Women or men. But yeah, I mean, I think when

573
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:53,360
Speaker 4: it comes.

574
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:57,240
Speaker 7: To w NBA guards, I really love Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plumb,

575
00:27:58,800 --> 00:27:59,639
Speaker 7: Skylar Diggins.

576
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:01,840
Speaker 4: I think that so many different players that I've tried

577
00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:02,920
Speaker 4: to like watch.

578
00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:04,880
Speaker 7: A lot and take little aspects of their game and

579
00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:06,400
Speaker 7: in general, I'm just a huge sports fan.

580
00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:09,639
Speaker 4: Like Coach Bright, I always talk about basketball, football, whatever

581
00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,520
Speaker 4: it is. You watch all the all the games and everything.

582
00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:16,560
Speaker 7: But I think just being able to watch all these

583
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,440
Speaker 7: really high level players and see the areas that they're

584
00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:21,640
Speaker 7: excelling in and figuring out how I can add little

585
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:23,840
Speaker 7: pieces of what they do really well to my game,

586
00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:25,919
Speaker 7: and I think that just helps me in terms of

587
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:28,399
Speaker 7: my growth as a player. But also just like basketball IQ,

588
00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,560
Speaker 7: just watching all the all the games and seeing how

589
00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:34,440
Speaker 7: teams handle endgame situation and kind of what sets they're

590
00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:35,440
Speaker 7: running and all that kind of stuff.

591
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:37,000
Speaker 4: It really helps me as a point guard out there.

592
00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:39,880
Speaker 1: What do you need to add to your game? What

593
00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:40,520
Speaker 1: are you working on?

594
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:41,320
Speaker 8: Yeah?

595
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,200
Speaker 7: Right now, I think this last off season and this

596
00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,000
Speaker 7: last season, I've really been focused on my like three

597
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,360
Speaker 7: point shooting, catch and shoot, just really expanding my game.

598
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:53,080
Speaker 7: I've always been a really good downhill driver driver, but

599
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:56,160
Speaker 7: just adding more layers and to my game from that

600
00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:58,560
Speaker 7: standpoint has been something I've been really focused on. And

601
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:00,760
Speaker 7: I think I've been kind of saying seeing a lot

602
00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:02,680
Speaker 7: of network payoff in the first few games of the season,

603
00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:04,480
Speaker 7: so I'm really excited about that. But I just think

604
00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:07,640
Speaker 7: continuing to keep that work up and as I get

605
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:09,160
Speaker 7: to a higher level, I'm going to continue to need

606
00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,400
Speaker 7: to add more stuff. But I feel really good about

607
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:13,800
Speaker 7: the development that have been making over these past few years.

608
00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, it has been evident. It has been evident for

609
00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,800
Speaker 1: you and for your team. Coach. I love asking successful

610
00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,400
Speaker 1: leaders to talk about a big pivot or a lesson

611
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,120
Speaker 1: that changed perspective, something that they change their mind about,

612
00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:28,200
Speaker 1: because I love people who have found great success saying

613
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,560
Speaker 1: that they still evolve and change mindsets. Is there something

614
00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:33,600
Speaker 1: that stands out to you that in the last couple

615
00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:35,760
Speaker 1: of years you've really changed your mind about, or you

616
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:37,920
Speaker 1: used to do one way and you realize this is

617
00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:39,000
Speaker 1: a new way, in a better way.

618
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,840
Speaker 3: Well, Nil has forced me to change, you know. I

619
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:46,120
Speaker 3: mean I think that a lot of people started sitting

620
00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:49,040
Speaker 3: back and going, oh, well, we'll see what happens and

621
00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:51,360
Speaker 3: then we'll do this. And I didn't want to be

622
00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:54,680
Speaker 3: reactionary in that, and we have had to change a lot,

623
00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:58,840
Speaker 3: but you know, I really I really had to view

624
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:01,480
Speaker 3: that differently, like, this is got to be opportunistic. We're

625
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:03,640
Speaker 3: in the number one media market in the world. How

626
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,000
Speaker 3: do we do that? But also allow them to be kids.

627
00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:08,560
Speaker 3: I think that is a constant pivot for me right

628
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:11,720
Speaker 3: now because the rules are changing all the time. You're

629
00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,440
Speaker 3: having to real time make decisions with this incredibly new

630
00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:19,239
Speaker 3: part of their college experience and so integrating that and

631
00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:20,960
Speaker 3: what other things do you have to say no to

632
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,920
Speaker 3: and those kinds of things. But so I think nil

633
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,520
Speaker 3: has been the biggest sort of pivot in my I'm

634
00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:31,680
Speaker 3: a very vision oriented person trying to create infrastructure that's sustainable,

635
00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:35,560
Speaker 3: and that has forced me to be very nimble and

636
00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,440
Speaker 3: not be able to you know, plan everything out, and

637
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,360
Speaker 3: so that's had to do it that way. But I think,

638
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:45,000
Speaker 3: you know, one way I had to just admit failure

639
00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,880
Speaker 3: is that last I thought, my first, you know, several

640
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,160
Speaker 3: years of my head coaching career, like if you traced

641
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:56,680
Speaker 3: our in game situations and out of timeouts, we were

642
00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:02,320
Speaker 3: very efficient, Like very rarely in the several years did

643
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,480
Speaker 3: I ever feel like we didn't put our kids in

644
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:08,040
Speaker 3: least in the best position to be successful. And quite frankly,

645
00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:11,440
Speaker 3: last year there were three games where I didn't feel

646
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:13,200
Speaker 3: like I did my best for the sake of the team,

647
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,240
Speaker 3: and I was not as good as I needed to be.

648
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:19,880
Speaker 3: And so I needed to go back to the drawing

649
00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:22,760
Speaker 3: board and and I watched every one of those games

650
00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:26,080
Speaker 3: over and over again, planning some of those things out.

651
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:30,320
Speaker 3: And you know, the reality was I wasn't my best

652
00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:33,120
Speaker 3: when my best was needed in the in a few

653
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:36,320
Speaker 3: games last year. And so that's something I needed to

654
00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,479
Speaker 3: own and I needed to fail forward, so to speak,

655
00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:42,520
Speaker 3: just like I require of them and do my work

656
00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:44,960
Speaker 3: in the off season and hopefully we're better for them

657
00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,640
Speaker 3: moving forward. So, you know, I just think it's, uh,

658
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:50,560
Speaker 3: you know, one of the things people say, what do

659
00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:52,120
Speaker 3: you have what do you have to learn to do

660
00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,880
Speaker 3: when you became a head coach? And honestly in different ways,

661
00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:59,160
Speaker 3: in different forms, to have the humility to ask for forgiveness,

662
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:03,520
Speaker 3: I you know, and I expect them to own their

663
00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:05,960
Speaker 3: mistakes and so I need to own mine. And so

664
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,520
Speaker 3: that was one just recently, just to be really candid

665
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:10,960
Speaker 3: that I needed to do better for the sake of

666
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:12,360
Speaker 3: our program and our team.

667
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,880
Speaker 1: I love that. Yeah, it's constant learning, and also that

668
00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:17,920
Speaker 1: respect that you give to them by being able to

669
00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:22,200
Speaker 1: admit your failings will offer up. It's mutual in that way.

670
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,800
Speaker 1: All right, last questions for you, Kiki, do you have

671
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,320
Speaker 1: personal goals for this season? Do you have numbers that

672
00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:31,600
Speaker 1: you try to hit and write down before you start.

673
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:34,960
Speaker 6: No, not really like numbers or anything that I'm just

674
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:38,240
Speaker 6: obviously I'm hoping for like improvements and areas. And actually,

675
00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:40,440
Speaker 6: like one of my favorite things about that program is

676
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:43,040
Speaker 6: how we have such a great like analytics staff, so

677
00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:46,600
Speaker 6: they really break down, like my game at every level

678
00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:47,840
Speaker 6: from an analytical standpoint.

679
00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:49,520
Speaker 4: So at the end of like last.

680
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:53,480
Speaker 9: Year, we went through you know, all shot charts, areas

681
00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:55,360
Speaker 9: that I'm really good in, areas that need to improve in,

682
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:57,320
Speaker 9: and I think like.

683
00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:00,960
Speaker 4: To see growth in those areas. I think that obviously

684
00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:02,560
Speaker 4: I'm hoping to see and I feel.

685
00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,240
Speaker 9: Like I'm like, you know, working in the right direction

686
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:09,360
Speaker 9: and everything more so obviously whenever, one goal is.

687
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:11,240
Speaker 4: Just winning and that's really what I care about the most.

688
00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:13,280
Speaker 8: And I think the fact that we have a new

689
00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:15,400
Speaker 8: team this year, a lot of a lot more depth

690
00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:20,400
Speaker 8: and like kind of different different abilities as players. I think,

691
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:23,920
Speaker 8: like my rule is not necessarily always the same each year,

692
00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:26,239
Speaker 8: and like what the team requires for me is not

693
00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:28,440
Speaker 8: necessarily the same this year as it was last year.

694
00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:30,480
Speaker 4: So I think just figuring out like how I really

695
00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:32,400
Speaker 4: best serve this team. I'm not saying I have like

696
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,320
Speaker 4: individual personal goals from a number standpoint.

697
00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:38,120
Speaker 7: I just want to win and be the best player

698
00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:40,120
Speaker 7: and most efficient player that I can for this team.

699
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:42,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's great to have those analytics though, because it

700
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,160
Speaker 1: can just be improve and you'll be able to tell

701
00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:47,520
Speaker 1: by the numbers in a lot of ways. Coach, you

702
00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:51,360
Speaker 1: start Big ten play and that means a lot of

703
00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,760
Speaker 1: travel coming up. What's your expectation for being one of

704
00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:57,440
Speaker 1: those California teams that has it pretty tough in terms

705
00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:59,000
Speaker 1: of how much you'll be moving around.

706
00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,920
Speaker 3: I think it's just very simple. Be the most prepared,

707
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:08,680
Speaker 3: be completely process oriented, and uh, you know, minimize distractions.

708
00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:11,319
Speaker 3: I think performance equals potential. We have a lot of

709
00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:16,719
Speaker 3: that minus interferences. So don't allow travel to be an interference.

710
00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:21,760
Speaker 3: You know, pay it to plan well, have good time management. Thankfully,

711
00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:24,440
Speaker 3: our administration has supported us really well in terms of

712
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:27,520
Speaker 3: how we charter and how we travel, and so I

713
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,640
Speaker 3: really think that that's you know, last year, we did

714
00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:35,920
Speaker 3: four cross country trips in a row, four consecutive weekends,

715
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,799
Speaker 3: all against ranked opponents, and we won everyone. And no

716
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,560
Speaker 3: Big ten travel is going to be tougher than that.

717
00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:47,200
Speaker 3: And so the reality for me is that you know,

718
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,000
Speaker 3: like it's don't even think about that. It's an interference

719
00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:52,960
Speaker 3: focus on your preparation, and like that's one of the

720
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:56,080
Speaker 3: things you heard Keiki talking about is honestly, when you

721
00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,719
Speaker 3: look at numbers or outcomes or down the road, that

722
00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,080
Speaker 3: actually can turn into an and it can take you

723
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:06,200
Speaker 3: away from being present focused and where is any fear

724
00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,600
Speaker 3: or pressure. It's either thinking about the past or thinking

725
00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:13,040
Speaker 3: about the future. So our job is to be really

726
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,680
Speaker 3: really prepared and to play present every day. And even

727
00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:20,760
Speaker 3: yesterday we actually were battling our feelings, so to speak,

728
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:22,840
Speaker 3: and I'm like, you know, we can. We do not

729
00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:25,320
Speaker 3: have time to coach your feelings. Your feelings are real,

730
00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:28,400
Speaker 3: they're valid, but they're not valid in between the lines

731
00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:31,759
Speaker 3: for these two hours, right, and so you know, yeah,

732
00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:34,360
Speaker 3: are you going to be tired traveling around? Yeah? So

733
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,880
Speaker 3: what you know, And there's a clip I'm actually going

734
00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:38,800
Speaker 3: to show the team and I've showed it to him before.

735
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,520
Speaker 3: Is Tom Brady going f your feelings? I don't even

736
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:46,560
Speaker 3: swear you know, af your feelings being tired. Whatever the

737
00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,200
Speaker 3: reality is is, if you want what you want, if

738
00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,440
Speaker 3: you want to be about what you say. That doesn't

739
00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:54,839
Speaker 3: have a place you have to pre decide, that has

740
00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:58,719
Speaker 3: no place in your decision making. And so you know,

741
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:01,160
Speaker 3: I'm thankful to be a part of the Big Ten.

742
00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:05,000
Speaker 3: The Big Ten in my mind, is making all the moves.

743
00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:07,440
Speaker 3: The Big Ten and the SEC are controlling a lot

744
00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:10,759
Speaker 3: of the decision making and where college athletics goes. And so,

745
00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:14,320
Speaker 3: you know, are there things that are sad about losing

746
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:17,799
Speaker 3: college landscape the way we knew it? And yes there is.

747
00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:20,480
Speaker 3: Am I sad that the PAC twelve is no longer. Yes,

748
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:24,080
Speaker 3: but I'm thankful to be a part of the two

749
00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:27,760
Speaker 3: most competitive conferences that are doing most of the decision making.

750
00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:31,000
Speaker 3: So let's go, and I'm excited about it, and we

751
00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:34,360
Speaker 3: are going to be completely process oriented and totally prepared.

752
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:37,640
Speaker 1: It's great advice for life, not just for sports. Most

753
00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:41,480
Speaker 1: of our fears, regrets, worries are taking place in the

754
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:43,400
Speaker 1: past or the future. And if you try to remain

755
00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:45,920
Speaker 1: as present as possible and you prepare yourself for what's

756
00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:48,040
Speaker 1: in front of you and the present, good to go.

757
00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:51,120
Speaker 1: Speaking of what's in front of you, coach your athlete

758
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:54,279
Speaker 1: beats you to this zoom called by about ten to

759
00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:57,480
Speaker 1: twelve minutes. She was one minute early, you were, in

760
00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:01,399
Speaker 1: fact late. I believe that calls for windsprint so well

761
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,840
Speaker 1: forward to those and Keiki if you could videotape that,

762
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:06,240
Speaker 1: we would love that content.

763
00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:15,480
Speaker 3: So goes after that, I do apologize.

764
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:17,880
Speaker 1: Thanks to both of you so much for making the

765
00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:20,080
Speaker 1: time and congrats on what a great season so far.

766
00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:21,720
Speaker 4: Thank you for having us.

767
00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:24,359
Speaker 3: Thank you for having us, and Sarah just thank you

768
00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:26,200
Speaker 3: for what you're doing for women in sports. This is

769
00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:28,520
Speaker 3: a great You've been doing it for a long time

770
00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:31,319
Speaker 3: and I hope this platform continues to grow because you're

771
00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:33,720
Speaker 3: doing really important things. Thanks for letting us be apart.

772
00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,040
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Cory and Kiki for joining us. Can't

773
00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:41,160
Speaker 1: wait for that video of those wind sprints. We got

774
00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:43,640
Speaker 1: to take another break when we come back. Toronto Tempo

775
00:37:43,719 --> 00:37:46,960
Speaker 1: President Teresa Rash talks about a wild week up north.

776
00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:57,040
Speaker 1: So happy to be joined by a special guest popping

777
00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:01,200
Speaker 1: in today. President of the Toronto Tempo w NBA expansion team,

778
00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:04,399
Speaker 1: tipping off in twenty twenty six, Teresa Rash back for more.

779
00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:07,560
Speaker 1: Thanks for coming back. First off, congrats on the name

780
00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:09,960
Speaker 1: and the brand launch. Let's start there. Tell us about

781
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:12,160
Speaker 1: the tempo, the name, the brand, the colors, everything.

782
00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:16,239
Speaker 5: Ah, I love it. It's great to be back. Longtime fan,

783
00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:20,200
Speaker 5: second time guest. Great to be back, Sarah. Yeah, really

784
00:38:20,239 --> 00:38:23,560
Speaker 5: excited to introduce Toronto Temples for the world today. When

785
00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:26,759
Speaker 5: we were awarded the team back in May, we knew

786
00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:28,719
Speaker 5: we were going to get to name this franchise and

787
00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:30,680
Speaker 5: we really thought about, like, well, what do we want

788
00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:32,919
Speaker 5: this story to be. What we about the origin story

789
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:34,960
Speaker 5: to be of our name and logo, because that's going

790
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:36,879
Speaker 5: to live on with it as well, and we really

791
00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:38,799
Speaker 5: wanted it to be a story of a collective. So

792
00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:41,359
Speaker 5: we went out, we did a name your Camp, Name

793
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:44,400
Speaker 5: your Team campaign for inspiration. We got over ten thousand

794
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:47,239
Speaker 5: people ninety eight countries interacting, ended up getting over one

795
00:38:47,239 --> 00:38:51,960
Speaker 5: thousand unique names and dwindle those down. We had a

796
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:54,319
Speaker 5: community council that helped us with that. We had a

797
00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:58,440
Speaker 5: couple different professors who specialized in design and inclusive design

798
00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:00,680
Speaker 5: that helped us maybe see things that we might be

799
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:04,319
Speaker 5: blind to. And ultimately Tempo rose to the top and

800
00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:08,920
Speaker 5: we're really excited to really change the name category like

801
00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:11,840
Speaker 5: this is what we love about it is it talks

802
00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:14,439
Speaker 5: about the game of basketball, and rarely do the names

803
00:39:14,480 --> 00:39:16,400
Speaker 5: actually talk about the sport that's being played, So we

804
00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:19,080
Speaker 5: felt really good about that. And then ultimately, once you

805
00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:20,320
Speaker 5: have a name, then you get to make a logo.

806
00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:23,560
Speaker 5: So once again we went back to the collective. We

807
00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:25,800
Speaker 5: put out a call for creatives. We ended up hiring

808
00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:28,920
Speaker 5: three different people to work with our creative agency as

809
00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:31,080
Speaker 5: well as our design agency. So it's a whole collective

810
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:34,720
Speaker 5: of people touching on all these all these different ways

811
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:37,439
Speaker 5: in and it was really fun process to go through,

812
00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:39,799
Speaker 5: and ultimately we're really excited where we ended up. Like

813
00:39:40,239 --> 00:39:44,680
Speaker 5: Tempo's is, we really identified with it because of the duality, right,

814
00:39:44,719 --> 00:39:47,200
Speaker 5: it can be fast or slow, but it's about control.

815
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:50,360
Speaker 5: And ultimately, you know, Tempo is truly like the heartbeat

816
00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:53,080
Speaker 5: of competition. It's the pace, it's the rhythm of the game.

817
00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:57,040
Speaker 5: And we loved what that spoke about. Really excited about

818
00:39:57,080 --> 00:39:59,840
Speaker 5: the logo too, because it's very we wanted it to be.

819
00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:03,279
Speaker 5: But like my instruction to the designers is like I

820
00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:07,360
Speaker 5: better be able to draw this, and I'm terrible, terrible artists,

821
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,360
Speaker 5: so it's not gonna be perfect, but I think I

822
00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:11,840
Speaker 5: can make it happen. And well, the other piece that

823
00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,120
Speaker 5: we felt good about here. That is a little unique

824
00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:16,319
Speaker 5: is that it's really unencumbered. Right, So a lot of

825
00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:18,960
Speaker 5: logos have some sort of restriction. It's in a circle,

826
00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:20,880
Speaker 5: it's in a letter, it's in the name or something,

827
00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:23,000
Speaker 5: and this has no restrictions.

828
00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:23,720
Speaker 1: It's movement.

829
00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:28,040
Speaker 5: It's the duality once again of the sharp angles, the

830
00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,799
Speaker 5: curved edges, and also even the speed lines. I like

831
00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:34,080
Speaker 5: the speed lines it carries through our primary global secondary logo.

832
00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:37,880
Speaker 5: The lines are narrow and then they get thicker because

833
00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:40,760
Speaker 5: that's what tempo is. So it's a lot of nuance.

834
00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:42,600
Speaker 5: And I think every time you go through one of

835
00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:44,960
Speaker 5: these processes, and honestly this is the first time for me,

836
00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:47,000
Speaker 5: but I definitely have studied a lot of other ones.

837
00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:50,240
Speaker 5: Sometimes you're like, oh, that seems like such a stretch,

838
00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,440
Speaker 5: like they must be just like making that up as

839
00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:56,000
Speaker 5: you go. But no, like these are really things we contemplated.

840
00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:59,120
Speaker 5: I'm here cross my heart, like these are things we've

841
00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:01,200
Speaker 5: done and are than anything we wanted to be really

842
00:41:01,239 --> 00:41:03,319
Speaker 5: transparent the process. I know that's something I talked about

843
00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:05,680
Speaker 5: last timos here and I feel very proud of that,

844
00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:09,120
Speaker 5: and I think that we've stayed really true to that

845
00:41:09,480 --> 00:41:11,319
Speaker 5: to this day and will continue to be like, we

846
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:13,759
Speaker 5: want our fans to never question what we're doing. We

847
00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:16,400
Speaker 5: want to be really open so that they know what

848
00:41:16,440 --> 00:41:18,160
Speaker 5: we're up to and the decisions that we're making and

849
00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:18,960
Speaker 5: why we're making them.

850
00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:22,520
Speaker 1: Well, I have to admit it rolls right off the tongue.

851
00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:26,040
Speaker 1: Toronto tempo sounds great, and looking at the details that

852
00:41:26,120 --> 00:41:29,000
Speaker 1: y'all posted on social media, the video with the sort

853
00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:32,280
Speaker 1: of metronomic beat behind it really spoke to that tempo.

854
00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:34,920
Speaker 1: Talking about the six the six lines are both for

855
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:36,799
Speaker 1: the six Burroughs of Toronto, but also for the five

856
00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:38,960
Speaker 1: players on the court and the sixth man being the fans.

857
00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:42,200
Speaker 1: You're bringing in the sort of speed lines that are

858
00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:45,839
Speaker 1: slightly leaning toward the future. You want to grow the game,

859
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:48,200
Speaker 1: change the game, move toward the future. There's a lot

860
00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:50,200
Speaker 1: of really cool stuff in there. And we watched your

861
00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:53,720
Speaker 1: process because you had on social media the cutting room floor,

862
00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:56,080
Speaker 1: you know, teams that didn't make the cut. You did

863
00:41:56,120 --> 00:41:59,279
Speaker 1: a whole podcast talking about the process of thinking about it,

864
00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:01,200
Speaker 1: names that you and then something came up and you

865
00:42:01,239 --> 00:42:03,000
Speaker 1: thought that's not going to work, or here's the things

866
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:04,920
Speaker 1: that people would chant and it might not feel right

867
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:09,120
Speaker 1: orself right. You had so much process behind. It was

868
00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:11,840
Speaker 1: today always supposed to be the launch day. Because we

869
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:14,560
Speaker 1: know that there was a website leak on the WNBA site,

870
00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:18,000
Speaker 1: the drop down menu suddenly listed Toronto Tempo and everyone's like,

871
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:20,399
Speaker 1: wait a minute, is this real? Is this the team name?

872
00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:23,120
Speaker 1: Clearly not the way you intended for things to go down.

873
00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:27,359
Speaker 1: Is this the day you were going to announce originally? No, No,

874
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,600
Speaker 1: this is this is Oh my god, I'm stressing for

875
00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:31,319
Speaker 1: you to This.

876
00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:34,560
Speaker 5: Is sports, Sarah. Does anything ever go is planned in sports?

877
00:42:34,719 --> 00:42:36,880
Speaker 5: Absolutely not. And we knew that, we knew we had

878
00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:38,680
Speaker 5: to have a contingency plan. We never knew what was

879
00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:43,200
Speaker 5: going to happen through the process, and you know, today

880
00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:45,640
Speaker 5: was destiny. It was supposed to be today, and we're

881
00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:49,759
Speaker 5: glad that December fifth is the Toronto Tempo birthday. We

882
00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:51,880
Speaker 5: feel really excited to be able to share it with

883
00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:55,359
Speaker 5: the world. Would we'd love to have merched right now, absolutely,

884
00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:58,000
Speaker 5: but we don't, And that's okay because we will very soon.

885
00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:01,960
Speaker 5: And definitely keep your eyes peeled because the Bordeaux and

886
00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:05,040
Speaker 5: Hydrogen blue are gonna look beautiful on you and with

887
00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:05,399
Speaker 5: all of.

888
00:43:05,320 --> 00:43:08,680
Speaker 1: Our faces dough and hydrogen blue. Okay, I just said

889
00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:11,800
Speaker 1: red and blue, but Bordeaux and hydrogen blue very specific,

890
00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:12,400
Speaker 1: very important.

891
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:14,080
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean that was a big part of it,

892
00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:17,200
Speaker 5: Like we wanted to stand out yet be complimentary. So

893
00:43:17,680 --> 00:43:20,560
Speaker 5: within the WNBA, there's reds and blues, but there's not

894
00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:22,640
Speaker 5: a Bordeaux and hydrogen blue. And you know, it's a

895
00:43:22,719 --> 00:43:26,160
Speaker 5: nuanced but it's also a very modern take on that palette.

896
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:30,560
Speaker 5: And ultimately, Toronto professional sports teams are kind of either

897
00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:32,399
Speaker 5: blue or red. You know, you have the Maple Least

898
00:43:32,440 --> 00:43:35,640
Speaker 5: blue and you have the Raptors red, and we play

899
00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:37,480
Speaker 5: in that space too, but in our own way. So

900
00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:39,839
Speaker 5: we're really excited about that combination as well.

901
00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:43,080
Speaker 1: Okay, so what did the last couple of days look

902
00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:46,520
Speaker 1: like for you? Because there was so much intentionality, there

903
00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:49,040
Speaker 1: was so much of a plan in place that you've

904
00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:52,480
Speaker 1: been following for months. What's your reaction. Who reaches out

905
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:55,040
Speaker 1: to you and says, uh oh, tempo is out.

906
00:43:55,719 --> 00:43:58,400
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean my social media manager the first person

907
00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:00,520
Speaker 5: gave me a heads up and.

908
00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:02,880
Speaker 1: When it was terminally online, was the first to see it.

909
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:03,440
Speaker 1: What a shock?

910
00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:06,840
Speaker 5: Yeah, right, so it was great and she give me

911
00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:09,239
Speaker 5: a heads up and we monitored it and ultimately, you know,

912
00:44:09,239 --> 00:44:11,600
Speaker 5: I had to make a decision like do we presco

913
00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:13,960
Speaker 5: or not? And ultimately we wanted to make sure that

914
00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:15,040
Speaker 5: we shared the whole story.

915
00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:17,440
Speaker 1: And I was going to say, that's such a bummer,

916
00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:20,000
Speaker 1: because when you do something like this, you want to say,

917
00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:22,759
Speaker 1: tempo and here's why, and here's the video we made

918
00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:24,560
Speaker 1: with it, and here's the colors that are coming with it.

919
00:44:24,960 --> 00:44:27,040
Speaker 1: And instead of that rollout, it was more of like

920
00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:28,920
Speaker 1: everyone reacts to the name, and then now we're going

921
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:30,759
Speaker 1: to follow up with all that, so you kind of

922
00:44:30,840 --> 00:44:32,200
Speaker 1: knew that you had to get out right away.

923
00:44:32,239 --> 00:44:32,399
Speaker 7: Then.

924
00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:35,279
Speaker 5: I think we're very happy that we were able to

925
00:44:35,280 --> 00:44:38,200
Speaker 5: tell the whole story, right, And I do believe that

926
00:44:38,640 --> 00:44:42,359
Speaker 5: it has been received well. I think people get it.

927
00:44:42,520 --> 00:44:46,320
Speaker 5: I think people are excited about it, and yeah, it's

928
00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:49,200
Speaker 5: been a fun process too, Like out of chaos sometimes

929
00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:53,920
Speaker 5: comes the most most advanced evolution. And I can't wait

930
00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:55,200
Speaker 5: to see what comes out of this, you know, I

931
00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:57,960
Speaker 5: think no matter what day we launched, there'd been nuances

932
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:01,480
Speaker 5: and variables. So more than anything, I mean, it was

933
00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:04,480
Speaker 5: meant to be today, right, That's what I'm taking away

934
00:45:04,520 --> 00:45:07,680
Speaker 5: from it. And I'm sitting here like very ready right,

935
00:45:08,080 --> 00:45:10,279
Speaker 5: Like we were able to tell the full story. We

936
00:45:10,280 --> 00:45:13,640
Speaker 5: were able to talk about tempo and what it means,

937
00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:15,520
Speaker 5: why it's important to us, why we love it, and

938
00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:18,839
Speaker 5: why we think Torontonians and Canadians will connect to it.

939
00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:22,640
Speaker 5: And it's been really fun, honestly, Sarah, like talking to

940
00:45:22,719 --> 00:45:26,640
Speaker 5: so many different people today. People are so interested, comments

941
00:45:26,640 --> 00:45:29,799
Speaker 5: were hearing back. Also, like you said, the cutting room floor,

942
00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:31,319
Speaker 5: there's a lot of people who are like, oh, but

943
00:45:31,360 --> 00:45:32,360
Speaker 5: my name didn't get picked.

944
00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:33,359
Speaker 1: I suppose this is.

945
00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:36,400
Speaker 5: Okay, or you know, and other people are like this

946
00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:38,960
Speaker 5: is amazing. Other people hate it. Like if everybody loved it,

947
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:40,680
Speaker 5: I don'tink we'd have done a good job either. So

948
00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:43,520
Speaker 5: it's just fun to actually have it out in the world.

949
00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:45,960
Speaker 5: That's the best thing, is like to actually introduce it

950
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:48,000
Speaker 5: to the world and have people be part of it,

951
00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:51,319
Speaker 5: because when people comment and engage, that means they care.

952
00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:54,600
Speaker 5: And there's nothing better than like to have people care

953
00:45:54,719 --> 00:45:56,040
Speaker 5: about what you're doing and.

954
00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:58,759
Speaker 1: What the being invested yea invested in the w being

955
00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:00,960
Speaker 1: invested in an expansion to and a team that doesn't

956
00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:03,000
Speaker 1: have players or anything else yet, and to care this

957
00:46:03,160 --> 00:46:05,560
Speaker 1: much and be this excited about it is really awesome

958
00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:08,600
Speaker 1: and I love your attitude because there's no other option, right,

959
00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:10,799
Speaker 1: there's no other option. It's out there. This is the

960
00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:13,520
Speaker 1: plan now, and you're able to speak to it, and

961
00:46:13,520 --> 00:46:15,480
Speaker 1: you have all these elements ready. What would you have

962
00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:18,040
Speaker 1: had ready? And what can we expect to come? Besides

963
00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:20,920
Speaker 1: obviously you mentioned merch, is there other stuff that's part

964
00:46:20,920 --> 00:46:22,279
Speaker 1: of the roll up that will be yet to come

965
00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:23,040
Speaker 1: that we can expect?

966
00:46:23,280 --> 00:46:25,960
Speaker 5: Yeah, And I would say it's always been the story

967
00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:28,200
Speaker 5: of our team is not going to happen in one day,

968
00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:31,000
Speaker 5: and so we can't wait to tell continue the story

969
00:46:31,040 --> 00:46:34,239
Speaker 5: this team in twenty twenty five. Right. So we'll have merch,

970
00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:36,439
Speaker 5: we'll have a GM, like we get to talk about

971
00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:39,720
Speaker 5: basketball soon like that would be great. We'll have a GM,

972
00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:42,720
Speaker 5: we'll hire a coach, and ultimately we'll get players Expansion

973
00:46:42,760 --> 00:46:46,400
Speaker 5: Draft next December. Obviously the Valkyrie tomorrow, which I'm very

974
00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:47,160
Speaker 5: excited about.

975
00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:48,120
Speaker 1: Yeah.

976
00:46:48,160 --> 00:46:51,480
Speaker 5: But then we'll also have corporate partners and community partners.

977
00:46:51,560 --> 00:46:54,520
Speaker 5: And as I've mentioned and you've mentioned, this is Canada's team.

978
00:46:54,640 --> 00:46:58,319
Speaker 5: So though Coca Cola Coliseum in Toronto will be our home,

979
00:46:58,560 --> 00:47:01,000
Speaker 5: we'll play games and other parts of Canada we can't

980
00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:04,520
Speaker 5: wait to share more details around that. So there's just

981
00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:08,319
Speaker 5: a lot to look forward to. And now we get

982
00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:10,200
Speaker 5: to say it's about the Toronto Tempo and not w

983
00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:11,040
Speaker 5: NBA Toronto.

984
00:47:11,200 --> 00:47:14,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, so cool. Well, we're super excited for you. We're

985
00:47:14,080 --> 00:47:15,960
Speaker 1: so grateful you came on to chat about it with us,

986
00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:17,480
Speaker 1: and good luck with the rest of the roll up.

987
00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:21,000
Speaker 5: Thanks so much for having us. Thanks for sharing our story,

988
00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:23,319
Speaker 5: but then also just the story of women's sports. Sarah,

989
00:47:23,400 --> 00:47:26,320
Speaker 5: I wasn't kidding. I listen every morning I get my fixed,

990
00:47:26,360 --> 00:47:29,719
Speaker 5: and I've met so many incredible people through this podcast,

991
00:47:29,760 --> 00:47:31,399
Speaker 5: Like I just had it. I hadn't known of them before.

992
00:47:31,440 --> 00:47:34,000
Speaker 5: I'm kind of in a basketball bubble. So thank you

993
00:47:34,040 --> 00:47:37,240
Speaker 5: for sharing the stories of so many amazing female athletes.

994
00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:39,560
Speaker 1: Oh my god, I love to hear it. She's a slice, y'all.

995
00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:42,279
Speaker 5: I a se I should have started with that.

996
00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:45,680
Speaker 1: We call Canadians, thanks to one of our listeners, maple

997
00:47:45,719 --> 00:47:48,080
Speaker 1: bacon slices. So that's what you get to be a

998
00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:53,400
Speaker 1: maple bacon slice. I'll take it. I'll take it. Thanks

999
00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:55,839
Speaker 1: again to Teresa for the time. We love that you're

1000
00:47:55,880 --> 00:47:57,560
Speaker 1: listening slices, but we want you to get in the

1001
00:47:57,600 --> 00:48:00,120
Speaker 1: game every day too, So here's our good game play

1002
00:48:00,120 --> 00:48:03,640
Speaker 1: of the day. Follow the Toronto Tempo at Toronto Tempo

1003
00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:07,760
Speaker 1: on Instagram and at Tempo Basketball on x Slash Twitter.

1004
00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:10,960
Speaker 1: You can watch the Valkyries expansion draft tonight that's six

1005
00:48:11,120 --> 00:48:14,200
Speaker 1: thirty pm Eastern on ESPN, and you can stay home

1006
00:48:14,239 --> 00:48:17,560
Speaker 1: and catch all the college hoops, volleyball, and soccer action

1007
00:48:17,719 --> 00:48:21,080
Speaker 1: this weekend. We're giving you full permission to get cozy

1008
00:48:21,160 --> 00:48:24,120
Speaker 1: underso blankets and spend all weekend on your couch binging

1009
00:48:24,160 --> 00:48:26,600
Speaker 1: women's sports. Let us know if you need a permission,

1010
00:48:26,600 --> 00:48:28,680
Speaker 1: slip or a you know, get out a work card.

1011
00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:30,560
Speaker 1: We always love to hear from you. Hit us up

1012
00:48:30,600 --> 00:48:33,399
Speaker 1: on email Good Game at wondermedianetwork dot com, or leave

1013
00:48:33,440 --> 00:48:35,520
Speaker 1: us a voicemail at eight seven two two oh four

1014
00:48:35,640 --> 00:48:39,160
Speaker 1: fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.

1015
00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:43,200
Speaker 1: It's super easy. Listener Jockolou showed you how on Apple

1016
00:48:43,239 --> 00:48:46,439
Speaker 1: Podcasts with this review that they left quote Good Game

1017
00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:50,600
Speaker 1: is one hundred out of five stars, smart interviews and informative.

1018
00:48:50,760 --> 00:48:53,400
Speaker 1: Love to hear women with the same passion for women's athletics.

1019
00:48:53,480 --> 00:48:59,120
Speaker 1: End quote and another slice said quote Sports. Yes, women's sports. Yes,

1020
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:01,760
Speaker 1: women's Sports. Hosted by Sarah Spain.

1021
00:49:02,239 --> 00:49:02,520
Speaker 5: Yes.

1022
00:49:03,520 --> 00:49:06,759
Speaker 1: End quote. See simple to the point, super easy to do,

1023
00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:10,239
Speaker 1: and of course accompanied by five freaking stars. So go

1024
00:49:10,600 --> 00:49:13,880
Speaker 1: do it now, rate and review. Thanks for listening, slices,

1025
00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:16,120
Speaker 1: have a great weekend and we'll talk to you Monday.

1026
00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:20,279
Speaker 1: Good game, Corey and Kiki, Good game, Teresa. A few

1027
00:49:20,360 --> 00:49:25,120
Speaker 1: leaks that spoil plans for long crafted, carefully executed brand reveals.

1028
00:49:26,960 --> 00:49:29,280
Speaker 1: Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports

1029
00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:32,360
Speaker 1: production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You

1030
00:49:32,360 --> 00:49:35,040
Speaker 1: can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

1031
00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:38,400
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,

1032
00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:41,600
Speaker 1: our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive

1033
00:49:41,600 --> 00:49:45,360
Speaker 1: producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.

1034
00:49:45,600 --> 00:49:48,799
Speaker 1: Our editors are Emily Rudder, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and

1035
00:49:48,840 --> 00:49:52,200
Speaker 1: Lindsay Crawdawell. Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm Your

1036
00:49:52,200 --> 00:49:53,200
Speaker 1: Host Sarah Spain