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Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're breathing

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Speaker 1: a big sigh of relief We're getting a WNBA season.

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Speaker 1: Is it too early to plan some watch parties? Who

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Speaker 1: will make my fantasy lineups? Book tickets to Toronto and Portland?

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Speaker 1: Planned my game day? Fits? Plenty of time. We've got,

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Speaker 1: holy shit, fifty days tip off? Is it fifty days?

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Speaker 1: There's so much to do. It's Thursday, March nineteenth, and

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Speaker 1: with the deal finally done, we'll get you caught up

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Speaker 1: on all the details of the new WNBACBA with ESPN

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Speaker 1: reporter and friend of the show Alexa Philippoo. Then we'll

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Speaker 1: be joined by Vanderbilt head hoops coach Shay Ralph and

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Speaker 1: superstar sophomore guard MICHAELA. Blakes. The duo joined me last

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Speaker 1: week ahead of the start of March Madness to talk

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Speaker 1: about their best season in years and how Vanderbilt's investment

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Speaker 1: is making a difference on the court, Plus share the

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Speaker 1: quirkiest things about each other and debunk the myth that

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Speaker 1: some sort of magical faery dust is powering one high

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Speaker 1: profile unbeaten opponent. Oh you cut, Plus basketball is so

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Speaker 1: back fencing catches up to the twenty for a century

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Speaker 1: and use slices have been doing your slice work. It's

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Speaker 1: all coming up right after this. Welcome back slices. Here's

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Speaker 1: what you need to know today. Let's start with the

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Speaker 1: verbal agreement heard round the world. After more than seventeen

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Speaker 1: months of negotiating, including countless hours this week and last,

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Speaker 1: the WNBA and the Players Association reached a verbal agreement

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Speaker 1: on a new CBA in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

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Speaker 1: The good news major increases in salaries and the overall

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Speaker 1: salary cap. The numbers, as reported by ESPN, salary cap

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Speaker 1: will start at seven million dollars, way up from a

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Speaker 1: million and a half in twenty twenty five. The average

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Speaker 1: salary will be around six hundred thousand dollars, that's a

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Speaker 1: four hundred percent increase from last season, and the minimum

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Speaker 1: salary will be over three hundred thousand dollars. That's up

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Speaker 1: from an unbelievably low sixty six thousand dollars last year. Now,

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Speaker 1: the jury is still out on the revenue share portion

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Speaker 1: of the deal, which was the biggest sticking point throughout negotiations.

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Speaker 1: You recall the PA was pushing for a share of

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Speaker 1: gross revenue, while the league wanted them to settle for

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Speaker 1: a portion of net revenue revenue after costs. Now sources

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Speaker 1: told the ESPN that the average revenue share in the

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Speaker 1: new CBA will be nearly twenty percent across the length

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Speaker 1: of the deal, but the language wasn't specific. You have

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Speaker 1: to assume it's twenty percent of gross, because at one

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Speaker 1: point the WNBA was offering up seventy percent of net.

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Speaker 1: But even if it's twenty percent of gross, it's a

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Speaker 1: disappointment in my opinion. Now, I wasn't in those rooms,

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Speaker 1: and I don't know the financials. Then again, who does right?

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Speaker 1: Adam Silver and joint NBAWNBA leadership is notoriously secretive about

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Speaker 1: the numbers. But the NBA players have received about fifty

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Speaker 1: percent of gross revenue since nineteen eighty four. The idea

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Speaker 1: that the women would be settling for twenty percent is

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Speaker 1: a joke to me. Now, I know everyone has to

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Speaker 1: leave that room claiming victory and sounding like their side

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Speaker 1: got what they wanted, But I'm very, very interested in

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Speaker 1: hearing the excuse for giving women players a thirty percent

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Speaker 1: smaller cut of that gross revenue than the men get.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: Interesting note on that slice. Kim Neil shared with me

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Speaker 1: a fantastic conversation that friend of the show David Barry

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Speaker 1: had with the Rough Notes substack by Maya Goldbergsfear about

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Speaker 1: the CBA negotiations. We'll link to it in the show notes.

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Speaker 1: I think it's still worth the read. But in it,

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Speaker 1: David talks about how he's often asked to do interviews

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Speaker 1: about women's basketball, but rarely specifically about CBA negotiations. He says, quote,

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Speaker 1: reporters are not calling me, and I know why. It's

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Speaker 1: because if you quote me or talk about what I'm

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Speaker 1: saying about the NBA and your article and you work

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Speaker 1: for ESPN or any of the major news sites, the

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Speaker 1: NBA will give you a call and they will tell

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Speaker 1: you stop doing that. End quote. And I just want

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Speaker 1: to point out that after our most recent interview with

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Speaker 1: David on this show, when I dug deep into the

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Speaker 1: issues he often highlights comparing NBA and WNBA revenue shares

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Speaker 1: across different points in their league timelines. And when I

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Speaker 1: went even further, finding an old New York Times article

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Speaker 1: about that nineteen eighty four landmark CBA that earned NBA

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Speaker 1: players that more than fifty percent revenue share, and I

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Speaker 1: started posting about it. Well, I got a call from

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Speaker 1: the league just as he said, and off the record,

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Speaker 1: let me talk you through why you're wrong. Call and

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Speaker 1: you won't be surprised to hear that they didn't convince

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Speaker 1: me I was wrong. I wanted to share that because

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Speaker 1: I think David is onto something and we should continue

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Speaker 1: to demand more transparency with the WNBA financials because their

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Speaker 1: sensitivity around revenue share, to me, feels rooted in the

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Speaker 1: knowledge that they're getting away with something and they want

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Speaker 1: David and me and others to stop sniffing around. Okay,

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Speaker 1: Mini rant over. One other major point of contention during

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Speaker 1: these CBA negotiations was housing, and as of this recording

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Speaker 1: on Wednesday afternoon, we don't yet have details on that,

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Speaker 1: but WNBAPA president Neko Oguo Makay told reporters the new

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Speaker 1: deal quote strengthens housing and retirement and expands resources for

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Speaker 1: family planning and parental leave. It redefines what it means

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Speaker 1: to be a professional in this league, end quote. Oguo

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Speaker 1: Makay and other players like Alicia Clark also posted some

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Speaker 1: picks on instaff from inside the mysterious meeting room that

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Speaker 1: they've practically lived in of late one showed a blanket

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Speaker 1: and a sweatshirt fashioned into a pillow on the floor.

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Speaker 1: So when we say living, we mean it. We'll put

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Speaker 1: a link to their posts in the show notes. Now,

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Speaker 1: remember this is just a verbal agreement. A formal term

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Speaker 1: sheet needs to be finalized, and the agreement's pending ratification.

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Speaker 1: But after one hundred plus hours of negotiating, this is

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Speaker 1: massive news that they got this done. WNBPA executive director

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Speaker 1: Terry Jackson told reporters early Wednesday, quote, I think this

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Speaker 1: can be summed up in two words. Player empowerment. Players

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Speaker 1: coming to the table and standing on business and being

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Speaker 1: reminded of the collective voice and of what it means

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Speaker 1: to be in a union, and the power of this union.

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Speaker 1: They never forgot it, and they have taken it like

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Speaker 1: they always do, to the next level.

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Speaker 2: End quote.

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Speaker 1: The twenty twenty six WNBA schedule will now continue as

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Speaker 1: planned with no disruptions. Training camp is set to open

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Speaker 1: April nineteenth, and the start of the regular season will

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Speaker 1: be May eighth. For now, a note to all front offices,

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Speaker 1: start pounded caffeine because you got a whole off season

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Speaker 1: of free agent signings to do in the next thirty days.

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Speaker 1: Also a note to hoops reporters that cover the pro

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Speaker 1: and college game. I'm so sorry, but you have one

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Speaker 1: day till the first round of March Madness starts. Oh

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Speaker 1: that includes friend of the show Alexa Philippo, who will

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Speaker 1: join me in just a minute with more details on

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Speaker 1: this new CBA to college hoops. Where it's nine to

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Speaker 1: two of the first four round in the NCAA March

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Speaker 1: Madness Tournament. Now's first four really should be called the

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Speaker 1: Final four, since the winners are the final four teams

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Speaker 1: that make the real tournament, but obviously that name is

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Speaker 1: already taken. Basically before the first round. The first four

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Speaker 1: features two games between the season's lowest ranked conference champions,

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Speaker 1: plus two games between the lowest at large seeds, and

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Speaker 1: then the winners of those four games. Earnest spotted the

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Speaker 1: first round of the tournament, which takes place Friday and Saturday.

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Speaker 1: You got it anyway, be sure to get your brackets

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Speaker 1: in now. We're also keeping an eye on the D

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Speaker 1: three tournament, specifically NYU. We've shouted them out a couple

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Speaker 1: times this season for their epic win streak, which just

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Speaker 1: keeps growing over the weekend. With their defeat of University

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Speaker 1: of Wisconsin Lacrosse seventy two to forty seven in the

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Speaker 1: Elite eight, the Violets posted their ninety first straight victory.

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Speaker 1: It's now the second longest streak in NCAA basketball history. Tonight,

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Speaker 1: they'll try and make it ninety two wins with a

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Speaker 1: Final four game against Scranton in Salem, Virginia. Tip Off

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Speaker 1: is at seven thirty pm Eastern. You could stream the

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Speaker 1: game on ESPN Plus. To international hoops, Team USA finished

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Speaker 1: with a perfect five to zero record at the FEBO

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Speaker 1: World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico, closing out their

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Speaker 1: play with an eighty four to seventy win over Spain

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Speaker 1: on Tuesday night. The team, which was without standouts like

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Speaker 1: Asia Wilson, the Visa Collier and Brianna Stewart, and which

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Speaker 1: was almost fifty percent rookies making their national senior team debuts,

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Speaker 1: still won by an average margin of forty two points

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Speaker 1: in five games across seven days. Caitlin Clark was named

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Speaker 1: MVP of the tournament, her first game action since last

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Speaker 1: summer due to a number of groin and leg injuries.

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Speaker 1: In Puerto Rico, she averaged eleven point six points and

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Speaker 1: six point four assists per game. The end of the

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Speaker 1: four qualifying tournaments, which were happening simultaneously around the world,

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Speaker 1: means the sixteen team field is now set for September's

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Speaker 1: Feeble World Cup in Germany. Among the teams who qualified

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Speaker 1: this past week are France, Spain, China, Turkey, Japan, and

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Speaker 1: Puerto Rico. To the NWSL expansion team, Denver Summit has

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Speaker 1: two new players already, with Sports Illustrated reporting on Wednesday

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Speaker 1: that Yasmine Ryan and Delaney Shean are leaving the Houston

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Speaker 1: Dash for the Summit for an undisclosed transfer. Feed The

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Speaker 1: pair both joined the Dash from Gotham FC in December

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Speaker 1: of twenty twenty four. More NWSL and some bad news

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Speaker 1: for Angel CITYFC midfielder Hina Sugita. The club shared on

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Speaker 1: Tuesday that Sugita suffered a left ACL injury and will

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Speaker 1: be placed on the season ending injury list. Now you

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Speaker 1: might remember friend of the Show Jeff Casoof was raving

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Speaker 1: about Sugita and the team building around her in the

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Speaker 1: midfield when he was on our show last week, So

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Speaker 1: this is a big blow for ACFC. The Japanese national

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Speaker 1: team player who was traded to the team in September

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Speaker 1: last year after spending four seasons with the Portland Thorns,

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Speaker 1: has fifty one international caps, including participating in the last

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Speaker 1: two World Cups. Hoping Sugita can heal up in time

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Speaker 1: for next year's World Cup in Brazil. To fencing, where

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Speaker 1: women are getting their own NCAA championship for the first

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Speaker 1: time in decades. No not kidding. For the first time

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Speaker 1: since nineteen eighty nine, the NCAA will sponsor separate national

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Speaker 1: championships for women's and men's programs. For more than thirty

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Speaker 1: five years, college fencing's top men and women have dueled

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Speaker 1: for a single combined NCAA team title. Now, that structure

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Speaker 1: created an obvious disadvantage for programs with only women's teams,

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Speaker 1: which couldn't score points in the men's events and were

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Speaker 1: therefore effectively shut out of a chance to take the

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Speaker 1: national title. According to USA Fencing, by introducing it dedicated

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Speaker 1: women's championship, more than one hundred and fifty additional student

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Speaker 1: athletes each year would get a shot at winning a

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Speaker 1: national title of their own. Columbia, Notre Dame, and Northwestern

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Speaker 1: have all qualified for the maximum six fencers, so they'll

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Speaker 1: fight for the historic title. Competition takes place today and

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Speaker 1: tomorrow at Notre Dame. Early round coverage will be available

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Speaker 1: on Notre Dame's official live stream page. We'll link to

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Speaker 1: it at the show notes, and tomorrow's semi finals and

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Speaker 1: finals will stream on ESPN plus all Right slices. As

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Speaker 1: we mentioned at the top of the show, the WNBA

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Speaker 1: and the Players Association finally reached a verbal agreement on

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Speaker 1: a new collective bargain agreement in the early hours of

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Speaker 1: Wednesday morning, and we had so many questions about the

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Speaker 1: new deal, so we reached out to one of the

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Speaker 1: best friend of the show, ESPN's Alexa Philip, who who

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Speaker 1: has spent the last week plus camped out in Midtown Manhattan,

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Speaker 1: and I mean that literally on the street in a

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Speaker 1: fold out chair eating pizza, waiting for them to come

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Speaker 1: out and say a deal has been done. So hallelujah.

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Speaker 1: She finally got to see them walk out of that

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Speaker 1: building and say the deal is done. Okay, it's Wednesday

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Speaker 1: afternoon when we're talking to you, you're on basically no sleep,

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Speaker 1: so we're getting a lovely punch drunk Alexa and the

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Speaker 1: term sheet has not been revealed, So everything we're talking

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Speaker 1: to you about now is based on your reporting and

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Speaker 1: what we do know, and will of course add some

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Speaker 1: details when we get them. But first, thanks so much

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Speaker 1: for making time for us. I want to talk about

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Speaker 1: what you see as the biggest takeaways from this. We're

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Speaker 1: hearing the numbers about the change in the salary cap

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Speaker 1: and the average and max and minimum salaries, but like,

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Speaker 1: for you, what's the biggest thing.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you've heard the word transformational thrown around

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Speaker 3: a bunch from both sides. But the way that this

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Speaker 3: agree agreement is going to directly tie player salaries and

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Speaker 3: the salary system to the growth of the league is

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Speaker 3: something that is historic for the WNBA, in for women's

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Speaker 3: basketball right now. Obviously, going into this past week when

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Speaker 3: they were still negotiating and you saw that they had

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Speaker 3: different ideas of what that revenue sharing system could look

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Speaker 3: like and those deals, what they landed on is still

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Speaker 3: kind of to be determined.

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Speaker 2: The kind of.

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Speaker 3: Underlying thing even as they were still negotiating, was that

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Speaker 3: either way, revenue sharing was going to be a main

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Speaker 3: fixture of this deal. And that's something that the players

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Speaker 3: yesterday were oh my god, I said yesterday that was

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Speaker 3: literally like thirteen hours ago. This morning we're really able

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Speaker 3: to fixate on. And I was really moved by Alicia Clark,

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Speaker 3: who's more of like a middle class player throughout her

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Speaker 3: time in the league, and she was saying that this

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Speaker 3: is a sort of deal that's going to make arguably

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Speaker 3: the most difference for a player like her, who might

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Speaker 3: not be making a million dollar salaries in this next agreement,

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Speaker 3: but are still going to see such substantial salary increases

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Speaker 3: and it's going to be life changing for them. So

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Speaker 3: I can't wait to see more of the full details

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Speaker 3: and exactly how everything kind of netted out, But I

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Speaker 3: think at the baseline you could say that this is

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Speaker 3: going to be transformational, and the players and the league

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Speaker 3: were able to deliver that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean. Friend of the Show Richard Cohen pointed

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Speaker 1: out that the biggest cap hit last year was Kelsey Mitchell,

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Speaker 1: and the baseline salary for anyone in the league is

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Speaker 1: going to be more than what her salary was last year.

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Speaker 1: So everyone in the league on the new deal will

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Speaker 1: be making more than the person who made the most before,

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Speaker 1: which truly is transformational. Now, for a moment, I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: let my cynicism come in because I think we knew

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Speaker 1: that this deal was going to be massive and deservedly so.

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Speaker 1: Every single metric, every single economist who looked at the

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Speaker 1: finances said they are getting screwed the players. They are

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Speaker 1: getting so much less than what they deserve. So we

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Speaker 1: knew that the numbers were going to go way up.

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Speaker 1: I'm still stuck on the revenue share, though. The league

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Speaker 1: barely moved on what they wanted for a percentage of

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Speaker 1: gross revenue, whereas the player started around forty percent ask

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Speaker 1: and it sounds like ended up a twenty percent. That

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Speaker 1: is a massive move for them to give up twenty

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Speaker 1: percent of what they were asking for of that gross revenue.

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Speaker 1: That feels like a major concession and loss to me.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and that's something we didn't necessarily get into in

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Speaker 3: the heat of the celebration the other day. Obviously, the

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Speaker 3: league had said that the player's proposal would result in

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Speaker 3: hundreds of millions of dollars of losses. The players obviously

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Speaker 3: said that that was something that they did not agree with,

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Speaker 3: that they thought that the league proposals were something that

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Speaker 3: weren't giving them their fairshore up till now, I think

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Speaker 3: maybe what could allow a little bit more clarity on

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Speaker 3: like where they actually stood is exactly what system they

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Speaker 3: did end up deciding. Was it more of like a

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Speaker 3: gross system, was it more of a net system. Was

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Speaker 3: it something a little bit more creative? And maybe that's

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Speaker 3: where we saw some of the sorts of compromise or

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Speaker 3: or how they were able to come together on both sides.

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Speaker 1: How that maybe would be reflected yet to be seen,

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Speaker 1: maybe when we get the details yet to be seen.

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Speaker 3: I think at once the settles, I'm very interested to

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Speaker 3: hear how the players worked through that, having to go

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Speaker 3: from one idea of what they were asking for at

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Speaker 3: the beginning of this process and having to come down

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Speaker 3: significantly arguably.

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Speaker 1: From where they started.

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Speaker 3: But it did feel like at the baseline they still

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Speaker 3: felt like that this was something that was going to

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Speaker 3: really transform.

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Speaker 1: Yeah again, cynicism. I feel like you have to walk

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Speaker 1: out of that room and act like you won your

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Speaker 1: side because you made a deal. Right, You can't come

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Speaker 1: out and say we're not happy with the deal we

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Speaker 1: made as we're making it. They have to say that.

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Speaker 1: I think my concern is I think it has to

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Speaker 1: be either gross or something creative, because originally the WNBA

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Speaker 1: was coming out around seventy percent of net. There's no

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Speaker 1: way the players would agree to twenty percent of net.

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Speaker 1: If anything, it would be twenty percent of gross, or

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Speaker 1: like you said, maybe there's a creative something in the

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Speaker 1: middle that they came upon. I'm stuck on the fact

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Speaker 1: that the men have been making fifty percent of revenues

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Speaker 1: for the last forty years, So I don't understand how

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Speaker 1: we're still expecting the women to take significantly less than that.

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Speaker 1: But hopefully we'll get some answers from came out of

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Speaker 1: their discussions. You know. One of the things that makes

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Speaker 1: it hard is the WNBA has historically not opened up

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Speaker 1: its books to the public, but also not to the union.

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Speaker 1: What did you hear about how much the PA was

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Speaker 1: actually able to negotiate knowing what the revenue is and

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Speaker 1: what the financials are.

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Speaker 3: You know, there were obviously financials that were provided from

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Speaker 3: the league and from teams. Whether or not those were

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Speaker 3: able to be independently audited it was a kind of

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Speaker 3: a different question. One of the things that my understanding

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Speaker 3: was something that was being negotiated and bargained over is

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Speaker 3: is kind of the capacity for the union to audit

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Speaker 3: those financials and the next agreement whether or not that would

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Speaker 3: just include revenues or that would also include expenses, and

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Speaker 3: would it be league financials team financials, and so you know,

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Speaker 3: the league did provide My understanding was, you know, an

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Speaker 3: assortment of financials that were audited on their side. The

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Speaker 3: union was asking for the right to have their own

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Speaker 3: independent audits of kind of that body of what they

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Speaker 3: were given. That's one thing that people can look at

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Speaker 3: when we see what this final agreement actually entails.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that makes a huge difference. Okay, we've

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Speaker 1: kept you too long already, So a couple last quick ones.

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Speaker 1: Any idea how long the deal is for that? Actually

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Speaker 1: we do not know yet. I look forward to hearing that.

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Speaker 3: I think we're going to get more of the details

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Speaker 3: in the coming hours. Basically, what happened is the term

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Speaker 3: sheet still has to be written and finalized. They did

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Speaker 3: tell us basically when there was that verbal agreement on

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Speaker 3: what the terms were. So that's why we were able

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Speaker 3: to say that there is something that is happening. Then

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Speaker 3: it gets turned into our term sheet, and then that

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Speaker 3: term sheet then goes to the players. They have to

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Speaker 3: then eventually gets everything gets written up and then ratified,

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Speaker 3: so that whole process would take a few weeks. I

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Speaker 3: think we'd have more details, hopefully very soon on length

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Speaker 3: of the contract.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Well, let's hope it's more than a year or two

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Speaker 1: before we're doing this again for everyone, say, for all

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Speaker 1: of our sakes. Okay, So for existing contracts, for like rookies,

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Speaker 1: do they get leveled up to the base minimum or

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Speaker 1: do they start that when their contract runs out and

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Speaker 1: they get a new one.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so I actually can provide a little bit of

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Speaker 3: details on that. So let's take a player like Caitlin Clark.

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Speaker 3: We saw some reports that came out on this kind

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Speaker 3: of provision where certain top performers on rookie contracts would

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Speaker 3: be able to make more money more quickly. And so

361
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Speaker 3: under this deal, someone like Caitlin, her base salary is

362
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Speaker 3: going to go up, jump up. So in twenty twenty six,

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Speaker 3: she's going to be bumped up to five hundred and

364
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Speaker 3: thirty thousand dollars because you know, she's also now eligible

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Speaker 3: she would become eligible for the projected max beginning of

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Speaker 3: twenty twenty seven, so that'd be one point three million,

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Speaker 3: and then the projected supermax beginning in twenty twenty eight

368
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Speaker 3: and that's one point seven million. So that kind of

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Speaker 3: deal with this whole kind of top performers if you

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Speaker 3: have certain thresholds that you meet of you know, I

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Speaker 3: don't know exactly what they decided, if it was all

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Speaker 3: WNBA or you know, obviously there's there was a component

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Speaker 3: at one point of if you're you know, an MVP,

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Speaker 3: you could get jumped up to the supermax. So we'll

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Speaker 3: see exactly where that sorted out. But yes, they were

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Speaker 3: all be an ability for the people in rookie scale

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Speaker 3: contracts get jumped up right away and then they can

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Speaker 3: make even more depending on how successful they are on

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Speaker 3: the court.

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Speaker 1: Cool and what about the two Lexis are two veterans

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Speaker 1: who are signed through next year. There are only two

382
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Speaker 1: players in the league that are signed already for contracts

383
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Speaker 1: this year. Do they get bumped up or are they

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Speaker 1: stuck on the contracts that they signed?

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Speaker 3: That's a good question. I actually don't know the full

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Speaker 3: answer to that. I would assume that they get bumped up. Yeah,

387
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Speaker 3: but I'll report back.

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Speaker 1: I'll message one at the Lexis she's a friend at

389
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Speaker 1: the show, and see what she says about that. Okay,

390
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Speaker 1: last question for you, you were outside a hotel instead

391
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Speaker 1: of the WNBA headquarters. I assume they did the talks

392
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Speaker 1: there just to have a neutral site. They actually switched.

393
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Speaker 3: They did three days at a hotel, a usual site hotel.

394
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Speaker 3: Then they did NBA headquarters, Union Headquarters, NBA Union.

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Speaker 2: Okay.

396
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Speaker 3: The last day they circled back, and we're back at

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Speaker 3: that hotel for the last.

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Speaker 1: Day, okay. And then I think we need to have

399
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Speaker 1: the quartete of you that crashed outside an eight pizza

400
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Speaker 1: in your chairs on the show sometime to share stories

401
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Speaker 1: from the street. But what's a good one?

402
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Speaker 2: You got?

403
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Speaker 1: What comes to mind? I feel like I was looking

404
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Speaker 1: at the photos of you and thinking, like ten or

405
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Speaker 1: fifteen years from now, you're gonna have the most warm

406
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Speaker 1: and fuzzy memories. You won't even remember how tired you

407
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Speaker 1: were because you all like went through that together.

408
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Speaker 3: One hundred percent. I mean, I never thought I'd be

409
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Speaker 3: interviewing like Kathy Engelbird at three am multiple times. That

410
00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,080
Speaker 3: was that was an experience, and she was you know,

411
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Speaker 3: everyone was very gracious with their time, even like amid

412
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Speaker 3: crazy long bargaining sessions and at crazy times, but all

413
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Speaker 3: the shows of support and gratitude from people all over

414
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Speaker 3: the league or trust friends, like the deliveries we got

415
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Speaker 3: from the chairs to ice cream, to pizza to coffee.

416
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Speaker 3: It was just so heartwarming and I will never forget that.

417
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Speaker 3: I'll never forget just how kind of like punchy delirious

418
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Speaker 3: we'd be. Oh, one really funny story was I was

419
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Speaker 3: playing pop punk.

420
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Speaker 2: This was like Sunday night.

421
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Speaker 3: At like two am, and I just, like Jackie Powell

422
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Speaker 3: and I are jamming to it, and Stewie comes down

423
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Speaker 3: from the elevators and she just kind of like gives

424
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Speaker 3: us a look, like what's going on here. We're like,

425
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Speaker 3: we're just trying to pass the time.

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Speaker 1: We just need to blast in some tunes. Ain't awake,

427
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Speaker 1: you know.

428
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Speaker 3: And she looked exhausted, just out of last tunes. And

429
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Speaker 3: then she was like she was trying to figure out

430
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Speaker 3: which way to go out the lobby, and so we

431
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Speaker 3: had pointed her in the right direction. But there's just

432
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Speaker 3: so many little interactions with that returner showing us the

433
00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:16,399
Speaker 3: photo she was taking from the hotel conference room down

434
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Speaker 3: like the bird's eye view photos of us like sitting

435
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Speaker 3: in our chairs.

436
00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:21,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was that was pretty great too.

437
00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:23,920
Speaker 3: So lots of little moments with the players I bet

438
00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,280
Speaker 3: people from around the league the union, and it was

439
00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,040
Speaker 3: really cool to see them get this thing across the

440
00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:28,720
Speaker 3: finish line.

441
00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:30,840
Speaker 1: I bet you anytime anyone got a text from like

442
00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:32,720
Speaker 1: a friend, everyone's like, who is it? What they say?

443
00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:34,720
Speaker 1: Did you get any news? Like just trying to keep

444
00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:39,240
Speaker 1: up with each other. Who's breaking what at this point? Yeah? Well, Alexi,

445
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:40,840
Speaker 1: we can't thank you enough. I hope you get to

446
00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:42,760
Speaker 1: go take a nap soon. I hope so too, but

447
00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:44,360
Speaker 1: I'm not optimistic. It's a busy day.

448
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,040
Speaker 3: But I'd rather be here talking about this than you know,

449
00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:47,720
Speaker 3: anywhere else.

450
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:49,760
Speaker 1: That's right. Better have a deal done than back on

451
00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:55,600
Speaker 1: the street. Thanks so much, exactly, Thank you. Thanks again

452
00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:58,120
Speaker 1: to Alexa for joining us on absolutely no sleep after

453
00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,399
Speaker 1: a marathon night. So appreciated. We got to take a

454
00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,040
Speaker 1: quick break when we come back. Vanderbilt coach Shay Ralph

455
00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:15,120
Speaker 1: and the nation's top scorer, Mikayla Blake's stick around joining

456
00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:16,840
Speaker 1: us now. She's the head coach of the number six

457
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,280
Speaker 1: ranked Vanderbilt women's basketball team of Fayetteville, North Carolina native.

458
00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,520
Speaker 1: At one point in high school, she held seventeen state

459
00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,560
Speaker 1: basketball records and was the ninety six USA Today National

460
00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:27,200
Speaker 1: High School Player of the Year. She went on to Yukon,

461
00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,400
Speaker 1: where her teams went one hundred and thirty and ten,

462
00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,000
Speaker 1: and in two thousand she captained the Huskies to the

463
00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:34,679
Speaker 1: national championship and was named the Final four tournament's most

464
00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,440
Speaker 1: outstanding Player. She was drafted to the w but knee

465
00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,200
Speaker 1: injury sidelined her pro career. She pivoted to coaching, went

466
00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:42,760
Speaker 1: to Pittsburgh for a few years, then back to stores Connecticut,

467
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:44,679
Speaker 1: where she was an assistant coach at Yukon from O

468
00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,800
Speaker 1: eight to twenty twenty one before being named Vandy's head coach,

469
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:51,240
Speaker 1: a North Carolina Sports Hall of Famer, the SEC Coach

470
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:53,960
Speaker 1: of the Year. She's always late and she proved it today.

471
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:55,600
Speaker 1: It's Shaye Ralph Hi coach.

472
00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,080
Speaker 2: Hi, thank you, Wow, my whole life story and my

473
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:01,000
Speaker 2: twenty second that was impressive.

474
00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:03,199
Speaker 1: I just want to make sure Mikayla knows. You know,

475
00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,600
Speaker 1: she's getting coached by a boss. She needs to know

476
00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:06,720
Speaker 1: about those records.

477
00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:08,080
Speaker 2: Did you hear all that mixed?

478
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:08,480
Speaker 4: Yeah?

479
00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:10,840
Speaker 2: Yeah, I heard it a lot. I've heard it a lot.

480
00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,280
Speaker 1: Okay, good, good, good, Well joining the boss. She's a

481
00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,280
Speaker 1: superstar for the Vandy Commodores. The first sophomore since Asia

482
00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:19,840
Speaker 1: Wilson to win SEC Player of the Year. The nation's

483
00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,359
Speaker 1: leading scorer, she has the third longest active streak in

484
00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:24,639
Speaker 1: D one hoops and scoring in double figures with fifty

485
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,440
Speaker 1: straight games. She was the twenty twenty five USA Basketball

486
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,399
Speaker 1: Female Athlete of the Year and twenty twenty five FEEBO

487
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,639
Speaker 1: Women's AMERICAUP MVP. A Jersey native, she learned how to

488
00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:34,639
Speaker 1: be a gym rat from her big bro, and she

489
00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,520
Speaker 1: digs a chill playlist before games. There's no one like

490
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:41,560
Speaker 1: number one. It's Mikayla Blakes. I'm Michayla. What's yo?

491
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:45,240
Speaker 2: Hey? That's impressive.

492
00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:49,280
Speaker 1: She y'all are impressive. Coach. This is your fifth season

493
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:52,360
Speaker 1: at Vanderbilt. You won SEC Coach of the Year. Your

494
00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:54,639
Speaker 1: overall wins and conference wins are both the most that

495
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,840
Speaker 1: the school has ever had in the regular season. What

496
00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 1: do you think really clicked this year to take you

497
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:00,359
Speaker 1: from sort of building to built?

498
00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:05,360
Speaker 2: We're still building. I mean, I think really the differences players.

499
00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,720
Speaker 2: You're not a really great coach or a good coach

500
00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,880
Speaker 2: even without really good players and great players that buy

501
00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,240
Speaker 2: into what you're doing, that have laid the foundation. You know,

502
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:19,359
Speaker 2: even before this year, and then players like Mikayla, or

503
00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:23,639
Speaker 2: honestly just Mikayla that do the uncommon thing. And I

504
00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:25,600
Speaker 2: think that's one of the ways that her and I

505
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,200
Speaker 2: built our relationship was that, you know, you stated all

506
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,560
Speaker 2: of those facts and things about my career, but remember

507
00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:34,520
Speaker 2: when I went to Yukon, it wasn't the Yukon that

508
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:36,840
Speaker 2: it is now. And you know, I wanted to bet

509
00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,920
Speaker 2: on myself and the same thing coming here to Vanderbilt

510
00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,960
Speaker 2: after spending half my life at Yukon is creating an

511
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,359
Speaker 2: opportunity for others to do the same. And you know,

512
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,840
Speaker 2: Mikayla is built differently and she did bet on herself

513
00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,239
Speaker 2: and is doing the uncommon thing. And look at what

514
00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,240
Speaker 2: is possible. Yeah, when you have what God has given

515
00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,040
Speaker 2: her and you put the right people around each other

516
00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:00,920
Speaker 2: and then you just keep doing the work. Look what's possible.

517
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,640
Speaker 2: And she's proving it and we're proving it every single day.

518
00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:05,959
Speaker 1: One of my favorite stories I read was you were

519
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,560
Speaker 1: getting recruited by everybody back to those seventeen different state

520
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,520
Speaker 1: records you had going for you, and everybody was buttering

521
00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:13,760
Speaker 1: you up. Oh you're going to start, You're going to

522
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:15,160
Speaker 1: be great, You're going to be the best And Gino

523
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,040
Speaker 1: Orimas said, well, I mean if you're good, you'll play,

524
00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:18,960
Speaker 1: and if you suck you won't And you were like,

525
00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:21,760
Speaker 1: that's where I want to go. Yeah, which is built differently,

526
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,000
Speaker 1: like you said about Mikayla, someone who wants to prove

527
00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,560
Speaker 1: herself somewhere and who wants to earn it. And I

528
00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:29,200
Speaker 1: could see why maybe you two bonded over that. Mikayla,

529
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,920
Speaker 1: you have been a huge part of this team's success.

530
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,359
Speaker 1: Last year, you set the NCAA freshman single game scoring record.

531
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,400
Speaker 1: You were the first d one player to score fifty

532
00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:40,679
Speaker 1: three or more points in multiple games in a season

533
00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:43,560
Speaker 1: since back in the late eighties. What kind of expectations

534
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,119
Speaker 1: did you have for yourself when you were making the

535
00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,800
Speaker 1: jump from high school to collegiate play. Did you surprise

536
00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,520
Speaker 1: maybe even yourself with how much success you had freshman year?

537
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:54,360
Speaker 4: Yeah, I completely surprised myself. I Mean everybody I talked

538
00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:57,400
Speaker 4: to was like college is a different level, Like the conditioning,

539
00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:01,000
Speaker 4: the workouts, everything, the players, it's like a level above

540
00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:03,440
Speaker 4: and coming in I thought, okay, yeah, I'm just a freshman,

541
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:05,680
Speaker 4: so I'm thinking I'm going to get like whacked Haart

542
00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:07,760
Speaker 4: in face, like from a player.

543
00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 1: Or just metaphorically even Yeah, yeah.

544
00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:14,280
Speaker 4: But I mean just coming in it was kind of

545
00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:17,199
Speaker 4: a smooth transition, just the team atmosphere and stuff. The

546
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,080
Speaker 4: coach has always built confidence into me, so hadn't that

547
00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:22,560
Speaker 4: confidence to go out there. It just kind of came natural.

548
00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:25,239
Speaker 1: Now in your sophomore season, you're leading the nation in

549
00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,440
Speaker 1: scoring with twenty seven points a game. What feels good

550
00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:30,119
Speaker 1: right now in your game? What feels easy?

551
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,520
Speaker 4: I don't know if I would say anything feels easy.

552
00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:35,359
Speaker 4: It's just knowing, like the work I've put in to

553
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,760
Speaker 4: be prepared to perform in those moments. It's been a

554
00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:39,960
Speaker 4: lot of that, a lot of faith, a lot of

555
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,840
Speaker 4: just taking time for myself, I think this year and

556
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:44,560
Speaker 4: just really figuring out like who I want to be

557
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,800
Speaker 4: as a player and not putting any pressure on myself.

558
00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,440
Speaker 4: I think that's the reason I'm having success this year.

559
00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:52,919
Speaker 1: Yeah, the sophomore slump come sometimes just from like overthinking

560
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:56,080
Speaker 1: it after you've done so well your freshman year. You know, coach,

561
00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:58,560
Speaker 1: you obviously recruited Michaela so you knew she would be great,

562
00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:01,040
Speaker 1: But can you talk about how great she's been for you?

563
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,399
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's so cool to sit here and listen to

564
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,639
Speaker 2: her answer questions. I'll always read after the interviews that

565
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:08,479
Speaker 2: she has and all the great stories that people are

566
00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:10,919
Speaker 2: writing on her, and they're deserved and they should be written.

567
00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:14,159
Speaker 2: But I was not surprised at all. And she hasn't

568
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,760
Speaker 2: lived a long life. She's just beginning hers, really, but

569
00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,920
Speaker 2: having lived through all the things that she's going through

570
00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:22,880
Speaker 2: as a player and as a coach, and watching her

571
00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:26,640
Speaker 2: come to college and elevate everything that we did. Elevate

572
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:30,400
Speaker 2: our summer workouts, elevate our academic standards, elevate our culture,

573
00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,920
Speaker 2: elevate our relationship building, elevate our relationship with the communities,

574
00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:38,119
Speaker 2: elevate our level of fun and enjoy. And we're continuing

575
00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,040
Speaker 2: to work on that. But it wasn't a surprise because

576
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,080
Speaker 2: if that's who you are, then that's how you're going

577
00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:45,520
Speaker 2: to play. And she's going to have nights, you know,

578
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,080
Speaker 2: like we all do. But what's really cool about Mikaela

579
00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:50,600
Speaker 2: is that she doesn't ever get tired. She's going to

580
00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:54,440
Speaker 2: compete until the buzzer goes off. She's going to demand

581
00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:56,119
Speaker 2: out of the people around her in a way that

582
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,359
Speaker 2: calls them up and not out, but if they need

583
00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:01,520
Speaker 2: to be called out, she'll do that too. And that's

584
00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:04,040
Speaker 2: what I mean by she's built differently, because sometimes it

585
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:07,080
Speaker 2: takes players years to learn that. Some players that have

586
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:09,960
Speaker 2: for a level of talent never learn it and never

587
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 2: are forced to learn it. And I think you got

588
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,600
Speaker 2: to look back to her parents, her brother, the people

589
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,000
Speaker 2: that are in her inner circle that have raised her,

590
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,400
Speaker 2: that have also built that level of confidence and work

591
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:24,040
Speaker 2: ethic and genuine competitiveness and genuine coachability. It just doesn't

592
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,120
Speaker 2: happen often, so it's not a surprise, and honestly it's

593
00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:29,520
Speaker 2: just the beginning. She doesn't even know this yet. I

594
00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:32,320
Speaker 2: don't think she's only scratched a surface. And as she

595
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,160
Speaker 2: continues to play and work and run into two obstacles

596
00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,480
Speaker 2: and you know, failure, we get all worked up in society.

597
00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:41,679
Speaker 2: We want things to be so easy. The world is

598
00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:43,880
Speaker 2: built for it to be so easy. But like, the

599
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:46,200
Speaker 2: more that you run up against things that are really hard,

600
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,760
Speaker 2: the better you're going to be. So I just love

601
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:50,320
Speaker 2: that we get to be that I get to be

602
00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:53,119
Speaker 2: on the journey with her and her family and this

603
00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,720
Speaker 2: team because she's only going to continue to do special things,

604
00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,200
Speaker 2: and that as a result means that we are only

605
00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:01,639
Speaker 2: going to continue to do special things here at Vingerbilt.

606
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a really beautiful thing that happens when someone

607
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:08,600
Speaker 1: who is naturally exceedingly gifted also still wants to work

608
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:10,919
Speaker 1: so hard at it, because that's when the best stuff arrives.

609
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,320
Speaker 1: If you take it easy because it's easy for you,

610
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:15,240
Speaker 1: or it feels like it comes easy, that's when you

611
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,119
Speaker 1: can waste some of that opportunity. You know, Mikayl, I

612
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,280
Speaker 1: can see the passion in your coach talking about you.

613
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,920
Speaker 1: What's the quirkiest thing about Coach Ralph.

614
00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:26,040
Speaker 2: We don't have enough time. We don't have enough time

615
00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:26,719
Speaker 2: for that question.

616
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:28,920
Speaker 1: Spell some tea, Spell some tea.

617
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:32,320
Speaker 4: I found out Coach Ralph can do a headstand. That

618
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,800
Speaker 4: one caught me off guard because last summer she tortured

619
00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:38,200
Speaker 4: us and brought us to hot yoga and she was

620
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:40,360
Speaker 4: just like a beast doing it and we all were

621
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:41,920
Speaker 4: drenched and sweat and I wanted.

622
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:42,240
Speaker 2: To do it.

623
00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,680
Speaker 4: And then I guess randomly somebody was like, yeah, Coach

624
00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:48,560
Speaker 4: Rolf need a handstand or headstand and she was like yeah, nice,

625
00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,160
Speaker 4: and we were like, you're lying, and so she just did.

626
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,880
Speaker 1: It, and I mean, I don't know.

627
00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:54,240
Speaker 2: That was probably the quirkiest thing I.

628
00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:57,640
Speaker 1: Michael, I want to tell you that folks like Coach

629
00:28:57,720 --> 00:28:59,520
Speaker 1: Ralph and I, when we get old and busted and

630
00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:01,720
Speaker 1: our body doesn't let us do what you're doing anymore,

631
00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:04,760
Speaker 1: we just have to find new challenges like handstands and

632
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:08,320
Speaker 1: headstands and splits and yoga positions. It's all we got.

633
00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:08,960
Speaker 2: I got that.

634
00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:11,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's all we got to get better at after

635
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:15,280
Speaker 1: we've torn every single ligament and muscle in our body. Yeah,

636
00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:17,280
Speaker 1: that's all I got. I can't improve my points per

637
00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,360
Speaker 1: game average anymore. Coach, what's the quirkiest thing about Mikayla?

638
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:24,640
Speaker 2: Hmmm, what is the quirkiest thing about you? Mikayla Blake's

639
00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:25,920
Speaker 2: my government?

640
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:31,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, the government, the government name, the government, Mikayla, Pamela Blake.

641
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:32,320
Speaker 1: What's your middle name?

642
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:33,800
Speaker 2: I can't even give that one out.

643
00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:36,920
Speaker 1: Oh maybe that's the quirkiest thing about you.

644
00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,560
Speaker 2: I would say. She's kind of a girly girl, so

645
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,400
Speaker 2: like going to get her nails done like a little

646
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,120
Speaker 2: spot a. I don't think that most people would see that,

647
00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:48,800
Speaker 2: you know, but she has like this little girly side

648
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:50,640
Speaker 2: of her. Like, if we move around practice and she

649
00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:52,560
Speaker 2: had a nail appointment or hair appointment, I'm going to

650
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:54,840
Speaker 2: get a text message. I'm going to get a tech

651
00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:59,360
Speaker 2: message that we have a very important appointment. And I'm like, Okay, you've.

652
00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:02,440
Speaker 1: Got to keep that coach, look good, play good.

653
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,040
Speaker 2: I love guys. She owns it too. She owns it.

654
00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:07,440
Speaker 1: I've seen her Instagram. She likes to put up a

655
00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:09,560
Speaker 1: shot or too look and cute with her little outfits on.

656
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,600
Speaker 1: So I get that. I could see that. Yeah, yeah,

657
00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:14,719
Speaker 1: you know, coach, after a great regular season, you had

658
00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,040
Speaker 1: a tough SEC tournament. Mikayla got off to a rough

659
00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,520
Speaker 1: start in your quarterfinal game against Ole Miss. You got

660
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,800
Speaker 1: ejected arguing a call. I'm curious what went wrong that

661
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:24,560
Speaker 1: day because coming in you had a full head of

662
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:25,800
Speaker 1: steam heading into that tournament.

663
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,520
Speaker 2: Yeah. I wouldn't say that anything went wrong. I think

664
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,840
Speaker 2: Mikaela she just missed some shots, and we all did.

665
00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,560
Speaker 2: We missed some open shots that we normally make, and

666
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:37,120
Speaker 2: we weren't able to get defensive stops and rebounds, and

667
00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:38,960
Speaker 2: it just kind of snowballed a little bit for us.

668
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,760
Speaker 2: So it's not something that we hadn't seen before, and honestly,

669
00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:46,200
Speaker 2: we had seen that before from that team, and I

670
00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:49,000
Speaker 2: think the frustrating part for all of us was that,

671
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:51,600
Speaker 2: like we just kind of let it unravel to the

672
00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:54,040
Speaker 2: point where even in the fourth quarter, when when we

673
00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:56,120
Speaker 2: were able to fight back, we had just dug ourselves

674
00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,000
Speaker 2: a little bit too deep of a hole. But again,

675
00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,360
Speaker 2: I think, you know, sometimes it's just not your night.

676
00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:04,280
Speaker 2: And what I want my team to understand is, hey, listen,

677
00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,400
Speaker 2: we may not shoot the ball well, and you know,

678
00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,200
Speaker 2: we may have a quarter where Mikaela and Aubrey don't

679
00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:12,520
Speaker 2: shoot the ball well, but we can't dig ourselves a

680
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:14,600
Speaker 2: hole because we don't do what we're supposed to do

681
00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:17,680
Speaker 2: on the other end either, because we're not operating as

682
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,560
Speaker 2: a unit, because we're not continuing to fight and play

683
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:22,640
Speaker 2: really hard. And so I think in terms of a

684
00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:24,600
Speaker 2: rough night, those were some of the things. I didn't

685
00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,040
Speaker 2: think we quit. I think my team played really hard.

686
00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,880
Speaker 2: We just ran up against someone who played better earlier.

687
00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:32,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, and then ran out of time, right because you

688
00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:33,480
Speaker 1: cut it to nine.

689
00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:35,560
Speaker 2: I think I actually told them today if I had

690
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:37,160
Speaker 2: known that that was what it was going to take

691
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:39,240
Speaker 2: to turn the game around, I would have gotten kicked

692
00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:42,360
Speaker 2: out way sooner. That was my second and third technical

693
00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:44,920
Speaker 2: of my career and way out of character for me.

694
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,640
Speaker 2: It's not normally what I would do, but I will

695
00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:51,680
Speaker 2: say I am tired of having the same conversations, specifically

696
00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:56,360
Speaker 2: about Mikayla. So when things continue to happen around the

697
00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:58,840
Speaker 2: physicality of the game for her and I feel like

698
00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:01,040
Speaker 2: we're not being heard or respect, then I'm going to

699
00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:02,760
Speaker 2: say what I need to say. And if I knew

700
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:04,600
Speaker 2: that I was going to get kicked out, I would

701
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:05,400
Speaker 2: have said a lot more.

702
00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:08,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you would have done it earlier, because they

703
00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:10,720
Speaker 1: got pretty close once you left, and Mikaela and off

704
00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:12,880
Speaker 1: night for you with twenty four points still, which really

705
00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,320
Speaker 1: says something about how you recovered from a rough start

706
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:17,360
Speaker 1: in that one. Coach, Are you worried about how that

707
00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:19,920
Speaker 1: lost might effect you're seating in the NCAA tournament.

708
00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,000
Speaker 2: No, No, not at all. I don't care. We're in.

709
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:25,800
Speaker 2: We're going to get seated where they set us and

710
00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:27,800
Speaker 2: we have no control over that, and we're going to

711
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:31,880
Speaker 2: continue to prepare and get better. And I think, you know,

712
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:33,960
Speaker 2: if anything, I think that what happened in the SEC

713
00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:36,200
Speaker 2: tournament is added fuel to the fire for all of us,

714
00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:38,720
Speaker 2: and now we had time to rest, and now we

715
00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,520
Speaker 2: have time to continue our preparation to make a very

716
00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:42,480
Speaker 2: deep run in March.

717
00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:45,880
Speaker 1: I do think sometimes that kind of adversity actually helps

718
00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:48,320
Speaker 1: a team figure out, Okay, we've been here before, it's

719
00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:50,160
Speaker 1: starting to get away from us. Got to stop it earlier.

720
00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:51,720
Speaker 1: Or we've been here before and we came all the

721
00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:53,880
Speaker 1: way back. Here's how we need to do it here.

722
00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:56,080
Speaker 1: As opposed to sometimes you worry about the teams that

723
00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:58,600
Speaker 1: really haven't faced a lot of adversity up until they

724
00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,480
Speaker 1: get that tough matchup in tournament. MICHAELA, how do you

725
00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:03,360
Speaker 1: put that behind you and just gear up for the

726
00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:04,600
Speaker 1: bigger tournament that's ahead.

727
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:05,200
Speaker 2: Yeah.

728
00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:08,600
Speaker 4: I think the main thing is I'm human, like coach said, like,

729
00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:10,560
Speaker 4: I'm not going to have a perfect game every single night,

730
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,240
Speaker 4: but I can't let it continue to affect how I perform.

731
00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:16,080
Speaker 4: After that, It's kind of like live in the moment

732
00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,360
Speaker 4: for twenty four hours and then brush it off. I mean,

733
00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:20,520
Speaker 4: I still have a game to play, we still have

734
00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:22,600
Speaker 4: the tournament we're still hosting, and things like that. And

735
00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:25,400
Speaker 4: I think last year my dad brought up a great point,

736
00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:27,120
Speaker 4: like we had kind of the same effect. We tried

737
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:29,360
Speaker 4: to come back against South Carolina the SEC Tournament and

738
00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:31,640
Speaker 4: then we thought it was fuel to the fire for

739
00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:33,920
Speaker 4: when we came into March Madness, but we started out slow.

740
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,960
Speaker 4: So just using last year's performance as well to go

741
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:39,640
Speaker 4: this year and actually realized since we had that happened

742
00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,040
Speaker 4: last year, like this year in the NCAA Tournament, we

743
00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:44,280
Speaker 4: will actually be prepared and ready and I think it'll

744
00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:47,000
Speaker 4: translate that fourth quarter to March findness.

745
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:49,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, there was an eight year NCUBA draft for Vandy

746
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:51,760
Speaker 1: and now you're making a third straight trip to the

747
00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:55,240
Speaker 1: Big Dance. How have expectations ramped up with every single

748
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:55,920
Speaker 1: year a coach?

749
00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:59,960
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't really think of it as expectations.

750
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:02,600
Speaker 2: I like the question, I appreciate it, but I just

751
00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:04,160
Speaker 2: feel like this is what we came here to do.

752
00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:06,680
Speaker 2: No one has higher expectations of us here than me

753
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:09,600
Speaker 2: or our kids or our staff. And didn't come here

754
00:34:09,640 --> 00:34:10,800
Speaker 2: to lose. I don't come here to not have to

755
00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:13,560
Speaker 2: be in the NCAA Tournament. So we better go every year.

756
00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:16,800
Speaker 2: And I don't want to just go. I want to

757
00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:19,640
Speaker 2: go and win. I want to compete for championships. I

758
00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:22,440
Speaker 2: am excited about all the things that are happening around

759
00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:24,160
Speaker 2: our program right now. I think we've earned them. I

760
00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:26,120
Speaker 2: think we're having a really special year. And I love

761
00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:29,080
Speaker 2: that our players are getting honored, and you know, there's

762
00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,080
Speaker 2: honors for me, which is coaches honors, and we're getting

763
00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:35,600
Speaker 2: lots of visibility at Vanderbilt because they Vanderbilt has invested

764
00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:39,360
Speaker 2: in women here. Our ad and our chancellor have invested

765
00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:43,440
Speaker 2: in athletics and in women specifically us and not just money.

766
00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:45,000
Speaker 2: That's not what I'm talking about. And I'm talking about

767
00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,000
Speaker 2: all the things, all the resources that we have at

768
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,080
Speaker 2: our fingertips to grow. And this is what that looks

769
00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:51,240
Speaker 2: like when you invest in women. These are the results

770
00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:54,439
Speaker 2: that you're going to get. So I love the opportunity

771
00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:58,160
Speaker 2: to continue to compete for Vanderbilt with my team, with

772
00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:00,680
Speaker 2: my staff, because we do have something really special here,

773
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:03,680
Speaker 2: and the baseline expectation here is that we will be

774
00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:06,080
Speaker 2: in the insutable Tournament and that we will be competing

775
00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:06,960
Speaker 2: for championships.

776
00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:09,799
Speaker 1: I love that you talked about the investment, because programs

777
00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:14,319
Speaker 1: like yours are what drives motion everywhere else. Seeing the

778
00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:16,440
Speaker 1: results of what it looks like when a program is

779
00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:19,799
Speaker 1: invested in and resourced and cared about and respected, and

780
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:22,200
Speaker 1: where that can take your program and your school as

781
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,319
Speaker 1: a results of what it tells everybody about your school

782
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:27,720
Speaker 1: that you have these successful teams. So I love it, Michaela.

783
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,520
Speaker 1: She mentioned some of the other things that have happened

784
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:32,480
Speaker 1: around the team as a result of success, and that

785
00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:34,920
Speaker 1: includes the stands that the game's filling up more and

786
00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:37,480
Speaker 1: more as you're stacking up wins. You're a huge part

787
00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:40,320
Speaker 1: of that. How do you handle the responsibility or maybe

788
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,880
Speaker 1: the privilege of returning this program to contender status and

789
00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:45,880
Speaker 1: knowing there's a lot of people showing up to watch you.

790
00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:49,719
Speaker 4: Honestly, I'm just excited about it. Like I came last

791
00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:51,320
Speaker 4: year and saw the stand and I was like, I

792
00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:52,840
Speaker 4: wish we had a lot more fans because it was

793
00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,480
Speaker 4: mostly filled with opposing fans. But this year, like, we

794
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:57,080
Speaker 4: have a lot of people coming up who were like,

795
00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:59,080
Speaker 4: we just bought season tickets, we're looking at buy some

796
00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:01,200
Speaker 4: and tickets next year. We're excited for you guys, And

797
00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:03,880
Speaker 4: I feel like that just really proves like that people

798
00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:06,000
Speaker 4: are investing in women's sports. It's not just all about

799
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,200
Speaker 4: the men's and here at Vanderbilt. We also get support

800
00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:10,160
Speaker 4: from other student athletes as well. They'll show up to

801
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,399
Speaker 4: games and things like that. So I feel like it's

802
00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:14,680
Speaker 4: just a huge community and it's just a really great

803
00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:15,320
Speaker 4: thing happening.

804
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:18,520
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's something about putting on a show in front

805
00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:21,520
Speaker 1: of your fellow student athletes that feels especially good. I

806
00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:23,680
Speaker 1: always felt like it was a special night when folks

807
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:26,680
Speaker 1: came to watch us compete from another team. So I

808
00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:28,239
Speaker 1: think it's going to be happening more and more for

809
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:30,800
Speaker 1: y'all as you continue to have a ton of success.

810
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:33,319
Speaker 1: You know, Coach, you were a player and coach at

811
00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:35,799
Speaker 1: the best women's hoops program in the world, and I

812
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:38,160
Speaker 1: wonder what the biggest lessons you took away from coach

813
00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:40,560
Speaker 1: orim or I would say.

814
00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:43,520
Speaker 2: Number one that you know, I think the aura around

815
00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:46,799
Speaker 2: Yukon from the outside looking in is like, you know,

816
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:50,080
Speaker 2: they get all the best players and they're unbeatable, right,

817
00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:52,319
Speaker 2: They're like sprinkled this magic ferry dust and all these

818
00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,200
Speaker 2: great things happen, and it's just it's really not It's

819
00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,080
Speaker 2: not that. I think if you look at how simple

820
00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:00,960
Speaker 2: the formula is for what was done there and what

821
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:03,719
Speaker 2: they continue to do is really what the nuts and

822
00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:07,080
Speaker 2: bolts of just having a winning culture and a championship

823
00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:09,680
Speaker 2: culture and a championship team looks like. I think the

824
00:37:09,719 --> 00:37:12,520
Speaker 2: biggest thing that I learned their number one resilience, because

825
00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:14,400
Speaker 2: you're going to have to do hard things. We're going

826
00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:16,640
Speaker 2: to have to do them every day, and especially when

827
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:18,799
Speaker 2: you're the hunted, and I think that's really cool that

828
00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,279
Speaker 2: I learned that they're The second part is there's no

829
00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:24,960
Speaker 2: replacement for the right people and hard work. So I think,

830
00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:27,640
Speaker 2: especially in the landscape that we have right now, it's

831
00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:30,920
Speaker 2: really easy to look at talent and numbers and be like,

832
00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,120
Speaker 2: we just need talent, right we need people that score,

833
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:36,879
Speaker 2: and we're going to go by the rankings and all

834
00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:40,680
Speaker 2: the scouting services or in the transfer portal, like who

835
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:42,280
Speaker 2: has the most points and who has the best events.

836
00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:44,400
Speaker 2: You've got to get the right people. You know, obviously

837
00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:46,799
Speaker 2: have to have a level of talent skill. But if

838
00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,960
Speaker 2: you try to fit pieces that aren't going to fit

839
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,919
Speaker 2: into the puzzle of your culture of your team, it's

840
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,600
Speaker 2: just not going to set everyone up for success and

841
00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:59,160
Speaker 2: it's going to fall apart. And that doesn't mean that

842
00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:00,839
Speaker 2: you know that they're bad people or the wrong people

843
00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:03,080
Speaker 2: are bad players or the wrong players. It's just making

844
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,400
Speaker 2: sure that you know what you're about as a program,

845
00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:07,720
Speaker 2: that you know what your team needs, and then putting

846
00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:10,360
Speaker 2: those pieces in place for them to be successful. And

847
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:12,719
Speaker 2: that's my job. I got to clear the path for

848
00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:15,160
Speaker 2: my team, and I have a really, really good formula

849
00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:16,920
Speaker 2: for what it looks like to be successful at the

850
00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:17,560
Speaker 2: highest level.

851
00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:20,279
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I feel like that team building is so

852
00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:22,759
Speaker 1: much more of an ongoing process now because of the

853
00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:25,200
Speaker 1: transfer portal. It used to be sort of, yes, year

854
00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:26,600
Speaker 1: to year, you're going to lose some and gain some,

855
00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:29,080
Speaker 1: but you can keep building this recipe at a sprinkle

856
00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:31,319
Speaker 1: of this, at a shaker of this. And now with

857
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:33,799
Speaker 1: each year it's who do we lose and who do

858
00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:36,480
Speaker 1: we bring in? And how do I keep acting like

859
00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:39,640
Speaker 1: a GM for this program and bringing in the right folks.

860
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:41,440
Speaker 1: And I think your point is a valid one. A

861
00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:44,320
Speaker 1: lot of people who go to Yukon could go somewhere

862
00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:46,000
Speaker 1: else and not look like that. And it's not the

863
00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:49,120
Speaker 1: magic of Yukon. It's that work that gets put in

864
00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:52,799
Speaker 1: once you get there. And I imagine you've taken some

865
00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:54,960
Speaker 1: of what you've learned there sprinkled your own thing.

866
00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:57,319
Speaker 2: And I would say too, not to cut you off,

867
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:00,200
Speaker 2: but like, I don't think it has to change. This

868
00:39:00,239 --> 00:39:03,680
Speaker 2: is a really important inflection point in college sports, and

869
00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:06,680
Speaker 2: like protecting the experience of a college student athlete, I

870
00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:09,040
Speaker 2: don't think that it has to change. Yeah, I think

871
00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:11,440
Speaker 2: that when you have the support that we have and

872
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:15,280
Speaker 2: the vision that we have, relationships are still important. It's okay.

873
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:17,960
Speaker 2: If it's not the right fit for a player, it's okay.

874
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:20,720
Speaker 2: But it doesn't mean that you're going to have rollover

875
00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:23,120
Speaker 2: every year just because you're trying to win win, win,

876
00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:25,920
Speaker 2: win win. If that's all that we're doing, then our

877
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:28,240
Speaker 2: sport is going to be in trouble. Yeah, I completely agree,

878
00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:31,960
Speaker 2: because respectfully, and Mikayla's on here, these are still kids.

879
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:35,320
Speaker 2: They still need to grow up, They still need to

880
00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:38,000
Speaker 2: learn lessons, they still need to learn, you know what

881
00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:41,560
Speaker 2: it looks like to be successful, to handle adversity, because

882
00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:43,560
Speaker 2: at some point they're going to stop playing basketball, and

883
00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:46,920
Speaker 2: hopefully players like Mikaela and Mikayla won't stop playing for

884
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:49,200
Speaker 2: a long time. But if we get all the things

885
00:39:49,239 --> 00:39:51,839
Speaker 2: turned around and get the priorities in WAG, then we're

886
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:54,799
Speaker 2: not doing our jobs. And I know here, we're going

887
00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:55,480
Speaker 2: to do our job.

888
00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:57,920
Speaker 1: It's a tough thing right now, and I think everybody's

889
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:01,160
Speaker 1: feeling the push of Like, yes, of course, situations not great.

890
00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:03,359
Speaker 1: An athlete needs to find a place that's right for them,

891
00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:05,799
Speaker 1: but also leaving at the first sign of adversity, or

892
00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:08,759
Speaker 1: not having that three or four year experience somewhere, or

893
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:11,160
Speaker 1: not learning how to push through things that aren't working

894
00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:13,560
Speaker 1: out to find the other side where you're better, stronger, faster,

895
00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:16,200
Speaker 1: and readier to play. Like, all of those are a

896
00:40:16,239 --> 00:40:19,279
Speaker 1: part of the experience. And there's also, unfortunately, some kids

897
00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:21,319
Speaker 1: who enter the transfer portal and don't find their way

898
00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:24,360
Speaker 1: to somewhere else. They're looking for a grasses, greener situation,

899
00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:26,840
Speaker 1: and they left behind something pretty good. And I think

900
00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:29,560
Speaker 1: even those who want to advocate for player rights and

901
00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:32,560
Speaker 1: player choice are still looking at the system and saying, Hmmm,

902
00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:34,840
Speaker 1: something's got to give here. It can't just be this

903
00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:37,600
Speaker 1: constant bopping around where you don't ever have a college

904
00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:39,080
Speaker 1: experience in addition to your.

905
00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:40,280
Speaker 2: Basketball experience exactly.

906
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:43,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, which is hard, you know, MICHAELA. In addition to

907
00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:46,600
Speaker 1: everything you're doing at Vanda, you also got the chance

908
00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:50,080
Speaker 1: to play on Team USA alongside some fellow college greats.

909
00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:54,080
Speaker 1: At the Foba AMERICAUP. You were alongside Audie Crooks, Olivia, Miles,

910
00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:56,640
Speaker 1: Handa Hidalgo, like so much talent there. I wonder what

911
00:40:56,719 --> 00:40:59,320
Speaker 1: you learned from your time with Team USA.

912
00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:01,359
Speaker 4: I just learned how to player aground other really great

913
00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:04,360
Speaker 4: players and just how to put people in position for success.

914
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:07,080
Speaker 2: I think that was the main thing there. And also

915
00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:08,640
Speaker 2: there everybody works hard.

916
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:11,720
Speaker 4: Everybody shows up like forty five minutes early to everything,

917
00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:14,920
Speaker 4: and it's just like routine for people. And then I

918
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,879
Speaker 4: just learned they're just discipline. It's like to be able

919
00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:19,719
Speaker 4: to be on the court in those moments, you need

920
00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:21,480
Speaker 4: to be disciplined, You need to be ready, and your

921
00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:23,480
Speaker 4: role is going to change. You may be the leading

922
00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:25,319
Speaker 4: scorer one game, you may not, and it's just what

923
00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:26,960
Speaker 4: can you do to benefit the team and have Can

924
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:29,560
Speaker 4: you be the best teammate for others who are doing

925
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:30,640
Speaker 4: really well and others who aren't.

926
00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:34,040
Speaker 1: I mentioned first sophomore SEC Player of the Year since

927
00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:37,719
Speaker 1: Asia Wilson not bad company. Does that distinction make you

928
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:40,440
Speaker 1: maybe dream a little bigger even about what could be

929
00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:42,759
Speaker 1: possible for you in collegen and the pros.

930
00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:45,319
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, it's a great honor. And to be

931
00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:47,440
Speaker 4: beside Asia Wilson. I feel like she's the goat of

932
00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:51,520
Speaker 4: women's basketball and she's a huge role model. I look

933
00:41:51,600 --> 00:41:53,680
Speaker 4: up to her a lot, and it just really shows

934
00:41:53,719 --> 00:41:55,360
Speaker 4: me that I'm on the right path, my work is

935
00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,200
Speaker 4: being shown, and I'm around the right group of people

936
00:41:58,320 --> 00:41:59,719
Speaker 4: because without them, I wouldn't be able to get the

937
00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:00,480
Speaker 4: WA as well.

938
00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:03,040
Speaker 1: So yeah, before I let you go, coach, I know

939
00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:05,120
Speaker 1: you said, and I agree with you, Like, there are

940
00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,239
Speaker 1: some great programs, great players that are not getting as

941
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:10,640
Speaker 1: much storytelling this season. Tell us something about your program

942
00:42:10,640 --> 00:42:12,960
Speaker 1: that you wish more people knew, A player, a story,

943
00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:16,400
Speaker 1: a piece of adversity you've overcome. What's something that you

944
00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:18,840
Speaker 1: wish the national media was talking about from this season.

945
00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:21,719
Speaker 2: That's probably a better question for Mikayla.

946
00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:24,920
Speaker 1: Look at her, She's like, coach, don't pass me the ball.

947
00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:29,040
Speaker 2: I know. I really think for this team in particular,

948
00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:32,239
Speaker 2: we've been here for five years. Sasha Washington's been here

949
00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:35,520
Speaker 2: all five years, Jada Brown, who's been here for I

950
00:42:35,520 --> 00:42:39,000
Speaker 2: think in the landscape and the landscape changed drastically right

951
00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:40,560
Speaker 2: after we got here, like a year and a half,

952
00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:44,080
Speaker 2: two years after we got here, and the commitment level,

953
00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:46,719
Speaker 2: I mean we because we went through some really tough

954
00:42:46,760 --> 00:42:52,239
Speaker 2: times and there's constant adversity, there's constant obstacles, and the

955
00:42:52,239 --> 00:42:55,120
Speaker 2: commitment level from my staff, the commitment level from our team,

956
00:42:55,239 --> 00:42:59,319
Speaker 2: the things that you know, even Mikayla saw in us

957
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:02,920
Speaker 2: before everyone else saw them. But my team knows it,

958
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:06,480
Speaker 2: our administration knows it, our community knows it, and we

959
00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:10,160
Speaker 2: are constantly doing work behind the scenes to be where

960
00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:12,719
Speaker 2: we are. So I think it's really cool that the

961
00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:15,319
Speaker 2: eyes that are honest right now are honest, but I

962
00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:17,919
Speaker 2: want people to understand the buy in that that took

963
00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:21,920
Speaker 2: and the commitment and the work and the belief and

964
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:26,799
Speaker 2: the chemistry, and it was really, really, really hard. And

965
00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:29,239
Speaker 2: that was my point earlier, is like I think right now,

966
00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:31,719
Speaker 2: people just want the easy out or the easy win,

967
00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:34,279
Speaker 2: or the place where they're going to make the most

968
00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:36,560
Speaker 2: money or it's going to be on TV the most

969
00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:40,160
Speaker 2: And what my kids did, my team did, was very

970
00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:43,840
Speaker 2: uncommon in terms of their buying and their commitment. And

971
00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:47,080
Speaker 2: we're getting to see what delayed gratification looks like. And

972
00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:49,400
Speaker 2: I just think that's so cool because that's going to

973
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:51,040
Speaker 2: be there for them the rest of their lives, and

974
00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:53,799
Speaker 2: that is usually what great things look like. Great things

975
00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:56,359
Speaker 2: don't come to you on a silver platter. If they did,

976
00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:59,080
Speaker 2: we would all have them. But these kids really worked

977
00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:01,440
Speaker 2: hard for this moment, and each of them has a story.

978
00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:04,040
Speaker 2: So I'm hopeful as we continue to go on in

979
00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:06,560
Speaker 2: March it they'll all be be told. Yeah.

980
00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:08,960
Speaker 1: And it's very cool the idea of these players that

981
00:44:09,040 --> 00:44:10,759
Speaker 1: get to point to this moment and say this is

982
00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:13,960
Speaker 1: when we changed everything for Vanderbilt women's hoops, not we're

983
00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:16,000
Speaker 1: one of many teams that have won, or we're just

984
00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:18,839
Speaker 1: one of a round of great players that came through

985
00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:22,160
Speaker 1: and left. But here's where things changed, which is really cool.

986
00:44:22,239 --> 00:44:23,040
Speaker 2: It's really cool.

987
00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:26,239
Speaker 1: Mikayla, you got a story since coach tried to force

988
00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:27,200
Speaker 1: the ball into your hands.

989
00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:29,120
Speaker 2: I punted it, but I answered it, but then I

990
00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:31,000
Speaker 2: punted it.

991
00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:35,600
Speaker 4: I think like a lot of people don't really look

992
00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:37,239
Speaker 4: at us outside of basketball. Like a lot of my

993
00:44:37,239 --> 00:44:40,200
Speaker 4: teammates are influencers, you like to post on TikTok, do

994
00:44:40,239 --> 00:44:42,920
Speaker 4: a lot of those things, and we're just very like

995
00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:45,319
Speaker 4: team based. So I feel like I don't know if

996
00:44:45,320 --> 00:44:47,319
Speaker 4: people looked at us outside of basketball. Would be kind

997
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:48,719
Speaker 4: of different than what you see on the court. I

998
00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:50,840
Speaker 4: feel like on the court we're all just very competitive,

999
00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:53,680
Speaker 4: but off the court we're just laughing, just doing trends

1000
00:44:53,719 --> 00:44:54,359
Speaker 4: things like that.

1001
00:44:54,719 --> 00:44:58,640
Speaker 1: Thanks everything, all right, MICHAELA said, Nil, guys, we have

1002
00:44:58,680 --> 00:45:02,480
Speaker 1: a lot of personalities here. Hello us sponsors. We're funny

1003
00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:05,719
Speaker 1: and smart and cute, and we do dances too. I

1004
00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:08,200
Speaker 1: like it, I like it. Sell yourself well. We have

1005
00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:10,399
Speaker 1: enjoyed watching you all season long, and we can't wait

1006
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:11,920
Speaker 1: to watch you in the tournament. So thanks so much

1007
00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:12,399
Speaker 1: for the time.

1008
00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:14,560
Speaker 2: Thank you, This was so much fun. Thank you so much.

1009
00:45:14,840 --> 00:45:15,239
Speaker 2: Thank you.

1010
00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:20,399
Speaker 1: Thanks again to coach Ralph and Mikayla for taking the time.

1011
00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:22,680
Speaker 1: Can't wait to watch him in the tourney. We got

1012
00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:25,400
Speaker 1: to take another break when we return Phallic fruit and

1013
00:45:25,440 --> 00:45:35,960
Speaker 1: an East Coast geography lesson. Welcome back slices. We love

1014
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:37,239
Speaker 1: that you're listening, but we want you to get in

1015
00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:39,279
Speaker 1: the game every day too, So here's our good game

1016
00:45:39,280 --> 00:45:41,920
Speaker 1: play of the day. First, one last reminder to get

1017
00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:44,960
Speaker 1: those brackets in, and second, keep reaching out to us

1018
00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:47,919
Speaker 1: about your game going experiences and more. We're loving all

1019
00:45:47,960 --> 00:45:50,840
Speaker 1: the slices doing their slice work of late, like certified

1020
00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:53,560
Speaker 1: slice Kate em who wrote in about the Boston Legacy

1021
00:45:53,719 --> 00:45:56,400
Speaker 1: Stadium situation. She wrote that I was right when I

1022
00:45:56,440 --> 00:45:59,040
Speaker 1: said people in the Northeast are pretty casual about crossing

1023
00:45:59,080 --> 00:46:01,759
Speaker 1: state lines for a quote unquote home games, but they

1024
00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:04,640
Speaker 1: still have their limits. Quote. The news that the first

1025
00:46:04,680 --> 00:46:07,279
Speaker 1: season would be at Gillette, which is notoriously miserable to

1026
00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:09,440
Speaker 1: get in and out, wasn't great, but it was really

1027
00:46:09,480 --> 00:46:11,520
Speaker 1: important to me to support women's sports in the Legacy,

1028
00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:13,520
Speaker 1: so I committed to club seats for the first season

1029
00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:15,439
Speaker 1: and figured I could just tough it out for a year.

1030
00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:17,719
Speaker 1: Only after we had put down the money did they

1031
00:46:17,719 --> 00:46:19,840
Speaker 1: release that half the games would be in Rhode Island.

1032
00:46:20,239 --> 00:46:23,160
Speaker 1: Rhode Island is a day trip. I'm also a normal

1033
00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:25,640
Speaker 1: person with a super demanding job that isn't confined to

1034
00:46:25,719 --> 00:46:28,399
Speaker 1: nine to five. Realistically, I'm probably gonna eat the road

1035
00:46:28,400 --> 00:46:31,480
Speaker 1: Island tickets unless I can donate or sell them AnyWho

1036
00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:33,960
Speaker 1: getting ready to bundle up in cheer and debating the

1037
00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:35,759
Speaker 1: wisdom of wearing an unfuck with the Bull hoodie to

1038
00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:39,520
Speaker 1: a family friendly event end quote. Kate, thanks for writing

1039
00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:42,239
Speaker 1: in that does indeed suck, and also please let me

1040
00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:44,520
Speaker 1: know how your family responds to the hoodie. We also

1041
00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:47,640
Speaker 1: heard from Super Slice and Good Game chief accessibility officer

1042
00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:50,960
Speaker 1: Amanda Vallo, who wrote in about attending the PWHL takeover

1043
00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:53,760
Speaker 1: to her game at Denver. She said the elevator situation

1044
00:46:53,840 --> 00:46:57,160
Speaker 1: to accommodate patrons who used wheelchairs needed some work, and

1045
00:46:57,200 --> 00:46:59,400
Speaker 1: she wasn't in any hurry to buy the phallic chocolate

1046
00:46:59,400 --> 00:47:01,880
Speaker 1: covered straw sticks that seemed to be at eye level

1047
00:47:01,960 --> 00:47:06,080
Speaker 1: everywhere she looked, but quote, overall, the stadium vibe was excellent.

1048
00:47:06,280 --> 00:47:09,720
Speaker 1: Denver showed up and showed out fifteen thousand plus voices,

1049
00:47:09,800 --> 00:47:12,920
Speaker 1: cheering loudest for signs that said support trans kids and

1050
00:47:13,080 --> 00:47:16,840
Speaker 1: proudest for we want a team end quote. We love it.

1051
00:47:16,840 --> 00:47:20,319
Speaker 1: Amanda Gracie wrote us about attending the She Believes Cup

1052
00:47:20,320 --> 00:47:24,320
Speaker 1: game in Columbus, Ohio, sharing that despite disorganized parking and signage,

1053
00:47:24,360 --> 00:47:27,600
Speaker 1: the stadium looked great and the American Outlaws drums section ruled.

1054
00:47:28,120 --> 00:47:30,560
Speaker 1: She also shared a little ps about an American hero,

1055
00:47:30,719 --> 00:47:33,600
Speaker 1: writing quote, I actually go to Ohio University. It's the

1056
00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:36,560
Speaker 1: home of Team USA hockey player Gwyneth Phillips. Everyone here

1057
00:47:36,640 --> 00:47:39,279
Speaker 1: is so proud of her. She visited the local rink

1058
00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:41,839
Speaker 1: after a club game in October. Seeing a woman who

1059
00:47:41,880 --> 00:47:45,320
Speaker 1: earned two shutouts in the Olympics really helped me stay motivated.

1060
00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:47,880
Speaker 1: I cover men's ice hockey here and men are gross,

1061
00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:49,480
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna put as much effort as i can

1062
00:47:49,520 --> 00:47:53,240
Speaker 1: get to cover women's ice hockey in the future. End quote.

1063
00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:57,080
Speaker 1: Men are gross, gracie hard to argue these days. I know,

1064
00:47:57,239 --> 00:48:00,120
Speaker 1: I know not all men, but it's always a man.

1065
00:48:00,440 --> 00:48:02,600
Speaker 1: Thanks y'all, we always love hearing from you. Hit us

1066
00:48:02,640 --> 00:48:05,520
Speaker 1: up on email, good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or

1067
00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:07,640
Speaker 1: leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two four

1068
00:48:07,760 --> 00:48:10,880
Speaker 1: fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.

1069
00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:13,280
Speaker 1: Do it, Do it right now, do it. It's so easy.

1070
00:48:13,520 --> 00:48:17,080
Speaker 1: Watch starting off your season oh to twelve before turning

1071
00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:19,600
Speaker 1: things around to finish fourteen and four in conference play

1072
00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:23,200
Speaker 1: and play in your first Division one postseason. Rating a

1073
00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:27,640
Speaker 1: near full one eighty review. The Mercyhurst women's basketball team

1074
00:48:27,800 --> 00:48:30,560
Speaker 1: went from an first start to the season losing twelve

1075
00:48:30,600 --> 00:48:33,920
Speaker 1: straight games, to writing the ship and qualifying for the NIT.

1076
00:48:34,560 --> 00:48:37,080
Speaker 1: Multiple members of first year head coach Aaron mills Reid

1077
00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:40,440
Speaker 1: squad won conference awards and the Lakers will host Binghamton

1078
00:48:40,480 --> 00:48:43,439
Speaker 1: in the NIT Tournament tonight, marking the program's first ever

1079
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Speaker 1: D one postseason appearance. You know what they say. If

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Speaker 1: at Mercyhurst you don't succeed, try try again. Now it's

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Speaker 1: your turn, y'all rate and review. Thanks for listening, See

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Speaker 1: you tomorrow. Good game, mckaylan, Coach Ralph, Good game, WNBPA

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Speaker 1: and WNBA, thank you, having done enough digging on the

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Speaker 1: revenue share side to wonder if this CBA really is

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Speaker 1: good enough for what the players deserve. Good Game with

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Speaker 1: Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership

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Speaker 1: with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us

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Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

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Speaker 1: your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are

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Speaker 1: Alex Azzi and Bianca Hillier. Our executive producers are Christina Everett,

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Speaker 1: Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are

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Speaker 1: Emily Rudder, Lucy Jones, Britney Martinez and Gianna Palmer. Production

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Speaker 1: assistant from Avery Loftus and I'm your Host Sarah Spain