Speaker 1: In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams is an
Speaker 1: iHeart Women's Sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. Welcome to another episode of In Case You
Speaker 1: Missed It with Christina Williams. Here on iHeart Women's Sports
Speaker 1: and you guys know, it's Friday, so we call this
Speaker 1: Fan Out Friday, where we have some of the biggest
Speaker 1: names around the league and in the entertainment industry join
Speaker 1: us to talk all things women's basketball. I'm super excited
Speaker 1: about today's guest. Her name is Haley Vanlitz. She's also
Speaker 1: known by her initials around the league as h El.
Speaker 1: She's an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky
Speaker 1: But if you've been following her basketball career, you know
Speaker 1: that she has been a standout basketball player at Louisville.
Speaker 1: She also played for LSU and most recently TCU before
Speaker 1: getting drafted into the WNBA. Last summer, she took the
Speaker 1: world storm when she led Team USA's three x three
Speaker 1: team to a bronze medal. Please welcome to the show,
Speaker 1: Hailey vanlet Haley, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you for being here. So before we get
Speaker 1: into you know, your basketball journey and all things hoops,
Speaker 1: we like to start the show with our guests sharing
Speaker 1: their win of the week. So what was a win
Speaker 1: this week for you? Oh?
Speaker 2: I would say win for me was I love puzzles,
Speaker 2: Like in my off time, I love to do puzzles
Speaker 2: and I finished one this week, so that was a
Speaker 2: great moment.
Speaker 1: Nice. What was what was the puzzle? I'm curious now.
Speaker 2: I actually it's a fancy wooden one. I get them
Speaker 2: from London and it was like an owl, like a
Speaker 2: owl and then with a bunch of different color colorful owls.
Speaker 2: So it was it was cute.
Speaker 1: I love that that look that you're into puzzles. I
Speaker 1: used to be into it, so maybe I'll start to
Speaker 1: get back more into it. Okay, so you're playing for
Speaker 1: the Chicago Sky currently and we're still pretty much early
Speaker 1: into this season. How has that transition been like for
Speaker 1: you so far?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean coming into the w NBA being a pro,
Speaker 2: it's definitely a huge step up and it's fast. It
Speaker 2: comes at you fast, like there's barely any any time
Speaker 2: to prepare, get ready to take a break, and just
Speaker 2: being able to take it on the information but also
Speaker 2: enjoying myself at the same time has definitely been a
Speaker 2: balance and every day, you know, I had to work
Speaker 2: on that balance of not getting too overwhelmed and enjoying
Speaker 2: myself and embracing this moment. But it's been it's been awesome.
Speaker 2: I've had so much fun. And we're just at the
Speaker 2: beginning of the season still, so you know, I can't
Speaker 2: wait for what the rest of the summer has in store.
Speaker 1: And there's definite like summertime, Shy. Have you been able
Speaker 1: to enjoy the city so far?
Speaker 2: You know, it just started to warm up. The weather
Speaker 2: was a little bit, you know, like bipolar for for
Speaker 2: a little bit there, but as it started to warm up, Man,
Speaker 2: it's so beautiful and just with the water front right here,
Speaker 2: like when we come into prag just in the mornings
Speaker 2: or before games, like just getting to see that and
Speaker 2: sometimes I'll stop and just like take a moment to chill.
Speaker 2: But it's so beautiful, you know, I think I'm gonna
Speaker 2: have plenty of memories here.
Speaker 1: So Haley, I want to get into the year that
Speaker 1: you've been having. I feel like you've got some of
Speaker 1: the best basketball, like a best the best year of
Speaker 1: one of your careers because you played at TCU where
Speaker 1: you led them to the conference championship, you had a
Speaker 1: postseason birth, and then you get drafted into the w
Speaker 1: NBA And hindsight, looking back at your TCU career, what
Speaker 1: did that teach you about yourself?
Speaker 2: You know, TCU was a huge moment of like rebirth,
Speaker 2: and it really showed you like what faith and perseverance
Speaker 2: and resilience can do. And I think, you know, it
Speaker 2: was a huge like reaffirming confidence booster for me, Like
Speaker 2: I can do hard, I can push through hard things
Speaker 2: in life and like see the other side. And you know,
Speaker 2: faith is a huge thing for me. So just continuing
Speaker 2: to grow that and you know, build my relationship with God.
Speaker 2: That was a huge year for just you know, personal
Speaker 2: goals and reaching them and so it was great and
Speaker 2: it was a great moment. But it's gone and so
Speaker 2: now I need to, you know, start this new journey
Speaker 2: in my life. And you know, I'm grateful for that
Speaker 2: year at TCU, but you know, life moves on fast.
Speaker 1: You feel like you're playing with a different purpose now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think definitely my perspective has changed a lot.
Speaker 2: So the way that I viewed basketball in the past
Speaker 2: or like, my role in the game of basketball is
Speaker 2: way different now. So I definitely would say, like I
Speaker 2: move with a different purpose. I wake up every day
Speaker 2: with with a different energy behind me, and I'm happy
Speaker 2: with that. I'm glad that happened.
Speaker 1: You said that you view yourself in a different role
Speaker 1: when it comes to basketball. Can you just expand more
Speaker 1: on that, and what role do you see yourself in now?
Speaker 2: Before some before I would see basketball as just the game,
Speaker 2: but now I see it as a vehicle for me
Speaker 2: to like impact people, and it's it's the place where
Speaker 2: I can really be myself and be free and express
Speaker 2: myself on the court. But through that expression, I can
Speaker 2: really like impact people and build connection and you know,
Speaker 2: connect with the greater world. And I think that that's
Speaker 2: something that has given me, like a ton a lot peace.
Speaker 2: Whereas before, when you see just the game, it can
Speaker 2: be very stressful and it can be a love hate relationship.
Speaker 2: But you know, now that I've kind of changed the
Speaker 2: way that I see basketball, I definitely have peace a
Speaker 2: lot more of my days.
Speaker 1: I was super excited when the Chicago's guy took you
Speaker 1: off the draft board one because you would be able
Speaker 1: to learn from a player like Courtney Vanders Snooth. And
Speaker 1: we now know that Courtney will miss the remainder of
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty five season. But how are you one,
Speaker 1: how are you processing her absence and how has her
Speaker 1: leadership early on in the season helped you grow as
Speaker 1: a point guard?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean slew is one of the greats of
Speaker 2: the game, you know, Hall of famer. She's our all
Speaker 2: time leading scorer here with our organization. Like she just
Speaker 2: she checks all the boxes and she's a great person too,
Speaker 2: And so I'm really grateful for her willingness to spend
Speaker 2: time with me and like invest into, you know, helping
Speaker 2: my career. Obviously, she's going through her own journey right
Speaker 2: now with with an injury, and we are putting a
Speaker 2: ton of energy behind her because that can be that
Speaker 2: can be a tough road, and so you know, I'm
Speaker 2: sending her all the love right now. And but she's
Speaker 2: still is finding time for me. She'll come to practice,
Speaker 2: she'll watch practices, and I'll just walk over to her
Speaker 2: and pick her brain about little things of the game
Speaker 2: that can help me be a better point guard. And
Speaker 2: so just having her around, it's definitely like a safety
Speaker 2: net for me of like, I always have this person
Speaker 2: that can help me get better, and so I'm really
Speaker 2: excited to spend more time with her and you know,
Speaker 2: be there for each other on our journeys.
Speaker 1: You said you pick her brains about the little thing.
Speaker 1: What specifically are some of those little things that you've
Speaker 1: been able to learn from her in such a short time.
Speaker 2: Little things like setting up a ball screen, how to
Speaker 2: set it up where like where on this before to
Speaker 2: go to get this player, and how to manipulate defenses
Speaker 2: that you know aren't very loud or exciting, but they're
Speaker 2: subtle and they help you win. And so just any
Speaker 2: little thing or if we're trying to run action and
Speaker 2: it's not working, what's her immediate reaction to that, what
Speaker 2: does she go to?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 2: What are her decision making processes? So anything I can
Speaker 2: I can get any time I can get with her.
Speaker 2: It's not always about the huge schemes. It's about the
Speaker 2: little ones that we talk about.
Speaker 1: And I know lots of fans were excited to see
Speaker 1: you team up with Anchiories, But from my perspective, I
Speaker 1: really like this young core that the Chicago skuy has
Speaker 1: decided to put together and invest in and although this
Speaker 1: season is not necessarily turning out the way you guys
Speaker 1: would want it to or some of the positives that
Speaker 1: you see coming from this young core and building this
Speaker 1: team up in Chicago.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, when we're talking about our our youthfulness,
Speaker 2: I think that going through hard times with people can
Speaker 2: really benefit you in the long run. So this this core,
Speaker 2: this youthful core that we have going through a season
Speaker 2: like this that isn't necessarily going the way that we
Speaker 2: want right now, it's only going to make us emotionally closer.
Speaker 2: We're gonna spend a ton of time and when you
Speaker 2: when you go through hardship together, you want to, you know,
Speaker 2: change it all the more, and the more people that
Speaker 2: you you have in that group, the stronger the giveback
Speaker 2: is going to be. So, I mean, the season, the
Speaker 2: season is definitely hard for us in the moment, but
Speaker 2: you know, we're the type of team that can change
Speaker 2: change it very fast, turn around very fast. And I'm
Speaker 2: excited to continue to get closer to and build a
Speaker 2: better relationship with, you know, our our younger players, knowing
Speaker 2: that we probably will have many years ahead of us
Speaker 2: with each other.
Speaker 1: One of the things that I noticed when you guys
Speaker 1: played in New York. Just how much the vets stand
Speaker 1: Tinto's down for you all, Like Iero Atkins with her
Speaker 1: she came out and defended Angel Rees. What's it like
Speaker 1: to have vets right to have your back, but also
Speaker 1: to be able to learn from them and be a
Speaker 1: part of this journey as well.
Speaker 2: It means everything, you know, to have vets that will
Speaker 2: stand up for you, because when you're a younger player,
Speaker 2: you do feel a little bit vulnerable in that sense
Speaker 2: of like you can't always defend yourself and sometimes you
Speaker 2: just have to take things because you are the like
Speaker 2: the rookie, the young player, and so to have stand
Speaker 2: up for you and we'll like do the talking for
Speaker 2: you again, it adds that closeness to that relationship. The
Speaker 2: bonds get get stronger, the team grows closer, and you know,
Speaker 2: I'm very grateful that we have people like that on
Speaker 2: on this squad that are willing to take that role
Speaker 2: because it's definitely essential, especially when you're when you're trying
Speaker 2: to win games like we are. And so you know,
Speaker 2: Ariel is a great girl. We have a ton of
Speaker 2: girls that that would have done it if they were
Speaker 2: in that in that situation, and it just speaks to
Speaker 2: our character, and I think at the end of the day,
Speaker 2: character goes a long way.
Speaker 1: How do you respond to people criticizing you know, you
Speaker 1: early on in your career. There were some comments made
Speaker 1: last week by Angel Macatya. I'm not sure if you
Speaker 1: had heard any of this stuff, but how do you
Speaker 1: how do you respond to critics? You know, being so
Speaker 1: young in your career, you said, and just developing and
Speaker 1: handling the adversity of the season in itself, but also
Speaker 1: like all of the noise on the outside, how do
Speaker 1: you handle that? How do you respond to that?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean at the end of the day, I
Speaker 2: don't respond to it. It's not something that is I
Speaker 2: don't live with it. It's not in my daily life.
Speaker 2: You know, social media isn't real to me. It's virtual,
Speaker 2: it's digital, it's it's not physical, and so I don't respond.
Speaker 2: I don't address it. I have people bring things up
Speaker 2: to me about, you know, whatever the critics or the
Speaker 2: public may be saying in the moment. But at a
Speaker 2: very young age, I went on that I started that
Speaker 2: journey of you know, being exposed to public opinion. And
Speaker 2: so this is by far not the first time that
Speaker 2: this has happened, and it's just another you know, it's
Speaker 2: just another one for me. It doesn't it doesn't mean anything.
Speaker 2: And at the end of the day, if I call myself,
Speaker 2: you know, a woman of God, I have to carry myself,
Speaker 2: you know, according to those standards and you know, forgiveness, mercy, love, grace.
Speaker 2: I know I sometimes speak on people incorrectly or out
Speaker 2: of spite or you know, jealousy, and that's okay. I
Speaker 2: have grace for those moments. And at the end of
Speaker 2: the day, we're all human. So yeah, and obviously your
Speaker 2: resume speaks for itself. But what do you feel like
Speaker 2: you bring to this Chicago Skuide team. Yeah, I think
Speaker 2: that I have a natural competitive edge about me, and
Speaker 2: I also have a work ethic that can be contagious sometimes.
Speaker 2: And so for me, it's more about the character traits
Speaker 2: that I can bring, especially as a rookie. You know,
Speaker 2: sometimes your minutes and your opportunities are going to be
Speaker 2: limited being a younger player, and so like, how can
Speaker 2: I show up and impact every day even if I'm
Speaker 2: not playing forty minutes a game. And I think that's
Speaker 2: by my attitude, my energy, you know, in my character
Speaker 2: and so I think I can have an immediate impact
Speaker 2: in those areas and I'm just going to continue to
Speaker 2: be a competitive, you know, energetic player who's pass about
Speaker 2: the game.
Speaker 1: Now I have to ask you this question. What would
Speaker 1: you say was your welcome to the w moment. Have
Speaker 1: you had a moment like that so far early in
Speaker 1: the season, What was a moment that made you feel like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, I am really part of you know,
Speaker 1: the WNBA right now.
Speaker 2: Honestly, for me, you know, playing it wasn't like it
Speaker 2: was just a moment where I was like, wow, like
Speaker 2: this is my life, this is the dream that I
Speaker 2: always had and I'm living in When we played New
Speaker 2: York in the Barclays Center with that crowd, Like over
Speaker 2: the last couple of years, I always watched the finals
Speaker 2: on TV there of being like, one day, hopefully I'll
Speaker 2: play in the WNBA, and like just to play in
Speaker 2: the arena with that environment and it's such a historic
Speaker 2: place in itself, Like to just get to play on
Speaker 2: that core and be in that moment, it definitely it was.
Speaker 2: It was a memorable thing for me, for sure.
Speaker 1: You've answered the WNBA at such an interesting time where
Speaker 1: the interest in momentum is at an all time peak.
Speaker 1: How does that make you feel to be a part
Speaker 1: of this wave of changing the game in real time?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it obviously means what we makes what we do
Speaker 2: mean so much more, you know, not just for us,
Speaker 2: but also for the next generation of players that it's
Speaker 2: going to come through. How can we improve the game
Speaker 2: for them and give them better opportunities? And you know,
Speaker 2: there's a new CBA coming up being negotiated. Our union
Speaker 2: has done an incredible job of being prepared and having
Speaker 2: proposals that you know, we think are fair and you know,
Speaker 2: we're we're looking forward to, you know, having those discussions
Speaker 2: and you know, helping the w NBA move forward and grow.
Speaker 1: You brought up the CBA, and I saw this week
Speaker 1: of players across the league have been sharing the statement
Speaker 1: from the w M P p A about how those
Speaker 1: current negotiations are going. Nakagumka has said that they're going smoothly.
Speaker 1: But what do you think the league can absolutely not
Speaker 1: get wrong when it comes to you know, this next CBA.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think when you look at what we're looking
Speaker 2: to improve, there's a ton of things that are essential. Obviously,
Speaker 2: the biggest, most popular one is salary. The discussion around
Speaker 2: salary and a lot of that is we're just asking
Speaker 2: to have a similar struck pay structure as other professional leagues,
Speaker 2: and we don't right now. And so it's not that
Speaker 2: we're asking for anything extra or something that's never been
Speaker 2: done before. This is the template for a lot of
Speaker 2: other pro organizations, and so we're just we're looking to,
Speaker 2: you know, have our pay match what we bring to
Speaker 2: the table, and that's obviously going to be one of
Speaker 2: the main focal points of the CBA.
Speaker 1: When you think about your basketball journey, Hayley, when you
Speaker 1: started at a young age versus who you are now,
Speaker 1: how would you describe the person that you are now
Speaker 1: and what can fans expect from the Chicago Skuy moving forward.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the person that I am now throughout my whole career. Honestly,
Speaker 2: I've what I'm most proud of is I'm someone that
Speaker 2: is open to change and open to you know, adapting
Speaker 2: to whatever the environment, the challenge, the goal is and
Speaker 2: I'm gonna give my best to whatever form I have
Speaker 2: to take for that to happen. And in regards to
Speaker 2: translating that to the Chicago Sky, I think just committing
Speaker 2: to the everyday process of getting better. Obviously, when you're
Speaker 2: in the situation that we're in, it it's the everyday
Speaker 2: little wins that we can stack to start to really
Speaker 2: make change. And so I'm going to be a huge
Speaker 2: part of that of committing myself every day to get
Speaker 2: a little bit better at just one thing. And if
Speaker 2: that's what gets done, you know, we can hang our
Speaker 2: hat on that at the end of the day.
Speaker 1: And so.
Speaker 2: Our team as a whole is just we're we're committed
Speaker 2: to that, to those everyday little wins, and we're gonna
Speaker 2: stack them and make some big progress at the.
Speaker 1: I feel like that's a message that can resonate with anyone.
Speaker 1: Just get one percent better each and every single day. Hailey,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for joining us this week on
Speaker 1: In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams on Iheartwomen's
Speaker 1: Sports Network. Truly appreciate you joining.
Speaker 2: Us, of course, thank you.
Speaker 1: All right, Chaul, that's gonna do it for this week's
Speaker 1: episode of In Case You Missed It with Christina Williams.
Speaker 1: I want to thank Haley once again for being our
Speaker 1: guest this week. Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe
Speaker 1: to the podcast and we'll see you guys next week.
Speaker 1: In case you missed it with Christina Williams is an
Speaker 1: iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.