Speaker 1: This is kJ Live with Chris Johnson, and Chris is
Speaker 1: having conversations with influencers in the sports world and entertainment
Speaker 1: and astray. Now here's Chris Johnson. You're now tuned in
Speaker 1: to kJ Live. Today's guest on the show is a
Speaker 1: former ball player, current day coach, and was named Associated
Speaker 1: Press and Detroit Free Press Coach of the Year in
Speaker 1: their very first season at Detroit Country Day High School.
Speaker 1: She was recently brought back home to be head coach
Speaker 1: at Wynward High School. Let's welcome in Jericho Williams to
Speaker 1: the show. Jericho. Hello, Hi, thanks for having me. Thanks
Speaker 1: for having us in your world, in your zone. I
Speaker 1: appreciate it. I know you're a busy lady to make
Speaker 1: time for something like this, I truly appreciate it. Um.
Speaker 1: We're excited to kind of find out your about your
Speaker 1: journey and can obviously talk about your your president, coaching
Speaker 1: job and when we're but I want to get started
Speaker 1: before we get into all that. I want. I want
Speaker 1: to introduce you to my audience. This is something we
Speaker 1: do here at kJ live. We go back. Um. I
Speaker 1: think people get um some value out of understanding where
Speaker 1: a person has come from to understand who they are now. Um,
Speaker 1: if you don't mind, where were you born in the city,
Speaker 1: like the area, the neighborhood. Yeah, a lot of people
Speaker 1: don't know this, But I was actually born in Albany, Oregon,
Speaker 1: which is a small town. Uh, right outside of Salem,
Speaker 1: so about the hour south of Portland's but like right
Speaker 1: in the middle of Oregon and Oregon State. Um Civil
Speaker 1: War countries. Yeah, um, super super super small town. Um.
Speaker 1: We lived there for until I was seven or eight,
Speaker 1: and then we moved to San Diego because my mom
Speaker 1: got accepted into a master's program and my dad it
Speaker 1: was like okay, like here we go. So he went
Speaker 1: ahead and got in a car and went and lived
Speaker 1: in a hotel for three months and then found us
Speaker 1: a house and we moved and they're still living in
Speaker 1: the same neighborhood that we moved to San Diego that
Speaker 1: we originally moved to San Diego back in however or
Speaker 1: whatever it was. So, but I so I grew up
Speaker 1: in San Diego. How WoT I tell peop? What? So
Speaker 1: I'm from um Spring Valley, which is like southeast San Diego. Um,
Speaker 1: what I'd like to say, Like I grew up on
Speaker 1: like the hill above the hood. So like like I
Speaker 1: went to all inner city schools, but like my little
Speaker 1: neighborhood was like kind of the hill above, you know,
Speaker 1: where all the stuff happened. Um, but yeah, that's where
Speaker 1: I'm from. Okay, sounds similar to um, kind of Viewpark
Speaker 1: where I grew up. And then you have South Central
Speaker 1: and Crunch show, like we're right up on the hill,
Speaker 1: but we're like three minutes away from the action. When
Speaker 1: you said Southeast, it reminded me of my boy Jelanie
Speaker 1: McCoy because he used to write that on his shoes.
Speaker 1: He's from San Diego. I think he might be from
Speaker 1: the Southeast area. Is that where like Hoover is And yeah,
Speaker 1: it's the hood San Diego, Like that's where the hood
Speaker 1: is A yeah, exactly, exactly. So yeah. So so okay,
Speaker 1: so Southeast. Now what did your parents do? You said
Speaker 1: your mom got accepted to masters, so she was, uh
Speaker 1: in academics or what was going on her? And what
Speaker 1: was your dad involved in? So they actually good question.
Speaker 1: I actually both got their masters in psychology. Um. So
Speaker 1: my dad was in uh juvenile delinquency. He got masters
Speaker 1: from San Diego State, and then my mom got her
Speaker 1: masters and then went for her PhD UM in Marriage
Speaker 1: and Family THERAPI. So always tell people, you know, part
Speaker 1: of like my coaching expertise and why I'm so good
Speaker 1: with people, or so I've heard, is because I was
Speaker 1: raised by psychologists. So I mean it was connect with
Speaker 1: people on a different level. But um So, now, my
Speaker 1: mom when she was in her PhD program, she actually
Speaker 1: got into insurance to help. She was a young mom.
Speaker 1: She had me a nineteen UM and so she needed
Speaker 1: to you know, survive and UM, so she took off
Speaker 1: in the insurance world. So now she's the VP of
Speaker 1: Alliance Insurance Group. UM. And my dad he's retired now,
Speaker 1: but he was like in UM like Polinski Center, like
Speaker 1: Foster Homes, like he was the director of all that stuff.
Speaker 1: So he worked with at risk youth UM and helped
Speaker 1: and he really was able to connect with them and
Speaker 1: and you know, he became like a second father and
Speaker 1: to a lot of those people who were in the system. UM.
Speaker 1: But he's retired now, so they like to my mom
Speaker 1: still working, but she's a boss boss. So they go
Speaker 1: out and they got their motorcycle license and they just
Speaker 1: ride up and down the coast of California. So they're
Speaker 1: in their third chapter now, the thought the hook, that's
Speaker 1: what That's where I want to be someday, Chill retired.
Speaker 1: Let me let me ask you this about your dad
Speaker 1: and what he was doing with at risk kids. Were
Speaker 1: you ever like around did he take you to like,
Speaker 1: you know, camps or hang out with the kids, and
Speaker 1: if when you did go to those situations, what did
Speaker 1: what did you learn or how did it affect you? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Good question. Uh. He took me to UM the court like.
Speaker 1: He took me to the juvenile center, so I got
Speaker 1: to walk through that. He took me to the court
Speaker 1: when he had to sit UM with his it's UM.
Speaker 1: He took me to UM like where they housed the
Speaker 1: foster kids. And I remember walking through the juvenile center
Speaker 1: and I was like scared, and I remember him telling
Speaker 1: me like, don't be like, don't be afraid. These are
Speaker 1: just people, you know UM. And so I think, and
Speaker 1: my dad is from the hood, you know, like he
Speaker 1: grew up you know, game and all of that and
Speaker 1: found his way. But he really want I feel like
Speaker 1: he really wanted to show me like the two separate
Speaker 1: ways that I could go UM. And so I was
Speaker 1: really able to internalize that, but also see how he
Speaker 1: impacts people and how like let's humanize everybody, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, Like just because they're in juvenile hall
Speaker 1: or made these decisions doesn't make them less of people.
Speaker 1: And I think that that's what I was able to
Speaker 1: take away, um the most, going with him in those situations. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I had the opportunity to work at a foster home
Speaker 1: in college that was years old somewhere around there. But
Speaker 1: I have to go every weekend, you know, two days.
Speaker 1: I think I worked like four hours a day, UM,
Speaker 1: And it was an amazing experience because once you step
Speaker 1: foot in there, you realize that these kids who look
Speaker 1: like you, your age or you know, and do the
Speaker 1: same things and like the same things you like, or
Speaker 1: a lot less fortunate than you, and you you realize like, dang,
Speaker 1: I got a lot, or I'm blessed or you know
Speaker 1: these things that I consider issues or stuff I'm tripping about.
Speaker 1: Basically I kind of started to change my perspective a
Speaker 1: little bit, and it was it was I would say
Speaker 1: it was a life changing the experience for me. UM.
Speaker 1: That's that's I can see why, Um it shaped you
Speaker 1: and it's affected you, and to come from that stock
Speaker 1: of dealing of dealing with those type of personalities and
Speaker 1: those beings, if you will, that's just that's like special people.
Speaker 1: It's not it's not something that's easy to do. What
Speaker 1: basketball at this time on your radar at all. So
Speaker 1: in a good segue from my dad, So I got
Speaker 1: introduced to basketball. I was always like an athlete. I
Speaker 1: love baseball. Baseball is my first four I was a
Speaker 1: picture on all boys team like so, I was always athletic.
Speaker 1: Um one of my friends when I was in fifth grade,
Speaker 1: she came to me and she was like, hey, I
Speaker 1: don't want to be the only girl in this free
Speaker 1: throw shooting contest? Will you come with me? I was
Speaker 1: horrible at bosby, no interest in basketball at all. I
Speaker 1: was in fifth grade and I made like two out
Speaker 1: of five, which was enough to advance. And so we
Speaker 1: go to like the regional thing and I made like
Speaker 1: one out of twelve and I didn't like to lose.
Speaker 1: And my dad took me out back and he goes, hey,
Speaker 1: do you want to win this thing? And I was
Speaker 1: like yeah, Like so he lined me up. He was like, look,
Speaker 1: put your foot right here, put your elbow right here,
Speaker 1: and just hold your hand like that when you shoot
Speaker 1: the ball. And I went back in and I made
Speaker 1: eleven out of twelve, and then I went back to school.
Speaker 1: I'm like, hey, I want to play this, like play
Speaker 1: with the boys at recess. I'm gonna figure it out.
Speaker 1: And then somebody came to the elementary school and was
Speaker 1: handing out flyers to play for the local rec league.
Speaker 1: And I took it home to my parents and they
Speaker 1: tell me. Now, They're like, look, this league costs like
Speaker 1: fifty dollars and for us back then, that was a
Speaker 1: lot of money. But this is what you wanted to do.
Speaker 1: And uh so I went and I signed. They signed
Speaker 1: me up, and I got a really good coach and
Speaker 1: I won like it was like basically all boys, like
Speaker 1: I was one of the only girls, and uh I
Speaker 1: got a really good coach and he really saw something
Speaker 1: in me and was very fundamental, and I won the
Speaker 1: Most Improved Player my first year, and then my second
Speaker 1: year I won m v P over all the boys.
Speaker 1: So they still give me a hard time with that
Speaker 1: now because some of them are in the NFL and
Speaker 1: like these high level athletes. Um So I was like, man,
Speaker 1: but you won m VP that year, you know. So
Speaker 1: that was that was where it all started. But so
Speaker 1: my dad, Um, I think I had a spark in
Speaker 1: me somewhere, but I think my dad taking me outside,
Speaker 1: like hey, do you want to win? That's that's where
Speaker 1: it all started. So it was over the free throw contest.
Speaker 1: And so let me ask you this, if you wouldn't
Speaker 1: have made eleven out of twelve, would would we even
Speaker 1: know you today? Or would you have took it like
Speaker 1: a completely different career pass softball, I don't know, you know,
Speaker 1: some other track or or something like that. That's a
Speaker 1: good question maybe, But my my gut reaction to you
Speaker 1: was like I wouldn't have not made a leven out
Speaker 1: of twelve just because of the way my dad hadn't
Speaker 1: stilled that mentality in me, you know, like there was
Speaker 1: no way I was gonna miss. Like we're very my
Speaker 1: family's very vision like visionaries, um, and if we want something,
Speaker 1: we're gonna go get it. And so whether it would
Speaker 1: have been basketball or something else, but there was always
Speaker 1: something about basketball, it felt natural to me, and I
Speaker 1: think that that was just the spark. Do you have
Speaker 1: any favorite players at this time that you looked up
Speaker 1: to or were you just locked in on learning this game.
Speaker 1: Loving this game kind of being local at your spots,
Speaker 1: you're not really tripping on all that. Yeah, I didn't
Speaker 1: even know what basketball like. I saw people play it,
Speaker 1: but I had no knowledge of it at all, so
Speaker 1: I didn't know who was good who wasn't. I think
Speaker 1: I had heard of Michael Jordan at a point um.
Speaker 1: And then when I really got put on was when
Speaker 1: I think I was like eleven maybe, and my brother
Speaker 1: took me to see Loving Basketball whenever that came out,
Speaker 1: and I was like, oh, Magic Johnson. Like, so then
Speaker 1: I started to like, Pistol Pete is somebody that I
Speaker 1: did research on, like, so I started to seek stuff out.
Speaker 1: But at the very very beginning, it was literally like,
Speaker 1: should to practice because it's exciting to be here, and
Speaker 1: I want to be a contributor to the team, and
Speaker 1: I want to learn the sport. And then I think
Speaker 1: as I started to fall in love with the game,
Speaker 1: then I started to pay attention and do some intentional
Speaker 1: research on the types of players that were out there.
Speaker 1: But that didn't come until later. I would say, like
Speaker 1: middle like in the middle school, high school is when
Speaker 1: I really started to find people that inspired me in
Speaker 1: the basketball world. Yeah, and so when you got to
Speaker 1: middle school, you knew and you had goals kind of
Speaker 1: set on, Hey, I want to be a Division one
Speaker 1: college basketball player. Or did you have goals outside of
Speaker 1: basketball that you were you were focused on. That's such
Speaker 1: a good question. Uh, I didn't have a desire to.
Speaker 1: I was so focused on the process, which is interesting
Speaker 1: because that's how I coach now. So it's really this
Speaker 1: is really a good conversation that we're having in this
Speaker 1: particular moment um. I was so focused on the process.
Speaker 1: And then when I got to high school, my parents
Speaker 1: would tell me this, that's that's when college became an option.
Speaker 1: So it wasn't like it is now where like the
Speaker 1: w b A was on TV all the time, like
Speaker 1: that's you know, social media, Like we didn't have any
Speaker 1: of that. I have what was in my neighborhood. So
Speaker 1: I would go to the park to the y m
Speaker 1: c A, and I would just play, And that was
Speaker 1: the most exposure that I really had to the game.
Speaker 1: So once I figured out, like, oh, if you're good
Speaker 1: enough you can play basketball, you can continue to play basketball,
Speaker 1: right Like, I didn't learn about getting scholarships and all
Speaker 1: of that until later. Once I figured it out. I
Speaker 1: started to watch college basketball, and I loved Duke like
Speaker 1: I loved Elaine and Beard at Duke like she could
Speaker 1: do it all. And then, um, I got really good,
Speaker 1: like like it started high school. I got really good
Speaker 1: and I worked really hard, and I started to get
Speaker 1: like letters from con and Vanderbilt and Duke, and I
Speaker 1: was like, oh, okay, this is this is getting interesting.
Speaker 1: And then I remember I went and visited Duke my
Speaker 1: junior year and I didn't like it. Like I was like,
Speaker 1: oh this is you know, I don't want to do
Speaker 1: this anymore. But I didn't want I didn't want to
Speaker 1: go to this school. But and this is important, in
Speaker 1: fifth grade, I gave a speech in my fifth grade graduation.
Speaker 1: This is right when I started to like basketball, and
Speaker 1: I had said I'm gonna go to U c l
Speaker 1: A and play basketball. Um, but I forgot that I
Speaker 1: said that. So then what I like, what's going through
Speaker 1: my recruiting process and U c l A ultimately ended
Speaker 1: up being where I landed. My dad reminded me like, hey,
Speaker 1: you you sproke this into fruition back when you first
Speaker 1: started playing the game. Um, so to answer your question
Speaker 1: now that that really didn't I was so focused on
Speaker 1: the process, man, that that all that stuff came as like, oh,
Speaker 1: like okay, this is this is what we're doing next,
Speaker 1: and so that's kind of how it transpired. That's that's
Speaker 1: that's a very cool breakdown of how because I wondered
Speaker 1: because a lot of times when you aren't even in
Speaker 1: tune with the noise surrounding like rankings and basically your competition,
Speaker 1: you don't know who it is, you're not You're just
Speaker 1: locked in on your process and you pushing yourself. I
Speaker 1: used to kind of live that existence a little bit
Speaker 1: with my dad growing up. We were kind of off
Speaker 1: in bell Air, so he kind of had you know,
Speaker 1: he was trying to make an NBA comeback, but he
Speaker 1: so he had workout stuff and we're you know, far away.
Speaker 1: We lived on a private road, so it was hard,
Speaker 1: you know, twenty an hour to get there. So it's
Speaker 1: like I was just on the workout. I was running hills,
Speaker 1: swimming in the pool, riding the bike and not really so.
Speaker 1: But but when I got out and kind of thrown
Speaker 1: to the wolves and kind of got around other people competition,
Speaker 1: it wasn't that fear factor that's associated. It wasn't that
Speaker 1: did you experience the same thing I did. I'll never
Speaker 1: forget I was in and uh. Two examples. One, I
Speaker 1: was in eighth grade and they put me in the
Speaker 1: what it was called the Super sixty. It was in
Speaker 1: San Diego, and I was like all these top players
Speaker 1: and my coach at the time was like, we're just
Speaker 1: gonna put you in it. I was like, okay, cool.
Speaker 1: And it was like Kendice Wiggins was in it, Charlie
Speaker 1: Houston was in it, like right, and I'm in eighth grade.
Speaker 1: But to your point, because I had that mentality of like, oh,
Speaker 1: I'm just hooping, I think there was kind of that
Speaker 1: moment like right when I walked in and I knew
Speaker 1: who they were, but I didn't compare myself to them necessarily,
Speaker 1: like I wasn't working to be better than them. I
Speaker 1: just wanted to be the best version of myself. Man.
Speaker 1: I went out there and killed and I'll never get
Speaker 1: like an hour and got buckets like it was. It
Speaker 1: was a fun time. And then the I can't remember
Speaker 1: the other example, I was gonna get but no, so
Speaker 1: I never really felt oh. And then the other one
Speaker 1: was I was playing AU it was like I was
Speaker 1: I was a freshman going into my sophomore year, and
Speaker 1: I was playing up. I was playing with a lot
Speaker 1: of juniors and seniors, and like Yukon was watching, like
Speaker 1: you know, was in the building, Pat, someone was in
Speaker 1: the building. We're playing against this high level team, and
Speaker 1: something happened. I win, I got fout, they got a technical.
Speaker 1: So I got to shoot six free throws in a
Speaker 1: row and I made it all. But it was like
Speaker 1: there was no one on the line. The gym was
Speaker 1: quiet at all of six free throws. That's when I
Speaker 1: that's when I got put on everybody's list. Was that
Speaker 1: that moment. So to answer your question, no, never, I'm
Speaker 1: grateful that I didn't grow up in this generation where
Speaker 1: the competition is like placed in front of you all
Speaker 1: the time. You know what I mean. It's hard to
Speaker 1: just compete against you. It's harder to just compete against yourself. UM,
Speaker 1: So I'm grateful that back then, that's that's really what
Speaker 1: I feel like I was I was doing. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: was locked in. I was a lot like you when
Speaker 1: you're just locked in with the competition against yourself, or
Speaker 1: that competition, not even the competition, but that that one
Speaker 1: inside of used to like show your dad, or show
Speaker 1: your mom, or prove to your to your your parents. Me,
Speaker 1: it was it was my dad. I wanted to show
Speaker 1: him that, you know, I was ready. I was out
Speaker 1: here doing it because he talked everything up. You know,
Speaker 1: he get me all hype. You know, you got so
Speaker 1: and so tonight. Man, Hey, man, I don't know. Man,
Speaker 1: he's really good. You know, he's just always, you know,
Speaker 1: making it like everybody was better than me. So whenever
Speaker 1: i'd go because he's like, man, they don't know you, man,
Speaker 1: you haven't been on the scene. What you gonna do.
Speaker 1: So he would really psych me up. And I get
Speaker 1: out there and I just try to be an animal.
Speaker 1: I try to get thirty rebounds, twenty five points and
Speaker 1: just and just be absolutely nuts to two more points.
Speaker 1: And then I wanted to segue off into your U
Speaker 1: c L. A experience that albeit the brief one um
Speaker 1: Elena Beard has been on this show. She currently is
Speaker 1: involved with the group that is trying to bring a
Speaker 1: w NBA for franchise to the city of Oakland. And
Speaker 1: so I had her on thirty minutes, and uh, we
Speaker 1: talked about it. So she is a friend of the show.
Speaker 1: It was it was, yeah, I'll send you the link
Speaker 1: to the episode when she was dope, she broke it down.
Speaker 1: It was a quick, quick interview, but she was gracious
Speaker 1: enough to appear on the show. Fox Sports Radio has
Speaker 1: the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all
Speaker 1: of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot com and
Speaker 1: within the I Heart Radio app search f s R
Speaker 1: to listen live. The other thing I forgot, but I
Speaker 1: want to talk about u c l A. You wrote
Speaker 1: as a five as in the fifth grade that your
Speaker 1: dream school was u c l A. So when and
Speaker 1: who was recruiting you at the time. Who recruited you
Speaker 1: to go to u c l that First of all,
Speaker 1: Kathy Olivier coach Olivier. So Cathy Olivier, um when she
Speaker 1: you first heard for her from her or when she
Speaker 1: first offered you just described that moment? Was it a
Speaker 1: phone call? Was it in person? When she at your game?
Speaker 1: Described the moment when you first got offered to go
Speaker 1: to u c l A. Yeah, Well, interestingly enough, so
Speaker 1: they didn't come into the picture until late Okay. And
Speaker 1: like I said, I had said I play into the sea,
Speaker 1: that I wanted to go to u c l A.
Speaker 1: And then I forgot, So by the time I was
Speaker 1: being actively recruited by all these people. U c l
Speaker 1: A was not my dream school at that time. So
Speaker 1: like it took my parents bringing it back to my attention. Um,
Speaker 1: it's crazy how powerful seeds are. And you know. Anyways,
Speaker 1: so my coach at the time was like, Jericho, U
Speaker 1: c l A is looking for a point guard. So
Speaker 1: when you go out here, I don't want you to
Speaker 1: look to score. I want you to look to pass.
Speaker 1: I was not a point guard. I was a shooting guard. Like,
Speaker 1: passing me the ball, I'm going to score. Um, But
Speaker 1: I thought, but I listened. Um, this was the last
Speaker 1: tournament of my junior year, going into my senior year,
Speaker 1: so this is the last viewing tournament. They saw me,
Speaker 1: she liked me. They offered me a visit. So I
Speaker 1: came and visited, and as I was leaving, Um, we
Speaker 1: were driving back to San Diego when she called and
Speaker 1: she was like, hey, we want to offer you a
Speaker 1: full scholarship. I'm gonna be honest. When I went to
Speaker 1: the campus, I didn't love it, Like I was what
Speaker 1: was it? What was it? What was it? It wasn't
Speaker 1: the campus, it was I didn't connect with the coaches
Speaker 1: and stuff you know, um, and and I was being
Speaker 1: recruited by uh St John's in New York, and I
Speaker 1: connected with those coaches, like so I had a comparison.
Speaker 1: And I wasn't like sold on St. John's or anything,
Speaker 1: but I was like like and people know who go
Speaker 1: through the recruiting process, like when you know, you know
Speaker 1: it's true. And so I didn't feel super connected, but
Speaker 1: I remember my parents feeling so being so excited, like
Speaker 1: like our daughter just got offered to u c l A.
Speaker 1: And like that you know as U c l A,
Speaker 1: Like that's all you gotta say. Um. So I wasn't
Speaker 1: super excited. I'm gonna be honest, But I went through
Speaker 1: the process and we got to the point where I
Speaker 1: was trying to make a decision. And a lot of
Speaker 1: people do not know this story, but it's important for
Speaker 1: people who are being recruited to here, Like we got
Speaker 1: to the point where we're gonna make a decision, and
Speaker 1: my parents really didn't support me. I wanted to go
Speaker 1: to St. John's and my parents didn't support that. They
Speaker 1: wanted me to go to u c l A. And
Speaker 1: I met my press conference and Chris, I'm at the
Speaker 1: podium like with the same I'm like, I'm ready to
Speaker 1: put the St. John's hot I'm going to St. John's.
Speaker 1: And then I look at my mom and I see
Speaker 1: her face and I'm like, U c l A. I'm
Speaker 1: just like whatever, um so, but I think that speaks
Speaker 1: to so when I went to U c l A.
Speaker 1: And I might be moving along, um your question. But
Speaker 1: when I went to U c l A. I resented
Speaker 1: being there, you know what I mean, and so it
Speaker 1: was harder for me to work hard like So that's
Speaker 1: that's when it really I struggled, and that's why the
Speaker 1: stint was so short, because I didn't go in there
Speaker 1: with the right mentality. Yeah, so you made a decision
Speaker 1: based on not disappointing your parents. That's that's amazing. It's funny.
Speaker 1: When I had the opportunity to get recruited and choose
Speaker 1: between U c l A. I think it was Washington State,
Speaker 1: Arizona State, Cornell, and I could have been like a
Speaker 1: walk on at Duke. I kind of had that thought
Speaker 1: in my head. I knew my grandparents, you know, I
Speaker 1: love my grandmother, love us my dad obviously, you know
Speaker 1: he was the U c l A. Guy. There's a
Speaker 1: lot of pressure that was there associated with that. And
Speaker 1: it's u c l A. So on the girl's side
Speaker 1: of the boys, that doesn't matter. It's u c l
Speaker 1: A one of the just premier spots for college that
Speaker 1: you could ever get the opportunity to go to. So
Speaker 1: I totally get it. I totally understand. But when you're
Speaker 1: not in your heart isn't into something Jericho, it's it's
Speaker 1: not gotten. Typically it does not work out. When you
Speaker 1: bounced from u c l A, did you consider going
Speaker 1: to any other programs or who were the programs that
Speaker 1: you're you're considering transferring to. Well, I mean I read
Speaker 1: you back out to St. John's, but you know things
Speaker 1: you know like, well, we don't need your position now
Speaker 1: what ever the case? And me so San Diego State,
Speaker 1: um so, Beth Burns was the coach at Sanego State
Speaker 1: at the time and they were rebuilding. She was in
Speaker 1: like her second or third year, and she had been ed.
Speaker 1: I remember she saw me play when I was in
Speaker 1: the eighth grade or ninth grade, and she had made
Speaker 1: it off like known to me like she so I
Speaker 1: remembered her. So when um we didn't have the transfer
Speaker 1: portal back then, when it became known that I was transferring, um,
Speaker 1: she reached out. She came into a home visit, and
Speaker 1: I'll never forget like she told me the story when
Speaker 1: she saw me play my freshman year, and like she
Speaker 1: could tell me that she knew things about me that
Speaker 1: Cathy Olivier didn't know. So that connection, I was like, Oh,
Speaker 1: this is what I want to play for. This person
Speaker 1: knows me, she knows I'm a shooter, she knows my
Speaker 1: person game, knows your game. You could bring up moves
Speaker 1: you made, remembers you know this, and that that and this.
Speaker 1: I get it all that. So I was like, you
Speaker 1: know what, I don't want to go. I didn't like
Speaker 1: the recruiting process, so I wasn't about to go on
Speaker 1: five more visits or anything like that. So I'm like, look,
Speaker 1: this is close to home to like I wanted to
Speaker 1: go to New York with I'm like, I want to
Speaker 1: be where I feel like I can excel in basketball.
Speaker 1: And so people ask you, Oh, if you have to
Speaker 1: make the decision again, would you do it the same
Speaker 1: life the profound part of Jericho. Yeah, because life wouldn't
Speaker 1: have transpired the way life that's inspired to. But if
Speaker 1: I'm if I'm and follow your heart and all of
Speaker 1: those things. Absolutely, but I've made a basketball decision. If
Speaker 1: I were to have made a life decision, I would
Speaker 1: have stayed at U c l A. You know, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a tough decision. I mean, the people don't understand
Speaker 1: what well not people, the general public doesn't understand what
Speaker 1: it's like when you're a student athlete and you have
Speaker 1: a choice, when it's a school that's known for that
Speaker 1: particular sport and it could be known for other things,
Speaker 1: are not known for other things. You could have. Like me,
Speaker 1: Cornell was my life decision. Let me just cut to
Speaker 1: the chase. I was like, I need to make the
Speaker 1: life move. Ivy League this thing and just average like
Speaker 1: a dub a year every year, starting as a freshman.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm coming in, I'm getting all the shots.
Speaker 1: And that's kind of what I was on what I
Speaker 1: was presented with. But ultimately like and then Washington State
Speaker 1: was another scroll seriously considering because of one thing. Coach
Speaker 1: Calvin Sampson. Um. Yeah, he's the head coach in Houston.
Speaker 1: But this guy is a master recruiter. I mean, I
Speaker 1: mean he he was on my horn every day at
Speaker 1: the same time. That's back when they used to hit
Speaker 1: you up all the time. You can have them long
Speaker 1: conversations with coaches. I think it might have been like
Speaker 1: that with you a little bit with some of the stitches,
Speaker 1: but coaches could just hit you up. You be on
Speaker 1: the phone for an hour. Like my stepmother used to
Speaker 1: come in, Hey, Chris, I need the phone. It was like,
Speaker 1: call you coach, let me call you back. But you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, it was those those are really
Speaker 1: good times. Um, you had to you flourished. Did you
Speaker 1: let me ask you this? How would you describe? Now
Speaker 1: you go to San Diego State? How would you describe
Speaker 1: the Beth Burns knows you, she's familiar with your game.
Speaker 1: You're back in the San Diego area. How would you
Speaker 1: describe that experience of San Diego State? Man, it was hard.
Speaker 1: It was hard because it was new. Um, and she
Speaker 1: pushed me like at the time, at the time, I
Speaker 1: didn't understand what it meant to be, like really pushed,
Speaker 1: you know, like with all due respects that Cathy oliviad
Speaker 1: like that wasn't her strength. Like she was more of
Speaker 1: a people person. Coach. Beth Burns was a she was
Speaker 1: a winner like she was mental toughness, like that's it,
Speaker 1: that's what we're here to do. And I wasn't um
Speaker 1: as mentally tough as I thought. But she saw something
Speaker 1: in me that I didn't see him myself yet, and
Speaker 1: so I responded initially, really well, I worked really hard.
Speaker 1: I came back fifteen pounds lighter, um, earned a starting spot,
Speaker 1: like was averaging a double double in the first five games.
Speaker 1: And then then I got bingched And there was really
Speaker 1: no other reason other than like she told me, she
Speaker 1: was like, we just think we for the team. We
Speaker 1: just want you to come off the bench. And I
Speaker 1: was so. I was, however, nineteen twenty years old, and
Speaker 1: I didn't know how to process, how to embrace that
Speaker 1: role after working so hard and earning my spot, right,
Speaker 1: so it felt like it was, well, my hard work
Speaker 1: doesn't pay off like so that didn't. I didn't understand it, um,
Speaker 1: and so I built up some resentment to her, I think,
Speaker 1: and I didn't have the pieces around me at the
Speaker 1: time to bring myself out of that, so I never
Speaker 1: fully recovered UM. And then that's uh, so I it
Speaker 1: took the love out of the game for me, you know,
Speaker 1: And that's that's ultimately why like I made the decisions
Speaker 1: to leave San Diego State early. Um, I I had
Speaker 1: like three more months left in the season, and there
Speaker 1: was just like this breaking point for me that I
Speaker 1: felt like I was totally losing myself. Um, and I
Speaker 1: just didn't love the game. It was hard for me
Speaker 1: to wake up every day knowing that I had to
Speaker 1: go to practice like it was hard. Um. And so
Speaker 1: I made the decision to to not to not do
Speaker 1: it anymore, you know. And that's but then fast forward,
Speaker 1: that's been something I held on too, because I'm like, Damn,
Speaker 1: I was a quitter right like, even though I feel
Speaker 1: like I made the best decision that was right for
Speaker 1: me at the time, I'm like, you quit still, and um,
Speaker 1: I can tell you I've never quit anything again after that.
Speaker 1: But what I did do maybe five years down the line,
Speaker 1: I think I had my son and you know, perspective
Speaker 1: change for me and stuff. And I reached out to
Speaker 1: her and I was like, I asked her, what, like,
Speaker 1: why was she so hard on me? And then I
Speaker 1: thanked her for being hard on me because it prepared
Speaker 1: me so much for life in a way that I
Speaker 1: didn't see back then. Um. But Her response to me
Speaker 1: was like, look, I gave it to you because I
Speaker 1: knew that you can handle it, right, Like my delivery
Speaker 1: may not have been the best, but I knew that
Speaker 1: you can handle it. And I saw something in you
Speaker 1: that you didn't see in yourself, and I wanted to
Speaker 1: bring that out, Like I knew that you could be great,
Speaker 1: and you didn't see it the way that I saw it.
Speaker 1: So we were able to connect and find the value
Speaker 1: in that experience. You know what I mean? That really
Speaker 1: is gonna last me a lot longer than you know,
Speaker 1: any other lesson honestly that I've had in my life. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you hear you hear about. I had to call them
Speaker 1: horror stories between coaches and former players at times, especially
Speaker 1: when there's a falling out, especially when someone is perceived
Speaker 1: too had quit, either the coach or the player. UM
Speaker 1: be able to reconcile that. But I think the key
Speaker 1: thing here and I wanted to ask you about this
Speaker 1: is something you keep saying and I feel like it's
Speaker 1: important in your current role. Um, she you said she
Speaker 1: saw something that you didn't see in yourself. How important
Speaker 1: in coaching is that to identify what which players can
Speaker 1: take it? And which can Yeah, good question. Um, that's
Speaker 1: where I think relationships matter, right, Like, I think that
Speaker 1: that's she didn't She wasn't the best at well, I
Speaker 1: should say, her strength was not connecting on a relational level. Right,
Speaker 1: So she knew how to push you, she knew how
Speaker 1: to trigger you, but there was never a conversation. Go ahead,
Speaker 1: you want to say something. I was gonna say that
Speaker 1: when you have a person that pushes you all time
Speaker 1: but doesn't kind of balance it out with the build
Speaker 1: up before the building, wasn't that describe it? Okay? Correct? Correct?
Speaker 1: And so I think that that's where I found the
Speaker 1: balance of Like Kathy Olivier was really good at that,
Speaker 1: she was really good at the relationship. Beth Burns is
Speaker 1: really good at the like physical mental aspect. And so
Speaker 1: I feel like I learned how to be somewhere in
Speaker 1: the middle, you know, like I have to communicate prior
Speaker 1: to enduring with my student athlete why I'm doing this right.
Speaker 1: And then I also helped them This is where psychologists
Speaker 1: parents come into play. I also help them like almost
Speaker 1: make them feel like they're seeing it for themselves. So
Speaker 1: it's not oh, hey I see this, it's like, hey,
Speaker 1: let's pull back the layers a little bit. Really, what
Speaker 1: do you see that you just don't know that you
Speaker 1: that you have yet but you but it's in you somewhere.
Speaker 1: And so it's almost like this reverse psychology a little bit.
Speaker 1: But when we can but when players know that you care,
Speaker 1: like when I tap in with my players and about
Speaker 1: you know one of my players right now, she's a
Speaker 1: she paints and like no one knew that she paints,
Speaker 1: and she's legit, and so she sends me her paintings
Speaker 1: all the time now and it's a way that we
Speaker 1: can connect. So now when we're on the court, I'm like, yo,
Speaker 1: we're staying here until you make whatever whatever, or hey,
Speaker 1: you're not going hard. She responds better because she knows
Speaker 1: that I care. And so I think that finding that
Speaker 1: and you don't always get it right as a coach,
Speaker 1: but you try, you know what I'm saying. You try.
Speaker 1: My my philosophy has has been I want to be
Speaker 1: to these young women the woman that I didn't have
Speaker 1: growing up. I had a mom, I had a grandma,
Speaker 1: but I didn't have like an older sister. I didn't
Speaker 1: have an auntie. I didn't have a female coach. Um
Speaker 1: that could pour into me in a way that was
Speaker 1: so relatable, And that's what I want to be to
Speaker 1: these young women, like, hey, I see you, and I'm
Speaker 1: not just gonna like just beat you down to try
Speaker 1: to bring you back up. I'm gonna let you know
Speaker 1: what I see, how how we're gonna and how we're
Speaker 1: gonna do this together so that you can be the
Speaker 1: best version of yourself now in down the line. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Ye shoot, hey, I've been like going rest of suicide
Speaker 1: right now. No. No, but the relationship part, I think
Speaker 1: you described it perfectly. When they know you care. Um
Speaker 1: a mentor of mine. Uh, Ed Waters my dad's best friend.
Speaker 1: He's the love him. Yeah. Yeah, he's currently the head
Speaker 1: coach prunch on High. But he um he had said
Speaker 1: up told me something on Twitter where he mentioned something
Speaker 1: about just how love at the core of coaching and
Speaker 1: and and the inner person relationship when you have a mentor,
Speaker 1: if there's love and love presents itself in different shapes,
Speaker 1: forms and fashions. You know, if you have love at
Speaker 1: that core in that relationship with the player, and you
Speaker 1: know it doesn't have to need this intense love, but
Speaker 1: they know, like love, caring is part of love. You
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. So if they know you care,
Speaker 1: then they're gonna respond even on your bad days, even
Speaker 1: on your worst days, staying on your coaching, I wanted
Speaker 1: to I wanted to segue and discuss some of your
Speaker 1: accolades that you've done. I mean, obviously after San Diego State,
Speaker 1: I can go through your your history Amountain, gil Preston, Wood, Harvard,
Speaker 1: west Lake. But then I really wanted to just hone
Speaker 1: in on Detroit Country Day. I felt like I wanted
Speaker 1: to hear the story about how you got that opportunity
Speaker 1: and just talk a little bit about that incredible two
Speaker 1: year run that you had out there. Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1: Uh So I was coaching at CALS Northridge and COVID
Speaker 1: HIT and so my son. So I was a single parent,
Speaker 1: UM and when my son he was turning seven, his
Speaker 1: dad is from and lives in Detroit, UM, and we
Speaker 1: were like, you know, his time for him to go
Speaker 1: live there, Like he just needs to be with his dad.
Speaker 1: And uh So he went out there and I couldn't
Speaker 1: get on a plane because COVID HIT and I didn't
Speaker 1: see my son for five months. And yeah, with that,
Speaker 1: the longest you guys had ever been a part easy
Speaker 1: so it looks look look if that brought up So
Speaker 1: that brought out up? Sorry yeah, so um and but four,
Speaker 1: I was like, man, I would never move to Detroit
Speaker 1: until I'm five months five months and I can't see
Speaker 1: my baby. Then I'm you know, So I started to
Speaker 1: look for opportunities because there's nothing in the world more
Speaker 1: important than being near my child for me and for
Speaker 1: him at this point, um and So I looked for opportunities,
Speaker 1: and I knew I was ready to be a head coach.
Speaker 1: It's funny because when I was in he Sun, I
Speaker 1: had said talking about them speaking things into fruition. I said.
Speaker 1: I was like, man, I want to be a head coach.
Speaker 1: My next thing. I want to be a head coach
Speaker 1: at the top private school. And I wasn't looking for it,
Speaker 1: but I planted that seed. So then when it was
Speaker 1: time to when it was time to look for opportunities
Speaker 1: in Detroit, Detroit Country day was open. Um. So I
Speaker 1: reached out. I applied. Um, I went through the process.
Speaker 1: I got it, and you went through the you went
Speaker 1: through the normal, regular, the regular process. No, I'm just curious.
Speaker 1: I'm just curious because a lot of times for those
Speaker 1: type of situations, it's surprising that you would as an outsider,
Speaker 1: so to speak. I mean, you must have really impressed
Speaker 1: the heck out of that administration. That's my point for
Speaker 1: saying all this to come from. You know you're working.
Speaker 1: Talk to me, let me yes, no, you're right. Same
Speaker 1: thing with Windward. I went through the regular process. I
Speaker 1: didn't have an end. I didn't know anybody there. Um
Speaker 1: So a Country Day was that same, and people at
Speaker 1: Country Day say that, Like people at Country Day when
Speaker 1: I was there, they'd be like, how did you get
Speaker 1: the job? And I got a point and they're like, okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: but how did you get it? Like who do you know?
Speaker 1: And day? Like But and I'll say this, Chris, I
Speaker 1: don't apply like a normal person, like when I want
Speaker 1: something like the free throw contest. When I want something,
Speaker 1: I leave no stone unturned, like my focus is here,
Speaker 1: I have no distractions. Um And and so my cover letter,
Speaker 1: my resume, like it stands out like it's gonna stand
Speaker 1: out if it's if it's what I want. And I
Speaker 1: only go after things that I want at this point
Speaker 1: in my life. So I got it. Um So, what
Speaker 1: do you want to know about Country day specifically because
Speaker 1: it was it was it was a good journey. The challenge, Well,
Speaker 1: you followed the well I believe you. You were following
Speaker 1: a person, Frank Orlando, that had won thirteen state championships. Okay,
Speaker 1: they were coming. You were coming off a two win
Speaker 1: season when you got the job. So Frank Orlando, he
Speaker 1: was there for forty years. He was there, he's the
Speaker 1: most winningest coach in Michigan basketball history. Um and he
Speaker 1: had retired and then his assistant coach took over for
Speaker 1: two years, and they had won a total of four
Speaker 1: games in those two years. After that coach had left.
Speaker 1: Um So I was acquiring the team that had won
Speaker 1: a total of four games in two years. And there
Speaker 1: were sophomores at this point. So no, so I had
Speaker 1: one sophomore because everyone else who was on the team
Speaker 1: didn't like basketball, like they were just like whatever. So
Speaker 1: I acquired all freshmen, one sophomore, and one senior who
Speaker 1: had never played. She was just really tall, really long.
Speaker 1: She had been on the team, but she never played.
Speaker 1: Um So, there was no like, let me see who
Speaker 1: I can get in. It was like, look, it was
Speaker 1: my first guy coaching job. I'm like, we're gonna roll
Speaker 1: with what we got, like I'm you know, I'm a coach,
Speaker 1: and uh, they bought I had all freshman, so they
Speaker 1: bought an easy you know what I mean, Like they
Speaker 1: were excited to just be part of something. And um,
Speaker 1: I only had two or three people who had played
Speaker 1: basketball before. Everybody else was like softball, soccer. Um. But
Speaker 1: I had open tryouts and I was very diligent in
Speaker 1: my staff. I was lucky to hire a phenomenal staff. UM,
Speaker 1: but I was very diligent in like I'm hiring the people.
Speaker 1: I'm not hiring, I'm I'm selecting the players did not
Speaker 1: necessarily stand out because of skill, but this showed me
Speaker 1: good character, UM and the intangibles. That was it. That
Speaker 1: was all I was looking for. UM. I said no
Speaker 1: to a couple of players that just had bad attitude,
Speaker 1: but they could hoop a little bit. I said no
Speaker 1: to them. So we rolled with nine UM one senior,
Speaker 1: one sophomore, and the rest were freshmen. And we I
Speaker 1: don't know who wasn't. I know, people were not anticipating
Speaker 1: us to do what we did, but we beat a
Speaker 1: lot of people we weren't supposed to be and we
Speaker 1: went further than anybody thought we were gonna go. So
Speaker 1: then that next year, UM, year two, they were all sophomores,
Speaker 1: one junior, no seniors, UM, some returners, mostly returners obviously,
Speaker 1: and then I think I had like one or two
Speaker 1: new I had three new freshman UM one of them
Speaker 1: that contributed a lot, and we actually lost like we
Speaker 1: were fifty. We were we were at five hundred going
Speaker 1: into the playoffs, and I remember saying to them, I
Speaker 1: was like, in my mind, I'm like, if we if
Speaker 1: we went out, we will have won fifteen total games
Speaker 1: in the year. So I think we had seven. We're
Speaker 1: like seven and seven. It's horrible, totally different experience, same team,
Speaker 1: totally different experience. So that was my thing, is like, well,
Speaker 1: I know it's how we end. I believe what I believe,
Speaker 1: but it's harder to motivate a team that like has
Speaker 1: lost like they had one and then they had then
Speaker 1: they were losing. So I was like, all right, everybody right,
Speaker 1: fifteen on their wrists and no one knew why. Oh
Speaker 1: they were like, coach, what are we doing. I'm like,
Speaker 1: just do it, just do it, just do it, just
Speaker 1: do it. Time went on. Chris. I think it was
Speaker 1: like third game man. I'm like, look, this is what
Speaker 1: the number fifteen means. So we were at like ten
Speaker 1: and seven at that point, and we just kept winning. Um,
Speaker 1: it was we just we just kept winning and we
Speaker 1: ended up with fourteen wins, which you know, so two
Speaker 1: totally different seasons, um, but similar outcomes. So yeah, it's
Speaker 1: I mean two district and regional championships, state semis at
Speaker 1: Michigan State. Uh so you guys played in the Breslin
Speaker 1: Center or the place for Michigan State place. That must
Speaker 1: have been a pretty nice experience to take for the
Speaker 1: young ladies too. They probably didn't expect that to happen
Speaker 1: in there two year especially after the losing seasons. Fox
Speaker 1: Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Speaker 1: Catch all of our shows at Fox sports Radio dot
Speaker 1: com and within the I Heart Radio app search f
Speaker 1: s R to listen live. How difficult was it for
Speaker 1: you to say goodbye to that team, to those people,
Speaker 1: that community after achieving such like just out of out
Speaker 1: of no unexpected success, how did how hard is it
Speaker 1: to say goodbye to that Well, it's definitely see you later,
Speaker 1: not goodbye. Um, but there was a lot of tears, uh.
Speaker 1: I didn't cry too much, not because I wasn't sad,
Speaker 1: but it was more like numb to the situation because
Speaker 1: it wasn't just them. It wasn't just the Troy Country.
Speaker 1: Day was all my son that I was moving away
Speaker 1: from because he stayed. He's there full time with his dad,
Speaker 1: so I get to see him a lot, but not
Speaker 1: I'm not down the street anymore. Um. So I was
Speaker 1: processing a lot of that. But there were a lot
Speaker 1: of tears. You know. It showed me, um the impact,
Speaker 1: because I know the impact that they had on me.
Speaker 1: But what I didn't realize was the impact I had
Speaker 1: on them, because they were They wrote me letters and
Speaker 1: a lot of things came out that they had never said.
Speaker 1: You know, I think that they anticipated that I'd be
Speaker 1: there at least through their career. Um. But I think
Speaker 1: that the feedback I got from the administrators, a couple
Speaker 1: of administrators cried um, and from the parents, man like,
Speaker 1: just like you you changed our daughter. Uh. And it
Speaker 1: was just like that's what it was about. It had
Speaker 1: nothing to do with basketball, you know. And so for me,
Speaker 1: my my intention when letting them know that I was
Speaker 1: leaving was like I'm always here, Like I'm gonna be
Speaker 1: your coach forever. So like within the last week, I've
Speaker 1: faced times with four of them that are out there,
Speaker 1: because I would be a hypocrite if I say I'm
Speaker 1: a relational coach and I don't maintain relationships with the
Speaker 1: players that I've coached. I have a former player coming
Speaker 1: to interview with me this week. I gave a letter
Speaker 1: of recommendation to one of the players I coached at
Speaker 1: Preston Wood. Like it it's it's a lifetime thing, um,
Speaker 1: And so my job is to continue to pour into them.
Speaker 1: And so I knew there was an opportunity for them
Speaker 1: as young women to grow right. Like, I definitely threw
Speaker 1: them some adversity with me leaving, but I know that
Speaker 1: they're going to be so much better because of it.
Speaker 1: But it was it was an easy and when weard
Speaker 1: made it an easier transition, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: Like to know where I was going, um, definitely made
Speaker 1: it made the blow a little easier. But I know
Speaker 1: that then my girl's back in Detroit and my family's
Speaker 1: back in Detroit felt it. But I was able to
Speaker 1: garner relationships that really, like will last a life time.
Speaker 1: So I was just really excited that I got the
Speaker 1: opportunity to do that. Absolutely, And what type of roster
Speaker 1: or what state of the program is Whenward in as
Speaker 1: you inherit are you are named a head coach? Yeah,
Speaker 1: so when we're so when we went to the Division
Speaker 1: one state championship this year, Um, their former coach is
Speaker 1: the Phoenix Mercury head coach. That yeah, so something different
Speaker 1: than a team with two wins. But you know, I
Speaker 1: think it's one just full transparency. It was valid for
Speaker 1: me that like, oh, you're ready for something of this stature, right,
Speaker 1: Like you're ready for something of this stature, um, because
Speaker 1: the same things apply, right, Like I'm following a coach.
Speaker 1: That's amazing, I've done that before. Um. And I understand
Speaker 1: how to honor the people who came before and the program,
Speaker 1: the legacy that is Winward or the legacy that is
Speaker 1: Detroit Country Day and still understand that it's a new era,
Speaker 1: you know, and be able to contribute to that new era.
Speaker 1: So um, yeah, no, it's it's it's the roster is
Speaker 1: we lost three seniors. Um. But like I tell our
Speaker 1: players now, like, man, it's a clean slate to be honest,
Speaker 1: I haven't seen them play in person once I saw
Speaker 1: him play on you know, on the computer, but I
Speaker 1: haven't seen him in the gym, um, and so it's
Speaker 1: a clean slate for me. So I'm excited to see,
Speaker 1: um what they could do. When you go in your
Speaker 1: one and set the foundation for your program, established the
Speaker 1: culture all that is it something that is there a
Speaker 1: manual you have that you kind of blueprint you take.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter what your situation is, You're gonna coach
Speaker 1: in that situation the same or do you go by
Speaker 1: sort of you you look at your roster you kind
Speaker 1: of say, okay, well I can rock, I can get out,
Speaker 1: I can get down like this with this crew, but
Speaker 1: this crew may not and I might not be able
Speaker 1: to get down with Or is it just that blueprint? Hey,
Speaker 1: no matter what crew it is, this is what time
Speaker 1: it is, and this is what we how we're doing it.
Speaker 1: Good question. I think it's a little bit of both.
Speaker 1: I think you have to know, you know, one of
Speaker 1: the the first thing that I did when I got
Speaker 1: on campus was conducted with everybody individually, you know, um,
Speaker 1: because while they're you know, and John Wooden is obviously
Speaker 1: someone who I aspire. While there's foundational things that never change. Um,
Speaker 1: I think there is. You have to understand who you're
Speaker 1: in a relationship with to know how to communicate them
Speaker 1: and to with them, and to know how they received
Speaker 1: and process information and stuff like that. Uh. So I
Speaker 1: think that that's a key element, but it doesn't necessarily
Speaker 1: change my approach. I think, if anything else, what I
Speaker 1: saw with Country Day, what I've seen as a player
Speaker 1: and being in different things. Um, I went and visited
Speaker 1: Vanessa and I guard at Phoenix, and it's like basketball
Speaker 1: is basketball, like culture is culture. Like the fundamental stuff
Speaker 1: does not change. And so I have to be true
Speaker 1: to to who I am in my beliefs, like I can't.
Speaker 1: You know, I have to be the leader of of it. Um.
Speaker 1: And they're they're going to buy in to how I lead,
Speaker 1: but understand too like I'm learning from them just as
Speaker 1: much as they're learning from me. So in that way,
Speaker 1: we're gonna be able to build it together. Um. But
Speaker 1: I definitely do not take my responsibility of leading the ship,
Speaker 1: you know, I take that very seriously. So, uh, everyone
Speaker 1: will adapt, but we'll all learn and grow together. What
Speaker 1: do you think is the single most important thing for
Speaker 1: you as a coach, as a leader of young women
Speaker 1: for them to leave your program with as far as character, uh,
Speaker 1: is it something on the court? Is it something I could?
Speaker 1: I mean, what like what are your like you know,
Speaker 1: pennants of you that Jerick Williams experienced as a coach.
Speaker 1: I did this practice uh with them the other day.
Speaker 1: I told we talked about liabilities and assets and you know,
Speaker 1: most of the kids that age don't know, so it's
Speaker 1: a good opportunity teach them about actual liabilities and assets
Speaker 1: in terms of you know, finances. Um. But I asked him,
Speaker 1: I'm like, how are you a liability to you to
Speaker 1: your team? Right? Um? And so many of them gave
Speaker 1: answers that were intent double communication, um, not believing in
Speaker 1: each other, things like that. And it was such a
Speaker 1: good question because I had to answer the question for
Speaker 1: myself too. Um. So what I want people to leave
Speaker 1: with is like being a high character, but being an
Speaker 1: asset minded right, Like being a contributor in your life
Speaker 1: to society, to your family, to your team. And so
Speaker 1: I think that there's so many things that fall under
Speaker 1: the umbrella of being an asset because it requires that
Speaker 1: you give and that you add, you continue to add
Speaker 1: value to whatever it is that you're doing. And because
Speaker 1: that can take so many different forms, is you evolve
Speaker 1: in life. I think that if you maintain or have
Speaker 1: the tools to be asset minded and take that into
Speaker 1: whatever situation or circumstance that you're in, you're going to
Speaker 1: be successful in whatever form that may take. You know,
Speaker 1: And so I pray that my kids are all high
Speaker 1: character individuals that leave with high levels of confidence no
Speaker 1: one that they're gonna be high level contributors to the world. Amazing. Um,
Speaker 1: I listening to you at a real coach successful in
Speaker 1: all levels. I I kinda have been doing some self
Speaker 1: introspection and understand and I kind of started to figure
Speaker 1: out where I went wrong as a coach. I used
Speaker 1: to coach a lot on the E Y d N.
Speaker 1: I've coached high school, but everything you've talked about today
Speaker 1: has kind of opened my eyes to like, how to
Speaker 1: deal with the relationship part of basketball is so important.
Speaker 1: I think we when you come from a certain era,
Speaker 1: the only thing that mattered was the result part of it.
Speaker 1: And however you get to that result, Uh, it didn't
Speaker 1: matter how many stories you told, you stepped on, or
Speaker 1: if that person liked you or not. And and it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter if it's not about like and it's about
Speaker 1: I realized, like, you know, people have coached me it's
Speaker 1: sort of rough kind of fashions, and so you know what,
Speaker 1: you get coached a rough fashion, you in turn coach
Speaker 1: others in a rough fashion, and you don't keep in
Speaker 1: mind like this generation isn't that same generation. So I'm
Speaker 1: sorry for that little little sidebar there, but it's just
Speaker 1: it's just so, it's just it's just such a revelation
Speaker 1: listening to you. Uh. I have to discuss something else
Speaker 1: because in doing my research for this interview, I saw
Speaker 1: that you were named the San Diego Businesswoman of the
Speaker 1: Year in two thousand and seventeen, and this is something
Speaker 1: that is extremely impressive that I looked a little deeper
Speaker 1: and you have a consulting firm that you've had some
Speaker 1: two thousand thirteen that specializes in biz dev marketing, branding,
Speaker 1: and public relations. And then my first real interaction with you,
Speaker 1: and I hope you don't mind me sharing this, Um,
Speaker 1: my first real interaction with Jericho was not on the
Speaker 1: basketball floor. I don't think it was for my father.
Speaker 1: Marcus is Jersey retirement the Milwaukee Bucks retired as Jersey.
Speaker 1: Jericho was the point person, the lead of everything, so
Speaker 1: we had anything that was going down, We had the
Speaker 1: hollywand Jericho, so we you know, we're getting flown to Milwaukee.
Speaker 1: We're here, We're there at dinners, were at the Jersey time.
Speaker 1: It was. It was one of the most amazing moments
Speaker 1: of my life. Thank you for all your hard work
Speaker 1: on that. I don't think I don't think you know
Speaker 1: your job and what you do. Obviously not that you
Speaker 1: describe it, but it's a thankless job at times, and
Speaker 1: so you know, but thank you for that. But but
Speaker 1: I'd love for you just to talk about Um Jace
Speaker 1: consulting and you know what the impetus for it was,
Speaker 1: and it just kind of how it's gone for you
Speaker 1: and how you use that if you have it all
Speaker 1: in the coaching room. Yeah, great question. I appreciate the research. Um,
Speaker 1: it was an honor helping coordinate your dad's Jersey retirement. Sure,
Speaker 1: it was a pure honor. I was amazing. UM got
Speaker 1: really good feedback. But UM, the fact that he just
Speaker 1: enjoyed that night, enjoyed my weekend, like and it seems smooth,
Speaker 1: like it seems like it went well smooth. Um. No,
Speaker 1: So Jayson is my nickname, it's my family nickname. Um.
Speaker 1: Public relations is something that I didn't even know was
Speaker 1: a thing. I found a passion back however, long ago
Speaker 1: when my son was born. So I was a single
Speaker 1: mom and UM like like single mom, you know, like
Speaker 1: single mom, and I needed uh flexibility uh for my son.
Speaker 1: But while that was happening, UM, I had fell into
Speaker 1: a couple of opportunities, like to organize events and things
Speaker 1: of that nature. And I realized that I really had
Speaker 1: a knack for connecting people. That turned into connecting like
Speaker 1: businesses and brands and stuff like that. And then because
Speaker 1: I spoke the athlete language, it just kind of turned
Speaker 1: into this like branding, marketing, strategic partnership or deal. Uh.
Speaker 1: And I already had so many existing relationships that made
Speaker 1: that situation kind of happened organically. So like when I
Speaker 1: was coaching at Preston Wood that's where Julius random Win
Speaker 1: um they had her. I was working at like Northwestern Mutual.
Speaker 1: But I'm not a nine to five person. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be honest, like not a nine person. And uh, I
Speaker 1: was like, hey, I came up with all these ideas
Speaker 1: to help this organization do things. And I'm like, man,
Speaker 1: I could do this on my I could do this
Speaker 1: on my own. I could make a lot more money
Speaker 1: doing this if I put my attention into this. And
Speaker 1: so I walked into my boss's office and I quit like.
Speaker 1: I was like, hey, Chris, because I was in there,
Speaker 1: I was probably making I was young. I was like,
Speaker 1: I was probably making fifteen dollars an hour. I was
Speaker 1: there for eight hours a day, not counting when I
Speaker 1: take my son to daycare, pick him up, lunch, whatever.
Speaker 1: I'm like, for fifteen dollars an hour, I could find
Speaker 1: that in the couch. That's how I felt. And I
Speaker 1: wasn't doing something that I loved. And you know this,
Speaker 1: you're not gonna you're not gonna work hard if you
Speaker 1: don't love what you know. It's tough. It's hard. It's
Speaker 1: hard to do that. It's hard. So I was like,
Speaker 1: you know what, I could do it. So I went
Speaker 1: in there. I'm like, I'm out, and I want to
Speaker 1: say that. Next week, Julius Randall's um like point person
Speaker 1: was like, hey, he needs a publicist. And I heard that,
Speaker 1: you know, you're kind of good at this whatever, and
Speaker 1: I was like, yeah, and they're like, do you want
Speaker 1: to be as publicists? And I was like for show.
Speaker 1: So he was a senior in Kentucky at the time
Speaker 1: and it hadn't been announced yet that he was going
Speaker 1: to enter the draft. So long story short, I had
Speaker 1: Julius Randall as the seventh pick of the Los Angeles
Speaker 1: Lakers as my first like theme yeah, um, and so
Speaker 1: I kind of just got thrown into the fire, but
Speaker 1: I'm made a business out of it. Uh. And so
Speaker 1: fast forward, my son was getting a little bit older,
Speaker 1: and I was like Jay's had I was going Nina.
Speaker 1: I was like going to all these places, but I
Speaker 1: wasn't home enough and I was ready to kind of
Speaker 1: settle down. And so that was like in the midst
Speaker 1: of all that is when I got business Woman of
Speaker 1: the Year because I was everywhere like I was getting
Speaker 1: there was behind the scenes, like to your point, no
Speaker 1: one would know that I was. Then I helped coordinate
Speaker 1: that Jersey retirement, like nobody would know that, but I was.
Speaker 1: I found myself in a lot of different places, but
Speaker 1: I was away from my kids, so I was like,
Speaker 1: let me find something. What can I see myself doing
Speaker 1: for the rest of my life. That also allows me
Speaker 1: to be, you know, just more present with my son.
Speaker 1: And um, I'm like, let's do basketball, like, let's jump
Speaker 1: into it full flesh. Because even in Preston Wood, I
Speaker 1: was it was part time right like, it wasn't a
Speaker 1: full time thing. And so I put some fillers out there,
Speaker 1: um and and it landed. And so but I knew
Speaker 1: that like to be the coach that I wanted to be,
Speaker 1: I couldn't equally give a hundred percent to my you know,
Speaker 1: consulting business, pr business and coach in the way that
Speaker 1: I that I wanted to do it. Um. So now
Speaker 1: that that's why I've moved into more of a consultancy
Speaker 1: where I still know how to connect people very efficiently.
Speaker 1: Like I still know what used to take me a
Speaker 1: long time to do, I can do it really quick.
Speaker 1: So it's not something that um, I really even market
Speaker 1: now like it's it's more so just word of mouth
Speaker 1: because I really give a lot, if not everything in
Speaker 1: my day to coaching to coaching my team. So I
Speaker 1: hope that answers your question. Yeah, that does. I just
Speaker 1: wanted to get some background. I mean, to be recognized
Speaker 1: as you have and received some of the accoletes. It's
Speaker 1: always nice to hear about the grind and how people started. Um,
Speaker 1: I didn't have any idea that Julish Randall was your client.
Speaker 1: That's something that was revelation right here on this show
Speaker 1: kJ Live. You heard it first. Uh No, but no,
Speaker 1: it's awesome, Jericho, No listen. I wanted to just wish
Speaker 1: you the best at Winward and your next journey. UM.
Speaker 1: I have no doubt given your experiences that it's gonna
Speaker 1: be an amazing one and a highly successful one. You
Speaker 1: possess a lot of the skills and qualities that we've
Speaker 1: seen in a lot of the great coaches, and I
Speaker 1: think that thank you you with your personal twist on
Speaker 1: it too. As far as who you are coming up
Speaker 1: in this, you know your generation and who you just
Speaker 1: turned out to be as experiences typically make us, it's
Speaker 1: it's it's it's right that sounds. I think it's gonna
Speaker 1: be a really good opportunity. Thank you so much for
Speaker 1: coming on kJ Live. Do you want to give any
Speaker 1: shout outs before you go? Um? Well, first of all,
Speaker 1: kJ thank you. UM you guys have been like family
Speaker 1: to me, even if it's from a disc And UM,
Speaker 1: I rock with Johnson's at a high level. So I
Speaker 1: appreciate you reaching out and just honored to be on
Speaker 1: the show and congratulations on the show and and all
Speaker 1: that you continue to do and continue to inspire. UM
Speaker 1: shout outs. Uh, you know, not really like I really
Speaker 1: don't have. I finally got a Twitter, So I was
Speaker 1: off social media for years and I finally got a Twitter.
Speaker 1: So I guess that, Um, but you know, come out
Speaker 1: and support the when we're girls basketball team when the
Speaker 1: season is is here. Uh and uh, I think the
Speaker 1: other thing is, you know, my kid, my son Dariah.
Speaker 1: I was talking to somebody like I'm just so proud
Speaker 1: of the young man and he's becoming you know, like
Speaker 1: someone asked me what motivates me? And m obviously our
Speaker 1: kids like naturally motivate, but you know, dry and I
Speaker 1: bounced around a lot, like to all those jobs that
Speaker 1: you see all my resume, Like he came with me,
Speaker 1: He was with me, and as a parent, you know,
Speaker 1: you you just hope that you're doing a good job.
Speaker 1: And so to see him now, I was just with
Speaker 1: him and we went to New York for Mother's Day
Speaker 1: and he's just like so like this independent young man,
Speaker 1: that young boy that uh, he's him, but he's he's sharp, man,
Speaker 1: He's sharp. He's on top of his stuff, and you know,
Speaker 1: I just I feel like all the stuff that we
Speaker 1: went through so far, he's taking that and really embraced it.
Speaker 1: And it's I can see how it's making him, you know, him,
Speaker 1: like he just walks in like this confidence about himself.
Speaker 1: And I'm just really honored to be his mom. But
Speaker 1: it's it's I just wanna. I know that there's so
Speaker 1: many working mothers out there and father's right, um, but female,
Speaker 1: being a female coach and a mom is a really
Speaker 1: hard thing to do. Um, But I have to just
Speaker 1: wreck Ny is my son and the role that he
Speaker 1: continues to play in my life. You know. So I
Speaker 1: appreciate you giving me the platform to do that. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: Shout out to Geriah. I love that, all right, Yeah, no,
Speaker 1: that's it. I appreciate it, alright, Ladies and gentlemen, Jericho Williams,
Speaker 1: thank you