Latest / Let's Talk with Carl Lee / Elevating Women's Basketball: A Conversation with Andrea Stinson

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Elevating Women's Basketball: A Conversation with Andrea Stinson · Let's Talk with Carl Lee

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Yeah, you gotta work. You gotta work, bry sign is mine gotta
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show everybody is my sign. You gotta work. Cry Son another mind whom
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Saga Dogs day Line, don't tell you gotta Burt. Let the conversation begin.
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This is let's talk with your host, Carl Lee. Hello, ladies
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and gentlemen, missus Carl Lee with Let's talk and we have a great guest
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doing today, Andreas Stinson. She's a former w NBA player. She played
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for the Charlotte Stings Detroit Shocks. She was a three time All Star player
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and she was twice named to the second Team w NBA All w NBA.
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She also works with the Sports United, which is who they'll do camps and
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things like that, and they're reaching out and touching over four hundred kids.
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She's also in the nc North Carolina Hall of Fame. And we just want
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to say hello and just wanted to make sure we gave you as much props
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as we could. How are you doing? I'm good? How are you
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just fine? Hollis Lewis is my co host. Then I think he's going.
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I think he's the one who got this whole thing set up. So
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I just wanted my first question, and I've been like, I couldn't wait
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to get this question. The girls that the women's game today, when you
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look at it, when you see it, what is it? What does
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it do to you? Like? Are you are you like? Are you
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like proud? Are you like wow? Or like like what does it look
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like? And how does it feel? Because I know as a as a
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as a former player, you know, when I look at the league,
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I'm like, you know, I look at it and I'm like, man,
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gosh, it's just not going the way that I think it ought to
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go. Not that they care, but I wonder with the with the path
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that the women's game is going, especially in the collegiate level and likely now
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in the professional level, I think it's going to even click up a notch.
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What does it do when you what does it do for you? Well?
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I am totally totally, just so proud to be a women's basketball player
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and who one who helped set the foundation for certain things as far as women's
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basketball. I'm proud, I'm happy, I'm ecstatic. I hope it continues
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to grow. I'm going to do everything I can, you know, to
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help it continue to grow. But I'm ecstatic. I'm just I'm just smiles
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and what coaches and coach didn't mention it. In addition to all your other
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accolades being a w NBA All Pro, you're also a US Olympian. So
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you got a gold, gold, and bronze medal in the you gotta gold
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in the Jones Cup, and you got a bronze in the Pan American Games.
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Could you just briefly talk about that experience. Well, that was a
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great experience. You know, being in different countries and playing for the USA
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is always an experience within itself because they have certain expectations of you as American
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basketball players. And you know, the teams that I was on had great
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coaches, great players, and we we just represented you know. You you
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put on that USA uniform and you represent the USA with pride and you just
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enjoy doing what you love to do. When you when you were playing on
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that team and you're part of that team. To me, I think that
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has to be the strongest bond that you could have on any on any other
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team. Like I get the teamwork that comes with professional sports, I get
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it with with with collegiate sports. I get it with high school sports.
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But when you're playing for your country and your team are all American teammates like
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it can't. I don't know if there's any greater opportunity to play for a
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team, to be part of that clique. Is that Is that the epitome
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of team Yes, Team US say yes. You You develop a bond with
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people you never knew before. You thought you knew who they were, but
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you learn more about them because you spend so much time with them now and
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it is a bond that lasts forever. You can you always remember that team
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and your teammates, the coaches, the water person, the sports medicine person.
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You remember everybody, and you got pictures with everybody. So it's it
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is. It's a great it's a great feeling, a great opportunity to always
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put on a USA Basketball uniform. Now, no, you've again you you
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played the USA Basketball, you played overseas, you played w W n b
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A, you played at a high level at the collegiate level. Now watching
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the game, and we'll talk about your coaching, which is a very unique
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situation, uh later, But watching the game now, watching the women's game,
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how do you see it evolved? What's what's the what's the biggest thing
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that stands out in that standpoint, the skills, the mentality of competing at
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a high level has has has mean we competed at a high level, but
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they're competing with with a little a little on it, you know. Yeah,
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yeah, that's that's it. And and I can remember, I can
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remember back in the day, if you everybody wasn't free to take a three,
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you know, and if you took a three more or less, if
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you took ten yards back from from the three point line, you coming out.
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And now these young ladies can pull that shot off like nothing. I
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mean, how how big of a change is that? That is a great,
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a big change because when we when we were playing, it was get
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to the basket. U trying to get to the basket. If you can't
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get there, stop and pull up. That was our game, you know,
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get to the back, fast break, Hey, make it to the
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basket, don't don't stop and shoot a three. Make it to the basket.
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Yeah, it's like, no, I'm going to stop shoot this three.
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And that's what I'm gonna live and die by, you know, the
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three. And and you know, and that's just that's their mentality now,
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and we can't do anything about that. We we did what we did.
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They're doing what they're supposed to do now. But let me ask you that
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does that make the game better or worse? Because I think it's something not
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necessarily from the women's game, But I know from the men's game. You
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know, I grew up with the shacks in the Kalisa, Kalimo, hachem
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olajah Wanta different people of that nature. So now just everybody pulling threes and
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almost sort of waters down. Do you see that in the women's game too,
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or is it kind of different? I don't know. It's good and
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bad any you know, because you got players like Caitlin who can hit it
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at any moment. We've got some players that should not shoot it, you
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know, and you still do have some ladies that can down in the paint.
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But I think that's the good thing about the women's gaming. Y'all still
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got people on the block. Y'all still got people, you know that's playing
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underneath the basket, that's right, And you got you know, you got
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some of them that think, man if I can't, I didn't make the
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last one. So I'm gonna give it to the girl on the inside.
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I mean, you got a lot of different options. Now these girls just
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you know, they have to make good decisions on when, because yes,
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that coach is standing over there on the sideline and saying, yes, get
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them out of my game. Asia William Asia inside, Wilson inside, I'm
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going inside before I shoot that three. I mean, that's me personally.
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But they're not thinking like that. So coach has to take them out and
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get them to understand what we're doing and then put them back in the game.
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But they're definitely coming out definitely. Let me ask you, just kind
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of jumping around here, but you were part of the first iteration of w
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NBA. I think prior to that you actually played overseas, so starting being
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that first generation a w NBA player, and I believe you played with Don
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Staley as well. What was that experience like, Oh, man, let's
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let me tell you. I'm gonna start from the Againning Well, I played
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overseas, Yes, the first six years. I came out of NC State
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ninety one. I played overseas six years before the w NBA started, and
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all I could think about was when is the w NBA gonna start? And
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that's all I could think about. And I'm like, well, what if
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I have to choose between overseas and w n B A D D D DA
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DA. Well, I didn't have to because w NBA was in the summer.
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So I'm just telling you from a player's perspective, I was excited,
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ecstatic that the w n B A was even thought about so once it became
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physical and and and everything had been laid out, and then from my hometown
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Charlotte to pick me to be one of the first players to be in the
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franchise. Man, I was done. Yeah, I was. I was
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so full of joy I cried. I couldn't cry no more. I didn't.
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I don't think I slept the last month or two of playing overseas before
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coming home to the w n B A. I didn't see. I'm telling
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you it was all excited to be able to play at home, first of
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all, on our own United States, and then in front of family and
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friends and everybody in my hometown. Man, I was ecstatic. Man.
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I couldn't even tell you if I could feel my body at that time.
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That's awesome, you know. One of one of the one of the questions
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that that that I have I get asked sometimes is like like what what what
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what is it like to play? You know, what is it like to
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play, you know, in the NFL? For you? What was that
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like? Like? Yeah, and I and I'm I'm almost saying the same
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like I would say the same thing like that. It is like the very
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first time I could walk out on the field and I knew that I was
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playing, and I'm like thinking, this is actually, this is actually the
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NFL. I can, I can, I can, I could sense,
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but I want to hear you your version of you walking out on the court
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for the first time and you're at a professional level, whether it be WNBA
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or whatever. What were you like? You look at the lights, you
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look at the crowd, you look at everything because you can't. You don't
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want to forget it. That's right, you do not want to forget that.
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Well, my first walk onto the court was in a practice so just
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to be able to practice other girls who played professionally, some who are just
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getting started, you know, it was it was amazing. It was a
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dream come true. Put it that way, a dream come true. To
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be able to play professionally in my hometown in the United States, not having
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to go overseas, pack my bags and all this, just grab your bag
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and go to the gym. That was great. That was amazing. And
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the first game to see all the people in the arena signing autographs and the
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kids yelling and screaming your name, is like, how do they know my
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name? And you knew what you do by by by you being placed with
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the team that told them right there what you could do, so that yeah,
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this must be the player. If she was picked by the franchise to
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be their star player, then this must be this must she must can play.
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So they knew my name, they knew, they had pictures already,
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they had all kinds of stuff, And I'm thinking, how did they get
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all this stuff already? They haven't even played one game yet. They don't
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know what I'm But when I have fans that that I'm friends with that were
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season tickets holders the whole entire time that Charlotte Steam, Yeah that's big.
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And and you had a You had a pretty, i would say, a
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very good career. You your average twelve points a game total for your career
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n the w n B A, four rebounds, three assists, two time
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All Star, excuse me, two time All Pro, three time All Star.
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And you had your number thirty two retired with the Charlotte Sting. So
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you had a pretty distinguished career, not only as a professional but also as
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a collegiate player. So when you mentioned skill set earlier, what were some
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of the things Often on this show we talked about training, We talk about
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skill development and being athletic and different things of that nature. What were some
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of the how did you develop that? Were you on the playground, did
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you have dad or mom kind of working you in the backyard? What was
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that like? I played with the boys in the neighbor, my cousins,
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four or five generators, it doesn't matter. All of my people in Canea's,
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North Carolina. I played with the guys every day. They wouldn't let
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me play because I was a girl, and so I kept going back and
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I kept going back, and they just got tired of seeing me. So
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they said, oh, well, if you're gonna play. They told me
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this, If you're gonna play and you're gonna learn this game, then you're
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gonna be the best thing to ever come out of this area. We're gonna
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make you, We're gonna enhance your skills, and we're gonna make You're gonna
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beat you up. We're gonna knock you down, and you're gonna have to
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learn to score on us. And if you can score on us, there's
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not a woman out there they could ever stop you. That reality that I
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had when I played with the guys and then went and played with the girls,
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I was like, well, I took this guy over here, and
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he's two times faster than her. I know she can't do anything with me.
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And that was my mentality, And of course I was blessed. God
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blessed me with the talent and to be able to absorb from them and take
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it into my talent and use it in the women's game. I'm sorry,
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go ahead, no, no, that that that's first and foremost. I
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was blessed with the talent, and I thank God every day for that talent
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because that was good. That was my question I was gonna asked, like
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when you when you sit back and you try to figure out, like what
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was what was the key component to make you all w N B A Like?
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Was it was it your shooting? Was it your deepens? Was it
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just the skill set? Was it you know, being in shape at that
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at the very top level to where you could do all of those things at
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one time. If you had to pick one, what would what was your
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key What was the key skill set, talent, conditioning? What what?
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What was the thing that was the basis of your greatness? My the basis
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of my grade is was basic fundamentals. Okay, like that mertality, a
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mentality that my basic fundamentals and my skills that I was blessed with can get
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take me as far as I wanted to go and and to to go.
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To be able to play on the high level, you got to have that
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mentality of that nobody can stop you, that you can you can play with
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the best. And that was the mentality that I had when I went to
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college. That mentality just enhanced so much playing for coach Kyo. She she
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she helped me develop that mentality as to you know, I know that you
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play a certain way. I know you have these moves and stuff that you
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do, but you can do them within my system. And that's what I
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did some mental training, some some some mental preparedness to to be able to
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play the way I play, you know, the around the back and move
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through and reverse it within coach out system. And and that's what taught me
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a lot about myself and playing. Now, now, speaking of coaches,
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you actually played with a very, very famous and successful coach currently, I
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believe you play with Don Steey when you were with Charlotte sting to get how
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was she as a player and did you foresee kind of everything that's happening for
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her now she was a coach then, yes, then she's the point god
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on the floor. She's coaching everybody. She's telling everybody, Look, I
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got you displayed that way. Then if you go back door, I got
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you on the bounce, d D d DA. We talk so much because
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see, first of all, we were the speaking captains. We're the captains
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of the team, so we were a speaking captain. We could talk to
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the rails, so we talk to each other. I mean, we were
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just always communicating and she was always coaching and I can give her that prop
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till today. It was a great playing with Dawn. She was she was
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a coach, she was a friend, she was a mentor. All that
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to me when we played together the WNBA. So I can imagine what the
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younger girls are going through now as a coach, you know, as a
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young girl listening to all the experience that she's had and that she's been through
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because you know, I'm listening, I'm thinking, wow, and now I
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know they're saying wild about three or four times. You know what I'm saying,
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and down is doing what don was blessed with and what she she has
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been doing her whole career. All Right, I have a somewhat of a
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I think it could be a challenging question. Uh, the the everybody's everybody's
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in an uproar over the the pain of the number one pick in the WNBA
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versus the number one pick in the NBA. I kind of have I'm looking
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at that and I'm thinking that the w NBA, that it's just too big
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of a difference. I can get a difference. I'd be okay with the
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difference if it was you know, maybe four or five hundred thousands. But
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I'm not. I don't think. I don't even watch. I don't even
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I'm the guy who's watching the w n b A. I don't. I'm
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not. I don't do the n b A. And I'm like, and
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I'm I'm I'm totally satisfied now. And I guess maybe this has something to
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do with people coming to the games that the number of people that that come
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to the game that the arenas, how big they are and all that kind
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of stuff. But I'm sorry, I think that it has to be a
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look, you got to bring that closer some kind of way. Am I
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am? I am I on because I think a lot of men who haven't
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ever hadn't really watched the wn b A. They're like, oh no,
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no, no, that that game. Ain't you know that ain't nothing they
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beat they'll beat you. You can't, you can't play with them. And
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it's just you're doing the exact same thing that these guys are doing and your
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pay is way different. What's your take on that? Well, you know
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it's my take on. It was what I retired in two thousand and five.
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I played for eight years. I mean my take on has been,
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you know, we're doing the same thing that you're doing. You know,
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we may our season may not be as long as yours season, but we're
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doing the same thing. We're getting up every morning, we're going to the
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gym, we're working out, we're lifting weights, we're shooting shots, we're
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being we're being pampered after practice with ice and the cold water, and I
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mean we're doing everything that you're doing. And I just mean, to me,
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I just can never understand why the difference was. So it's such a
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it's such a big difference. I think that we as women, we play
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the game. Yeah, we play the game and get paid, but we
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play the game because we love it. We love it and I'm not saying
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that the men don't love it, but for for us to play for what
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we're playing for, we have to have much more love for the game than
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than anyone else because just because we we we know what we're getting paid,
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when we know what we're worth. You know, we know what we're worth.
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So it's just it's a mentality here. We go back to the mentality,
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you know. And we love our fans. We love the little girls
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that that that pay attention, even the little boys. We love our fans.
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We had a lot of fathers to bring their families out to the games
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and come with them, and I mean, we just we we love it.
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So I just I just see it, as you know, I hope
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one day that it changes. I really hope that it changes for them,
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that things get better as it's as women's basketball is growing. But I just,
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you know, I've always just sat down and thought, well, are
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we getting paid like that? Getting paid? You know what I mean?
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Even half of it? No, not that we played the whole season that
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they play, but we play half of what they play, so still half
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of it. But you know, and I would argue that it's getting better.
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And I would even argue that probably paying less games is better for like
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competition and just the intensity of it. But I do think it's going to
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get better. But I wanted to swing back because we talked about coach Stanley,
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but we got to talk about you as a coach too, because I
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think you're doing something at least that I've never heard of, is that you're
22:41
not only an assistant basketball coach at Bluefield University, not to be confused with
22:45
Bluefield State University, but at blue a Bluefield University, you're assistant for the
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women's team and you're also an assistant for the men's team, so you're pulling
22:56
double duty. How was that going? Well? I absolutely love it.
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You know, I have two practices. I have two games. I to
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coach fifteen girls, I have fifteen boys. I mean, I have it
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all. I have two managers that I have to deal with as an assistant
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you know, I have to help women's coach prepare men. Hey, I'm
23:22
having a ball, man, I'm having a great time. Look, I
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coached football, and it took it took all day. I coached middle school.
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Like, how are you like, how many hours of the day belong
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to you? Because every it seems already if you're doing if you're coaching two
23:45
the men's college women's college teams, when do you have time to do anything
23:51
for you? Yes, I am actually I am the assistant for the women's
23:56
the assistant for the men. I'm also in class full time, and and
24:07
you know sometimes I do occasionally security. I ay, I'm doing a lot,
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man, But you know what time for myself is maybe the weekend or
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if you know, off season, off season. During the season, not
24:22
much, not much. We got to prepare for the game. We gotta
24:26
put the scout reports, we got to do everything. So during the season,
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I'm NonStop. Plus I'm full time in class. So one I'm going
24:34
to graduate, made a full and I don't know what's next. I can't
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tell you. I just don't know what's next. But I'm going to try
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to go where I'm needed and where I'm wanted and I want to stick with
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the women, you know, women's legacy, the women's basketball, keep it
24:55
going and keep the w n B A alive. So it's your aration to
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be a coach to head coach, yes and no, I really love the
25:04
training part and being coach. A lot of kids don't like to work out
25:10
on the side, you know, after practice with the head coach. They'd
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rather do it with the assistant, you know, instead of they rather get
25:17
better with the assistant and then show the head coach on the court. But
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I really I have Right now, I have about eight or ten girls that
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I work out, and I love getting them better, making them better,
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showing them the things that I learned, the basic fundamentals, and then some
25:36
fancy stuff that I learned. You know. I love it. And I
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have like three waiting on me to work out tonight at seven o'clock. So
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I'm just I love the workout part. I'm not saying that I don't want
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to be a head coach. I would love that, but I also love
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the training. So even as a head coach, I'll still be training within
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my practice. Got you all right, Well, yeah, we won't let
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you get to your We'll let you get to your practice. But man,
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we truly appreciate siated coach, you coming on, taking the time, especially
26:10
when this game is on such a high note, we just feel like we
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have we have to try to pay as much attention to it and give give
26:17
the props where they're due. Well, guys, I appreciate you giving us
26:22
the props. I appreciate you having me on when I got the text message
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to come on and say yeah, I'll be on, and I appreciate that
26:30
coach months ago. And then I said, well, I can't do that
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one and not do this one. So now you know, whenever somebody called
26:37
me for a podcast for an interview, I try my best to give it
26:41
because I know women's basketball is evolving, it's getting better, it's gonna get
26:47
better. So just giving them the opportunity to talk to me and talk to
26:51
and me express what I feel and what I think. I appreciate you guys,
26:55
and I think it's important that we give everybody a history of the game.
26:57
And we gotta give everybody the legends of the game. Who preceded the
27:02
Cleveland Clarks in the Shatown Barbie. So we got to make sure that you
27:07
know, we do everybody do their history and get to know those players who
27:10
was you know, revolutionary and part of the genesis of women's basketball. Yeah,
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I appreciate it, guys. And anytime you want to call me,
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we can talk about other stuff. Training. I would love to do it.
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So you just give me a buzz and I'll hold you to that one,
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especially with the training for women, and yeah, I will hold you
27:27
to that one. All righty, you take care, all right, thank
27:32
you so much. Huh, thank you. All right, ladies and gentlemen,
27:36
take a quick break and we'll be right back. Follow us on Facebook
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28:11
Let's Talk with Carl Lee. Now back to the conversation. All right,
28:15
ladies and gentlemen. Uh Man Hollis Lewis, we're back, and if you've
28:22
caught the first half of the show, you you I'll make the case that
28:29
you probably learned a little bit of a little bit of something. Hollis It
28:34
it amazes me that we've had those type of athletes with those kind of merits,
28:48
Yes, big time merits. Like you know, if you know,
28:52
if somebody says they they've been you know, two time pro bowler, da
28:56
da da da da da, You're like, oh gosh, that's a big
29:00
deal. That's as huge as a big deal. Yeah, that's that's that's
29:07
an individual who has put herself above the majority of And you can say,
29:14
well, what about the other people that they might not be? No,
29:17
you can't. You don't get to measure that. You don't get mess.
29:21
Yes, I don't even know where that comes from. But just to have
29:25
just just to hear her talk about and you can tell that she's very comfortable
29:30
in talking about her her success and because of her work epic you know.
29:36
And I think when someone has put in that type of work and it's currently
29:41
and I mean, come on, you coaching two places and we know how
29:45
difficult collegiate coaching, Oh my gosh, you know, and you and and
29:48
so, you spending all your time for these youth, these young athletes,
29:53
men and women, You putting in time, your time for them. In
30:00
to me, this is where the WNBA is going to prove itself has competent
30:06
leadership. I'm not talking about the players now. What I am talking about
30:10
is the execs, administrative presidents and so on. Is that what they need
30:15
to do, or at least in my view, not only do they need
30:18
a highlight and push as far as the Kaitlin Clarks and the Angelicus and everybody
30:25
else's coming out this great, awesome class that came out, they need to
30:30
also make sure that we are educated on the history of the WNBA and getting
30:37
those players who aren't as well known because I didn't necessarily know about Coach Stinson,
30:41
but looking at her stats, I mean, you're talking about Olympian.
30:45
They're talking about somebody who was an All Pro, who was an All Star,
30:48
who was playing in overseas, who has her number retired with the Charlotte
30:53
Sting. This is a great party. Borderline almost or maybe even is a
31:00
Hall of Fame player in the first class of the w n b A.
31:03
This is pure greatness. We were talking to and my and and and and
31:07
that's a that's such a valid point because if you don't go back and do
31:11
the research to find out who are the groundbreakers ground these these are the Jim
31:18
Browns, and those are that and here when they're here right here, right
31:25
here, and and and and we can act like we don't we're ignoring them
31:29
because we do have these new, great young players moving up. But at
31:33
some point this this isn't the start. This is not the start. It
31:38
is not the start. This is and I think that's what's getting lost.
31:42
But I think that that's a great point, coach. This isn't the start.
31:47
This is kind of like your second third generation. This is just like
31:49
the taking off point. They had a whole runway in which they were running
31:52
run around and running run around. Now it's kind of taking off. They
31:56
they they've been doing that test market for years. Yeah. Yeah, you
32:02
know, shooting threes scored or maybe not even shooting threes, but scoring twenty
32:07
points, big deal. You know, you scored twenty points. That's a
32:12
big deal. Now we're somewhere where twenty points for Caitlin ain't nothing. Might
32:19
be an off game, Yeah, it might be an off day, and
32:22
so we're looking at we're looking at where it's gotten two, and we're not
32:28
looking where did it come from? Where did it come from? Who got
32:30
us here? Yeah, and that's so important, it's so important. And
32:35
again I think the NBA in the NFL does a great great job with that.
32:39
I mean when I was young, coming up in the early excuse me,
32:43
early nineties, late eighties, and I started to watch football. What
32:45
do we have NFL films? So you're seeing, you know, the Jim
32:49
Browns, You're seeing the Male Blunt, You're seeing those greatness from the seventies
32:53
and sixties, and you start to educate yourself not only about those players,
32:58
but the evolution of the game. And I think this is the w NBA
33:01
chance because when we talk about pay again, you can't necessarily squeeze blood out
33:06
of a turn up. And if your league isn't making money, then there's
33:08
no money to get to pay. However, I think this is the opportunity
33:14
to monopolize not only on ticket sales but merchandise, and to monopolize on the
33:19
history of the game. So they have a lot of potential income revenues to
33:24
draw from and the process. Think about this all right, I'm a kid.
33:29
I'm a Browns fan. My dad's a football fan. I become a
33:35
football fan. Want to play, want to play, blah blah blah blah.
33:38
And so we're growing up watching that. So I'm in high school,
33:45
I'm still watching and listening and learning that player, that player, that player.
33:52
Then by the time you get there, you still looking at this player,
33:57
that player. Yeah, you know all the guys, the and and
34:00
the biggest. The greatest moment was to the greatest. The greatest moments is
34:08
like when gods like Carl Eller show up at a practice and you get a
34:15
chance to say, you know, hey girl, how you doing man?
34:19
You know, Alan pay Hey, Alan pay how you doing man? Like
34:22
I'm a kid, Like I'm like like I'm looking at them like I was
34:27
twelve. Merrill Hodges, he's a commentator and former Steels player. He had
34:31
a great story about Walter Payton. He kind of in that same vein where
34:35
he grew up studying and idolizing this guy, and now you know he's on
34:38
a professional level when you get to see him. So I think that,
34:42
you know, I think the same the w n B A. I think
34:45
has to create, has to create that and they have to take advantage of
34:49
it. Yes, And I think that's how you start to get the stream
34:51
because now it becomes to your point, it becomes a generational thing. When
34:54
you're watching football. We started watching with our dads and our uncles and our
34:59
big brother. You know, it became a family and a generational thing as
35:02
opposed to kind of just a one off. And I think if they don't
35:07
think long term, and that means thinking in the future, but also pulling
35:09
the pass up, they're going to be doing their selves a disservice. Yeah,
35:13
because now you can, you can create video you know of the older
35:19
game of the w n B A and and even I'd even be willing to
35:22
even pull games from overseas because some of those people, because of some of
35:28
their primes, was overseas. Some of their primes was there some of the
35:31
times. Some of them didn't make that transition and may have played the whole
35:36
time. But we need to a good point. We need to know those
35:38
names. And in addition, like I said, I think you are like
35:42
during like All Star weekend again, the NBA does a great job pulling you
35:45
know, the magics and those those old markets and the guys are sort of
35:50
out of retirement now to just participate in some of those shoots rounds, in
35:52
those different little games. And I think that the WNA could do something similar
35:58
where now you're just pulling all these generations is in and just really making it
36:00
where it's you're just seeing the evolution of the game. Because I think to
36:05
her point as a I've never heard I've never heard of a college coach and
36:09
again maybe I just don't know, but coaching two teams, I've never heard
36:14
any class at a graduate level of full time. Bruh. Come on,
36:20
I mean, anybody, no way, anybody who's ever played college ball coach
36:27
college ball. I don't care what the sport is. I don't care what
36:30
the sport is. You realize how how much time that a coach spends in
36:35
that building. Yeah, and you're doing it, You're doing double time.
36:39
That's like coaching football soccer at the same time. Like I've coached one year
36:45
collegiate football and I played obviously played collegiate football, and it's the time in
36:49
addition to going to class, ain't nowhere. It's versally impossible for me.
36:54
It is, I mean, and you can hear her tone of voice,
36:58
passion and loving it, and I was just I think it was just blessed
37:02
just to have I really enjoyed that interview. And I think, you know
37:06
what I'm saying, I hope we could do more like that. Yeah,
37:07
I think, you know, I think Andrew, she she brought some some
37:12
some real truth and and what was what was it to me? What was
37:16
it? Even better? Well, she brought her confidence and her role in
37:25
the w n b A and women's basketball, like she she knows that she
37:31
is part of that. Yeah, I like that that journey, you know.
37:36
And I think I think I think when men do that, we do
37:43
it the wrong way, you know, because we're all about us, you
37:45
know, and and it comes across all about us, right. The way
37:51
she talked, she was confident about what she knows, what she's done,
37:58
but it but it it comes to when it comes out, it comes out
38:04
in a way that it is important for the game that she knows she's a
38:09
she's a link in the game, but the game still is bigger, and
38:16
she's just proud, super proud of being part of that that foundation of where
38:25
the game is now that you could you could we didn't have visuals, We
38:31
just zoom, but we didn't have visuals necessarily so but you can feel that
38:35
oozing through so your headphones. And I just like I said, I like
38:38
where women's sports is going, I think And to her point, you know,
38:44
all they do, they do play half the games. I think that's
38:45
a good thing. Like I'm gonna make a concerted effort. You know,
38:49
I'm gonna watch a w NBA this season, Like I'm gonna watch as as
38:52
much as games as I can watch, just to you know. I watched
38:57
obviously, I watch a lot of women's college basketball over the last probably five
39:00
years, but I never have watched w NBA consistently. So I'm gonna make
39:05
a considered effort to watch it and really see how the game is gonna go.
39:07
And to the number of games, I think it's a good thing.
39:10
The NBA eighty two it's too much. Yes, it's terrible. You can't.
39:15
You can't when you when you play sixteen games of football and then they're
39:20
trying to add eighteen. They're trying to add it to take the eighteen.
39:22
That's cool. Yeah, that's crazy because you can't. You can't be up
39:27
for all sixteen games. You don't think so, No, no, everybody,
39:31
everybody in it. Everybody realizes that there is that there's that down game,
39:37
you know, that game that you just ain't gonna be up. No,
39:38
no, hold up, Now when you say that, is that just
39:42
like something like attrition happens or is that something you're saying like you have to
39:45
almost give yourself like a mental break for this for this week. You don't
39:50
take. You don't take the break. You still practice. Break. The
39:53
break takes you, break takes you get you get out the and you like,
40:00
you know, what's like, what's going on? I ain't come on?
40:06
Come on? What week was that for you? Normally, if if
40:08
you can, it's it's usually gonna be somewhere between between right at eight seven
40:15
eight game or somewhere around ten eleven. Now, now, is this and
40:22
if you're out now predicated on that it's not necessary to continue. It's not
40:28
predicated on whether or not you're gonna get to the playoffs. If you locked
40:30
into the playoffs and you at week twelve, there ain't no there's no guarantee
40:36
that you're gonna show up every game like you could. You just can't mentally
40:40
get to the height of the game. You have to you're playing on strictly
40:46
ability, okay, at some point, at some point, and and and
40:51
nothing's wrong with the building with you playing on your ability because it's there,
40:54
it fits you know, you can compete. Therefore, that's what it's there
40:58
for. But there's that there's that extra drive that you have. Okay,
41:05
Like you get San Francisco coming in there, are you you up front conference
41:09
games all that? Yes, No, you ain't never gonna be down on
41:14
that. And you can't even claim to be down because you got torch for
41:17
three touchdowns and all that kind of stuff. You can't even use that.
41:22
But you turn around and you get a team that that that and it's not
41:24
predicated on the team. It does. It just it just shows up.
41:29
It just shows up, and you just just don't. You just don't have
41:32
it, and you put and you're pushing and you're trying. So I wonder
41:37
what the modern like just taking it back to basketball, like, if you're
41:40
playing eighty two games as an NBA player, like, how many games do
41:45
you experience like that, particularly when you've had back to backs, when you've
41:47
had you know, three or four games in the week, like back and
41:52
forth. Think about these guys who have injuries, okay, and use this
41:58
and use this the star guys, right, So all of a sudden you
42:01
hear they're out today, you know, or they've been they're out this week,
42:07
you know, so they missed. They may miss two or three games
42:08
that week. Now, in most cases, they don't have to be hurt,
42:16
you know, or injured. There's a difference in being hurting in okay,
42:21
So they could be hurt and just decide okay, I don't I don't.
42:25
I don't think I can go today, and they're not gonna go because
42:30
they're playing eighty games. But you got to get to you mentally, physically,
42:36
you you you prepared for that. Mentally, you understand what it is
42:42
because you've done it before many many times before. You didn't done eighty,
42:45
you didn't done one hundred, you know with playoffs and all that. So
42:49
you get it. But there's there is those moments, you know when when
42:53
when when they start talking about STEP's not on today. You know, that's
42:57
those days. Because I wanted just thinking back, like looking at like the
43:00
Michael Jordan documentaries, different things like that, I wonder was the cigars,
43:06
the golf, the kind of the lifestyle, was that part of sort of
43:10
just taking your mind off of it for a while, or you know,
43:15
providing some sort of escape, so let your mind go here and then it
43:20
can sort of recalibrate and come back to the game. You know what I
43:23
mean. I wonder was that a part of his mentality? You know what
43:27
I mean? I would I would think that most most of those type of
43:30
guys have to they have to sort of mentally get away because they you know,
43:37
they're they're never free, you know, somebody like me. You know,
43:39
it's just it's it's it's that attention is locked into a box. It's
43:45
a it's just a small box of people that I'm going to be around,
43:50
you know, for them, everybody everybody anywhere, anywhere and everywhere. So
43:58
you you there, there has to be a time and a place where you
44:02
have just you. Yeah, you got to have just you and you don't
44:07
even want the hoopline of the fans. You don't even want to be even
44:13
affected. And to me, thinking about sixteen games with the max maybe of
44:17
twenty some games, I'll make the case I can't even understand basketball. I
44:23
would I would agree with that because I can't imagine being in that fan base
44:29
because if you have if you have forty home games and you're a player,
44:35
you don't have to be the star player. You're a player. You still
44:37
have got you got to deal with those fans every moment of your day.
44:43
And with football, we're disconnected, so to speak, from kind of everybody
44:45
basketball, you're just right right there, like you're you know, they're they're
44:50
right over you, you know. And I can't even imagine what it's like
44:54
when you walk out of the out of the coliseum, because you know,
44:59
people like they tell people wait on you outside. They know, and they
45:05
know where you come in and where you go out, and so you you
45:07
can't even get freedom after the game. And again for a lot of those
45:14
they can't eat where you go eat. We used to hang out after,
45:17
you know, we go somewhere and eat, you know, we we wouldn't
45:21
have like you know, people might know you when you come in, but
45:24
you steph Curry. Now, how do you how do you grab the family
45:29
and go to Applebee's and go grab something? You got to either take it
45:32
to go and buy the restaurant out. Yeah, about two hours. Yeah,
45:37
cause there ain't no way people gonna let you sit there and eat.
45:39
Yeah, that's true. I didn't think about it like that, you know,
45:43
and it's and it's and it's it's it's just it's crazy, you know,
45:45
it's just crazy that you know that kind of that kind of I don't
45:53
know if I want to call as a fan or that kind of re action.
46:00
Two players you gotta have it, yeah, And I think the problem
46:07
is is you gotta have it. You want it, you're playing for it.
46:09
But when you get it, it's hard to deal with. It's hard
46:13
to deal And I think that's what the w n BA they gotta shoe for
46:15
because it's gonna be bigger than just basketball. It's going to be the merchandise,
46:20
and it's going to be the marketing. It's going to be you know,
46:22
the shows in and around the game. So it's gonna be I think
46:25
these are the things that unfortunately they're gonna have to get to well to make
46:30
that money. And and the top you know, you start to talk about
46:32
start talking about Caitlyn, you know, like Rush, She's gonna be one
46:37
of the top players, whether it be Jerseys, whether it be shoes.
46:42
Yeah. Yeah, and can deal too. I think, right, did
46:45
she get the Kobe That's what she was wearing at college. I don't know
46:49
if like she's gonna be like a Kobe athlete, right, but I know
46:52
she signed with Night probably probably, And again, who if I bought a
46:58
pair? What am I wanting to? What am I gonna do? And
47:00
I know she's coming this way, I'm gonna try to get her to sign
47:02
note you know what I'm saying and everything that you want, I mean,
47:07
because she's gonna be you know, I mean the first NBA game that she
47:13
plays in, it's gonna be crazy. I want to watch it. Absolutely.
47:19
Yeah, I'm watching w n b A this year. I like,
47:22
I said, I like it, and I'm going to even I think I'm
47:28
gonna enjoy it even more now that I had a chance to see the collegiate
47:31
and seeing those girls, and I think ladies transition. And I think that's
47:36
the thing, coach. I think now we get to like the same thing
47:38
with our favorite college football players and get to see and I think that's what
47:42
makes college football so great because we get to see that transition. And I
47:46
think that's the same thing that makes is going to make the wn be a
47:51
great you know, as long as we keep our eyes on that collegiate and
47:53
professional game, right, And and I'm gonna close on this one and see
47:59
what you think about it. And this is someone off the subject, but
48:02
I was. I had a conversation earlier today and we were talking about the
48:06
number of first round quarterbacks that have been taken that have been a bust.
48:16
What is the what is what is the consequences? I know what they are,
48:22
but what are the consequences to making that bad pick? Like like football,
48:29
football, football? So your consequences is just it's it's I think it's
48:34
It really depends on kind of what you have lined up for the next several
48:37
years. For example, if you have some first round picks this year,
48:40
since they got two or three, maybe and then you maybe got two or
48:44
three in the following year, that maybe not so much or in the next
48:46
couple of years. But I think if you're in a situation what you willed
48:51
and deal and you've sort of banked your future on that first round pick has
48:55
a poll in giving up picks in the future, then that kid really really
49:00
damage you, know, your your team and your ability to build that team.
49:06
Because if I'm mortgaging my future on a quarterback or a high level top
49:09
player. Then that means I have less money to spend other places. See
49:14
that you're talking about hershel Walker. Kind of a situation. You know,
49:17
we we not we, but the general manager put On invested in this one
49:22
player thinking he would settle, he would be the key component that we needed
49:27
to get to the next level. But you took five starters off of our
49:30
defense. And the thing is and what we've seen, for example, in
49:36
that Patriot way sort of that that that philosophy that I'm gonna just trade picks
49:43
to get more picks. That works if you got a Tom Brady. Yes,
49:47
right, So it's kind of like a double edged sword. Right,
49:50
So if I don't have the guy, then even if I acquire all these
49:53
picks, if I don't have a Mahomes, if I don't have a Tom
49:57
Brady, if I don't have a you know, a Joe, then it
50:00
ain't gonna work any it ain't gonna work. So it's like you kind of
50:05
darn if you do darning, if you don't, you know what I mean?
50:07
All Right, ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna get out of here.
50:10
We might be just a tad bit earlier. I think I'm getting out today.
50:14
But hope you enjoyed the show and we'll be back at you again too.
50:17
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