Good Follow - Dearica Hamby joins the Show, Rose BC Wins Unrivaled + A Bracket Breakdown w/ The Underdogs & More

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What's up, everyone? Welcome to Good Follow, presented by DraftKings.

I'm Roz Goldor-Muday. She is Logan Hackett.
And we are so excited today because we reunited in person in Miami. Actually we're in Miami because, woo! I'm so excited! We went to the Unrivaled playoffs and championship.
We brought this from the ground, the streamers from the championship game of Unrivaled. And we went together, we did shooting contests, photo shoots.
Like, what did you think Logan coming out here? Amazing. I absolutely loved it.
The whole fan fest was so much fun. I showed them how I did a basketball.
Yeah, I mean, made it in. I did after a few 10, 20 tries.
All she had to do was bend her knees folks, but you made it in i i did after a few 10 20 tries all she had to do was bend her knees folks but you made it in so did team rose we you know they won the championship but it was so cool i know that was your first time at unrivaled and it was really cool to do the playoffs and championship together um we'll always have these streamers girl i love when we're in person right i love that logan and ross do miami but you know what guys we've got an awesome show for you today um today's show we have d'erica hamby joining the show she's a wonderful guest um she has her daughter amaya with us and she's going to represent team vinyl and the la sparks her vinyl fell short in the championship game but guess what we also have an exclusive interview with Azaree Stevens. Make sure you go find that.

We drop that exclusively for you to watch.

And she talks about the championship journey

for Team Rose at Unrivaled.

And guys, guess what?

The NCAA bracket is set for the tournament

for March Madness.

So we've got an analytical breakdown.

We brought in the underdogs

who are going to break down upsets and Cinderella's

and like really take a deep dive

at thinking about what this bracket could look like

Thank you. So we've got an analytical breakdown.
We brought in the underdogs who are going to break down upsets and Cinderella's and like really take a deep dive at thinking about what this bracket could look like and who's going to bust it. Oh, Natasha Cloud joins the Liberty.
It's getting cloudy. It's getting cloudy in New York.
And Issa Rae and Asia Wilson. Now that is the power link up that we love to see.
Love it. Love to see.
And as always, y'all, we love love you so much we appreciate y'all so much and make sure to like comment and subscribe i feel like one of those youtubers

saying that subscribe click the bell click the button like notify but seriously please do yes tell all your friends about us go to work and just ramp please no but we drop every single wednesday at 7 p.m eastern time and we'll be waiting for you so please come and watch us the bell the bell is here logan is here in person we we've got pom-coms we've got confetti we've got y'all we're ready to go we are absolutely ready and i'm ready for march madness literally cannot wait it is one of the most exciting times of the year, other than Christmas for some people. But the bracket was set and there was some controversy.
I feel like these days we can't do much without having some controversy. UCLA, Texas, USC and South Carolina were named as number one seeds.
And UCLA is getting this for the first time. Great accomplishment for them.
Yeah. Though some coaches had some things to say.

Let's take a look.

I'm a little bit of a surprise because we manufacture our schedule to put ourselves in a position to be the number one overall seed.

And I do think if you do, you know, the blind test and you put our resume against any other team in the field, I think you'll pick us. I never thought I'd be a one seed and feel disrespected, but I thought the committee, I just, I thought there would be very little chance we would be the number four overall number one.
Sometimes I don't understand people who make decisions in women's basketball and why they do what they do, and certainly with this committee, I would love to ask some questions. You know what? That's crazy.
You know, and I feel I feel both coaches and especially for Coach Gottlieb, like I at least understand why she doesn't love her number one seed, because in her bracket, you know, that's so hard. They got the number two seed at UConn.
Yeah. Right.
And and, you know, this is a UConn team that is healthy, that is in rhythm, that has won 10 straight. And yeah, like USC beat UConn earlier in the season, but this UConn team looks completely different.
Actually, that loss may end up being something that they can hold on to to motivate them. if everything works out where both of those teams don't get upset

if they end up meeting

in the Elite Eight

and don't forget

there's the added motivation

and urgency

this is a UConn team

that loves each other, and they want to do this for their upperclassmen. They want to send them out with the championship.
It's been elusive for this group of UConn upperclassmen. So I think that's tough for USC, but also for fans, right? Because what's definitely coming out of this bracket is that the final four will definitely either not have Juju Watkins, or it may not have Paige Beckers, who are two of the best players in the country.
And it's possible they could both get upset. It could be possible that we have none of them, neither, in the final four.
So this is part of. Yeah, I was, when I saw Dawn Staley's comments, I immediately went to do my little notes or not even notes, but like analytics on all the schedules.
And I actually have some interesting takeaways that I think validates what she was saying. South Carolina played 15 ranked games.
Two of them came in the conference tournament. Their losses were to UConn, Texas, ucla the lowest ranked team they played was tennessee at 18 but the average ranking of the ranked teams was 9.1 yeah whereas you look at usc the average ranking of their 11 ranked games was 11.2 texas 9.9 which hot take i don't think texas should get a number one seed wow yeah i mean that but that that was the argument being made by coach daily is that she said well the next year we won't schedule that way yeah you know because she thought she should have been rewarded for that scheduling yeah and honestly i agree with her yeah but we do have to move on to unraveled which yesterday we had such a fun night attending and we saw the rose lift the trophy oh where's my thing congratulations team? Congratulations, Team Rose.
It was interesting though, because if you don't know Unrivaled, the fourth quarter is determined by a winning score. And this winning score was reached with a free throw.
Yeah, it was almost ironic because I feel like everybody's complained all season that games shouldn't end with a free throw. And then the little championship game ends with a free throw with Team Rose.
But they're the historic first ever champions. And, you know, for all their talk that, you know, certain media pundits and lists pick them to be last.
Do you know who picked them to be first and win the chip? Was it you? Girl, yes, it was me. Yes, it's my eyes though? It was me.
I picked the Rose on this show, our first preseason show before Unrivaled started for the Rose to win it. Look at you.
Look at me. It's like you're a pro or something.
You know what? I'm not so much of a genius. It's really just that Chelsea Gray and her team are such bad asses.
You know what? At one point, she got hot. She was shooting from three and i was like no way this is going to be insane the winning score is going to be met with a chelsea gray three 62 was the number i was so excited for it and it didn't happen but go on about chelsea gray no but i'm saying though like she absolutely though when it comes to winning time whether it was the championship game or the semi-final it was chelsea gray after bucket or assist.
I mean, the semifinal game where she dropped 39 was insane. And after that game, her jersey, I believe her jersey is the only one that sold out at Unrivaled.
Like it just, after the semifinal game, it was gone. And so, I mean, it's between her ability to step back, to be clutch, to come at you in a flurry, to make her teammates better.
Some of those dimes, those passes she's throwing are works of art. And ultimately, what it tells me, Chelsea's healthy.
She's rejuvenated. She's playing with joy.
She's talking her mess. And actually, I'm like, yo, aces, baby.
Aces are back, baby. As long as they stay healthy.
I'm telling'all? The new look, Aces? Because Chelsea's doing her thing thing.

I also want to shout out one more player, Azaree Stephens.

Azaree was incredible in a championship game.

Her 19 points and 18 rebounds were huge,

especially with Angel Reese out.

Shout out Defensive Player of the Year for Unrivaled.

But with her out, everything that Azaree Stephens gave that team was so needed.

And I think they shaved her on a couple of blocks that she had i think they don't they didn't give her her full credit but she was just a force so shout out to azure stevens who also did her thing in the one-on-one tournament so she had a really great unrivaled and i want to backtrack just a tiny bit quickly because you were at the semi-finals and the whole year it was lunar hours what do you know everything and they got upset what was that like um i you know first shout out to the lunar owls yeah like they set the standard for the entire season for unrivaled so much so that when they were in a situation in a one and done situation in the semi-final game and team vinyl the fourth seed you know that it it was such a big deal that they got upset, that there was so much raw emotion on the court when Team Vinyl beat the Lunar Owls because the Owls were that great. So it made the defeat that much more.
It was pandemonium. That semifinal night of those two games were the most lit, was the most lit night of unrivaled play between the celebrities on the floor, between Chelsea Gray going for 39 in one game in the next game.
You know, the Owls getting knocked down. Down goes the Owls.
I want to shout out a couple of people. Teresa Weatherspoon, Coach Spoon.
This is the type of thing that happens when Spoon is your coach. And her players, after the game multiple, said it was Spoon who was telling us, stay with it.
Keep believing y'all got this because they were down 10 heading into the fourth. Shout out D'Erika Hamby with a tough game-winning bucket going through the chest and the bump of the reigning defensive player of the year and the unrivaled MVP, great job, in Nafisa Collier.
That was a tough bucket where she had to change directions, take the contact and step through and finish with all the pressure in the

world.

She did that.

Want to shout out our girl,

Jordan Canada.

She came on the show.

10 of her 21 points were in the fourth quarter.

Jordan was so clutch and Ryan Howard,

who we know to be a bucket.

Guess what?

In the,

in the playoffs,

she was great defensively blocking so many shots locked in Ryan.

Take that,

take that with you to Atlanta because you are just as good defensively as you are offensively so both sides of the court real quick if you had to use one word to describe the first season of Unrivaled and everything is done for women's basketball oh gosh this might be really hard to think about that whole sentence what would it be um success yeah Unrivaled was a success I feel on so many levels like it showcased that an investment in women's sports and women's basketball from salaries to facilities to making the players partners via equity that that would work it showcased that storylines rivalries trash talk like it's good for the game you you know, and and the one on one tournament was a hit. It was a rating splash for the league and it ended up being talked about through the men's all star weekend and beyond social media content.
I think Unrivaled always knew that part of their job this season was to story tell. Yeah.
And that's not always the way leagues think.

And like, here's a way we,

they really focused on giving us the players

and we just wanted more.

We just wanted to consume more.

And then meaningful brand partnerships,

like what they did with the Sephora,

like walk-in tunnel,

the level of fits that we got

and the moment it became.

So more than just taking a brand's money

or saying, oh, you do the NBA.

Can you also do the W? No, having like really intentional partnerships where you can bring out the best in each other. I thought the broadcast coverage was great.
I mean- You were great. Thank you.
I'm not even just talking about me. I mean, they had like Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, Renee Montgomery, from the studio to the game broadcast.
It was really well covered. And ultimately, I had to make a list for this, but ultimately this was about the players.
This was about the product, the games. It was awesome.
And the big takeaway was Unrivaled. I'll give you another word.
Was fun. It was so fun.
Eight weeks and it was fun. So you know what great job unrivaled well y'all coming up we're looking at the march madness bracket from a bit of a different lens we have peter keating and jordan brenner the host of the underdog show coming on and I'm very excited to see what they have to say.
So we'll be right back. Welcome back to Good Follow.
March Madness is here. And today we are joined by two experts in brackets and upsets and cinderellas oh my we have the host of the underdogs here peter keating and jordan brenner what's up guys thank you so much for joining the show how's it going thanks for having us yeah we're psyched to be here all right for those who may not know who you are and what you do can you just kind of give a rundown sure peter and i uh like long walks on the beach um cocktails but no peter and i have been working together somehow since our days at espn um i'm not sure how long how he's put up with me for 20 years, but it's going on.
So we pioneered something called Giant Killers at ESPN, which looks for upsets in the NCAA tournament. We did it on the men's side for years and years.
Now we're hosting the Underdogs podcast. We write for The Athletic.
It's called Bracket Breakers, and we've expanded our our analytics based look at upsets in the tournament to the women's side we love that that's a very like that's a way to look at the game and the woman's game that we would love to hear more from you know there's breaking down what's happening on the court there's the story lines that's getting to know personalities but i think women's basketball could always use even more nitty gritty and like analytics ways to look at the game, guys. Yeah, because what you're left with when you don't have good data is a lot of hot takes and personality based coverage.
And it's great to get to know the athletes and the coaches as people. It's important.
But it's also very easy when you don't have any numbers or any analytics or any evidence for what you're saying, basically, to just offer up a bunch of opinions which might be true or might not be true. Like every time around this year, around this time every year, we hear simultaneously from people who say, wow, this team is so young and brash and inexperienced.
They don't know enough to be afraid. And then at the same time, people on the same TV set are saying, wow, this team has senior leadership.
It's so important to

have experience. And you're like, well, which one is true? And how do we know? And there's a million

things like that. And there's no good excuse anymore, given the audience, given the interest,

given the talent that's flowing into the game to have women's sports analytics lagging as far as

they currently do behind their male counterparts. Right.
Yeah. And you're just providing more tools

I don't think there's just hot takes. And I think numbers can't just stand alone either.
I think it all comes together in a pot. So Logan, let's get into this tournament bracket.
Yeah, I cannot wait to hear y'all's takes, but I want to start with the Spokane one region. You have UCLA as the number one top seed.
It was their first time getting that overall number one, and they're actually going for their first ever final four appearance, which I don't know why I thought that they've been in the final four before, but just on paper, their side or their region does look quite easy. If there were to be a challenge, where do you think that would happen? Well, I'll tell you one team that's sort of off the radar and could lose in the first round.
But like our model likes them a lot better than their seed. So if you're looking for a deep, deep sleeper in that region, try Michigan State.
OK, we actually have them as a better overall team than NC State, the two seed. And if that's not enough, they force turnovers on a quarter of opponents' possessions.
That's really, really, really high. And one thing we've learned over the years is that anything teams, underdogs do to force extra possessions really, really helps them.
Because think about it. Everyone, unless you're just crazy good and lucky, everyone's going to have a cold shooting night at some point, right? And in a seven-game series in the NBA, okay, you move on to the next game.
In the NCAA tournament, you're done. So you need something to protect you against cold shooting.
The two biggest things typically, offensive rebounding, because if you're going to miss a lot of shots, go get the ball back, And forcing turnovers, limiting the other team's possession, giving yourself extra ones. So Michigan State would be a deep sleeper.
But Peter, who else coming out of the region do you like? Well, I just want to say the great thing about that, about getting extra possessions, is there's a lot of work involved. And you can rebuild a team or build a team up, make it better, really quickly by focusing on players who are relentless at crashing the boards and working to get turnovers.
So you see a lot of what we call giant killers emerge by focusing on these these effort-based you know tactics that really help you build extra possessions and and survive not being as good a shooting team as your opponent. I just want to say I you know everybody has their complaints about who should have gotten number ones and who should have been seated higher.
Nobody remembers remembers that if you're going to see somebody higher, you kind of need to see somebody lower or say somebody that should have been seeded lower. Well, here you go.
I love North Carolina State's story from last season, but there's no way they should be a two seed. You can name a half a dozen teams off the top of your head probably that are better, including the number three seed here, LSU, who I think has, you know, I mean, there's nobody tougher.
And they've got a great, you know, maybe the great best three-player combination in the country. They're obviously going to be a real threat to UCLA.
It pains me to say Michigan State, like Jordan did, because, you know, in the first round they faced Harvard, and Harmony Turner is one of my favorite players in the whole country. And they were a lot of fun to watch.
And they finally, after narrow losses, narrow misses in the Ivies the last couple of years, finally made the tournament. So I was all set to go somewhere and pronounce that Harvard was going to be a great giant killer.
But they're going to run into Michigan State, and I like that pick a lot. He's being modest, by the way.
That's his alma mater. Oh, wait, which one?

Harvard or Michigan State? Harvard. Dang.
You know, my alma mater, Stanford, missed the tournament for the first time in like 36, 37 years. So I'm 18.
Wait, wait. Are you saying that to give us the chance to bring up the greatest giant killing story of all time, of all history? We know.
We know. When people say Virginia was the first number one to lose, they just made it in the men's game.
Back in the 90s, number one Stanford lost in the women's tournament to number 16 Harvard.

First 16 win ever in a 64-year tournament.

We know.

We know.

Also, but respect and shout-out to Allison Feaster,

who was on that team and made that happen.

And perhaps Harmony Turner on this year's Harvard team could be a special player to lead them into that upset over Michigan State. And it could be revenge of the nerds season all over.
We need the nerds to make some moves. But guys, let's move to the Birmingham 2 region, the Gamecocks.
They're trying to run it back to back for the chip. There are some key contenders in this region, including the 2-seed the three seed North Carolina.
What do teams have to do to try and stop South Carolina? Who, by the way, was one of the teams that was not happy with their one seed. It was like the only person who was happy with their seeding was Corey Close with the number one overall seed for UCLA.
Before we get to the upsets, I just want to point out when South Carolina absolutely got smoked by UConn in February, and I saw that game and I was like, it was the first time I ever saw a Don Staley team look a step slow or out of it. And that was kind of alarming.
And I was like, it's either going to go one of two ways, right? Either they are a step slow and it's just not their year, or I feel sorry for who they're going to play next. Okay, since then, they beat Arkansas.
They crushed Vanderbilt, one of my personal favorite giant killing possibilities, twice. They torched Ole Miss and then they beat number 15, Kentucky, by 14 points, number 10, Oklahoma, by 23 points, and oh, and I know then Texas by 22 so they're a truck rolling downhill and so we can pick some just some upset possibilities but you know there they've moved very close if not at the top of our leaderboard in our spreadsheets and they're they're gonna be extremely tough out there more than 13 points per 100 possessions better than anyone else in their region it's just it's crazy if you're looking for an upset though peter what do you think west virginia over carolina in the second round there's a great second round yeah a great second round possibility i want to throw out one crazy first round thing though every now and then we see see a kind of a single player have a big impact.
So there's a player named Diamond Johnson who's one of the very top players in steals in the whole country. And by herself, basically, she's elevated their ball hawking and their thievery.
They just seize all these possessions from their opponents. They're a crazy pick, but if you watch them, you'll watch them irritate the heck out of a better team.
And they're an off-the-wall pick, basically because of her. Their turnover rate is very high.
And I'll just say, because I know we've probably got to move on to another region real quick. Remember what we said about Michigan State and NC State? It's even more pronounced with West Virginia and Carolina.
West Virginia, again, higher rating in our system and they lead the country in forcing turnovers. So it's like a, if you, if you like that theory for the two, seven game in the other region, you got to love it for the six, three in this region, 30 seconds or less.
What is the system you keep referring to? Like what model are you putting all this through? Peter, you want to do the 30 seconds? 25 seconds. We take every team's results and we adjust them by the strength of their opponents and their margins of victory we create a power ratings and then we adjust that by the characteristics that help teams pull upsets in past tournaments and i'd love to know how to do this myself but we've got a team of firman math professors behind the yeah the day oh wow okay this is legit legit yeah well i'm not an expert but just looking at this bracket i feel like the most chaos and or potential upsets could come from the birmingham three region in the number one spot you have texas and then tcu on an incredible run with experienced players is in art in number two and then you have notre dame in that three spot with their trio of guards but they haven't really been doing great lately.
So if there were to be a Cinderella story, do you think it would come from this region? Well, I mentioned Norfolk State with their one player driving an incredible turnover rate. This is another off-the-wall deep dog, but out in Montana, at Montana State, there's a freshman point guard named Taley Cherick, who is, I think, if she's not leading the country in steel percentage, it's only because she hasn't been playing enough minutes because she had to grow into the role because she's a freshman.
That's a really interesting, crazy giant. The analytics love Montana State.
I don't know if that's a famous enough team to pick, but that's kind of a cool off-the-wall pick in this region. Sure.
And I think you're right. If you're going to have a region where it's not a one or a two seed, this is your region.
So, I mean, I don't know that we can really consider Notre Dame a Cinderella, but they certainly, first of all, we all know they have the upside. Yeah.
To battle with anyone if they get it going. They had a slow finish to the season.
So they've got to, they're in a one and done situation. So they've got to turn it around fast.
Guys, we've got one more region to look at. I'm going to take you to the Spokane 4 region.
USC earned a number one seed there. Guess what? Coach Gottlieb did not like her number one seed.
Why? Because in that bracket at a two seed is UConn and yeah yeah right right and and you know if they don't get upset they could meet in the elite eight um and it could be a matchup between Juju Watkins and her squad and Paige Beckers and her squad if that ends up holding true without an upset like who has the edge here I mean our our model thinks thinks UConn is significantly better than USC. I think Peter and I both would take UConn to win the national championship at this point.
Peter, you agree? Yeah, look, last year, what were the criticisms of UConn? They were injured, and they didn't have their best lineup on the court at all the time. And what was their strength of schedule? This year, you can't hold either one of those things against them.
They finally have backers and putt on the court at the same time. And by some measures, Sarah Strong has been the most efficient player in the entire country.
And they've played a tougher schedule. They're right up there in our spreadsheets with South Carolina.
And I think Kansas State, if they get by Kentucky, assuming both advance out of the first round, I think Kansas State can give USC some problems in the Sweet 16. Finally, they're supposed to finally get Aoka Lee back for the tournament, right? I mean, she was the inside presence to their fantastic fleet of guards that surrounded her.
And they were a top 10 team until she got hurt. And I think they did not end the year looking good.
But when they have everybody playing, they're really good. And I need to hear everyone stop complaining about it, especially if you've got a one seed.
If you're a one seed, be happy. And by the way, USC, you're the weakest of the four one seeds.
You should get the best two seed. So I love Lindsey Gottlieb.
Shout out. She's from Westchester, New York.
But like, Lindsey, come on. hey, guys, just to bring this all full circle, you pointed out how nice of a player Sarah Strong is.
In case you didn't know, because earlier we talked about Harvard taking down a one seed in the women's tournament. I forget what year that was back in the day.
Allison Feaster led that team. Sarah is Allison Feaster's daughter.
So come on. Wait, how did we go this far i actually did not know that that's fantastic yes that was quite so tournament history our conversation just came like just had a full arc the full circle like i mean well now i'm a sarah strong fan too so now we're even harder go go harder on you oh that's right because of the the Harvard ties and I'm like okay we need to put you on the spot and we just need some names who do you got one in this whole thing UConn it's their time and the analytics support that choice guys yeah the analytics at least our power ratings have them in South Carolina is like 1a and 1b um and then there's a little drop off.
So let's let's it's it's close enough. And I just that the eye test and everything else works.
All right. We'll come back and find you if you're right or if not.
And you know what? UConn's going into the tournament on a 10 game winning streak, right? Yeah. So, I mean, that that's not analytics.
What are the what's a hot take on that? They're hot, hot, hot. They got momentum.
They're heading in. Right on they're heading in is the most basic stat of all so it kind of is we're going to claim wins yeah well y'all jordan peter thank you so much for joining us today we have yukon locked in apparently i'm about to take everything you just said back to my brackets be all make sure to watch your show Underdogs on YouTube or wherever else you hear your podcasts.
And coming up, we have a very special exclusive interview with the one and only D'Erika Hamby. We'll be right back.
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Selection varies by location while supplies last. Hey, what's up, Good Follow? This is Roz Gould on Wooday, and I am here with one of the top players of the WNBA, a WNBA champion, a two-time Sixth Woman of the Year, a three-time All-Star.
She is of the LA Sparks, and here at Unrivaled, she is with Team Vinyl, my girl, De'Erica Hamby. Hey, De'Erica.
What's going on, girl? Nothing. Thanks for having me.
I'm so happy to just chill with you. I know.
And catch up. We get it a couple times a year.
Yeah, yeah. We get our little moments.
Our little kiki. Can you believe that this unrivaled season is over?

Yes.

It's fast.

It happened fast, kind of similar to the style of play.

The turnover is very fast.

It's interesting. There's an analogy

to the way the game is and to the way this

season is.

Actually, with it being so fast,

it makes me think about

one of the signature moments of this entire season was in the semifinal. Your team final upset the heavy favorite in the Lunar Owls.
Right. And it's a signature moment because like, I mean, they only lost once.
They've been dominant all season. It was, it was a kind of big, it was hurt all over in the women's basketball world.
And what I saw from you at the end of that game was so much fire and passion. So first of all, like, what was it that your team held on to throughout the game? And certainly in the fourth quarter when you guys were down 10? I think just staying consistent.
I talked a little bit about it after the game and during the game, halftime, Spoon is kind of the anchor of all this. You know, she's so positive.
And there wasn't a second, like, during that game or even really this season that she's doubted us or had a down conversation or, like, talked about us, happened to, like, play from behind. It's always been like, we got this.
We're going to get this. And so i felt like we kind of held on to that in the fourth quarter we didn't hang our heads one bit and that started with her what was she saying like what was it that you held on to in that fourth quarter and what were you saying just it's about us it's about us we get schematic wise we just just stay consistent with what we were doing and obviously they were hitting tough shots but at the end it like balanced out and we came out with a win.
But motivationally, she's just, she's just so positive. And like, even the way she speaks is just so passionate.
And she really just pours into us. Yeah.
Everyone I speak to on team vinyl has talked about how Spoon has like elevated them this season, but you also got to do it yourself. And you were on the court having a heavyweight battle with Nafisa Collier.
Like, at one point, at the end of the game, she's going at you. She's scoring.
You got to recover. And then it comes down to you for the game-winning bucket.
And your game-winning bucket was a tough bucket. Yeah.
Like, how tough was that bucket? I feel like, for me, throughout the game, I was a little bit frustrated. I don't know if it showed.
Probably not. Because I had such a successful game against them a few weeks ago, and they changed their scheme.
They were relying heavy on stopping me, so obviously Jordan stepped up this game for us, which was really big, and obviously Rye does. And I just kind of just, like, tried to stay level.
I tried not to get get too upset with myself and then yeah I felt like I wasn't super aggressive the entire game and in that possession I knew that they were going to guard Ry Heavy and obviously they were going to stay glued to JC because she was shooting the ball well from the three and I actually thought he was going to jump more and I was going to have just a clear right hand layup but I went went to go right and she cut it off. Everybody tries to cut off my right hand and I crossed left.
And I just kind of like everything like when it's like, it like kind of stopped. And I think that's why even my steps were so slow.
Like it was literally was just like super slow. But I knew once I broke the play that I was going to have to go and score it.
Wow. Yeah.
Yeah. Because first of all, you're going up against the defensive player here, right? Yeah.
And she was locking up for a second there, but then you crossed her. Yeah.
And she bumped you too. You got to take the contact.
And if they would have called a foul, who knows it might've turned out a little differently, but they didn't give me the foul. So.
Right. They got the bucket.
It was a tough, cause you had to go through the contact. Yeah.
Like did it you? Or did you say, I gotta get to the cup? I think that was like the extra, like, it was just like a slow step for me. And normally I'm very, like I use my quickness to score.
And I think she might've thought I was just going to, I usually do this, like just scoop like really fast. Uh, and I think that's why she jumped the way she did.
Cause I think she thought I was going to scoop it. But you had counters for your counters.
Yeah, I had counters for my counters. And I used my left hand.
I mean, it's honestly an iconic layup and bucket of this tournament. But what I want to point to that stood out to me, like the fire.
Yeah. As we said at the beginning of this, the season was short.
It was eight weeks. Yeah.
Like for y'all to feel that much competitiveness. like could you describe what you were going through you and your teammates what you were feeling in that moment uh i think we were a little bit nervous like i said spoon kept us grounded but i think it's it's funny because like every team kind of has an identity and obviously they still pick players and put them where they went but um we kind of have underdog players and very quiet players, like the confident and fiery passion players when like they're ready.
So I think it's kind of interesting to see that kind of play out throughout each team throughout the season. Another highlight of the unrivaled season overall for the, just the league was the one-on-one tournament.
Okay? So you go up first matchup with Skylar Diggins-Smith. Yeah.
And it actually was so funny for the fans because Sky clearly had a strategy. She wanted to take away your size by being all up in you.
Were you surprised by her intensity? Yeah, I think twofold. I think I was a little bit surprised because I was just like, oh, like I, I'm not going to lie the day before I was, we were at the beach or something like I was with my kids.
So, and it's not that I wasn't going to take it the tournament series, but it was kind of like a mental break in a sense, because that was our off time. So I was a little bit goofy and she's like, she took advantage of that.
And the other fold of that was kind of the rules, the strategy behind it, that I wasn't really aware of either, that you could foul on the floor and the possession doesn't count. And if you do that twice, you get a point.
So instead of me having two and ones back-to-back, that's six points. If you're looking at it, I only get two points now.
So, I mean, who knows? Maybe they'll change the rules a little bit to where it can kind of go one-on-one but obviously she played great yeah after the game there were some things you were like I would have done that differently now that I know it I think once I realized that it wasn't just like basketball I checked out I was like all right I'm gonna I'm gonna get back to to Vegas. As of, as of, well, I was working it, so I wasn't a fan.
But as somebody watching it, you know, we're just like, guys. Yeah, she's so, I mean, she's super intense and one of the few moms here.
Yeah. So we've gotten to know each other a little bit better this season.
And, you know, that's who she is through and throughout. Not are you guys mothers in this league you're one of the few that have two children yeah how have you guys like connected like what are the things you found like okay that's uh we've had like conversations about like our births and stuff and obviously just compliment like complimenting each other but you know she's said a few times like me coming back like just how like incredible it was and you know try to like downplay it a little bit.
But and then we got to spend some time at Disney. Our kids get to spend time together in the kids room, which is always cool.
So, you know, we've had a few moments. Oh, that's nice.
Yeah. You know, actually, you joked with me once.
You said I get better after each baby. Yeah.
But you were serious a little bit, too. I actually went and just made sure to check on that.
You didn't believe me? No, no, no. I said to you, I was like, yo, the moms of Unrivaled are crushing it.
Because Sky had been balling out. You've been balling out.
Fee's been balling out. I mean, just you could go.
The list goes on. Yeah.
But after Amaya, you came back to be sixth player of the year twice and a WNBA champion. After legend, you were an all-star again and an Olympian.
So what is it that helps you come back stronger and more dominant after the baby? I think just the resilience and the, like, I don't know, I feel you just get mentally stronger. You know, I gave two births natural and they both were hard, like easy but hard, you know? And so i think it's just just a mentality like you know you can do that i can kind of do anything and then i think just my purpose just kind of keeps evolving yeah um and my why and so i feel like i just get um i'm more motivated what's the hardest sacrifice you've had to make for your children yeah oh am i one answer come over here you have to speak into your mom's mic oh god i just i never know amaya's here welcome to the show amaya i would say just the moments where you know she doesn't get to sleep in a bed with me um like in this case she she was here she's been here for most of the time but um she had to go back to school for a few weeks so it I think it gets harder for her as she gets older to, like, leave me.
Yeah. And she tells me, so then I'm like.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I get a little bit emotional, and I'm like, when she starts crying, I'm like, stop.
You're going to make me cry. But you know what? I feel like, you know, you do your best as you can.
And mom has certainly tried to make sure that things are special for you so i heard it was your birthday during unrivaled you were in miami in february for your birthday your eighth birthday is that how old you turned and mom set the bar for birthdays i heard you got to meet coco golf and play tennis with her for your birthday present. How much did that mean to you, Amaya?

And to you, De'Arica, like, how did that come about?

What did it mean to y'all?

Well, actually, before I met her, my mom met her way before me, which I'm mad about.

Yeah, at the Olympics.

Why?

Because you had to come a little late.

Speak.

Yeah, I met Coco at the Olympics, and I told her, I was like,

my daughter loves you.

Like, can I take a picture with you and send it to her?

And so, yeah, Maya hadn't quite gotten to the Olympics yet

because just the timing of it, we were waiting to get a little closer

until we started playing.

And so we thought we were going to get to go see her play at the Olympics, but it just didn't work out with the scheduling. So I kind of held on to that.
You know, she teased me about it for a little bit. And then when I found out that she was going to be an investor for Unrival, I just thought it was like the perfect opportunity and I just knew it was going to happen.
And what's the moment you'll remember from seeing those two together? Um, I would say which part, um, I would say the initial, you know, she's a, Maya's a very confident kid and she doesn't, she gets shy like occasionally, but she was like starstruck with her and also like Sabrina. So, um, you know, she kind of like blacked out for a little bit.
And so that was like, it wasn't cool to witness, but to kind of see her like be so bashful. Okay.
So looking to the WNBA season with the LA Sparks, next season, you're going to get to play with Kelsey Plum, who I know you have a friendship with. Can you describe the friendship you two have even after you left the Aces? I would just say solid.

We kind of had a moment where

it was just lost for a second

physically, but never

in our hearts.

Just a full circle moment for us.

Why?

Twofold.

Obviously, my experience in Vegas

and for her to want to come to L.A. was very validating for me.
And I think just a testament to our bond. Did you guys keep up even when you were not on the team? No.
In the beginning. And then, you know, life kind of happens.
But like I said, it's just a testament to our friendship and where we are now i think we kind of had to go through that um and i think we're both grateful for the processes that we had um i'm excited for it to be in LA have you guys had a chance to have a heart to heart oh my god we've had we've basically been in therapy no we all we've been spending a lot of time together prior to the trade. Just like rekindling, but just fine-tuning some things.
Yeah, here we are. We talk every couple days now.
In a way, her coming to L.A. you feel like was a leap of faith on you? Yeah, both ways.
I think both ways. You both have had some hurt.
Mm-hmm. Do you think that that's something that you can lean on each other for or have? I think in the moment it was hard because I think we both wanted to be there for each other, but just where we were in our lives, like, and so you know where she's at now I'm where I'm at now and like the time we have it it just couldn't have been more like coincidental so to say I'm just really happy for her yeah I'm happy for both of you unlike most people's pain her these are separate situations but hers was very public yours is very public and so I'm glad that, you know, I don't even know everything that's going on, but I'm glad you guys, you know, can have each other and also have decided we're going to do this together.
Yeah. Blood, sweat, and tears on the same team.
Yeah. You know? Pretty much all happened.
I'll get you out on this on a light note. I'll get you out on a light note.
So the pregame walk-in and tunnel for the LA Sparks is about to be so crazy. Because literally it's you, it's Kelsey Plum, it's Cameron Brink, it's Rekia Jackson, it's Ray Burrell.
I'm just naming a few. You guys are all fabulous and fierce.
Like, how much juice are the Sparks about to have next season? Like, you guys crush the fashion. Yeah, I think it's going to be fun.
You know, obviously basketball is going to be the focus for sure. But just nowadays, like, you have an opportunity to elevate your brand a little bit and showcase yourself and your style and your personality through the tunnel.
And so, yeah, it's going to be fun. Most fashionable team in the league, possibly? For sure.
For sure. It's going to be a catwalk, a runway.
It is. They're making me step my game up a little bit.
Like, I've just been chilling. And I was like, no, I've got to step it up.
What will the LA Sparks pregame tunnel walk in? What will it be giving?

I mean, I feel like the obvious answer is baddies,

but I got to think about that one.

I got to come with something more like clever.

The baddies are in LA period.

Thank you so much.

It's always good to chat with you.

Yeah.

You love. Period.
Thank you so much. It's always good to chat with you.
Yeah. Welcome back to Good Follow.
Huge thank you to d'errica hamby for joining the show for that just awesome interview and for just sharing so much on her heart and of course sharing amaya with us oh she's so cute um so we really appreciate that interview and now we move along i've got a segment for you. It's presented by DraftKings.

The Women's NCAA Tournament is here.

The brackets are set.

And there's potential for madness in the first round.

Matchup between number seven seed Michigan State and the 10 seed Harvard.

So Harvard is led by Harmony Turner.

She's averaging a whopping 22 points per game. This is a player that does a lot of everything for the Crimson.
She's leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and minutes. Big time usage player.
This team is hot on a four game win streak and they're back in the tournament for the first time in 18 years. Now on the other side, Michigan State, they've got leadership from a core group of veteran players and that is always a big deal in the tournament.
And it starts with with Grace Van Sluton. Michigan State lost three of their last five games, but that's a little misleading.
Those losses were against high-level talent in USC, UCLA, and Ohio State. So it actually, in some ways, may have prepared them more for the tournament.
So what I'm looking for is a Cinderella and maybe some revenge of the nerds. And I've got Harvard pulling off an upset and advancing to the second round so logan i mean you don't want to miss your chance to get in on the march madness we love an upset we love us a cinderella love an upset that's i live for march because of the upsets i mean i feel like that's mostly everyone yeah you know shout out to excellence we're excited for the game cox you know go one seeds but boy do we love some chaos.
And that's why we got to get to the brackets. DraftKings is offering a free to enter March Madness Women's Tournament bracket this year.
So join the bracket at DraftKings.com slash Women's Bracket for a shot to win a share of $50,000. And remember, it's free to play, free to enter.
Get on in there. We'll be getting in there, right? Absolutely.
I saw the $50,000. I had to look up the screen and make sure that said $50,000.
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, it's just fun to do it with your friends and be really social about it.
Yeah. So anyway, we want to shout out DraftKings for making that possible within the women's tournament.
DraftKings, the crown is yours. Love it.
Logan, we're running out of time here. Can we get to top news, hits, stories, headlines that you got for us? Yes, you're actually there for one of the biggest news stories.
It got cloudy in New York. And we're not talking about the weather.
We're talking about Natasha Cloud. She signed with New York Liberty in kind of like a sneak trade.
Like, never really really expected it to happen and the sun traded her for the first round picks in 2025 and 2026. the group chat dog, okay? We got another dog, okay? I love it.
I love how happy you are for her. I think everyone was very perplexed a little bit, but also very happy with this move because Tosh, she just belongs in New York.
She screams New York to me. It was so much going on that day too, because it's the unrivaled semifinals.
It's selection Sunday. They're dropping the tournament brackets.
And then we find out Cloud is going to New York and New York could really use her toughness. Like she said, a dog, a backup or alongside PG or a tangent guard alongside Sabrina Ionescu, especially with Slewt out and leaving the team.
And we don't know what's up with Benajelani Hamilton. Don't forget, Cloud really, she defends.
So Tosh, we are so excited to have you in New York. I ran to her, like the news broke and I was like, because she was right there.
I was like, Tosh, what? You ain't tell me, I've just seen you. But I want to keep it in New York, actually york actually there was i'm not too happy about this i don't think a lot of people are but there was a 14 year old who made history by becoming the youngest player to play in the end of yourself her name is mckenna whitham wow and kind of shocking to think that there's some players who are like in their late 30s or even people who she'd look up to growing up and she's just coming into the league Like,.
There's a lot of discourse on it. Yeah.
But moving on, Issa Rae is rocking the A1. Oh, we love that.
That is the power link up. Two of the top females of their industry's top black females.
And Issa, you know, like rocking the shoes, doing a little dance in them. Asia's entire line is so thoughtful.
I love this link like we love to see it yeah two icons and actually speaking of two icons the last quick hit we have is my super bowl my travis and taylor my thomas zendaya ben shelton and trinity rodman hard launch oh broke the internet or at least broke my internet i was crashing out a little bit over it but also like absolutely in love with this couple it makes so much sense to me and i hope that they lost forever and have athletic babies yes but i we ship them we are good luck to them and love is in the air it must mean spring is here or go cuffing season actually that's kind of like in the fall but not for them well we want to thank everyone for watching with us um for watching the show for hanging a big thank you to D'Erika Hamby for joining the show. Make sure you also tune in for our exclusive interview with Azaree Stevens.
Joining the show, we heard from both teams, players from both teams in the Unrivaled Championship. Shout out to the underdogs coming through.
Shout out to the underdogs. Coming through, breaking down a Women's March Madness tournament and brackets for us.

We love y'all.

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I'm Roz Goldenbude.

I'm Logan Hackett.

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Bye, guys.