GOOD FOLLOW - The Real SC has been Crowned! Is Sarah Strong the best in the NCAA? Project B Signs Another, & More!

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Speaker 2 Hey, what's up, y'all? Welcome to Good Follow, presented by DraftKings. I'm Roz Goldon Wede, and she is Angel Makatri, five-time WNBA all-star, two-time Olympic gold medalist and the homie.
The homie.

Speaker 2 What's up, Angel? How you doing? We got to put your accolades in the script.

Speaker 2 And come on. Right.
I mean, like, what would be mine? Like, I don't even know. You're on the good follow wall.

Speaker 2 Okay,

Speaker 2 the good teammate wall.

Speaker 2 Like, what am I known for? I'm known for Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits, five-time Red Lobster All-American.

Speaker 2 See?

Speaker 2 Like, that's how I'm known in the streets. But no, I mean, how was your weekend? It's been pouring rain in LA, like torrential downpour.

Speaker 2 It's been pouring, pouring in LA, but I got to go do some fun stuff. Got to go to Eddie Murphy's screening.
Oh, that's fasting.

Speaker 2 Did you meet Eddie? I met Eddie, and I punked out on getting a picture, y'all. I punked out.
You respected his space. Yeah, because everybody was in his face.
So I was like, absolutely.

Speaker 2 That is a big moment to like navigate where, where, one, there's, you can act like you've been there before. Yeah.
Also, you also are, but this is Eddie Murphy. So like, it's different levels, right?

Speaker 2 But also like respecting his personal space and his event and stuff. Yeah, and that's what I want to do, you know, being a new filmmaker.

Speaker 2 I didn't want to send like I'm, because inside I'm like, oh my God, you know, I was acting cool, y'all. Yeah.

Speaker 2 That's why you need to have the homie there or your content creator there. So they can come with me next time, Ross? I'm the, I'm the friend.
I'd have been there with you. Yeah.

Speaker 2 And I'd have been like, oh, first of all, I've been taking the pictures when nobody, candids. And then I'm the one that makes you look like you're not thirsty.
I'd be like, oh, oh, my God.

Speaker 2 Angel, Eddie, come on, let's take a picture. See, that's what we need.
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Speaker 2 Rules and restrictions apply. WNBA All-Star, Olympic, two-time Olympic gold medalist, Roz, the friend that'll get you the picture.

Speaker 2 And with that, we all have our roles in this life. Let me take you to today's menu on this show.
Breaking down the battle of the SCs. So South Carolina and Southern Cal faced off at Crypto.com Arena.

Speaker 2 Then there were some insane NCAA stat lines that came out of this weekend of play. My goodness.
And Project B signs another one.

Speaker 2 They got another big name coming to this Project B league. Let's get it.
Let's go.

Speaker 2 And you can check us out Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please continue to like, comment, subscribe.
Where can they find us? YouTube. Wherever it is.
You can get your podcast. You can download.

Speaker 2 You can listen. You can watch us on YouTube.
You could mess with us on social media. All the things.
All the things. The Battle of the SCs.

Speaker 2 On Saturday, the Gamecocks had a big win, 69-52 over the Trojans in the Battle of the Real SC. This was at crypto.com Arena.

Speaker 2 Now, coming into the game, we had highlighted Tanaya Latson transfer into South Carolina. She was our player to watch last week, and she finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists.

Speaker 2 But there was a lot going on in the game, and more importantly, at this early stage of the season, there's a lot at stake. What was at stake for both SC teams?

Speaker 2 What was at stake, stake guys we know the bragging rights who is the real sc I called it last week South Carolina I mean but let's break it down a little bit identity and reputation

Speaker 2 I feel that you know USC performance it exposed a lot of their weak areas

Speaker 2 and that's what you want to see early in the season they struggled offensively especially from the three-point line it was one for 14 from the three yep so it's good to know your weak points early in the season sophomore kenny smith had 12 points i mean as a sophomore if i got 12 points against south carolina the top team in the nation, I'm feeling good about myself.

Speaker 2 And we're only going to grow from here. So Southern Cal, they're in a good position, man.
It's interesting, though, because like we even talk about South Carolina and what was at stake in this game.

Speaker 2 They come in as the number two team in the nation, but it wasn't like juggernaut style, right?

Speaker 2 Like I actually think all of these early season games are super important for South Carolina because they've got to define and decide who they are as a team, what they're about,

Speaker 2 what they're going to be. There's a lot of players in new roles and positions.

Speaker 2 They really had a lot of turnover for a number of reasons. If you think about it from graduation, transfers, and unfortunate injuries, they got a lot of new things happening.

Speaker 2 So like just to break that down for you,

Speaker 2 they lost to Hina Powell Powell, the graduation, Bree Hall.

Speaker 2 you know obviously milesia full wiley uh transfers injuries to ashlynn watkins um chloe kitts huge deal right before the season so you've only got one returning starter from that championship team last year.

Speaker 2 That's Raven Johnson.

Speaker 2 And you're looking at Raven and being like, well, you got to look like that. And actually, Raven really did great in this game.

Speaker 2 Raven is setting the tone as you expect her to. Yes.
Raven Johnson, 14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks. That's what you want to see from your favorite.
Figure, right? Yeah.

Speaker 2 Tessa Johnson, the other Johnson, 14 points. So your back court is giving you some motion there.

Speaker 2 We knew Joyce Edwards was going to have to take a step forward from last year, the freshman right yeah and i loved when i met her during the final four and was talking with her she just had an eagerness to learn and listen and get better yeah and so here she is in her sophomore year 17 points 10 rebounds wow two steals two blocks four offensive rebounds shot the ball really well um unfortunately too many turnovers but that's okay it comes with the territory when when you're having more responsibility and the ball in your hands more so that's coming with growing pains but i thought you you know, the returners showed what you wanted to see out of South Carolina.

Speaker 2 And then Tanaya Latson, the transfer, 12 points. What I'm looking at, six for 14 shooting.
I'm looking at how is she getting her shots?

Speaker 2 This is somebody who took 20 plus shots a game last year for Florida State. Right.
So, like, how does she exist in this offense?

Speaker 2 You know, like, what do you make of all of the new and the opportunity that's at South Carolina this season? When you transfer, I think the biggest thing is like fit into a new system.

Speaker 2 It's a whole new identity. And the fact that I feel like we got to give credit to Dawn for that.
Dawn understands her players. She knows who they are.

Speaker 2 She's a great leader and she knows how to fit them in with their strengths. And it makes it easy for them to fit in, even if they transfer.

Speaker 2 So I'm really not surprised, you know, that these players are doing well. It's Dawn for me.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 And Dawn We Trust is a good motto to have, you know, and I feel like it was a Dawn Staley win in the sense that there was a culture for this program and you saw them lean on it to get the win over the Trojans.

Speaker 2 like for the trojans on the other side the hype was coming in on jazzy davidson the freshman she was bowling out uh 21 point game in the upset against the top 10 team in north nc state yeah and you know versus dawn and those gamecocks she was held to four for 11 shooting eight points four turnovers she looked like a freshman and you know ultimately you go back to this Gamecocks, even though they got all these things they're figuring it out and new players and new roles.

Speaker 2 They have a culture. Defense, rebounding.
Yes. Defense, limited Jazzy Davidson.
They held the Trojans to seven points in the fourth quarter. Wow.
And they out-rebounded them 56 to 32. Wow.

Speaker 2 So you talk about like, all right, we're figuring some things out, but at the end of the day, we're going to defend, we're going to rebound. And so like, that's the sign of a great program.

Speaker 2 It's the sign of a great program. South Carolina definitely leaned on their physical dominance, like you said, rebounding, interior control in this game.

Speaker 2 And that's maybe what their identity is starting to be.

Speaker 2 You know, we've seen in the past that South Carolina wasn't really known as a defensive team. They like to score and just use overpower from the athleticism.

Speaker 2 But now I think Donna's really honing in like, hey, if we want to win a championship this year, we saw what happened last year. We got to play some defense.

Speaker 2 And they're showing that early in the season. Let's go.
Let's keep it moving because there were some insane box scores and stat lines that came out of women's college basketball this past weekend.

Speaker 2 Here's some standouts. Okay, we're taking it to UConn.
Sarah Strong versus Ohio State. Wow.
29 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks. But I'm impressed with 12 for 17 field goal shooting.

Speaker 2 The efficiency. 2 for 4 from 3.
My God, the range. Zero turnovers.
What?

Speaker 2 Oh, my gosh, as a sophomore. Okay, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo versus Akron.
44 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists. Wait for it.
16 steals. Jesus Christ.
What the hell?

Speaker 2 In 28 minutes. My goodness.
And we already know she's a dog.

Speaker 2 She loves to D up and get all up in you and just bring the energy against Michigan. Later, she did struggle, you know, in the next game.
But boy, oh boy, is she something special. Then Iowa State Jr.

Speaker 2 Audi Crooks did all this in 20 minutes against Valaprazo. 20 minutes.
I mean, some of these preseason games are crazy. Or not preseason, excuse me, just out-of-conference games.

Speaker 2 43 points, seven rebounds, two assists. She shot nearly 80%.

Speaker 2 My goodness. Okay.

Speaker 2 These are my thoughts. Okay.

Speaker 2 This is how I thought as a player. If I'm playing a Vaparazo or I'm playing an Akron, Akron, however you say it, I'm supposed to score 40.

Speaker 2 That's how I thought as a player, right? And then the good side of it is that it's not hard. It is hard to score 40, right? But you don't take the teams for granted.

Speaker 2 That's the beauty of it that, you know, because some people play weak teams and they're like, oh, you're not taking them for for granted. So it's the beauty of it.

Speaker 2 But you're supposed to score 40 on them teams with your talent. I want to score 40 on Yukon, on Ohio State, on Stanford.

Speaker 2 That's when I want to score 40. If I can score 20 against those teams, you're showing that you're one of the best.
That's how I think about it. Yeah.
I mean, so, so you want to bring up UConn.

Speaker 2 And this is the top team in the nation, right? Some people are saying they'll go undefeated this season. I mean, when I'm looking at this UConn team

Speaker 2 that ultimately, let me look at this UConn team. So in this game against Ohio State, they forced 24 turnovers.
They got 37 points off those turnovers.

Speaker 2 I mean, Ohio State, you know, did lose some players in the transfer portal and this and that. I mean, it's still not like, you know,

Speaker 2 this is a program. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.
37 points off those turnovers. They had 30 assists.
My goodness. They shared that ball.
They're playing with pace. All of this versus Ohio State.

Speaker 2 We had talked about how ridiculous the stat line was for Sarah Strong. AZ Fudd, 19.7 assists.
The transfer Sarah Williams, five for seven shooting, 12 points. I mean, let's just have,

Speaker 2 and this was in front of a big audience. Jose Fernandez, Rashid Mezian, Sandy Brundello, all head coaches in the WNBA were there to watch all of these studs and stars for UConn.

Speaker 2 But one thing's been consistent with UConn over the decades, over the years when you and I played them. There's a UConn way.
There's a way. There's a UConn way.

Speaker 2 And I think the only thing that's been in the way in the years where they haven't been final four, it's been a health issue. What's the UConn way that you remember? Honestly, can I first say this?

Speaker 2 If I'm a coach, if I ever become a coach, I will mock UConn's system to the T. We did that.
We did that one year.

Speaker 2 We played UConn. This is Stanford Women's Basketball.
We played UConn one year in a preseason tournament, like in the Island Jam or or something, and they bust us up. Wow.
For the rest of the season,

Speaker 2 we basically stole their offense and ran it exactly like them and practiced it every day. We basically prepared our whole season to, and then we saw them in the final four and beat them.

Speaker 2 Guys,

Speaker 2 I don't know what coaches are doing. Don't have an ego.

Speaker 2 Your coach was a legendary

Speaker 2 van devi is a legendary coach. The fact that she could do that and not have an ego about it, it's genius.
Mock the best coaches that have proven it over and over. I'm going to mock their system.

Speaker 2 When I play under Gino for the Olympic team, I could score 20, 30 points off like shooting five field goals. I didn't even know how to score that many points.
His system allowed me to score so easy.

Speaker 2 I was like, I'm not even tired after the game. I have 20 points.

Speaker 2 Why was it so easy? The system allowed you to score at ease. You would just get layup after layup after just cut layup.

Speaker 2 It was just amazing to be a part of. So I feel that Gino, yes, I feel that Sarah Strong is one of the best.

Speaker 2 He has the talent, but Gino could take an average player right now off the street playing outside on the court, bring her in his system, and she's going to be a star.

Speaker 2 It is his system, and it doesn't get enough praise, and it is underrated. They don't talk about it enough.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, I say what I feel about the system, both what I remember and what I see as an analyst watching UConn Women's Basketball.

Speaker 2 I feel like there is

Speaker 2 they're very smart, cerebral, IQ, offense. A lot of times you'll see them operating really high with a lot of space behind them.

Speaker 2 Everybody's a willing playmaker. Again, 30 assists.
They make you pay for mistakes. You turn it over.
They're off to the races and they're sharing that thing.

Speaker 2 What I remember is, and what I see is pace of play, of running of sets, wears on you over the game. Conditioning level is superior and higher, and you'll just see them pull away.

Speaker 2 So on top of them having these like incredibly poised and high IQ players, I mean, just to say one thing about Sarah Strong before we head to break,

Speaker 2 for me with Sarah Strong,

Speaker 2 for her to do that stat line, I'll say it again. Why not? 29 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, five steals, three blocks, 12 for 17 from the field, two for four from three, zero turnovers.

Speaker 2 To be that involved at all times on both ends, that level of engagement and have no mistakes, no turnovers. No mistakes.

Speaker 2 Her IQ, her poise, her versatility, her control on the court is really impressive for a sophomore.

Speaker 2 We're going to take a break, but when we come back, we'll discuss who she's reminding us of because she's getting a lot of comparisons to some of the greats of the game. We'll be right back.

Speaker 2 Welcome back to Good Follow Show. Today's episode is presented by DraftKings.

Speaker 2 It is now time for the DraftKings pick of the week presented by DraftKings. This week, I've got my eye on Michigan at UConn.
This top 10 matchup will be a competitive game.

Speaker 2 Michigan is hot after notching a big win over Notre Dame. I'll be watching Michigan guard Olivia Olson.

Speaker 2 She won Co-Big 10 freshman of the year last year, and this year she's leading Michigan to the second highest ranking in program history. They now sit at number six on the AP poll.

Speaker 2 On the other side, I'll be watching Sarah Strong, who is making a huge argument for best player in the NCAA.

Speaker 2 I'll expect the poise and championship talent from the UConn side to pull out this win over Michigan. This segment is presented by DraftKings.
DraftKings, the crown is yours.

Speaker 2 Okay, so we've been talking Sarah Strong obviously had this huge game over the weekend, and people are saying, is she the best player in the country? She's starting to get these comparisons.

Speaker 2 Some people are saying Maya Moore. I can't tell if it's because she like kind of physically resembles Maya Moore, but also, you know, there's some game comparisons there.

Speaker 2 Another comparison we're seeing pop up.

Speaker 2 Brianna Stewart. Do you like that one? I mean, so who is Sarah Strong and her game kind of reminding you of? First, I like that she is positionless.
She could play the two, three, four.

Speaker 2 Like, she does it all. She reminds me of Alyssa Thomas.
Oh, why?

Speaker 2 Elite IQ. She has that strong frame.
She powers through contact. She has an elite motor.
She could pass. She could hit the three.

Speaker 2 Well, the three would be different. The three is, that's what I was going to say.
The three is a little different. What makes her a little bit better is that her range extends.

Speaker 2 She could hit the three. Alyssa hits more of the mid-range.

Speaker 2 But as far as that overall game is like a miss triple double yeah that's that's what is given and just when you have that overall game like that I mean with the system that we talked about the system too yes you are the best she's the best player in the country right now because of all of those factors yeah and I also think that the Brianna Stewart um comparison works because of the impact on both offense and defense and and the shot blocking um

Speaker 2 you know when i think about the comparison to maya more

Speaker 2 it it makes sense i mean maya had a bit more of that mid-range game that i haven't seen yet from Sarah Strong. Of course, Sarah's a sophomore, you know, so she's got a lot of time to develop.

Speaker 2 And imagine if she does take the next steps to be what Maya is in the sense or was in the sense that Maya was

Speaker 2 so strong. Her body was so elite, you know, like Sarah's body over the years with work in the weight room and just getting after it could be really like next level.

Speaker 2 Imagine when she gets there where Maya was or and the speed and the conditioning to get there. I mean, what really separated Maya too was just the competitive nature.
Oh my God.

Speaker 2 Was there anyone who competed harder than Maya? I don't know. I would say, like, she probably is one of the hardest people I've ever had to guard because her motor just never increased.

Speaker 2 It was always like this motor. Even when we played in the all-star game, we don't have rinky-dink all-star games during our time.
We play hard.

Speaker 2 Like, we play like it was the greatest pickup game you'll ever see. Maya didn't lower her motor, and that's the beauty of it that I see with Sarah.

Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah, you know, even for me in college, you know, I was Pac-12, Pac-10 defensive player of the the year. So I was put on Maya.
First of all, I was way too small to defend Maya.

Speaker 2 Like she could just see over me. But mostly what I remember is I couldn't breathe.
Like she was just constantly on the move and the run. And I also think that's the UConn system.

Speaker 2 But like, you know, the conditioning level is such a game changer. And so, you know, I just think like we are looking at Sarah Strong, who's just at the beginning of her sophomore season.

Speaker 2 Like, imagine if as she adds that, you know, all of these aspects to the game,

Speaker 2 the potential is unlimited. It's very exciting to see.
We'll be watching. We'll be talking about Sarah Strong all season, all year.

Speaker 2 Okay, let's move along. Project B.
Oh, yes. Project B update.
Okay, we have an update to the Overseas League Project B. This league is playing, they're paying stars.

Speaker 2 If you remember, we talked about this at length in our last show. You want to have a really good Project B discussion? Watch our last episode.

Speaker 2 But they're paying, just to catch you up, they're paying upwards of $2 million a year, some more.

Speaker 2 They're offering equity, ownership. Currently, they're scheduled not to conflict with the WNBA.
Supposed to play November to April. This is of next year, so we're talking 2026.

Speaker 2 And it's an overseas league. So after all this talk about staying in the U.S., they plan on playing in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
And last night, they signed another big name. They signed.

Speaker 2 Jean-Quel Jones. Ooh.

Speaker 2 So what's your reaction, Angel? So now they got, so to catch catch you, if you ain't keeping track, it is John Quill Jones, Alyssa Thomas, and NECA Agrumika. So what are you making of all this?

Speaker 2 Oh, wow. So have you noticed, what is the pattern? Is it every week or is it every couple days? I don't know what the pattern is.
What are you noticing, Detective?

Speaker 2 And plus, I want to know, what does Project B mean? What does the B stand? Is it Project Bob? Like, you know, that's what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 I'm like, of all the marketing consultants, you got a billion dollar investment and this was the name, Project B. That doesn't, maybe it's Project Basketball.
Something, maybe something like that.

Speaker 2 So, how I think is

Speaker 2 there's going to obviously be big name after big name signed, but I just, I'm just curious of what this means for the WBA.

Speaker 2 Are they going to put some kind of stipulations on this league like they do for players who just play overseas?

Speaker 2 You know, as you guys know, they find players who are still overseas when the Dumb A training camp starts, which is to me ridiculous. So, are they going to start doing these stipulations?

Speaker 2 What does it mean for NECA, who you know is a part of the CBA negotiations i do believe this puts a lot of pressure on the w this league is a new disruptor for the wa because you signed all these big names who are who are ready to play and this season starts right after the double b season ends

Speaker 2 so are these players gonna sit out and enjoy their summer and just play project b if they're making too many it's so many factors and i see a lot of mixed uh reviews from the fans the fans are worried But I think the beautiful thing about this is it puts pressure on the WBA to figure out the CBA negotiations.

Speaker 2 That's the main thing that needs to get done right now.

Speaker 2 Because if that doesn't get fixed, there is no Devon Bay, and players are like, I don't care, I'm playing in Project B, I'm gonna make millions of dollars.

Speaker 2 And maybe we don't want that for the lower echelon, middle-tier players because they still need a job and they still need somewhere to play. So, I know I just gave you a lot there, Ross.

Speaker 2 No, no, it's great, it's great to hear you think about it. I'll counter a little bit, I'll slightly push back.
In that, I do think that the

Speaker 2 intention of these players at the bargaining table and the leadership group is to leave the game better than how they came to it.

Speaker 2 And while it may, there's, it's easy to think it is self-serving to go and join Project B,

Speaker 2 and it may be as well. That's part of it too.

Speaker 2 I still think like the goal is to have the WNBA come correct, meet the players where, where they want with a great share of the revenue in the business in this new CBA.

Speaker 2 But what I'm seeing from Project B so far, the consistent theme is these are players who are 32 and up. Some of them are 34 and up.
You know, you're talking about players who

Speaker 2 are older in their basketball career, and they are fighting for the next generation in the CBA. The people who will benefit from the WNBA-CBA are going to be

Speaker 2 the next wave of college graduates, you know, maybe the young rookies coming up.

Speaker 2 They're the ones that are going to start to see these big, you know, influxes of money and business and all this and that. They're fighting for that.
However,

Speaker 2 it won't serve them for that long.

Speaker 2 So what they're doing while they're fighting for, you know, next generations in this current WNBA, CBA renegotiation, Project B is kind of a way of taking them, taking care of themselves in this current cycle.

Speaker 2 And I'm not mad at that. Ah, Roz, I never thought about it like that.
You know what I'm saying? Wow, you just opened up a whole.

Speaker 2 They, much like people like yourself, much like the ladies of right now, much like the ladies of 10, you know, 20 years ago, have put in the work to make it possible for this next group of players to benefit off of all this money that's coming up.

Speaker 2 But the ones that are sitting at these negotiation tables, they also are using common sense that I can't be mad at, sweat blood and tears in,

Speaker 2 and taking care of themselves right now in the current cycle. I don't see nothing wrong with it.

Speaker 2 Ultimately, though, what I do want to know more about is just like, what is Project B about?

Speaker 2 What does the season look like? What is this business model? Where is the money coming from? You know,

Speaker 2 what are the games like? How do fans watch their favorite players and follow this league and women's basketball? And what will be, if any, conflicts that come with this league existing?

Speaker 2 But we'll be following it. We'll be talking about it.
It's really

Speaker 2 interesting. Yeah, the state of women's basketball.
Oh, there's never a dull day.

Speaker 2 All right. Keep rocking with us.
Thank you for watching. Good follow.
We're here Tuesdays and Thursdays. Subscribe, watch all the things.
He's Angel. I'm Roz.

Speaker 2 We out.