Good Follow - Kahleah Copper & Monique Billings Join The Show, Juju Watkins Injury + Notre Dame vs TCU & More

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Speaker 2 Hey, what's up, y'all? Welcome to Good Follow, presented by DraftKings. I'm Roz Gold on Woody, and today I am here with the dynamic duo, or maybe we're the terrific trio.

Speaker 2 My girls are here, Logan Hackett, and we are joined right from the top of the show. She's back, y'all.

Speaker 2 Monique Billings of the golden state valkyries wnba vet and a great friend to the show and it's deserving of the bell

Speaker 3 thank you for the bell love the bell i'm doing great how are y'all doing so good so good so happy to see you wait first of all can we talk about the glow that both both y'all have going on i know you were in miami i saw all the conventions yeah the sun did y'all well okay oh thank you you know what logan was basking in the sun it was giving very much like canadia Canadia.

Speaker 2 Canadian does Florida. Logan was so happy to see the sun.
100%.

Speaker 3 Well, you know, every time I come to the show, we got to go through our intentions. So I'll start us off.
I would say my intention that I'm currently focusing on, I'm in my unapologetic era, y'all.

Speaker 3 And when I say that, when I say that, I'm walking into every space, every opportunity, like I'm meant to be there, not doubting, not questioning it, and just being unapologetic in who I am.

Speaker 3 I'm very genuine. I'm authentic, but I'm about my business and I've been standing on my business this offseason.
And so I'm in my unapologetic era. That is my intention.

Speaker 2 Period. I love that.
I love that. And

Speaker 2 I can't even imagine there ever being a space or a room where you are not absolutely needed and add value to. So I just want to

Speaker 2 further breathe that into you. Yes.

Speaker 3 What about you, my girl, Roz? You said you came on the show ready.

Speaker 2 I knew you were coming and it actually like gave me a reason to make sure I come in focused with my intentions. And mine would be focus on the temple.

Speaker 5 Okay.

Speaker 2 So, and the temple can be many things like body right now. I'm a month away from my birthday.
We are

Speaker 2 summer is around the corner and I'm trying to lock in on these goals and what it takes to get there.

Speaker 2 Home. I've been on the road a lot.
This is a temple. If your home is organized, you feel clean and organized.

Speaker 2 So I'm making sure that, you know, we're we're purging of things we don't need, that it's organized here, that doesn't look like suitcases just get packed and unpacked here.

Speaker 2 And I'll say one more temple would be of the heart. So just

Speaker 2 letting go of any hurt, much like your home, you know, purging and making room through organization and cleaning.

Speaker 3 I love that.

Speaker 2 Oh, my goodness. Hello, Logan.

Speaker 4 I'm here like writing like mental notes, mental notes.

Speaker 2 We didn't even get to the sports. It's coming next, but first, we need to hear yours, Logan.

Speaker 4 Well, last time I said consistency, and I think I'm going to move it to this time because last time I actually changed it to finding power in patience.

Speaker 4 I feel like I've been doing that kind of the past six months, but the past month, especially kind of sitting in it and being patient and knowing that it's all going to work out rather than something going wrong or something not going my way.

Speaker 4 And I'm like, oh my gosh, how am I going to fix it? Because I do tend to do that. But this month or this season, I am going into consistency as i intended to but it got a little derailed okay okay

Speaker 3 consistency 2.0 going into this month is what i'm hearing right

Speaker 2 i love a doubling down on an intention a saying hey great uh what i said before is still the goal and the focus right now yeah um no no no mo i mean you already look how you just set the tone for the show hey i love it now we get to talk hoops the best part of the show yes yes so let's be intentional as well making sure that our listeners, our viewers know what we're talking about on this show, besides our intentions.

Speaker 2 Today's show, it's the Sweet 16 coming up here in March Madness Women's Tournament. We're talking Sweet 16 matchups.
We are also going to look at the growth of the women's tournament.

Speaker 2 Indie Post, Caitlin Clark Era. Things are still up, baby.

Speaker 2 We up. We up, we up.
We are seeing who's raising their draft stock from the tournament.

Speaker 2 Speaking of being up, we'll obviously discuss, you know, the unfortunate injury of Juju Watkins and what that means for her team in USC and the rest of the tournament play.

Speaker 2 And of course, we've got an exclusive sit-down interview for you guys. It is with a WNBA champion, now an unrivaled champion.

Speaker 2 She's of the Phoenix Mercury and Team Rose, a four-time all-star, a finals MVP. We got Kalia Copper joining the show today.

Speaker 2 Fire. And it was, it was such a fun interview.
So definitely tap in to listen to that interview, right, Logan?

Speaker 4 Yep. And as always, we love y'all.
We appreciate y'all so much watching and rocking with us every single week. And please do not forget to subscribe, comment, like, follow, everything that you can do.

Speaker 4 Please do it. And our new episodes drop every Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Eastern. Y'all, it is time to get into it.
Are y'all ready?

Speaker 2 Yep.

Speaker 4 Alrighty. Well, actually, positive vibes kind of back down to somber.

Speaker 4 Hearts are heavy in the women's basketball community right now as Juju Watkins suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the game against Mississippi State on Monday.

Speaker 4 And this was the type of injury where the second she went down, everyone probably said the same swear word at the exact same time. I mean, it was just absolutely devastating.

Speaker 4 But I think you can also kind of take this time to see how much support she has around her because immediately every single social you can think of was absolutely flooded with prayers, support, good vibes.

Speaker 4 And it has put a damper on things. But with Juju being a sophomore, she still has two years to go.
Don't know how long she'll take to recover.

Speaker 4 But how do y'all think it'll alter her career in the long run?

Speaker 3 So I'm going to put a positive spin on all of this. I see her writing her own story.
She's always written her own narrative.

Speaker 3 You see her in commercials, walking into lanes and really owning the space that she's in. I think she'll do the same with her comeback.
I'm excited to see that. I think this just adds to her story.

Speaker 3 It's just another layer. And that's a part of sports.

Speaker 3 You talk about enjoy the journey and the process. This is just a part of the process.
It's unfortunate. And, but it's real.
It's real that the process is not always glorious.

Speaker 3 It's not always beautiful, but you don't know what it'll lead to. So I'd like to take, like I said, a positive spin on this.

Speaker 3 I think it's only going to add fuel to her fire and just make her so much more relatable for young girls to be able to see, Juju came back. I can come back too.
Juju overcame, I can overcome too.

Speaker 3 And so I think it'll be an inspirational type of thing.

Speaker 3 Really excited for her to be in her process. I know in a process when you're injured, you learn about yourself, you tap into new levels of yourself.
I know she's going to go through that.

Speaker 3 And I'm expecting one of the biggest comebacks in sports history, claiming that now.

Speaker 2 What is deferred is not denied.

Speaker 3 That part.

Speaker 2 That part. That's that part.
And I too hold the same kind of like overall positive sentiment that Juju Watkins is going to come back from this injury. She's going to, you know,

Speaker 2 come back full strength and with hard work and the best of everything, you know, find her way back on the court, full stop. I have no doubts in her ability to do that.
Also, this has been done before.

Speaker 2 This is not something that's impossible.

Speaker 2 I'm someone, you know, we talked about our intentions up top. I think it is okay to admit disappointment.
as well.

Speaker 2 So this, this does, this is disappointing for fans. For me as a fan, like, first of all, I was surprised that Juju got hurt.

Speaker 2 I watched a number of clips this offseason and was very impressed by her training regimen.

Speaker 2 You know, it seems like she really focused on body movements, core strength, Pilates, you know, with the best of the best.

Speaker 2 And so

Speaker 2 I actually kind of...

Speaker 2 thought maybe she had trained at such an elite level, this wouldn't happen.

Speaker 2 But here we are again, you know, whether it's Paigebackers, Juju Watkins, Cameron Brink, and these really elite female Hoopers continue to go down at these moments where it feels like their dominance is just starting to escalate and to a point where there could be an explosion.

Speaker 2 Certainly during March Madness, boy, you know, you're talking about a trajectory that, at least on the court for right now, for Juju, is paused, not over, but paused.

Speaker 2 And so one of my initial gut reactions is like, geez, this is so prevalent in women's basketball years after years after years. Like, where's the science?

Speaker 2 Like, I just hope for more like advanced science to help us avoid these types of things happening over and over again and

Speaker 2 like thwarting some of the blossoming of these players. We're just getting started.

Speaker 2 So ultimately, I think she's going to, you know, she's going to come back. And I too want to turn this positive, but I think as someone who's torn in ACL,

Speaker 2 now begins the process of mental healing, acceptance

Speaker 2 of the disappointment. I'm sorry that this happened to Juju.
I'm sorry for her family. I'm sorry for her team.

Speaker 2 It's not fair, but you have to trust, you know, whatever it is you believe, God's timing, you know, what's coming for you.

Speaker 2 And now begins the physical recovery and rehab that as someone who's torn in ACL, I got to tell you, it can only be done. one day at a time, one monotonous exercise at a time.

Speaker 2 And this is as much a physical challenge as it is a mental one.

Speaker 4 And her going down is actually kind of ironic because I feel like the whole season we've, and even last year, we've been having the conversation, what can USC do without Juju?

Speaker 4 Is Juju a one woman's show or is there another team around her? And during the game against Mississippi State or after the game against Mississippi State, they pulled off a 37-point win.

Speaker 4 So they did show that they were capable of doing stuff.

Speaker 4 But next up, they have K-State, who not only upset Kentucky in overtime, but we also saw Tamara Point Dexter go off, hitting eight clutch threes at every single point when it mattered in the game, whether they were down two or down three.

Speaker 4 It was actually insane. And then pair that with Aoka Lee and Sarita Sundell.
Do y'all think that USC has what it takes to pull off the win in this week 16?

Speaker 4 And then even looking longer, can they still win a championship?

Speaker 3 Oof, great questions. I think it'll be a game, definitely against K-State.
K-State has a lot of momentum after that upset win. I think it's going to be a great battle in the post.

Speaker 3 Raya Marshall, Kiki Yeriofin will have their hands full down there. And like you brought up, Poindexter, just going off, I think eight threes, a career high.

Speaker 3 USC is really going to have to guard from behind the arc. But I do think it's possible.

Speaker 3 As far as winning a championship, I would love to be proved wrong, but with no Juju, I just, I don't know if I see that happening if I'm keeping it real.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, I saw, I feel you, Mo, and I feel like I saw some of the formula for success for this team without Juju Watkins happen in their win against Mississippi State.

Speaker 2 Like, first of all, 29 assists in that game, that's going to be really key because Juju Watkins like made so many things happen for her teammates, even just by being on the on the court.

Speaker 2 Her gravitational pull opens things up for teammates. So now y'all got to make easy shots for one another.
So that ball's got to pop. 29 assists is important.

Speaker 2 Also, if you, if you're losing all that Juju can do on offense, then you've got to also help by being disruptive on the defensive end. And, you know, they forced

Speaker 2 20 turnovers. They got 27 points off of that in their last game.

Speaker 2 So I think defense, creating offense, getting down the court with some tempo and momentum and beating the defense down the court to get you some easier shots.

Speaker 2 I think that's going to be key against Kansas State. And then obviously defending the three-point line.
But you mentioned her name and I just want to make sure we give proper like highlight.

Speaker 2 I mean, what did you Kiki Iriaffen was in incredible after Juju Watkins went down? Juju went down in the first quarter.

Speaker 2 And like, that game honestly could have gone anywhere, but instead, USC responded by being inspired. And I think that started with Kiki.

Speaker 2 And, you know, 36 points, but it's just the fire and the undeniableness that she played with. And I think she's a baller.

Speaker 2 And I think that this was an important moment for her draft stock, too, that she's, she's got what it takes in here.

Speaker 4 Well, I'm really keen to see what USC could do without Juju, but another game I'm super excited for is the Notre Dame versus TCU matchup.

Speaker 4 And both these teams are kind of on their own journeys, but Notre Dame is back to looking like their old self, kind of looking like how they did when they were on that 19-game win streak.

Speaker 4 And in round one and round two, they won by 50 and 20 points, respectively. They're starting to come together at the perfect time, but on the other side, TCU has been killing it.

Speaker 4 They are in their first ever Sweet 16 and they have veteran presence on their team with their starting five being three graduate students, one senior, and a sophomore, Donovan Hunter, who's also killing it.

Speaker 4 So, y'all,

Speaker 4 what are your thoughts on this game? I'm very actually interested to see because I personally think that TCU is going to pull off the upset, but

Speaker 2 I don't really know.

Speaker 3 Well, like you said, Notre Dame right now, they're playing like November Notre Dame, the Notre Dame that beat USC. That's what we're seeing.

Speaker 3 In my bracket, I have them in my championship. I'm just saying.

Speaker 3 So we'll see.

Speaker 2 You never counted them out. You wasn't worried about that sleepy finish.

Speaker 3 They have me a little worried. I can't lie and say that they didn't, but they've been playing well as of late.

Speaker 3 I think they'll get it together. And when I think of that program, I'm thinking of the women who have come through that program and shined in March.

Speaker 3 The Erique Agumba Wales, the Marina Maybreeze, Guyler Diggin.

Speaker 3 They are built for March. And so I think that they'll step up.
and thrive in the next in the coming weeks. But I don't want to count out TCU.

Speaker 3 TCU has looked really really strong as well haley van lift playing well you got eminopu had some big moments big threes against louisville so uh it's definitely going to be a game i got my popcorn ready yeah yeah you know earlier on one of our earlier shows i after it was it was a limp into march madness like we're not going to sugarcoat it they they had a sleepy finish to the season did not

Speaker 2 i said they're still those girls but they do have like a gut check here and i think there's different ways to win Like a W is a W, survive and advance, but you can win in different types of styles.

Speaker 2 And the way that Notre Dame has moved through the first and second rounds has been dominant and convincing. There's nothing sleepy about it.

Speaker 2 And more importantly, I think it's them getting back to their identity. You got to be a team about identity to go far.
And they were swarming on defense. They're hustling.
They got pace.

Speaker 2 You know, they look tough. And the word they keep using is fighters, you know, which I think is going to be important.

Speaker 2 But on the other side for TCU, like like i think tcu is a bunch of fighters as well like as a program this program has had to overcome a lot um they were having open tryouts not too long ago man

Speaker 2 talk about it and now you got individual players who are fighters i mean and you mentioned that notre dam's looking like a november team if i'm not mistaken notre dame lost in november to tcu if i'm not mistaken so that's a great point and and they had to overcome a 14-point deficit to do so and haley van lith had 19 of her 21 points in the second half.

Speaker 2 And Sedona Prince had a 20-20 game. So I think it comes down to toughness.
Both these teams are fighters and it'll be a good one. I think we got a nice sweet 16 battle here for sure.

Speaker 4 I absolutely cannot wait. I mean, another thing about TCU is they look hungry.

Speaker 4 And I don't know what it is because obviously every team wants to win, but they just have a different fight to them right now. And they they have nothing to lose, honestly.

Speaker 4 But y'all, I would love to talk about this so much more, but unfortunately we have to toss the break.

Speaker 4 So, coming up, most stays with us to talk about the growth of the women's game and the impact of March Madness on the draft stocks. So, we'll be right back.

Speaker 2 Well, welcome back to Good Follow, presented by DraftKings. I'm Roz.
She's Logan. And she's, I don't know which way, and she's Mo Billings.

Speaker 2 We still got Mo Billings rocking with us, WNBA veteran of the Golden State Valkyries here. And we're breaking down how the women's tournament is impacting the women's game overall.

Speaker 4 As we've seen, the game has grown tremendously and even in the post-Caitlin Clark era. But I just want to go through a quick timeline of what we've seen the past few years.

Speaker 4 2021, the inequities and inequalities between the men's and women's tournament went absolutely viral. 2022, the women were finally allowed to use the term March Madness.

Speaker 4 And beforehand, it was just called the women's tournament. Absolutely hate that.
In 2023, a record of 9.9 million people watched the women's final.

Speaker 4 And in 2024, 18.9 million watched, which was four more than the men's final.

Speaker 4 This year, the sky does actually seem like the limit, but one of the big conversations that came up while I was watching with my family, we're watching both the men's and the women's, was about neutral sites and if the women's tournament should move to the neutral sites, or are we just not going to follow the men and stick around?

Speaker 4 Personally, I would love to see it as a neutral site tournament heading forward. But as a player, how does neutral sites affect the women's tournament or just like the general vibe of the game?

Speaker 3 So when I was at UCLA, we were kind of good or whatever.

Speaker 3 So we kind of always had home court advantage for the first and second round for at least, I think, three years that we played in the tournament. And I loved it.

Speaker 3 First of all, you're sleeping in your own bed. You got a home cooked meal waiting for you.
You know what I mean? Like it's comfortable. You're in your environment.
You know that environment well. And

Speaker 3 I personally love it. Logan, I'm really interested to know why don't you, why would you say neutral sites opposed to home court advantage?

Speaker 4 To be honest, there's not much behind it other than the fact that your fan bases both have to travel.

Speaker 4 So maybe it would be like even keeled, because especially in the first and second round tournaments, based on what we've seen this year, there have been humongous blowouts.

Speaker 4 So maybe it's a little bit like more for the team who would maybe be a 15, 13, honestly, any team between like 15 and 11 seed, some more motivation.

Speaker 4 Maybe we'd see some more upsets because the crowd isn't fully behind them.

Speaker 4 But with that said, I definitely see why the players would like it and why it is a great thing because from what we've seen on TV, the fan bases have been going strong.

Speaker 3 I was just going to say, I think it's even more of an incentive to have a higher seed. Like you're getting to play at home.

Speaker 3 So it's like that makes you play harder, like just wanting to be in your comfort zone. What you got, Ross?

Speaker 2 No, I think, of course, you know, it's nice for the person who gets to eat at home and sleep in their beds. And, you know, you're already the dominant top seed.

Speaker 2 Like, how much harder do we need to make this on the little guy? I think we're missing the point.

Speaker 2 Like, obviously, if there were more neutral sites, if we were playing on neutral sites, there's more likelihood for there to be more upsets early, more parity, more madness.

Speaker 2 And I think the women's game is elevating to this. It's already, you know, we're seeing more parody.

Speaker 2 The biggest barrier is an economic issue, you know, just putting the butts in seats, the biggest draws, and fan bases and ticket sales still in the women's game, really, and naturally follows the biggest stars, legendary coaches, perennial programs.

Speaker 2 And so like, that's the hard part.

Speaker 2 But as everything that Logan just listed, as far as like the growth of the women's game, only puts more, I think, incentive and accountability on the backs of the powers that be to challenge themselves to be better and continue to innovate, find a way that to organize the women's tournament where you can optimize, you know.

Speaker 2 attendance and ticket sales, but also optimize fairness. And I think that's the challenge as the game continues to escalate and grow.

Speaker 3 That's a mic drop moment, Roz.

Speaker 2 Like, that's really, really well said.

Speaker 2 Nah, I feel you because I, too, was on a team that was very, very good in Stanford, you know, and we loved playing at home, of course.

Speaker 2 But I think like back when I was playing, and I'm the generation before you, Mo.

Speaker 2 I mean, you talking about we didn't even get challenged until the final four. We talking our first tough game was the final four.
No, no offense to respectfully to everyone. Yeah,

Speaker 2 but just the game, there was a gap. You were top 10, you were top five, and then it was like a major gap.
Like that's not the case so much anymore.

Speaker 3 True.

Speaker 2 And, you know, with that parody, it's being driven by some really incredible players. And so the tournament is also impacting a player's draft stock.

Speaker 2 And I want to point out two examples in Haley Van Lith and Deja Kelly. Let's start with Haley Van Lith from TCU.
You know, she's taken TCU to its first ever Sweet 16 appearance, y'all.

Speaker 2 She creates shots. She has a dog mentality.
She's a fighter. She has recently, very publicly spoken about her battle with mental health.

Speaker 2 And she went to a final four when she was with Louisville. In addition to two elite eights, now she's taking TCU to the Sweet 16.
The girl is a part of winning.

Speaker 2 She is a winner, you know, and then you have Deja Kelly on Oregon on the other side. And for Deja Kelly, she is just a scoring guard.
She's unafraid in high pressure situations.

Speaker 2 She can break down defenders with her handle.

Speaker 2 This wasn't the best overall season for Oregon as a team, but getting that first round upset and being led by Deja there, I think that was important for her and her draft stock.

Speaker 2 So, Mo, I want to come to you as our resident player in the WNBA.

Speaker 2 When you look at guards like Haley and Deja, who stayed the extra year, who transferred schools again, and they felt they had more to showcase. And then in the tournament, they've had nice showings.

Speaker 2 What's the biggest factor in translating that college success to the WNBA?

Speaker 3 One, I would say, is just strength.

Speaker 3 I think strength is a really big thing that might not be talked about enough, but that jump from the college game to the WNBA, you're dealing with a different body type.

Speaker 3 You're dealing with the best guards in the world. You're going to have a Britney Sykes guarding you.
You're going to have a Khaliya Copper guarding you.

Speaker 3 And it's like, do you have the strength to get past these guards? So I think that's one.

Speaker 3 And two, when I came into the league, I had a vet who told me, be great at something every day and be consistent in that. For me, that's rebounding.
Like that's my bread and butter.

Speaker 3 I might not hit a bucket. I might be having a terrible day on the court, but it's rebounding in that energy.

Speaker 3 So if like guards, players in general, come into the league, knowing what their niche is, knowing what they're great at, I think that is what can solidify a player, especially two players like these.

Speaker 3 We know they're great. We know they can score.
Everyone in the W can score. So it's like, how else can you fit into a system? Where can you shine?

Speaker 3 Will it be defense? Will it be hustle plays along with scoring?

Speaker 2 Yeah. and I feel like, too, with the expansion of the WNBA, there's more opportunity for these younger players who it takes time to get there.
Like in the past, you know, you could be a top pick and

Speaker 2 not make the roster because you just aren't up to speed yet on the W. And I think with more rosters, you know, you have a chance to develop a little bit better here.
Wouldn't you think, Mo?

Speaker 3 Totally. And I want to add to that, it's about fit.
So it could be a great player, but just didn't fit in the system. Or there's already three, three players who play the same position.

Speaker 3 It's all about fit. Sometimes it's, you're lucky and you got on a team that just needed you.
And sometimes it's, you're unlucky and you're on a team where it just wasn't a good fit.

Speaker 3 They didn't need you. But maybe you'll be able to get on another, another team that does need you.
So fit is a big thing in the W.

Speaker 4 That's one of the worst things to see, like, especially towards the end of training camp when all the cuts are being made and you're like, dang, like you really thought that they'd fit in, but it just didn't work.

Speaker 4 And then it's kind of down to crunch time where it's like, okay, we have to find another team that works for them. And that's kind of when it gets chaotic.

Speaker 4 But speaking of expansion, Mo, you're on the Valkyries and this is their first season.

Speaker 2 So that the team has not played together.

Speaker 4 The team doesn't know each other. It's a very new team.
So what are y'all doing to kind of mesh gel together and just meet each other to begin with?

Speaker 3 Well, we definitely had our first team bonding powwow over Zoom yesterday. It was cute, very simple, casual, just getting to know each other, asking, what are you into? What kind of music do you like?

Speaker 3 What are just a couple little pain points that you're open to sharing and being vulnerable, which I thought was really cool.

Speaker 3 Everyone seems chill, competitive. That was a big thing that came up, a big theme, positive and excited.
Everyone is just so excited to get to work. So the vibes are high already.

Speaker 2 Not y'all doing icebreakers. That is crazy.
WNBA teams. They're just like us.
Okay, so what was your answer in the icebreaker?

Speaker 2 Like, you know, what did you reveal to the team about your secret talents or like what? Yeah.

Speaker 3 So for me, it wasn't a secret talent. It was just something I think it was, what are you passionate about? I said, I'm a yogi and that I'm planning on being certified this year.

Speaker 3 And then another fun fact was music. What do you like listening to? And I told them I'm an RB girly, but I also love the 2000s, the 90s.
So those are a couple of little facts that I had given.

Speaker 2 Oh my gosh, you are just like an onion peeling down the layers. You got so much stuff.
I would love to set intentions, do yoga with you, and listen to 90s and 2000s RB.

Speaker 2 Like you should just like set up a retreat, like a workshop or something.

Speaker 3 Y'all, I will be intentional to do so. It's on the way.

Speaker 4 It's on the way. I would absolutely love that.
Well, Mo, thank you so much for joining us. It is always a pleasure and so much fun having you on.

Speaker 4 And y'all, coming up, we have an exclusive interview with WNBA star Kalia Copper.

Speaker 2 We'll be right back.

Speaker 3 Thanks, y'all.

Speaker 5 Hey, what's up, Good Follow? This is Roz Gold on Wedne, and I am here with Kalia Copper. What's going on? What's up? What's up? Yeah, I'm good.
She's over here representing for Team Rose.

Speaker 5 You know what's going on.

Speaker 5 And the Phoenix Mercury as well, four-time all-star out of where?

Speaker 5 No Philadelphia. I knew you couldn't wait for it.

Speaker 5 You know, you've been at the top of your game this whole time, but have you felt like an underdog?

Speaker 5 Here, I mean, in life as a hooper? I mean, in general, my career is, my career is underdog, but being here, I think, you know, that first week when ESPN put out the rankings, you know, we were six.

Speaker 5 I immediately screenshot that, sent it to NOLA, and I'm like, hey, NOLA, I need you to print this out and hang it in the locker room.

Speaker 5 So I wanted everybody to see that and understand this is what people think about us. This is where they think we're a sixth-place team.

Speaker 5 So us walking in the locker room and seeing that every single day, I think we... We put that chip on our shoulder and we went out there and did what we do.

Speaker 5 And not even talking about, you know, how, it's not about how you start it's about how you finish yeah not for nothing on good follow show we had our preseason ranking guess where i put the rose i don't know let me know because i need to know if i need to stay here or if i need to go here to head on out

Speaker 5 so let me know

Speaker 5 one oh pin i picked y'all to win okay i picked you guys to win okay i like that so i appreciate the way you guys made me look smart but um it's also the way you finish the season and one person who's been mind-blowing is chelsea Chelsea.

Speaker 5 Chelsea.

Speaker 2 Lakeisha.

Speaker 5 Lakeisha. Lakeisha.
So what can you say about Chelsea and this experience with her? I think, personally, I love when I'm able to play with other great players.

Speaker 5 I think, you know, being at the Olympics, I get that experience. Being here is the best players here.
So being able to be with Chelsea was great, you know, as a point guard, as a leader. as a person

Speaker 5 she's been great you know she's literally carried us um and also kept us very even queue. Like

Speaker 5 throughout all of the moments and the highs and the lows of the season, I think she's been a very steady leader for us. She had one of the iconic moments of the unrivaled season.

Speaker 5 So in the semifinal, she drops 39 points. I mean, clutch bucket after clutch bucket after clutch bucket.
Actually, you may not know this.

Speaker 5 So before the game, the jerseys were out there and there were plenty jerseys. Do you know after that game, her jersey was gone? That's stealing.
People left that arena and bought that jersey.

Speaker 5 That's what it's about. Yeah.

Speaker 5 Yeah, so

Speaker 5 how did you find yourself watching her step up in that way and continue to pour tough shots down the throats of the laces? I mean, that's Chelsea.

Speaker 5 Like, if you watch her in her career, when it's winning time and when it's down the stretch and when it's clutching, who has the ball? Yeah. It's Chelsea.
And it's not even always to make the bucket.

Speaker 5 It's we know if we get you the ball, you're going to make the right decision. So,

Speaker 5 I mean, I think that's been Chelsea Chelsea her entire career. So, just like heads off to her.

Speaker 5 One more teammate question because one of the fun things are seeing like the interactions between the different combinations of unrivaled players. We've loved you and Angel Reese.

Speaker 5 So, what's the friendship there?

Speaker 5 And, like, what is she like as a teammate for you? That's really grand, baby.

Speaker 5 Oh, she's she's been a sponge from day one. But,

Speaker 5 you know, just outside of what you hear, you know, you always want to experience people for yourself, you know.

Speaker 5 But just being a competitor, competing against her and seeing her, and then like competing with her is a different,

Speaker 5 it's so different. And

Speaker 5 I think that it was a. How was it different?

Speaker 5 Because, like, we on the same team. Now

Speaker 5 I don't got to get with you. Like, now we're doing it together, like, with other people.
So, not too many times teams have like real dogs. Like, everybody say they a dog,

Speaker 5 but them real dogs like to be on the same team with a real like that's that's elite so like back to like her wanting to learn like she she wanted to be around good vets like winners uh she wanted to soak in the knowledge and she also wanted to have fun and be herself yeah like she had this girl i be doing tick tocks talking about it's sunday grandma let's like you wasn't into all that no i wasn't i don't be doing no tick tocks y'all i was like i came here just like chilling but like i said like it's been, it's been super fun, I think, for everybody.

Speaker 5 Like, our team has

Speaker 5 everyone's personality has come out, and everyone has been themselves, and we've had a lot of fun, and we've had success.

Speaker 5 Like, it wasn't no, like, all tight and like, oh, we have practice, we have, like, no, like, we was having fun. Like, it was, it was fun, but it was always business, too.

Speaker 5 So, I like how my team like really kept that balance.

Speaker 5 Um, even with the social media, like, we had fun, we engaged with our fans like we had we got the full experience how did belt to ask come about okay speaking of social media because there's clips of doing that yeah so it's so crazy because i literally i said it first in practice right before um the eagles so uh it's a player from the eagles who always say it and like i don't think it's philly i don't think it's like philly i mean philly stuff but I think it's Philly stuff.

Speaker 5 But I came to practice one day. I think me, Angel, it was either me and Angel was partners or me, Angel, and Chelsea were together.
We were shooting.

Speaker 5 And I just came out there and was like, we just won. I'm like, it's belt.

Speaker 5 It's belt.

Speaker 5 And then we just like, it was with everything. Like, we just started saying it all the time.

Speaker 2 Then I'm like, oh, bad, that's it.

Speaker 5 BTA.

Speaker 5 Y'all out there pretending imaginary.

Speaker 5 Like, people be getting all feeling some type of way about it, but like, that's just us. Like, that's literally us in a nutshell.
It's not no trolling. It's like, this is, this is what we having fun.

Speaker 5 Yeah. This is what we do.
Like, it's cool. It's all, it's all fun and games.
I think all of the trash talk is great.

Speaker 2 Yeah, right.

Speaker 5 You know, and the play is backing it up. Right.
And it's healthy.

Speaker 5 And for me, I'm seeing it creating fandom where people are talking about the games and the players and the action versus sometimes the conversation hasn't been about what's on the court. Right.

Speaker 5 Like, how do you like the trash talk happening in the women's game and during unrivaled season? I mean, I'm definitely, I'm cool with it because I'm good for it a little bit. So, I mean, I like it.

Speaker 5 I mean,

Speaker 5 it's not like,

Speaker 5 why not? Why can't we?

Speaker 5 We're the best at what we do. You have the best players here competing at a high level,

Speaker 5 both wanting to win. Like, why not? What's wrong with it? There's nothing wrong with it.
Everybody do it, but when we do it, it's a problem. Yeah.
Come on. Yeah.
You mentioned the Eagles.

Speaker 5 So, congratulations. Congratulations.
Thanks. Your Your Philly team, you know, won the Super Bowl.

Speaker 5 You managed to somehow piece together your schedule because it was literally the Super Bowl and then the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament began.

Speaker 5 I was there. I was doing your interviews and stuff.
So can you just explain what the Super Bowl experience in New Orleans was like? How was it after they won and your squad won?

Speaker 5 and then turned around and had to come to Unrivaled for the one-on-one tournament. Yo, so I flew to New Orleans and I'm there with my friends and my family.
We get some food, we're chilling.

Speaker 5 Next day, the Super Bowl day, it was like, it was just hectic. Like, some people just came there, you know, just to just be in the environment.
And it was such a crazy environment.

Speaker 5 It was just, it was really fun.

Speaker 5 But

Speaker 5 just to go like to the game and have that full experience, shout out to Gatorade. I love y'all taking care of me.

Speaker 5 You know, we were in the suite enjoying the game. And then

Speaker 5 after

Speaker 5 the post-game celebration, and then just going out and like being around, like, it's people you don't even know. It's just like, you just with everybody, everybody.
And the clerk, we all fam.

Speaker 5 We all fam. And Philly, we all fam.
Like, we was just, we were out. I get back.
I would get back to the room

Speaker 5 maybe

Speaker 5 one,

Speaker 5 one, two a.m.

Speaker 5 Flights at like 6. Oh.
Yeah. And you know, the airports are hectic because everyone's leaving.
Yeah. And then I have to, we go back.
I'm like, damn, do I sleep an hour? Like, dangerous.

Speaker 5 I do it anyway.

Speaker 5 Go to the airport, fly, fly right in, try to get like a little nap, and it's game time. What? That's see, we didn't cover that.
Yeah, yeah. You know, but you still able to get that first round win.

Speaker 5 Yeah, got the, yeah. Somebody put me on Twitter, said,

Speaker 5 she got Don Julio and chicken wings in her stomach.

Speaker 5 I might, I might have.

Speaker 5 But yeah, I made it. I made it.
Big eye emoji. Like,

Speaker 5 yeah, I made it through the, that was a tough, that was a tough first round, too. Did you feel better about the second round match? Were you more rested and collected for that?

Speaker 5 I felt, yeah, I definitely felt a lot better. It was, I mean, it was a lot, but I mean, it was, it's whatever.
I mean, I definitely felt better, though.

Speaker 5 For a $200,000 prize, I'm going to sneeze at it. Yeah, like,

Speaker 5 you don't, I'm not turning that down for nothing. She said, I'll be back from the Super Bowl.
Yeah,

Speaker 5 I'll find a way. You get Too much money on the line.

Speaker 5 Okay, now looking ahead, though, Phoenix Mercury. Oh, it's a whole lot of new and excitement coming in to Arizona.
I'm like, where is Phoenix? To Arizona. So, what are you most looking forward to?

Speaker 5 That there's a new big three. It's you, Satu Saboly, and Alyssa Thomas.
Yeah.

Speaker 5 I'm excited to, like I said, I love to play with great players. So just watching those two in their careers,

Speaker 5 I think AT has an incredible IQ,

Speaker 5 a great facilitator, and and just like we talk about dogs, like people is afraid to play against her. Like,

Speaker 5 I think she is like ultimate competitor. She makes others around her better.

Speaker 5 And I mean, sometimes you got to tell her, like, go, be you, like, go score.

Speaker 5 And then Sa, like, unicorn, can do it all.

Speaker 5 Another one who just wants to win

Speaker 5 and just be around great people. So I'm excited for that.
I'm excited for also all the other pieces.

Speaker 5 You know, I mean, we talk about big three, but like, it's not always going to be about us. It's going to be Kalani.
It's going to be Sev. It's going to be Sammy.

Speaker 5 It's going to be all of these players that are going to be with us. So I'm just excited to get back and get to know everybody.
Do you feel with Diana Taurasi retiring, so an era is ended?

Speaker 5 You know, BG is going to Atlanta, you got new faces coming in. You yourself sit here as a finals MVP, a champion, a four-time all-star.

Speaker 5 Do you feel that like the leadership voice, you have an accountability for that? I mean, for sure. I think there's

Speaker 5 a standard as far as Phoenix, period, and as far as

Speaker 5 honoring DT and BG for what they have done for that organization.

Speaker 5 I wouldn't have the things that we have in Phoenix without them. So just to give them their flowers, because they have set the foundation and they have done the work.

Speaker 5 So just continuing to uphold that legacy and what it means to be

Speaker 5 a Merck player. So,

Speaker 5 yeah, I'm just going to go in and be a leader and be consistent and continue to uphold that standard. Yeah.
How old are you now?

Speaker 5 30.

Speaker 2 Girl, that's great.

Speaker 5 Congratulations. I turned 30 and my back started hurting, so I don't know.
I'm getting a little old. That's crazy.
Don't let these young people start calling you Granny, girl.

Speaker 5 You haven't even hit prime yet.

Speaker 5 you might be prime right i'm i'm i'm right in there are you in prime right now i'm in prime right now you're in prime i'm in prime right now okay well my my question was to say because you mentioned legacy i was like are you old enough do you remember dt in her prime prime oh yeah i mean you know you you didn't get to like necessarily play against all that by the time and certainly not with her in phoenix but um

Speaker 5 what will you take away from

Speaker 5 your time playing with, against, and just knowing the body of work of Diana Taurasi?

Speaker 5 I think how she shows up every single day she shows up every single day and put in the work I mean that was my shooting partner so every day

Speaker 5 like

Speaker 5 sore

Speaker 5 whatever hurt

Speaker 5 tire it like it didn't matter every every single day she showed up and and just and just put in the work I mean I think people it's super cliche like you put in the work and you get the results but like to see her doing it at such a high level at her age, it's like,

Speaker 5 why aren't you doing it? It gives, it makes everyone around her look in the mirror. Rookies to second years to five years to ten years.

Speaker 5 For me, like, if D can do it, if D is doing it, you have no excuse. So I think she sets the standard already by how she works.
How cool you got to be shooting partners with her. I know, right? Right?

Speaker 5 What was she saying here? Just like ev like just tips like, oh, we working on this today, or we're doing this. Like, it was never the same every day.

Speaker 5 It was like, okay, today we're doing our step backs. Or today, we're working on this.
So it was cool. I mean, I've played with greats, and just to play with like ones that's on that Mount Rushmore

Speaker 5 is like, it means so much to me.

Speaker 5 Your Mount Rushmore of Legends would include Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot. Who am I missing?

Speaker 5 I mean, from the ones that I've played with,

Speaker 5 because Mount Rushmore is like,

Speaker 5 that's a tough question for me in general, general, but just like the greats that I've played with, like Candice,

Speaker 5 y'all see the kick up. Yeah,

Speaker 5 DT, like Sloot, like,

Speaker 5 just thinking about that 2021 season,

Speaker 5 yo, like, you remember, I was there with you. I was there.

Speaker 5 Like, anybody could have got finals MVP. Like,

Speaker 5 Allie was incredible. Like, everyone was just...
was great and not all the time do you have everyone clicking on it on the same cell they're like it was it it was great. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 5 And we were playing against DT.

Speaker 5 And she was, oh, my goodness. Yeah.
She was trying to cause us some problems. Yeah.

Speaker 5 I remember there was a punch in the wall, right? Was it a wall? Was it a door?

Speaker 5 I mean, there was so much emotion on the line, but it was certainly one of the big breakout moments for you during that series. You have one more, and I'll get you out on this.

Speaker 5 It wasn't just for the championship in 2021 in Chicago, but then there's also one with the Olympic national team. And USA needed you most.
They needed anything.

Speaker 5 The game was tight to finally come away with that gold medal. And boy, did you step up.
So, where does that kind of heart and resilience, like, where do you dig from?

Speaker 5 And how, on the when the lights are brightest, how do you always seem to show up? I mean, that's, that's what big-time players do, right? When them lights get real bright, like, you show up.

Speaker 5 And I think for me, that moment in the Olympics was my career in a nutshell. I have always been prepared

Speaker 5 and when I get the opportunity I'm prepared so it's no problem. It doesn't matter if I didn't play the second half, I mean the first half.

Speaker 5 If you say I got three minutes left in the fourth and you need me to go out there,

Speaker 5 I'm gonna do what needs to be done. When I say that's my career in a nutshell, it's I didn't play.

Speaker 5 I mean I got traded, didn't play, played a little bit, came off the bench a big-time role player, inserted into the starting five, and then

Speaker 5 just kind of like taking off from there and then being consistent.

Speaker 5 I think that that was the most important thing for my career was being consistent, but also like getting better. So,

Speaker 5 yeah, it was just like, I'm like, I'm used to this. Like,

Speaker 5 I mean, I'm ready. So, when you call my name, I'm always be ready.
Yeah.

Speaker 5 Well, the trajectory continues to be up. We're going up.
We want to thank you so much for pulling up with us, girl. This was great to have you.
Fascinating. Thank you.

Speaker 2 Welcome back to Good Follow. Big thank you to Kalia Copper for joining us for that sit-down interview.
Really cool to talk with her.

Speaker 2 So fun and so awesome to hear about how she keeps rising to the occasion time and again all right y'all let's go back to the ncaa women's tournament this segment is presented by draft kings oh yeah the sweet 16 is here and i'm locked in on all of the games but especially friday's matchup between number two nc state versus number three lsu number two nc state has a terrific trio of guards and isaiah james saniah rivers and zoe brooks isaiah james leads this team in scoring and is a veteran leader who can score at all ranges, off the catch, off the bounce.

Speaker 2 She is a bucket. LSU has talent too.
We love the heart of Flage Johnson, and it's always fun to watch. But anchoring LSU is the relentlessness of Anissa Morrow.

Speaker 2 She's putting in the work on the glass, getting buckets. She's a force in the paint, and she's leading her team in steals too.
So doing it on both ends.

Speaker 2 NC State made 15 threes as a team to head into the Sweet 16.

Speaker 2 If they can keep up that kind of hot shooting, they're going to create even more space for their guards to attack and they'll be very hard to stop.

Speaker 2 So while both NC State and LSU have deep tournament experience, I've got the Wolfpack finding their way into the Elite Eight. And don't miss your chance to get in on the action during March Madness.

Speaker 2 Here's what I got for you. DraftKings is supporting the Women's Sports Foundation during the 2025 Women's College Basketball Tournament.

Speaker 2 So for every entry into the second chance bracket, DraftKings will donate $1 to the Women's Sports Foundation up to $25,000 total. So to enter, visit draftkings.com slash second chance.

Speaker 2 This segment is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown, it's yours.

Speaker 2 I love it every single time.

Speaker 2 Every single time. And that also means that it's time for you, Logan, to take us through the headlines, the quick hits that we haven't gotten to yet.

Speaker 4 Yes, well, we are getting to the end of the Miami Open with the finals coming up this weekend. And we actually went together and it was so much fun.

Speaker 4 First of all, the Miami weather is amazing, but it was so much fun just to be in the whole tennis atmosphere. There were all these activations, Ross.
What was your favorite part about it?

Speaker 2 Well, remember when you, when we went to Unrivaled together and like you were taking your jump shot and, you know.

Speaker 2 You did what you could there? That was me with my tennis swing. I was out there trying to channel my inner Serena Williams, but it was so fun.
A gorgeous, lovely day.

Speaker 2 Really fun to do all like the activations with you and just watch some tennis logan what did you love oh my goodness i think the activations was my favorite part or the sun i was basking in the sun at one point we were like y'all the seats that we had wait y'all so wait wait it was so hot um and we were sitting our seats were directly in the sun it's a beautiful day in miami so me and our social media wizard kirsten we like found some seats in the shade because uh uh but logan coming in from canada just sat in the sun sweating completely soaking wet and just like basking as if she would never see it again.

Speaker 2 But you did leave a shade or two darker. So good for you, girl.
So worth it. Absolutely.

Speaker 4 I did not regret it. 10 out of 10, 100% recommend.
But we also have another fun story in the men's side of March Madness with the McNee State manager, Mr. Amir Orakhan,

Speaker 2 NIL deals, and he's just going viral everywhere.

Speaker 2 You know what? That was one of my favorite stories of the tournament. McNee State is out.
But, you know, I love seeing like the characters that emerge emerge during the tournament. Good for Oricon.

Speaker 2 It was nice for the program. It wasn't a distraction.
Hey, NIL, man, it's the wild, wild west. Everybody's getting to the coin where the money reside.

Speaker 4 Exactly. If you have the personality, you can, you can be somewhere else.
You can be a manager and get NIL deals. Like, I feel like they never

Speaker 2 have.

Speaker 4 You never expected that sentence to be said. But moving on to hockey, the final frozen four took place and Wisconsin won their second title in three years.
Now, this game was very, very chaotic.

Speaker 4 They tied the game with 19 seconds left and then won in overtime. But it was looking, as it was getting down to the wire, it was looking like Ohio State was going to upset them.

Speaker 4 So that was definitely a good one. And then lastly, we have Lindsay Vaughn taking second in the Super G World Cup final.
And this is our first podium since retiring. So good for her.

Speaker 4 I feel like she is on every single podium that we see.

Speaker 2 Let's go. We love excellence, don't we, Logan? Absolutely.

Speaker 2 Well, I felt like it was a pretty awesome show.

Speaker 2 Should we say excellent? I don't know. It was a great show show

Speaker 2 because we got to rock out together. We just came off of seeing each other in person.
We had some awesome guests. Mo Billings hung out with us from top to bottom or midway through the show.

Speaker 2 Thank you so much, Mo, for pulling up. Friend to the show and setting intentions together.
An awesome, fun, cool sit-down interview with Kalia Copper. Thank you to her for kicking it with us.

Speaker 2 And of course, all of you at home watching or wherever you watch this show, we appreciate it. If you haven't yet, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe,

Speaker 2 Subscribe.

Speaker 2 Like, comment, heart, notifications, follow on social media.

Speaker 2 We're building this thing show by show, episode by episode. And we really appreciate that you pull up.
So, Logan, you out?

Speaker 5 We out?

Speaker 4 We out. See you next week, y'all.

Speaker 2 See you next week.