JuJu’s One Relatable Trait with JuJu Watkins and Lindsay Gottlieb

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to a good game with Sarah Spain, where we
can't stop moniaghally and enthusiastically waving at everyone we pass
on the street, just like Sidney Colson waved at NFL
quarterback Joe Burrow. Peep the video in the show notes.
It's Wednesday, December eighteenth, and on today's show, we'll be
talking to USC women's basketball megastar Juju Watkins and head
coach Lindsay Gottlieb about their electric ten to one start

(00:21):
to the season, Juju's mogul status, and returning the USC
program to its former glory. Plus, there's a ton of
money moving in the women's basketball space. Pro softball players
are banding together, and we've got some of your favee
women's sports pop culture references to share. It's all coming
up right after this Welcome Backslices. Here's what you need

(00:49):
to know today in soccer news. We can't believe we're
saying this, but US women's national team defender, former captain,
two time World Cup champion, and Olympic gold medalist Becky
Souerbrunn confirmed on Tuesday that she's retiring from professional soccer.
Via a post on Instagram, she posted a slide show

(01:10):
featuring some of the most memorable moments of her career,
with a caption that began, quote, it's time you work hard.
You take each moment, and then it happens. You wake
up one day and realize you're still dreaming, And then
you work even harder to do the impossible, to hold
on to that dream, to shape it, to stretch it
out for as long as you can, knowing full well
that one day you would either have to let it

(01:30):
go or watch it slip from your grasp. But you
do it anyway because it's worth it. End quote. That's
just the beginning. Oh, I can't read anymore without crying.
So we're just going to link to her full Instagram
post in our show notes and remind you that the
thirty nine year old is one of the US women's
national team's most beloved players, having earned two hundred and
nineteen caps over the span of a sixteen year international career.

(01:51):
She also played in every season of the National Women's
Soccer League for FC Kansas City, the Utah Royals, and
the Portland Thorns. She won two championships with Kansas City,
won with Portland, and was a four time NWSL Defender
of the Year. Shout out to Claire Watkins at scout
Ripley on X who reminded us that we don't just
love Becky for what she gave us on the field,
but also for the way she approached the game. Claire

(02:13):
posted on X quote always loved this quote from Becky
Sowerbrun a few years ago. Quote. I would say that
I would hope that I'm remembered, but that I'm not missed,
because if I'm missed, then I didn't do my job.
But if I'm remembered that I had an impact, and
I would be just fine with that end quote. We'll
remember you so hard, Becky. More footing news. Emma Hayes,

(02:33):
who led the US women's national team to the Olympic
gold medal in Paris in just her tenth match as
the team said coach, has been named the Best FIFA
Women's Coach of the Year for twenty twenty four. Three
key members of that gold medal winning side, captain and
midfielder Lindsay Horan, defender Naomi Germa, and goalkeeper Alissa Nayer,
were named the Best FIFA Women's eleven and by virtue
of her being named to the Best eleven Neyor won
the Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper for twenty twenty four. Not

(02:57):
a bad way to end a career, Uncle Nayor. And finally,
we're sending a big old congrats to Marta, Brazilian soccer
legend and recent NWSL champion with the Orlando Pride, for
winning the inaugural FIFA Marta Award. We know what you're thinking,
and yes, it is named after her. The award was
introduced this year to recognize the best goal in women's football,

(03:17):
and the thirty eight year old won it for a
stunning solo scoring effort back in June against Jamaica and
an international friendly. We'll link to a video of that
goal in our show notes. I don't know can you
create award called the Marta and then not give it
to Marta. I mean, there were other nominees, but it
just feels right. In college basketball news, there's a new
tournament in town, South Carolina. UCLA, Duke and Texas will

(03:38):
compete in the Player's Era Women's Championship next season around
robin event in Las Vegas that'll happen during Thanksgiving week.
The tournament will give athletes on each team the chance
to engage in at least one million dollars of NIL
activities with the title group and sponsors. South Carolina head
coach John Staley spoke highly of the tournament, which took
place on the men's side for the first time just
last month. She told the AP quote, We're excited to

(04:01):
be among the first women's teams invited to play in
the Player's Era Women's Championship. This innovative event brings together
everything we're looking for, quality games early in the season,
a great location for fans to come and enjoy, and
nil opportunities for our players end quote. Super exciting stuff,
especially with so many concerns swirling about top teams lacking
strength of schedule early in the season. This is going

(04:23):
to help. Kind of wish the women's tournament would have
started up this year too, though, because of how well
the game Cocks, UCLA, Duke Texas, all ranked in the
top ten, have been to start this season. But got
something to look forward to next year. More college basketball entrepreneur, philanthropists,
husband of tennis legend Serena Williams and University of Virginia
alum Alexis Ohanian has made what his alma Mater called

(04:44):
a multi year transformational gift to its women's basketball program,
good for the largest gift in program history. The exact
dollar amount has not been disclosed. This is nothing new
for Ohanian. He's got a track record of investing in
women's sports. He's an investor in Angels CITYFC of the NWSL,
raed the off season and WSL reality series with Gotham
FC forward Mitch Purse, and now his hope is that

(05:05):
this gift can help UVA return to its form from
the nineties, when folks like Don Staley propelled the team
to deep runs in the NCAA tournament on a regular basis.
More Hoops News and more Don Staley, She and USC
starred Juju Watkins are among those who contributed cash to
the unrivaled women's three on three league's latest investment round,
which raked in a whopping twenty eight million dollars per

(05:27):
sport Ago. That round brings unrivals total capital rays to
thirty five million before a single game has even been
played now. For reference, the WNBA brought in seventy five
million in the league's first ever capital raise back in
twenty twenty two, just after concluding its twenty fifth season.
Unrivaled has an eight million dollars salary pool and is
already paying each of its thirty six players an average

(05:49):
salary higher than the regular max contract of two hundred
and fourteen thousand plus for the twenty twenty five WNBA season.
More Unrivaled news, Los Angeles Sparks forward Cam Brink a
deal to play in the league.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
Now.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
She won't suit up this season, she's still making her
way back from an acltair suffer during a WNBA game
back in June, but her multi year deal means she
will take the court for the Lunar Owls Basketball Club
during the twenty twenty six Unrivaled season. Think we're done
with hoops today, while we are not, because we've got
some WNBA news. Per ESPN's Sham Sharania. On Tuesday, Las

(06:21):
Vegas ASA star Asia Wilson is signing a six year
contract extension with Nike in one of the richest shoe
deals for a women's basketball player ever. The three time
WNBA MVP and two time champ will Ink this deal
after being named to Nike's roster of signature athletes back
in May and following the announcement of her signature shoe
that A one set to release before the next WNBA

(06:42):
season in spring of twenty twenty five. In Softball News,
a group of more than sixty softball players have formed
the Professional Women's Softball Players Association, abbreviated as the PWSPA.
The group says it aims to amplify athlete voices and
foster the growth of professional softball, and is calling for
things like minimum salaries, comprehensive how healthcare coverage, and childcare assistants.
The news comes after several players spoke out about the

(07:04):
working conditions during the twenty twenty four Women's Professional fast
Pitch season, with players on one of the teams saying
that there were missed payments and that they were provided
with inadequate facilities and housing. Got to take a quick
break when we come back striking the right balance With
Juju Watkins and Lindsay Gottlieb, it's time for another group

(07:28):
chat where we take the tea from the text to
put it on the airwaves. This time it's with USC
Basketball joining us. She's the head coach of the USC Trojans,
previously the head coach of the UC Santa Barbara Gaucho's
and the California Golden Bears, and a former assistant coach
for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the MNBA. In her second
season with cal she led the team to their first
final foreign school history, was named PAC twelve Coach of
the Year by the media, and What's one of four

(07:50):
finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year. Hooper
herself at Brown University, she played while also acting as
a student assistant working with the coaching staff, and she's
been a professional coach since the day after she graduated college.
She's not related to Doug Gottlieb, and she, like me,
comes from a family of lawyers. It's coach, Lindsay Gottlieb.

Speaker 3 (08:06):
What's up, Coach, Hey, Sarah, how are you? I've been
called a lot of things, Hooper was never one of them,
so I appreciate that.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
We're gonna give it to you. You played account alongside her.
She's the star of the USC Trojan's Team and the
star of the sixth part NBC and Peacock DOCU series
On the Rise Juju Watkins. In her first season at USC,
she was named unanimous First Team All American, won the
ann Meyers Drysdale Award, presented annually to the best shooting
guard in the NCUBA, and she led USC to the
Elite eight. She received National Freshman at the Year recognition

(08:35):
and set the nc double A Division one freshman scoring
record as a high school senior. On senior Night, she
scored a career high sixty points and was named California
Gatorade Player of the Year, Miss Basketball, Gateorade National Player
of the Year, and Naysmith Prep Player of the Year.
Ranked the number one recruit in her class by ESPN,
she signed with Clutch Sports Group while still in high school,
becoming the first female athlete represented by the agency. She's

(08:56):
got nil deals with tons of brands, including Nike, and
in October she extended or contract with them, signing a
shoe deal, making it one of the richest shoe endorsement
deals and women's basketball Get that bag, girl. It's Juju watkids,
what's up? Jujuo?

Speaker 2 (09:11):
How are you?

Speaker 1 (09:13):
I'm good, but I spent a long time trying to
get your bio down to a reasonable number of minutes,
because good lord, you are already so accomplished, and I'm
so excited to talk to both of you, so much
fun to watch this season and last season, the last
couple of years. As the program continues to rise and coach,
I want to start with you. Currently ranked number seven
in the nation ten and one. Tell me about the culture.

(09:33):
Tell me about the vibe of this year's team.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
This year's team is incredibly fun to be around. You know,
the way college athletics is, you're always adding new pieces,
whether it be freshmen. We have big freshman class this
year and some portal transfers, so it's a little bit
different every year. That's the fun of it. But I
think we have a group that really gets along off
the court, very serious minded on the court. You know,
I think the big word for us this year as expectations.

(09:58):
They're here, We're not running for them. It's a lot
at times, but I think as long as we can
kind of keep the joy and keep the standard high,
then you enjoy coming to work every day, and then
you enjoy the grind and we're going to see where
that takes us, which which we hope is pretty far.

Speaker 1 (10:13):
Expectations include a lot of celebs sitting courtside, a lot
of hype about the LA rivalry with the team across town,
use CLA. Have you found that that's helped you to
drum up even more support and excitement?

Speaker 2 (10:24):
Coach?

Speaker 3 (10:26):
Yeah, I mean, I think this is unprecedented what we're experiencing.
I said it last year. A lot of it, I
mean is because of the young woman that's sitting with us.
Juju is a magnet. She's really exciting. There's also two
really good basketball teams, and you know we have other
good players too, but there's a level I think of
celebrity and the tension that that only comes when you
have that kind of star power. And it's really neat

(10:47):
to see it happen in LA. It's really neat to
see it happen for women's basketball. But there's no question
it adds a flavor to it that you know, we
embrace and every day we just try and put the
best basketball team, you know, on the court. We can
where we're work in progress for sure, but the stuff
that's come with it, I think is good for women's basketball,
and it's certainly good for women's basketball in LA. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (11:07):
We love an organic rivalry to help drum up storylines
and pit people against each other, even if they're best friends.
We don't care. We're going to make it a rivalry
and we're going to love to tell the stories about it. Juju,
you really could have gone anywhere to play South Carolina.
Stanford high on the list. Why did you end up
choosing USC?

Speaker 2 (11:23):
You know, for so many reasons, I chose this, see,
but I think one of the biggest thing that stood
out was just the culture here. This staff, coach Lindsay,
all the assistant coaches. I just you know, got a
really good vibe here, and you know, I kind of
feel like everything fell into place in perfect time and

(11:44):
making my decision and.

Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah, coach, what do you remember about the recruiting process?

Speaker 3 (11:50):
Well, the first thing I'll say is, you know, she
kind of downplays it, but in women's basketball, it is
exceedingly rare for someone who's a top player to go
to a program that's not already established as a women's
basketball There's just been a handful of teams that are
kind of the it ones, and you can kind of
almost guarantee you're going to get to a Final four.
So I think that, you know, for Juju to stay
home and believe in herself and bet on herself and

(12:13):
on us is pretty significant. So for us in the
recruiting process. What I remember was we had to create
this vision that no one had seen yet. We had
to sort of say, there could be this, there could
be that you could do this, but it hadn't been
done since you know, Cheryl Miller and and Cynthia Cooper.
So I remember just trying to create that vision while

(12:33):
also getting to know her as a young person. You know,
there were there were visits here where we didn't play
well and we had to kind of, you know, talk
her through that. There were times where I'm like, oh man,
there's only gonna be a couple hundred people in the crowd.
Are we sure we want Juju to come, you know?
But we wanted her just to see what it was
and what it could be. And those are the things
I remember, really just building the relationship and and and

(12:55):
together kind of saying, Okay, what can this become if
you come here.

Speaker 1 (12:59):
I think some of the greats that I've spoken to
have said they wanted to make a program. They didn't
want to become a part of one that already had
all the superstars. And for those just listening and can't
see Coach, She's got wall decals of some of the
greatest women's basketball players from USC So there is a
history there, but you're right to be able to make
a program and change it from a couple hundred people
to all the celeb sitting court side and the enthusiasm

(13:20):
around the program. Speaking of enthusiasm, Juju, you have a
docu series already on the rise, Touju Watkins. One of
the show's executive producers is none other than Lebron James.
No big deal, Uninterrupted is involved, and you're working as
an executive producer on it. So how's the experience been
both getting used to them shooting you and following around
and then being in part of making the series.

Speaker 2 (13:39):
Yeah, it's definitely been an adjustment with the cameras being around,
and then I think the one of the worst parts.
They're not the worst part, but like it's me like
watching the film back, I hate like watching that so
like it it's so it's cringey to me. So I've
definitely had to get used to that. But Interrupted has

(14:00):
been great, like in terms of like making the decisions
or like agreeing to the edits, because you know, there's
been a lot of those from myself, but it's just
been really patient with me throughout this whole process, and uh,
this was like one of the biggest projects I've you know,
ever worked on, and I'm so excited for it. But yeah,

(14:21):
I have not watched it at all. I watched some
of the edits, but I haven't watched it. But I've
heard really great reviews, so I'm happy about that.

Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, it's tough to watch yourself. It really is. Eventually
you'll be able to because you'll figure out how to,
you know, use it to make you better on camera
and all the other stuff as you're continuing to be
a little mogul. Why did you want to tell your
story like that?

Speaker 3 (14:43):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
I just feel like, you know, it hasn't really been done.
And I love watching movies, I love watching TV shows.
It's you know, it's it's one of my passions and hobbies.
So to kind of fuse that with something else I
love to do, which is basketball, and it's it's also
my and so to fuse those two together and partner
with Uninterrupted and Clush to kind of bring it to life.

(15:05):
It was just a great opportunity for me that, you know,
I wanted to take advantage of.

Speaker 1 (15:11):
How has it been balancing the demands of classes, basketball,
making the series, all your business deals. Do you have
any tips for other aspiring moguls or people who are
just real busy.

Speaker 2 (15:22):
I would say just take it day by day. There's
just there's a lot to do. But I think just
kind of staying present is the most important thing. I
think if you look too far ahead, you'll just get
so overwhelmed. So I just take it day by day
and just yeah, do what I had to do.

Speaker 1 (15:41):
That's really smart. A lot of people claim they're great
at multitasking, and then I tell them that neuroscientists say
that there is no such thing as multitasking. It's like
opening up a desktop and then dropping files into all
the wrong folders because you don't have just one open
and you're trying to do it all at once. So
it sounds like being present in the moment, one day
at a time. That's a great way to approach all
of this. Coach, you've got to deal with a brand
new kind of athlete because of NIO, because of the

(16:04):
transfer era, players commitments to deals and sponsorships and making
their tiktoks and all the other things. It's a business.
It's not a distraction. It's a part of what they're
doing now. But how do you manage allowing players to
get that money, build that brand and also know how
much time they need to spend focusing on hoops.

Speaker 3 (16:21):
I mean, I think the first thing is philosophically. I
believe they should have been able to do this for
a long time. So it wasn't like a hard sell
for me. I wasn't you know one of these people
who did it for thirty years. Oh gosh, Now these
players make money too, Like my mindset from the beginning
is that they should have been having these opportunities. And
then I think having spent some time in the NBA
where you really are living the business side of it
too and coming back has made it a little more seamless.

(16:43):
And then I just we have really good people doing it.
I mean, Juju's very authentic, Like she doesn't want to
watch herself on film. She's not. She's got the business mind,
but she's also you know, very present in her day
to day, a great teammate. You know, in practice it's
about basketball, and then when there's other things going on,
it makes me happy, you know, for her to be
able to do it. I remember when I had the

(17:04):
first one of her team members at Clutch and the
producer asked me to go to breakfast, and I said, so,
what do you think about you know, this documentary that
we're already doing, What do you think about it? Following
her to USC And first of all, I think they
bet on the right person, right, Like I think in
women's basketball, they only tell the stories of the people
who are already there, like Yukon once they've won one
hundred games in a row, you know. And I thought

(17:24):
it was great to try to tell the story. And
of course you just have to be open minded and say, okay,
bring the cameras in and we all adjust a little bit.
But I think if you're doing it with the mindset
that this is a new era, it's a chance to
empower women. It's a chance to grow our sport and
female athletes in a way financially and platform wise we
haven't had before. Like who wouldn't want to be part
of it? But I don't really think it's changed the

(17:46):
integrity of our locker room. I think players are still
about the right things. They just have to be able
to manage and handle things on the outside, and we
trust them to do that. And you go forward day
by day and kind of adjust to the new landscape
and try and be good at it.

Speaker 1 (17:59):
What's the biggest way you think it's changed your job
as a coach?

Speaker 3 (18:03):
Oh my gosh. In college basketball, x's and o's was
always a little portion, you know, people think that's all
we do. We're managing other things, And now it's even
smaller of a portion, right Like you you have entities
you're dealing with, you know, besides just academics and travel logistics.
Now it's agents and it's you know, media, and it's

(18:23):
nil things. But I've hired a great team around me
to help with that, and it just it just makes
more of the other stuff and so we have to
compartmentalize and focus on basketball. It's time to focus on basketball,
but be able to handle the outside things as well
to be to be successful, and.

Speaker 1 (18:38):
You've got a GM for your team. Not often or
right ever, really the case in college troops, it's very
rare to help manage this stuff. Was that the decision
you made or something that the school thought was necessary.

Speaker 3 (18:49):
I think with the way that last year went and
all the growth that we had and the attention that
you do is getting in the team my athletic director
proactively said, hey, there's things coming at you guys. It's
going to be too much for the coaches to handle,
and so she suggested the GM role, which is becoming,
you know, a little bit more of a thing in
college athletics, but we were at the forefront, and so
it's been great to be able to help. The way

(19:10):
we utilize it is to help with NIL and branding
and helping the players, you know, grow outside of just
you know, what we do on the basketball court and
in the classroom.

Speaker 1 (19:21):
That's smart juju. As it stands now, the WNBA Collective
Bargaining Agreement kind of requires athletes to play four years
of college basketball before they go pro, which is different
from the men's side, where players can be won and done.
It allows this incredible growth enthusiasm around women's college hoops,
but it also decides for you what your timeline looks like.

(19:41):
Feel a little awkward asking in front of your college coach,
but I'm curious if you have any thoughts on whether
that rule should change, either as part of the ongoing
CBA negotiations or down the road.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
I I want to say personally, I'm enjoying my experience coach.
I mean, I definitely think we should have the option.
There's there's just been such a growth in college basketball
where it's like, you know, why would you kind of
want to leave because you're able to kind of have

(20:16):
that experience and build your brand here in college as well.
So I would say we should definitely have the option.
But you know, I think college is a you know,
a way to prepare us for the pros as well.
So I don't know, it's a touchy subject, but yeah,
I'm bored.

Speaker 1 (20:34):
I think there's a lot more money in this space too,
But a long time it was really to protect players
from limited roster spots and the fact that there isn't
as much longevity and money in women's pro basketball. So
if you don't have a degree and other things to
fall back on, it's a little bit less clear what's
going to happen.

Speaker 3 (20:50):
Then.

Speaker 1 (20:50):
Maybe in the men's game, although we've seen plenty of
college one and done's that I haven't been able to
thrive at the next level either. Coach, what do you
think of that role?

Speaker 3 (20:58):
Yeah, I mean, I'm look, if it was ever better
for Juju or any of my players to leave and
go pro, I mean, on the men's side, if there's
an opportunity to make, you know, ten million dollars in
their first contract or even three years later, hundreds of
millions of dollars, it's hard to delay that. But the
women's game has just been so different, right, like you said, Sarah,

(21:19):
the money hasn't been there, the longevity hasn't been there.
The degree of value is more important. So certainly I
think if it wasn't in the CBA, it wouldn't stand
up in court, right, Like, how could it that? The
fact that the players have written into the CBA is interesting,
says something about you know the league because there are
such limited spots. The other thing I think that's interesting,
even just from a financial standpoint, is if you look
at someone like Caitlin Clark, the platform of women's college

(21:43):
basketball remains bigger, the eyes on the game remained bigger,
So the deals that she gets coming into the w
and the financial power she has is greater because of
the platform she had those last two years in college.
And she had left after her sophomore year, she would
have been ready basketball wise, possibly, but she wouldn't have
brought what she brings. So I think the financial conversations

(22:04):
are a lot more nuanced on the women's side than
on the men's side. But I'm with Juju on the right.
I think should be there if they change that collective
bargainment agreement and then you know, coaches who really believe
in doing right by their student athletes should have honest
conversations about what's better, you know, for them. And yeah,
I mean, obviously I wish I could coach Juju here
for twenty years, but it's not going to be the case.

(22:25):
And whenever she's you know, a WNBA player, i'au bes
sitting courtside. But you know, if it if the rules change,
then you know, they should have that option. It's just
a matter of really being smart about what's best for
female athletes long term.

Speaker 1 (22:39):
Yeah, completely agree, and for each individual player, depending on
their circumstance. For sure, Juju, your freshman campaign was insane.
That's so good right from the start. How do you
go about setting goals for this season?

Speaker 2 (22:52):
Yeah, I think the main thing is when he always
you know, I just want to win, and you know,
there's so much to learn on and expand on off
of last season, just maturing IQ wise and figuring out
different ways to evolve and I worked a lot this
offseason to grow my game and continue to get better

(23:14):
and just yeah, I mean there was just so many
ways I could grow and we'll continue to do so.
But I think the focal point this year is honing
into to the team and just winning.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
Are there players across the college or pro game that
you look to for specific kinds of skills or moves
that you're trying to work on.

Speaker 2 (23:41):
I love watching basketball, I would probably say Asia Wilson.
I just I just love her game, even though we're
kind of different. Just her the way she's able to
just dominate the game and her post moves, it's just
really beautiful to watch.

Speaker 1 (23:55):
It's a decent person to watch, I'd say. If you're
looking for improvements, Yeah, what's been the biggest difference? Have
you noticed the difference playing in the Big Ten after
the dissolution of the PAC twelve?

Speaker 2 (24:05):
Honestly have not. We haven't started a conference yet. We
just played organ which was definitely a familiar face and
not too far from here, so I haven't really experienced
that yet, but I'm curious to see what that'll be like.

Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yeah, at the athlete level, I think, in particular, you're
not dealing with a lot of the logistics of what
conference you're in. It's who's in front of you on
every given day. Coach, Have you noticed a difference.

Speaker 3 (24:29):
Yeah, I mean, I think we're looking forward to it.
I think for me, the biggest difference, and I think
for the players too, is the lack of familiarity. We're
going to watch film. Everyone else is going to watch film.
But that's really different than having coached against someone for
eight years and I sort of know what they're going
to do out of a time out, or what they're
going to come with when they're winning or losing or
what have you. And for us, I think the excitement
for the team is like we have to prepare for

(24:49):
every game like it's an NCAA tournament game, and same
We're going to come to all these arenas and all
these places that have never seen Juju, that have never
seen the rest of the team, and I think that'll
be exciting. Try to take the logistics off their plate,
you know, make it as seamless as possible so they
can just show up and play. But I think there's
a level of excitement in that it's a whole new
league and you know from what I've heard there's a

(25:11):
little more more scoring in some ways and the Big
Ten in the past, and maybe we can bring a
different style that people haven't seen. And you know, we're
looking forward to the challenges. But shoot, it's a loaded league.
I mean, I think half the league is in the
top twenty five at this point. And we know there's
a target on our back, so it'd be very interesting
to it too, you know, attack all these arenas that
are going to be full trying to beat us. So

(25:31):
to be a good challenge.

Speaker 1 (25:33):
And you know women's basketball, if you're a top program,
you tend to travel to find some great games. But
there will be a lot of travel as a results
of the move. Are you doing anything in particular to
prep your team for that?

Speaker 3 (25:42):
Yeah, I mean that's been again more me and our
training staff and our nutrition staff. It's I mean, Juju
is not gonna like to hear me say, but it's
really just about hydration, nutrition, sleep. You know, we try
to pump up with fluids twenty four hours hours a day.
That's the best you can do. The good thing is
our players are very resilient. They don't I think about
it way more than they do. They sleep on the
plane and then they go to sleep, and then they

(26:03):
get up and they I mean, they're very resilient. But
it's our job to kind of make youse planes. Yes, exactly,
to be to be young. But yeah, we just try
to keep them good from a health standpoint. We'll prepare
them for the games and I think they'll come out
ready to compete every night, which I think would be fun.

Speaker 1 (26:21):
Juju. I think we just unlocked something there. I saw
in exchange when she talked about needing to get fluids?
Are we someone who tends to Are we doing the
tests and showing up dehydrated a lot?

Speaker 2 (26:32):
I can't say. I can say that I'm trying my
best to be high as high good as I can.

Speaker 1 (26:40):
So that water is your friend, bro, come on, we
gotta we gotta embrace it. The older I get, the
more I'm just constantly walking around with water all the time.

Speaker 3 (26:49):
As sacred is this is this you know, generational talent.
She's as good as anyone. And I'm like, what did
you meet at halftime? Do you need another PBMJ? Like?
These are the secret tricks I have? Right, It's it's
it's the the joy of coaching.

Speaker 1 (27:02):
Yeah, these are the things though that if you're not
doing that and you're already as good as you are,
imagine what it'll look like when you kind of professionalize
in that way. That's fantastic.

Speaker 3 (27:10):
She's good. She's good. She does We're always on her.
She could be even better, but she's very compliant.

Speaker 1 (27:15):
Yeah, I mean, listen, I remember the year in chart.
I still think about it sometimes. I'm like, I can
tell right now, I can tell I need to put
some liquids in there. That's that's great. I kind of
love that. It makes you feel a little more human
that you've that you're still struggling with some of that stuff.
We're still trying to figure out the exact right way
to do it. Coach, you did mention you you spend
some time coaching in what we call here on the show,

(27:36):
the m NBA. Is there anything from that that you
brought back to women's hoops any great revelations?

Speaker 3 (27:42):
Well, first, if you're going to mention the Cavs, we've
got to mention that they are now the best team
in the m NBA. You FIGHTE me on it, me
on it. They're so good. Uh, you know from an
exs like from an ex's and O standpoint, it was
a really incredible time to be able to just focus
on basketball and relationships. Right there was no classes of recruiting,
really spacing in angles of things, you know, sort of

(28:06):
more nuanced like details of how you create space with
such you know, first of all large individuals, but also
really skilled and talented players. Just being able to simplify
actions and getting players to you know, their kill spots
and places that they can really be effective. How you
you know, manage really talented players with other really good

(28:28):
role players. And just I took a lot in I
learned a lot, and some of it really translates, and
some of it's just different because we're you know, dealing
with college students. But I would say a ton of
things relative to the x's and o's. And then for
me just as a human, you know, being in a
situation that you know, was very different than I was,
what I than what I was used to, and I

(28:49):
think just makes me a more well rounded person and
able to empathize and you know, connect with with all
kinds of people that I end up coaching.

Speaker 1 (28:58):
For sure, to do there a couple areas across the
country well known for their basketball culture and producing a
lot of elite players. New York is one producer Meiches beloved,
d m V is one. No One in my production
staff wanted to put my hometown of Chicago, but they're
sleeping on it because Chicago is a place that is
a hotbed for great women's players. And of course Los Angeles.

(29:18):
So you grew up in Watts. You talk a lot
about your appreciation for the community in which you were raised.
What sets it apart from everywhere else? What makes it
so special?

Speaker 2 (29:27):
Honestly, I just love the field of being home people
super grateful for for where I'm from. And I think
one of the things that you know, kind of helped
me get to where I am today is is just
a strong sense of community here in LA and especially

(29:47):
in Wat's where I'm from. And just knowing that, you know,
whenever we play a game there's there's people from my
hometown coming to watch. It means everything and is a
full circle moment for me just to you know, just
to remind me of you know, where I come from
and where I'm striving to be.

Speaker 1 (30:07):
Are there hometown players that you remember growing up watching
or looking up to.

Speaker 2 (30:12):
I would probably say tomorrow that he was in my era.
I was probably like five or something when he was
yeah or something. But I just love his game and
him being a USC alum as well, just having that
sense of you know, I don't know, just just being
able to reach out to him and knowing that he's

(30:35):
kind of in our backyard is is amazing.

Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yeah, Damar is such a good dude too. Jamar DeRozan,
for those who don't know, I was bummed to lose
him with the Bulls, but I also wanted him to
go somewhere that wasn't trash right now, so I am
happy for him. He escaped, but he was so great
here and has been just such a good role model
in so many ways across the league. Some breaking news
just from the last couple of days. You are an

(30:59):
investor and unrivaled. Congratulations. I'm loving all the college players
that are diversifying their portfolios more than I am as
a full ass adult. It is really impressive to watch
safe to say that you have plans to play in
the league when you turn pro.

Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yes, yes, for sure. I'm just really committed to trying
to grow the game as best as I can, and
if I'm able to do that now of course, that's
that's what I'm going to do. So I was super
excited to be a part of this new wave. And
you know, hopefully we be playing in the league some day.

Speaker 1 (31:33):
So you've got that, You've got the show, you've got basketball,
You've got all your nil deals. Tell us about the
Nike deal. What do we have coming up with them
with this?

Speaker 2 (31:39):
With the shoe deal, I can't really say yet, but
I'm super excited for for for everything that's to come.
I think right now, main focus is the team. So yeah,
I'm just really lacking on what we're doing here, and uh,
stuff will come along the way.

Speaker 1 (31:58):
She's got all that going on. Coach, you've got sort
of being the face of the team, the president sort
of of the team as well as the X and
o's and the coach. And you've got your own kids.
You're telling us about before we started recording, your kids
being on the bus. One of them's destroying your AirPods,
one of them's aods. Tell us about your kids, How
old are they, how many you got and how has

(32:20):
that balance been for you?

Speaker 3 (32:21):
First of all, I'm definitely not the face of the team.
When you have Juju, when you have Kiki, like I
shouldn't be right, No, seriously, like these players are I.

Speaker 1 (32:28):
Guess many business meetings in the school in the large
you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (32:35):
A lot of the weight. But I hope they're the face.
I am so fortunate to be able to have my
dream job and also have an amazing family. So I've
got a seven year old boy, Jordan, who began good
name thank you yep, and he uh, he's a basketball junkie.
Maybe it was forced upon him, I don't know, but

(32:56):
it's kind of come organically. You know, from when he
was two to when he was four, he thought his
best friends were Darius Garland and Colin Sexton. And now
you know, he thinks our team, you know, is top
of the universe, as he should. So he's a he's
a little junkie. He's always asking me trivia questions. His
friends are now asking me to have Juju sign their

(33:16):
basketball cards. It's really cool.

Speaker 4 (33:18):
So he's in it.

Speaker 3 (33:19):
He's in the LA basketball culture. And then Reese is
two years old. Talk about Cringey. I had to see
myself pregnant on Jew's documentary because I was pregnant with
Reese during her recruiting process. So they have a special bond,
Reese says, Juju. Anytime we see her face somewhere, it's
really cute. Uh. My husband Patrick helps with them, obviously,

(33:41):
and has his own life and his own job as well,
so it's a it's a lifestyle job. But I'm just
really fortunate that my kids get to grow up like
in this and around this, and I try to be
present with them when I when I'm home, and I
try to be present for our team when I can,
and sometimes there's integration of both, which which is pretty fun.

Speaker 1 (34:00):
Yeah, and of course they'll decide for themselves, but there
are some pretty good stories already of mama coaches whose
sons were around the team, learned from the players, and
went on to the NBA. So you know, no pressure, Jordan,
no pressure. But well, you guys are fantastic for giving
us this time. We have one more question for you, Juju.
It might be, you know, a tough one to answer
because we're all looking into the future trying to figure

(34:22):
out what's next, but we might have to say goodbye
to TikTok. What are you going to do and what
platform are you jumping ship to if TikTok goes away?

Speaker 2 (34:31):
TikTok is my last hope for society. Think you're rid
of that. I'm just I'm deleting social media as a whole.

Speaker 1 (34:38):
So WHOA, don't put that out there.

Speaker 2 (34:43):
You don't understand, so I don't know. Hopefully we can,
we can figure this out and as a nation.

Speaker 1 (34:51):
No contingency plans. She's just holding fast to the fact
that they will not take her TikTok away. She doesn't
want to even picture a future without it. I don't
blame you. So good, Thank you both so much. Congrats
on a great season so far, continued success and we're
just having a blast watching you. Thank you, Thanks Sarah,
Thanks again to Juju and Lindsay. We have to take

(35:13):
another break. When we come back. Everything bagels everywhere, all
at once. Welcome back, Slices. We love that you're listening,
but we want you to get in the game every
day too. So here's our good game play of the day.
Follow Juju and coach Gottlieb on social media. We'll link

(35:35):
to their pages in the show notes. Also, mark your
calendars for Saturday at eight pm Eastern, when the number
seven ranked Trojans take on Pagebeckers and the number four
rank Yukon Huskies on Fox. That should be a good one. Also,
keep those women's sports pop culture references coming. We got
a couple good ones. Slice, Katie Stanton wrote us to
the Grove question mark. My favorite women's sports reference is

(35:57):
not a TV show, but instead a line in the
iconic Nicki Minaj slash ludacrous song my chick bad trash
talk to him. Then I put him in a hefty
running down the court. I'm dunking on him, Lisa Leslie
and she said.

Speaker 4 (36:10):
That, Sarah, I gotta stop you right there because there's
no way I can let you butcher my middle school
pregame song like that.

Speaker 1 (36:15):
I just can't.

Speaker 4 (36:17):
Trash talk to him. Then I put him in a
hefty running on a court. I'm dunking on him. Lisa
Leslie is going down basement Friday the thirteen. Guess who's
playing Jason Tuck yourself and you better hold on to you, Teddy,
it's night maron elm straight.

Speaker 1 (36:32):
I guess let's fly it Friday, much better, much better.
You're welcome.

Speaker 2 (36:36):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (36:37):
Katie says that's one of her go to karaoke songs,
and she always yells that line the loudest dunking on him,
Lisa Leslie. Thanks Katie, that's a good one. At Corneelie
on Blue Sky said Jackie Daytona's support of the local
women's volleyball team, the Bucks on the show What We
Do in the Shadows. I have not seen that show.
I need to watch it. I have heard incredible things,
So thanks for that. Corey. If you don't have a

(36:58):
favorite reference, maybe let us know what shows or artists
you'd like to see. Make one instead. We've been talking
about Taylor Swift going to a women's sporting event. Just
throw them all in your songs, girl, Just make a
whole song about all the WNBA teams. Why not give
it a shot. We love to hear from you. Hit
us up on email, good game at wondermediaetwork dot com,
or leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two
four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe. Rate in

(37:21):
review slices, It's real easy. Watch everything Bagels rating five
out of five. Doughey Delights covered in poppy seeds, toasted
sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and salt. Review. At
first I tried to resist everything Bagels. I figured something
with that much stuff on it couldn't be good or necessary.

(37:42):
But then I saw the light and I can never
go back to who I once was. I mean, I
have a bad habit of not eating anything in the morning.
But everything bagels that's the perfect thing to kick start
the day, especially with a little cream cheese, some sliced tomato,
sliced avocado. If I know I got some on deck,
I go to at night excited to wake up and

(38:02):
eat my everything bagel. I'm like Glinda the Goodwitch, everything
bagels because I knew you. Life has changed for the good. Insummation.
Everything bagels are everything. Now it's your turn, rate and review.
Thanks for listening, See you tomorrow. Good game, Juju, Good game, Coach,
Gottlieb you everything from the everything bagel that doesn't make
it into your mouth but does make it into your

(38:24):
car seat cushions and the tiny gap between your oven
and your counter and your chairs and your floor and
everything else. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart
women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network.
Our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive

(38:46):
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rudder, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and
Lindsay Cradowell. Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm Your
Host Sarah Spain

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}JuJu’s One Relatable Trait with JuJu Watkins and Lindsay Gottlieb