February 3, 2024 • 30 mins
Chaz Franklin, Director of Player Development of the WNBA's Chicago Sky and 15-year career basketball vet, joins The Divide and Mike Hughes reflecting on his 15 year career. Growing up in Philadelphia, how that molded his coaching style, how he passes those lessons to the youth and players he coaches, and coaching in the upcoming 2024 Olympics in Paris, plus his love for french toast.
LISTEN: Fans can listen to The Divide Live on Fox Sports The Gambler on 102.5 FM and 1480 AM in Philadelphia as well as on 104.1 FM in Trenton, NJ. In addition, the show can also be heard on the station’s website here, podcast here, or on the iHeartRadio app.
LISTEN: Fans can listen to The Divide Live on Fox Sports The Gambler on 102.5 FM and 1480 AM in Philadelphia as well as on 104.1 FM in Trenton, NJ. In addition, the show can also be heard on the station’s website here, podcast here, or on the iHeartRadio app.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Spreads, totals and all the propthat's in between. It's the Gambler,
all right. So we're live inthe Fox Sports The Gambler studio. I
have a couple of people here withme today. First, Chaz Franklin,
coach Chaz Franklin, I should say, right here proper. And Mikey Hughes,
who's been on our show a bunchof times from Chicago, holds it
(00:23):
down all things Chicago, but alsomore importantly to WNBA. So I'm gonna
get out of the way because Ijust know you guys have been talking behind
the scenes well last like five toten minutes, So I feel like the
audience needs to hear this, andI'll time in whenever I feel I could
add my own take in flavor.So honored to have you both here,
(00:44):
excited to do this. Thanks man. Well, it was definitely has Bro.
I haven't seen you. The lasttime I seen you was the Tea
Spoon, the Tea Spoon inauguration.I mean that was Bro is crazy and
shy town. Right now, wegot a lot of stuff going on.
We were just talking about WNBA freeagency kicked off just a few days ago.
You know, the first few days, it's always real quiet. I
(01:06):
know, Chaz goes through it allthe time with the people he mentors,
people he coaches. Now things arefinally starting to go crazy. I mean
it's it's crazy. So chas whereyou at right now as it pertains their
free agency? You know what freeagency right now is going nuclear. I
mean my phone is buzzing off thehook with Twitter feeds and alerts and this
and that, and you know,I'm talking to players, I'm talking to
(01:30):
agents, you know, just friendsI have, I guess in the business,
in the industry. So I meanfree agency has been on fire,
and I think that WNBA fans shouldexpect more in these next what forty eight
hours, because I mean it's goingabsolutely crazy right now. A lot of
heartbreak for me on some ends andsome joy in the other ends to see
see some people moving to better situationsand losing some friends here and there.
(01:53):
But I guess you know, that'sthat's the world we live in, right
Yeah, most definitely. I meanwe talked about it, you know,
off stage, you know, behindclosed doors, about Courtney Williams and Alana
Smith and what they were for youand I both in twenty twenty three,
in the summer was absolutely phenomenal.You know, class acts, especially Court.
We're not going to get too deepinto it, but Court stood on
(02:15):
business. Court was about her p'sand q's all year long. She was
riding for cash. She was ridingfor everybody from one to ten on that
roster. I mean, absolutely phenomenal. Uh So, what they're going to
be able to do for a veryyoung organization. I think it's going to
be a lot of fun. Butthe big one man was Skyler, Digg
and Smith. That's the one forme going to Seattle. I think it's
(02:36):
going to be huge. I mean, you got the one two punch Chicago
native Jewel Lloyd in the cut aswell. She's already a champion. She
understands what it takes. Skyler understandsthat atmosphere, she's been there before.
What do you think that means forthe organization? Because I know we didn't
get a chance to talk about thatyet, but you know, obviously the
consensus and and a lot of peoplewho are going to come talk about you
(02:59):
know, it's going to be It'sgoing to be Vegas. It's gonna be
Liberty again. You know, there'sthere's no one else that can get in
their ways? Do you see thembeing a hard out, especially when you
look at the one two punch inSeattle. Well, I mean, anytime
you add a Skylar Diggins Smith,she was what two years in a row,
first Team All w NBA, right, six time All Star, the
(03:20):
Pride of Norre Dame. I meanthey got a lot of them over there,
right coming out of South Bend.But I mean Skyler Diggins is the
top tier, right, gold standardfor the fighting Irish. So whenever you
add a player of her magnitude andher caliber, I mean, it automatically
gives a little level of credibility toyour organization. You know they're gonna be
(03:42):
a problem in the West, We'llbe honest, especially with Juel Lloyds.
Well, I'm going to chime inright right now, Like we talked about
this in the hallway, because we'rereminiscent throughout all of music, right because
this hallway is just it's like walkingthrough a history of music, whether it
be hip hop, rock, Rand B, rumba, And I kind
(04:03):
of related it to your experience,right, So fifteen years as a basketball
pro basketball player overseas, you know, and now you're helping the youth,
but more importantly women athletes, likehow does that feel? And also where
did that come from? Like wherewas that? What led you from that
fifteen year career to now? Well? I guess the first thing is that
(04:26):
I mean, I played God,I played top was forty years old,
right, it's awes. So fromlike twenty five to forty, I had
this crazy backstore. I didn't turnpro till I was twenty five, right,
and I played fifteen years in somany nondescript countries that I can't even
listen to. I was like thegoat of mid level, low level international
basketball, right, So I said, okay, I got to start to
(04:47):
figure something now because this ball ain'tgonna bounce whatever. So maybe then the
last third of my career, Istarted connecting with other younger players right from
the greater Philadelphia area. You know, they joined me for workouts. That's
how it started, a you know, it was always oh here. That's
when I knew it was time toretire. Set a chance. It started
being old head og, I'm whoare they talking? Is it talking to
(05:08):
me? Didn't even talk to me, so, you know, I kind
of trying to transferred or kind ofjust slid into a bit of a mentorship
role. I could still play alittle bit, and I was in great
shape. But you know what Ireally tried to impart to them was what
I learned over the years. Soyou know, my concept was just to
put all that I learned over thesefifteen years and that I have in this
(05:29):
beautiful ball head and put into ayounger, more athletic, more talented body.
And so that's how it started forme. YEA, love it,
love it. And then what madeyou decide like you wanted to give back
to this game that you love somuch? Well, I think the first
thing is that I've been so blessedand fortunate that so many people have mentored
(05:49):
me and giving back to me.Right, So you're supposed to be paying
paying this thing forward first and foremost. And the other thing that I realized
too, is that so many formerpro athletes they don't age gracefully, right,
And I think the reason why isbecause they haven't found a purpose,
right, They lack purpose. SoI was like, man, you know,
I was sitting there thinking, Iwas like, wow, Dad,
(06:10):
my days are hooping and over.Wow, So now your relevance goes down,
right, You don't know what youdo in the morning. You don't
know what you're supposed to do.Your whole life has been structured from seven
years old until forty, right,I said, wow, how do I
live forever? How do I stayrelevant? How do I be a blessing
to others? Then I thought aboutit. You know what, mentorum give
back, keep it going. Youdon't need to be a rapper. You
(06:33):
need to try to work with thelabel. Maybe try to own your own
label. That's how you do it. This is a young man's game and
a young woman's game. So Isaid, let me get yourself out the
way. Get out the way,right, It's these young people's time.
Nobody likes to grumpy old guy anyway. So I said, yeah, yeah,
it's time for the next generation,and I just want to help later.
I love it. I love it. I think you are in the
(06:53):
way. You're in a great way, right, You're leading, you know.
I saw it a posed to viewerswhere you have two young athletes around
your arm and you're like player developmentstarts with love first, And I think
that's that's really cool and unique.You know, how how did that help
your career? Mentally? And moreimportantly, like, did you have any
(07:15):
mentors that we're doing that for you? And what about mental health in the
game, Like do you think thatthat's obviously something that's changed and is obviously
is changing for the better. Right? Absolutely, Well, A couple of
things, man, growing up whereI grew up, which is South Philadelphia.
You know, I played on aon on the point Breeze Youth Athletic
(07:36):
Association. I mean that was likethe who's who is South Philadelphia? When
I grew up at me and everything, you know, I was mentored by
two gentlemen. You know, oneis which is Larry Waiters who helped them
run the Total Responsible and the othersmister Bill Williams. He lived a half
a block down the street for me. He taught me the culture. He
taught me to pride, He taughtme to be tough, he taught me
(07:58):
to work hard. But also mean, you know, to just carry this
basketball, not just this basketball,this South Philadelphia basketball banner, carry that
with some pride. Right, Soonce again you can understand this South Philadelphia,
south side of Chicago, right mirrorimages, right, So that's where
I grew up, right, MikePowers, Hey, this is Brooklyn all
(08:18):
the way yes, right, I'mfrom the culture. So you guys understand
what I'm talking about, right,in terms of mental health, I was
a coach a little a little different. You know, it was a different
time, right. I'm growing upin the eighties and nineties. So in
my environment, man, I guess, like on the basketball court, if
you make a mistake on the basketballcourt or you turn the ball over,
right, you make you make thewrong decision in South Philadelphia or any these
(08:41):
neighborhoods when you're growing up, Imean, you don't lose the ball.
You may lose your freedom, right, you may lose your life. Right.
So guys like mister Bill Williams,man, they coached that's hard,
you know. I mean you knowI just mentioned the story or recently where
I had holes in my shoes,right, Mister Bill Cook coached me hard
because he picked me up for practicegames and it was all for free.
(09:03):
He put clothes on my back andshoes on my feet. Right, So
these guys coached you hard. Imean it's the building personally, like grab
you or he wasn't a physical butthat was the era I was from,
right, I mean, you wereevery I mean mental health wasn't a big
concern when I was coming up.Let's just let's just say that, right
figure right much for sure, butwe're moving forward. We're moving forward.
(09:26):
So you know, as it pertainsto me in twenty twenty four, I
never wanted to be the type ofcoach that looked at these players as exes.
Uh and O's right. This issomeone's son, this is someone's daughter,
This is someone right who had adream since they were a child,
right, that they're helping to materializeand manifest at this very moment. So
(09:48):
I said, you know what,let me try to love them, you
know, for the person that theyare, right, and if you love
the person that they are, pullingthat good player out of them, well,
that's easy, right because by thetime they get the I mean,
they're a heck of a player already, you're gonna wunba right, this is
I mean you already you know,the top one percent of players in the
world anyway, So you know,I try to use that holistic approach by
(10:11):
interpersonal relationships big to me, andit's been working, right, And you
know, you and I talk aboutit a lot, and you know,
I've talked to Mike about it andexplaining to him like what it was like
growing up in Chicago. And Ithink that's where my relationship with you just
from day one, man, Imean it was just like I've known you
my whole life, because you remindme of so many people in this city
(10:31):
who have all the potential in theworld and actually utilize it to the best
of their ability. You know,you mentioned not looking at them as x's
and odes. In another way,a lot of people, especially not getting
political, but you know with politicsand everything, and they're all statistics.
We're all a statistic, We're alla number in this big rat race.
And I feel like so many kidsget caught up in that. You know,
(10:52):
they're trying to be a rapper,they're trying to be in the NBA,
they're trying to be something else.So for you growing up in South
Philly, who was it in yourfamily that really kept you on your p's
and q's and really made sure thatyou were going to become Chash Franklin and
not just a statistic or just somebodyelse from Philly. Oh well, as
far as far as my family,my upbringing, anybody that knows me,
(11:15):
man, they know it's my lategrandmother Elaine Jeane Franklin, and I say
that with the most I guess,passionate, endearing heart that I could.
I mean, she's my motivation evento this day, during my playing days,
whenever I ran out on the courtright before the game, I touched
my heart twice, right and blewa kiss up. Right. That was
from my grandmother. I told her. Man, I made a lot of
(11:37):
promises to my grandmother. And boy, you know, she was she was
loving, but she was she wasloving, but she was tough, right.
She was the kind of grandmother thatwould slip your candy in church even
though she wasn't supposed to write.And she was also the kind of grandmother
that when the neighborhood bullies chased youto your doorsteps to you and beat you
(12:00):
up, he said, oh,you can't come in this house. You
better get out there and fight everylast one of them. Right, you're
a Tillison boy, even like youknow, so, so she was like
firing ice all at the same time. So, I mean, that was
like my biggest motivation. I mean, obviously my mother, she helped me
to a high standard. You know. She would always say, oh,
you know, I just want youto do your best but I know that
your best is straight a' so that'swhat I'm expecting. I'm like, we
(12:24):
think that's a lot of pressure.Yeah, no pressure, You're a professional
athlete, right, yeah, ge, thanks appreciate it. Right. So,
you know, those two were themost pivotal, you know, But
I've been blessed to have a lotof different people right over the course of
the years to help mentor me andyou know, show me the pass.
You know. You don't get hereon your own. Yeah, without a
doubt. You know. I alwayssay it takes a village, you know.
(12:46):
And I didn't fully understand that untilI became an uncle just a few
years ago. I'm like, damn, Like, even though my my sister's
the one putting in all the work, I'll never say she's not. She's
an amazing mother. But I'm like, even on my own, hey,
Mike, can you watch can youwatch your nephew? Can you watch your
niece for a little while, Dany, I'm in charge of this life for
the next three hours. What Ido is key and pivotal to the next
(13:07):
twenty plus years of this person's life. Someone falls off the table, it's
wraps like, you know, likeit's it's important, and I think being
in people's lives is very key,and I've spoke so much with Mike about
that. But I'd love your perspectiveon the city of Brotherly Love. I
mean, I gotta get I gottaget more than just a jersey that the
seventy six ers play every now andagain. What is the atmosphere in Philly
(13:30):
and how has it compared to othercities you've been in, other countries you've
been in. Well, the firstthing that I would say is when you
grow up in a city like Philadelphia, right, I truly, honestly feel
that you are prepared to go anywherein the world. I I was gonna
say, you grow up if youmake it out of Philadelphia, right,
like like a Collie of Copper,Right, like like a Will Smith and
(13:54):
Kevin Hardy and Meek Mills. I'llgive this is Philadelphia. You ready,
this is Philadelphia. I was afire foot what seven ninth grader right sometime
in the nineties. We're playing arecreational summer league basketball game across from Wilson
Park Projects in South Philadelphia. Right, this is the environment. Right,
you gotta go with me. We'regoing to storytime, right, the deal.
(14:16):
That's right, honey, it's ninetyfive degrees. If you win the
game, the boys from the projectsare gonna beat the crap out of you
and chase you home. If youlose the game, you feel like a
chump. You lost the game,right, So that's the environment. I
kind of want to win, soI'm go ahead and try to win.
I attempt a two handed dunk ninthgrade with fourteen years old, five foot
(14:37):
six, five foot seven, missthe dunk. I'm happy. I'm I'm
ninth grader. I tried to dunk, right, that's impressive. He booed
me. They booed me a wholeschoolyard. They booed me. You know
that God tells me. He says, this is Philly, and he cursed
at me. This is Philly.Mfort. You don't get any props for
trying to dunk. You gotta makethe dunk, I said, okay,
(15:00):
it was my cousin. He wasthe god boy with me, right,
So that's Philadelphia. Right. Weare hard on our athletes, we are
hard on our people, but weare loyal to a fault. We're a
bit crazy. But if you getone of those dogs like a colleaie of
Copper right. Yeah. I meanthey'll take you all the way to the
dog On Championship if you let them. Yep. No, it's really as
simple as that. I know Mikehas is on. Mike is a die
(15:24):
hard Mets fan, and he understandswhat it's like, you know, being
in the city, being in thatatmosphere, rooting for a team. We
talked about it over the summer chats. Every time I talk to Mike,
I feel like I randomly, whetherit's relevant or not, I bring up
Dereck Rose. It's a kid fromInglewood. This is a kid from the
Southwest side of Chicago, and hebecomes the youngest MVP in NBA history,
(15:46):
and after just a couple of injuries, watch how the media turns on you.
Watch how things start to change.You go from the next Michael Jordan.
You go from the savior of theChicago Bulls to a pariah to hey,
we're forcing you out of town.We're sending need to the New York
Knicks, where they're going to runa triangle offense with Carmelo Anthony and the
Unicorn. I mean, it washorrible, but that's a whole different conversation
(16:07):
shout out Philip Jackson though, butI definitely get that. And for you,
though, what keeps you on theright road? What keeps you on?
Okay? Well, maybe people don'tbelieve in what I'm trying to do.
Maybe people in the city growing up, maybe you yourself didn't understand player
development and what roads and what barriersyou could potentially knock down. But how
(16:30):
did you continue to say this iswhat I'm going to do, and this
is how I'm going to do it, whether or not people agreed with it.
Twenty five years old, you makeyour final you know, your first
appearance being an actual pro you know, I mean me at twenty three,
I'm damn bro, it's raps.I'm just gonna play Beer League softball the
rest of my life. You know, there's a mentality that comes with this.
So where does that mentality come from? For you? Well? I
(16:52):
think the first thing, you know, I am a man of faith.
You know, I don't you know, I don't like beat people over the
here with a Bible or anything likethat, right, but that is something
you know that I hold near anddear to my heart. That's for one.
For two, I think that youknow coming from certain environments, you
know, a Brooklyn, a Chicago, a Philadelphia. Man, you better
(17:14):
be delusional, right, you betterbe delusional. Right. I walk up
my house right, seventeen twenty SeaguleStreet, one nine, one four five,
Right right, that was the zipcode. A rapper Beanie Seagull put
that in in a rap one timein the nineties. He said, I
packed guns like the zip code onenine one four five. So this is
my environment. This is what Ihave to look to, right every time
(17:34):
I step out the house. Soif I believe what I saw on my
block, if I believe that thatwas my future or my destiny, right,
I mean I should have just gaveup at thirteen fourteen it was over
for me then, right. Therewas always something uh inside of me.
I think my grandmother put it insideof me. Uh, you know my
mother as well, just to beable to aspire to be greater than what
(17:59):
your eyes can see, because wedidn't see much, right, And I
think that's what is allowing you,in my humble opinion, to develop young
women athletes, right, because it'sa similar struggle to growing up in a
city like this. I think abouturban youth racing to a school in Philadelphia,
and they're trying to teach NASCAR tokids that are less fortunate because obviously,
(18:21):
like you can only join NASCAR ifyour dad's a millionaire or something could
afford to let you go wreck,you know, amazing vehicles and learn the
sport. So they've cut it downinto a science where you know, the
assimilators and money from NASCAR to getthe youth that loves motorsports. And you
know, maybe it's a kid whostole a car, let's find out why
(18:44):
he stole the car. So samething with women athletes, Like it's just
like it's been so terrible to seeour society kind of just put it on
the back burner. Like you ifyou get outside of what is it like
UFC all the combats for it,WWE, you know, tennis, thank
you to the Serena sisters right honestly, and then soccernavy and then WNBA like
(19:07):
that's your five pillars and there's somany other sports. Like what have you
seen since you've joined the WNBA,like growth wise? And does it excite
you? Oh man, Well,first of all, yes, it excites
me for sure. I Mean I'vebeen around women's basketball for some time.
The quote unquote first player that Iever developed was a girl by the name
(19:30):
of Andrea Hines in Delaware, liketwo thousand and eight or something like that.
So it's a long time, right, didn't know I was being set
up for destiny, Right, didn'tknow that. Right. I'm like,
oh, kid, get out theway I'm trying to do my stuff.
It's this little girl. Oh no, no, I want to, you
know, show me. I'm like, get it out to beat it,
kid, right, and she stays. So here we are from seventh grade
(19:52):
to what twelfth grade? And Iused to always bother her and this this
is a tight end, right,this is a Google one. I used
to always say, Oh, you'rea good but I mean, I mean,
you're no Skylar Diggins. Right.Oh, it's her off, right,
it's her all. So then shegraduates, She goes to the University
of Central Florida. Right, shehas a great career. She graduates,
(20:14):
right, she's a nurse now.And on her graduation day, she sends
me a picture right off of Google. It's like Getty image whatever it is,
right, and it's her guarding SkylarDiggings, Central Florida versus Noorida dead,
and she said and I said,see right now, I didn't know
I was on a something, right, I didn't know I was being led
in the destiny. But that's wheremy passion started to see these young people
(20:36):
go from nothing to something. ObviouslyI'm not a woman, but I am
an underdog right through and through.And the level of disrespect that women's sports
are received, you know, isjust I mean, it's preposterous to me
at this point. I'm out thereon the floor with them, right So,
I mean, I wasn't an NBAbasketball player, but I like to
consider myself to be a pretty goodbasketball player. Right So, I'm like,
(20:57):
you guys are talking about you're betterthan women in the NBA in a
w n B A. I'm like, bro, I'm not even better than
some of the I was gonna say, I'm rooting for Sabrina to beat Steph
because, like you know what Imean, like that would be huge.
Like so, it's just it's it'scrazy. We have another show on our
(21:18):
network. It's called Protect Our Queen'sand it's too passionate guys just like Mike,
and they are trying to raise youknow, awareness on this sport and
they're so passionate about it, andthey report on it, and I'm just
hoping because I look at sports asa whole and there's a lot of old
heads that need to go away,and a lot of them are in the
(21:40):
writing, writing and broadcasting side,and so this is a great path for
the youth to like and then alsoelevate. So, yeah, it hasn't
been an easy road for Mike.Hasn't been an easy road for my family.
Like I grew up in Brooklyn.My my grandma Jane Cope, God
bless her. Yeah, she shewas hard on me. I wrote it
(22:00):
to apologizer. Once she looked atme dead in the eyes and she said,
next time, I want it inblood. So we all grew up
in that odds against us, youknow, and you use that to then
further people that obviously still have ittough, and you try to relate with
human beings. That's all we are. This world's hard enough, like,
so just keep supporting and keep helpingeach other. That's that's really it.
(22:22):
In a nutshell, I want tocircle. So you're leaving to go coach
USA basketball, right right? SoI have had the unbelievable honor right of
being selected to help out with theAmerica Cup. The America Cup is like
this relude to the twenty twenty fourOlympics. Right, everybody's doing it.
(22:47):
All the nations are doing it.It's like almost like a pre Olympic qualifier
Team USA. But on the men'sside, they decided that they were going
to use little old me to helpout with some support staff stuff. Uh,
maybe a little player development here andthere. Right, And you guys
got to understand this, right,I'm from public housing, right, the
(23:10):
little six seven eight year old kidright that that dreamed fantasyze went to McDonald's
right in nineteen ninety two and gotthe big gulp right with Jordan and Magic
and Bird on it that said inthe USA, I was that kid,
right. I was obsessed, absolutelyenamored with all things basketball. Right,
(23:33):
So it didn't hit me in untilyou know, you know, one of
my cousins he talked to me,but he say, man, this is
this is this is USA. Youknow what I'm saying, Oh yeah,
you know, because I'm focused ongoing forward, you work, doing the
work. He's like, no,you don't get it. They're gonna give
you like a red shirt. It'sgonna be like white and Blue, you
know, like the Dream Team,man like like that that world. Yeah,
(23:56):
and then I got a little ohman, m damn, this is
this is crazy. So it's suchan on and the blessed any time you
can represent a country and help outany way, man. And so I'm
I'm just blessed. I'm just blessed, blessed. I want to go back
to that time. I feel likeit was a lot simpler, you know,
people still, the country wasn't asdivided. I blame social media and
stuff like that for that as well. Don't get me wrong, like the
(24:18):
media is a huge part of that. But yeah, it's it's so cool
to see growth. And that's that'severything I look at when I look at
the w n B A and Ismile, and you know, Mike gets
as excited for uh, w nB A than he does for the NBA
or for the Cubs. And that'sthat's hard to do. It's closed,
(24:40):
I know, Mike psych Yeah,not that hard. It's not that horrible
horrible. But got a couple moreminutes. I want to let Mike fire
off. He was so excited totalk to you and hopefully this will continue.
Uh, you know, our relationshipand we'll have you back and on
on all of our afternoon shows.It would be cool, of course,
of course, but you you know, man, we talk about Team USA
(25:02):
and we talk about everything that's goingon. I'll be there tomorrow obviously,
Brooklyn. We're in the house.Kaliah Copper, Aja Wilson Kelsey Plumbing Company
will be there, and of courseSabrino and Escu. How can I not?
How could I? Now she's aboutto make it look steffortless. But
with that being said, Cole isgoing to be representing Team USA yet again,
(25:22):
and I want to talk about yourrelationship with her North Philly, North
Philly versus South Philly. You knowthat whole relationship pretty much just skyrocketed you
into the w n BA. Youhad already been working with players, but
now getting a job player developments directorand coach for the Chicago Sky for some
time. You know what what wentinto your relationship with Kalia Copper now North
(25:47):
versus South in Chicago. Man,I try to, I try to,
you know, stay open. Youknow, I'm rocking with the West,
South East everywhere, but we knowit's a rivalry always. So what was
that relationship like with you her atmosphereversus your atmosphere, coming together and helping
her grow into not only a wNBA Finals MVP, but a champion.
(26:10):
Well, I think the first thingis that we were bonded by purpose.
I just feel like these things justlike God has a way of aligning people.
Right. I wasn't like necessarily lookingfor a colleague of copper right.
I don't know if she was necessarilylooking for me, right, but I
had been doing my work on myend, she had been doing her work.
(26:30):
And then during her her last year, I guess over last winter she
didn't go over to Europe, right, she was like, oh, you
know, I wanna be in Philly, man, you know. And I
had already known her through a mutualfriend of ours, a Keisha Hampton,
who also played for the Sky backin the day, Right, And she
said, hey, man, youknow you got some time to work me
out. And I'm like, I'mcoaching Division two women's basketball, right,
I'm working at the school, I'mworking fifteen hour days. I'm like,
(26:52):
I don't know, man, likefor a finals MVP, I think I
might be a fit in my schedule. Let me serious, right, Love
Then and then we went at itlike that. I just think that her
competitive spirit, uh you know,it's it's similar to my competitive spirit.
She's just more talented than me.Right, I would like to be able
to do what she does. Right, She's just more talented than me.
(27:15):
And you know what, we talkabout relationships again, you know what,
Kylliah and my relationship. Most ofthe time, probably ninety percent of the
time, we're not talking about basketball, right, So I got to know
her family, right, she gotto know some of my family. Right.
We argue about who can dress better, like, clearly it's her.
(27:37):
We argue about who makes better Frenchtoasts, Clearly it's me. Right,
everybody knows that, especially her.I'm my love her dog. Right,
So we just have this, youknow, a friendship to me that goes
beyond basketball. You know. Iwish the very best for her in every
scenario of her life. And agreat thing about Collia copper as we're talking
(27:57):
about, I guess what the nationalcompetition. You go to Colaida's Copperence house.
She has a gold medal from theWorld championship. Right, it's awesome
what it's sitting on the mantle withlike male like pet food, right,
right, like an old hot dograpper. So's the most down to earth
(28:21):
superstar. I'm like, yo,what are you doing? Yo? You
know, yeah, I know thatshe gives that that colaias smile and I
just laughed at this dog over girl. This is why I'm bald, right,
this is why I'm bald. Right. So, so that's what she
is, and she's she's a phenomenalplayer. We all know that. But
you know you, I'll go onrecord of saying she's an even better and
(28:41):
a more incredible human being, andthat's rare for someone of her elk and
magnitude and talent. I will say, Mikey did get a hair cut today
because he was worried about two beautifulbald people. But yeah, we dude,
this has been awesome. Coach Das. We will have you on anytime
you're back in Philly. You justcall me. I'll be on the Daily
(29:02):
Take with Sean Brace that's coming upnext, Mikey. Any final thoughts or
any final words for either one ofyou. We have about a minute.
I'm rocking out. I'm all goodto go, man. Any message out
there, Coach dazaid that you wouldwant the Philly market to hear what I
want the Philly, the market tohear Man's you know what, Let's come
together a little more. You know, Mike talked about South Philly, North
(29:23):
Philly, that whole thing. Right, Let's start to do away with the
geographical stuff, right, and let'sstart to function more in purpose. I
mean, we can get further together, right than we can do individually.
So that's what I like to seemore out of Philly. And please Joel
and be get healthy soon. Ineed it, all right, I need
I need it. Let's go bringhome a metal next time we have you
(29:45):
here. I want to say,a metal that would be nuts. Thank
you for all you do. You'rean ambassador to humans like That's that's pretty
much it, right, uh,And it was. It's been such a
joy. Like I said, walkingthrough that hallway. I'm glad we had
some technical difficulties because we got tospend some time. So I do appreciate
that. And Mikey, thanks forthe connect and we'll be back. If
(30:07):
you can wager on it. We'retalking about it. It's the Gambler
Spreads, totals and all the propthat's in between. It's the Gambler,
all right. So we're live inthe Fox Sports The Gambler studio. I
have a couple of people here withme today. First, Chaz Franklin,
coach Chaz Franklin, I should say, right here proper. And Mikey Hughes,
who's been on our show a bunchof times from Chicago, holds it
(00:23):
down all things Chicago, but alsomore importantly to WNBA. So I'm gonna
get out of the way because Ijust know you guys have been talking behind
the scenes well last like five toten minutes, So I feel like the
audience needs to hear this, andI'll time in whenever I feel I could
add my own take in flavor.So honored to have you both here,
(00:44):
excited to do this. Thanks man. Well, it was definitely has Bro.
I haven't seen you. The lasttime I seen you was the Tea
Spoon, the Tea Spoon inauguration.I mean that was Bro is crazy and
shy town. Right now, wegot a lot of stuff going on.
We were just talking about WNBA freeagency kicked off just a few days ago.
You know, the first few days, it's always real quiet. I
(01:06):
know, Chaz goes through it allthe time with the people he mentors,
people he coaches. Now things arefinally starting to go crazy. I mean
it's it's crazy. So chas whereyou at right now as it pertains their
free agency? You know what freeagency right now is going nuclear. I
mean my phone is buzzing off thehook with Twitter feeds and alerts and this
and that, and you know,I'm talking to players, I'm talking to
(01:30):
agents, you know, just friendsI have, I guess in the business,
in the industry. So I meanfree agency has been on fire,
and I think that WNBA fans shouldexpect more in these next what forty eight
hours, because I mean it's goingabsolutely crazy right now. A lot of
heartbreak for me on some ends andsome joy in the other ends to see
see some people moving to better situationsand losing some friends here and there.
(01:53):
But I guess you know, that'sthat's the world we live in, right
Yeah, most definitely. I meanwe talked about it, you know,
off stage, you know, behindclosed doors, about Courtney Williams and Alana
Smith and what they were for youand I both in twenty twenty three,
in the summer was absolutely phenomenal.You know, class acts, especially Court.
We're not going to get too deepinto it, but Court stood on
(02:15):
business. Court was about her p'sand q's all year long. She was
riding for cash. She was ridingfor everybody from one to ten on that
roster. I mean, absolutely phenomenal. Uh So, what they're going to
be able to do for a veryyoung organization. I think it's going to
be a lot of fun. Butthe big one man was Skyler, Digg
and Smith. That's the one forme going to Seattle. I think it's
(02:36):
going to be huge. I mean, you got the one two punch Chicago
native Jewel Lloyd in the cut aswell. She's already a champion. She
understands what it takes. Skyler understandsthat atmosphere, she's been there before.
What do you think that means forthe organization? Because I know we didn't
get a chance to talk about thatyet, but you know, obviously the
consensus and and a lot of peoplewho are going to come talk about you
(02:59):
know, it's going to be It'sgoing to be Vegas. It's gonna be
Liberty again. You know, there'sthere's no one else that can get in
their ways? Do you see thembeing a hard out, especially when you
look at the one two punch inSeattle. Well, I mean, anytime
you add a Skylar Diggins Smith,she was what two years in a row,
first Team All w NBA, right, six time All Star, the
(03:20):
Pride of Norre Dame. I meanthey got a lot of them over there,
right coming out of South Bend.But I mean Skyler Diggins is the
top tier, right, gold standardfor the fighting Irish. So whenever you
add a player of her magnitude andher caliber, I mean, it automatically
gives a little level of credibility toyour organization. You know they're gonna be
(03:42):
a problem in the West, We'llbe honest, especially with Juel Lloyds.
Well, I'm going to chime inright right now, Like we talked about
this in the hallway, because we'rereminiscent throughout all of music, right because
this hallway is just it's like walkingthrough a history of music, whether it
be hip hop, rock, Rand B, rumba, And I kind
(04:03):
of related it to your experience,right, So fifteen years as a basketball
pro basketball player overseas, you know, and now you're helping the youth,
but more importantly women athletes, likehow does that feel? And also where
did that come from? Like wherewas that? What led you from that
fifteen year career to now? Well? I guess the first thing is that
(04:26):
I mean, I played God,I played top was forty years old,
right, it's awes. So fromlike twenty five to forty, I had
this crazy backstore. I didn't turnpro till I was twenty five, right,
and I played fifteen years in somany nondescript countries that I can't even
listen to. I was like thegoat of mid level, low level international
basketball, right, So I said, okay, I got to start to
(04:47):
figure something now because this ball ain'tgonna bounce whatever. So maybe then the
last third of my career, Istarted connecting with other younger players right from
the greater Philadelphia area. You know, they joined me for workouts. That's
how it started, a you know, it was always oh here. That's
when I knew it was time toretire. Set a chance. It started
being old head og, I'm whoare they talking? Is it talking to
(05:08):
me? Didn't even talk to me, so, you know, I kind
of trying to transferred or kind ofjust slid into a bit of a mentorship
role. I could still play alittle bit, and I was in great
shape. But you know what Ireally tried to impart to them was what
I learned over the years. Soyou know, my concept was just to
put all that I learned over thesefifteen years and that I have in this
(05:29):
beautiful ball head and put into ayounger, more athletic, more talented body.
And so that's how it started forme. YEA, love it,
love it. And then what madeyou decide like you wanted to give back
to this game that you love somuch? Well, I think the first
thing is that I've been so blessedand fortunate that so many people have mentored
(05:49):
me and giving back to me.Right, So you're supposed to be paying
paying this thing forward first and foremost. And the other thing that I realized
too, is that so many formerpro athletes they don't age gracefully, right,
And I think the reason why isbecause they haven't found a purpose,
right, They lack purpose. SoI was like, man, you know,
I was sitting there thinking, Iwas like, wow, Dad,
(06:10):
my days are hooping and over.Wow, So now your relevance goes down,
right, You don't know what youdo in the morning. You don't
know what you're supposed to do.Your whole life has been structured from seven
years old until forty, right,I said, wow, how do I
live forever? How do I stayrelevant? How do I be a blessing
to others? Then I thought aboutit. You know what, mentorum give
back, keep it going. Youdon't need to be a rapper. You
(06:33):
need to try to work with thelabel. Maybe try to own your own
label. That's how you do it. This is a young man's game and
a young woman's game. So Isaid, let me get yourself out the
way. Get out the way,right, It's these young people's time.
Nobody likes to grumpy old guy anyway. So I said, yeah, yeah,
it's time for the next generation,and I just want to help later.
I love it. I love it. I think you are in the
(06:53):
way. You're in a great way, right, You're leading, you know.
I saw it a posed to viewerswhere you have two young athletes around
your arm and you're like player developmentstarts with love first, And I think
that's that's really cool and unique.You know, how how did that help
your career? Mentally? And moreimportantly, like, did you have any
(07:15):
mentors that we're doing that for you? And what about mental health in the
game, Like do you think thatthat's obviously something that's changed and is obviously
is changing for the better. Right? Absolutely, Well, A couple of
things, man, growing up whereI grew up, which is South Philadelphia.
You know, I played on aon on the point Breeze Youth Athletic
(07:36):
Association. I mean that was likethe who's who is South Philadelphia? When
I grew up at me and everything, you know, I was mentored by
two gentlemen. You know, oneis which is Larry Waiters who helped them
run the Total Responsible and the othersmister Bill Williams. He lived a half
a block down the street for me. He taught me the culture. He
taught me to pride, He taughtme to be tough, he taught me
(07:58):
to work hard. But also mean, you know, to just carry this
basketball, not just this basketball,this South Philadelphia basketball banner, carry that
with some pride. Right, Soonce again you can understand this South Philadelphia,
south side of Chicago, right mirrorimages, right, So that's where
I grew up, right, MikePowers, Hey, this is Brooklyn all
(08:18):
the way yes, right, I'mfrom the culture. So you guys understand
what I'm talking about, right,in terms of mental health, I was
a coach a little a little different. You know, it was a different
time, right. I'm growing upin the eighties and nineties. So in
my environment, man, I guess, like on the basketball court, if
you make a mistake on the basketballcourt or you turn the ball over,
right, you make you make thewrong decision in South Philadelphia or any these
(08:41):
neighborhoods when you're growing up, Imean, you don't lose the ball.
You may lose your freedom, right, you may lose your life. Right.
So guys like mister Bill Williams,man, they coached that's hard,
you know. I mean you knowI just mentioned the story or recently where
I had holes in my shoes,right, Mister Bill Cook coached me hard
because he picked me up for practicegames and it was all for free.
(09:03):
He put clothes on my back andshoes on my feet. Right, So
these guys coached you hard. Imean it's the building personally, like grab
you or he wasn't a physical butthat was the era I was from,
right, I mean, you wereevery I mean mental health wasn't a big
concern when I was coming up.Let's just let's just say that, right
figure right much for sure, butwe're moving forward. We're moving forward.
(09:26):
So you know, as it pertainsto me in twenty twenty four, I
never wanted to be the type ofcoach that looked at these players as exes.
Uh and O's right. This issomeone's son, this is someone's daughter,
This is someone right who had adream since they were a child,
right, that they're helping to materializeand manifest at this very moment. So
(09:48):
I said, you know what,let me try to love them, you
know, for the person that theyare, right, and if you love
the person that they are, pullingthat good player out of them, well,
that's easy, right because by thetime they get the I mean,
they're a heck of a player already, you're gonna wunba right, this is
I mean you already you know,the top one percent of players in the
world anyway, So you know,I try to use that holistic approach by
(10:11):
interpersonal relationships big to me, andit's been working, right, And you
know, you and I talk aboutit a lot, and you know,
I've talked to Mike about it andexplaining to him like what it was like
growing up in Chicago. And Ithink that's where my relationship with you just
from day one, man, Imean it was just like I've known you
my whole life, because you remindme of so many people in this city
(10:31):
who have all the potential in theworld and actually utilize it to the best
of their ability. You know,you mentioned not looking at them as x's
and odes. In another way,a lot of people, especially not getting
political, but you know with politicsand everything, and they're all statistics.
We're all a statistic, We're alla number in this big rat race.
And I feel like so many kidsget caught up in that. You know,
(10:52):
they're trying to be a rapper,they're trying to be in the NBA,
they're trying to be something else.So for you growing up in South
Philly, who was it in yourfamily that really kept you on your p's
and q's and really made sure thatyou were going to become Chash Franklin and
not just a statistic or just somebodyelse from Philly. Oh well, as
far as far as my family,my upbringing, anybody that knows me,
(11:15):
man, they know it's my lategrandmother Elaine Jeane Franklin, and I say
that with the most I guess,passionate, endearing heart that I could.
I mean, she's my motivation evento this day, during my playing days,
whenever I ran out on the courtright before the game, I touched
my heart twice, right and blewa kiss up. Right. That was
from my grandmother. I told her. Man, I made a lot of
(11:37):
promises to my grandmother. And boy, you know, she was she was
loving, but she was she wasloving, but she was tough, right.
She was the kind of grandmother thatwould slip your candy in church even
though she wasn't supposed to write.And she was also the kind of grandmother
that when the neighborhood bullies chased youto your doorsteps to you and beat you
(12:00):
up, he said, oh,you can't come in this house. You
better get out there and fight everylast one of them. Right, you're
a Tillison boy, even like youknow, so, so she was like
firing ice all at the same time. So, I mean, that was
like my biggest motivation. I mean, obviously my mother, she helped me
to a high standard. You know. She would always say, oh,
you know, I just want youto do your best but I know that
your best is straight a' so that'swhat I'm expecting. I'm like, we
(12:24):
think that's a lot of pressure.Yeah, no pressure, You're a professional
athlete, right, yeah, ge, thanks appreciate it. Right. So,
you know, those two were themost pivotal, you know, But
I've been blessed to have a lotof different people right over the course of
the years to help mentor me andyou know, show me the pass.
You know. You don't get hereon your own. Yeah, without a
doubt. You know. I alwayssay it takes a village, you know.
(12:46):
And I didn't fully understand that untilI became an uncle just a few
years ago. I'm like, damn, Like, even though my my sister's
the one putting in all the work, I'll never say she's not. She's
an amazing mother. But I'm like, even on my own, hey,
Mike, can you watch can youwatch your nephew? Can you watch your
niece for a little while, Dany, I'm in charge of this life for
the next three hours. What Ido is key and pivotal to the next
(13:07):
twenty plus years of this person's life. Someone falls off the table, it's
wraps like, you know, likeit's it's important, and I think being
in people's lives is very key,and I've spoke so much with Mike about
that. But I'd love your perspectiveon the city of Brotherly Love. I
mean, I gotta get I gottaget more than just a jersey that the
seventy six ers play every now andagain. What is the atmosphere in Philly
(13:30):
and how has it compared to othercities you've been in, other countries you've
been in. Well, the firstthing that I would say is when you
grow up in a city like Philadelphia, right, I truly, honestly feel
that you are prepared to go anywherein the world. I I was gonna
say, you grow up if youmake it out of Philadelphia, right,
like like a Collie of Copper,Right, like like a Will Smith and
(13:54):
Kevin Hardy and Meek Mills. I'llgive this is Philadelphia. You ready,
this is Philadelphia. I was afire foot what seven ninth grader right sometime
in the nineties. We're playing arecreational summer league basketball game across from Wilson
Park Projects in South Philadelphia. Right, this is the environment. Right,
you gotta go with me. We'regoing to storytime, right, the deal.
(14:16):
That's right, honey, it's ninetyfive degrees. If you win the
game, the boys from the projectsare gonna beat the crap out of you
and chase you home. If youlose the game, you feel like a
chump. You lost the game,right, So that's the environment. I
kind of want to win, soI'm go ahead and try to win.
I attempt a two handed dunk ninthgrade with fourteen years old, five foot
(14:37):
six, five foot seven, missthe dunk. I'm happy. I'm I'm
ninth grader. I tried to dunk, right, that's impressive. He booed
me. They booed me a wholeschoolyard. They booed me. You know
that God tells me. He says, this is Philly, and he cursed
at me. This is Philly.Mfort. You don't get any props for
trying to dunk. You gotta makethe dunk, I said, okay,
(15:00):
it was my cousin. He wasthe god boy with me, right,
So that's Philadelphia. Right. Weare hard on our athletes, we are
hard on our people, but weare loyal to a fault. We're a
bit crazy. But if you getone of those dogs like a colleaie of
Copper right. Yeah. I meanthey'll take you all the way to the
dog On Championship if you let them. Yep. No, it's really as
simple as that. I know Mikehas is on. Mike is a die
(15:24):
hard Mets fan, and he understandswhat it's like, you know, being
in the city, being in thatatmosphere, rooting for a team. We
talked about it over the summer chats. Every time I talk to Mike,
I feel like I randomly, whetherit's relevant or not, I bring up
Dereck Rose. It's a kid fromInglewood. This is a kid from the
Southwest side of Chicago, and hebecomes the youngest MVP in NBA history,
(15:46):
and after just a couple of injuries, watch how the media turns on you.
Watch how things start to change.You go from the next Michael Jordan.
You go from the savior of theChicago Bulls to a pariah to hey,
we're forcing you out of town.We're sending need to the New York
Knicks, where they're going to runa triangle offense with Carmelo Anthony and the
Unicorn. I mean, it washorrible, but that's a whole different conversation
(16:07):
shout out Philip Jackson though, butI definitely get that. And for you,
though, what keeps you on theright road? What keeps you on?
Okay? Well, maybe people don'tbelieve in what I'm trying to do.
Maybe people in the city growing up, maybe you yourself didn't understand player
development and what roads and what barriersyou could potentially knock down. But how
(16:30):
did you continue to say this iswhat I'm going to do, and this
is how I'm going to do it, whether or not people agreed with it.
Twenty five years old, you makeyour final you know, your first
appearance being an actual pro you know, I mean me at twenty three,
I'm damn bro, it's raps.I'm just gonna play Beer League softball the
rest of my life. You know, there's a mentality that comes with this.
So where does that mentality come from? For you? Well? I
(16:52):
think the first thing, you know, I am a man of faith.
You know, I don't you know, I don't like beat people over the
here with a Bible or anything likethat, right, but that is something
you know that I hold near anddear to my heart. That's for one.
For two, I think that youknow coming from certain environments, you
know, a Brooklyn, a Chicago, a Philadelphia. Man, you better
(17:14):
be delusional, right, you betterbe delusional. Right. I walk up
my house right, seventeen twenty SeaguleStreet, one nine, one four five,
Right right, that was the zipcode. A rapper Beanie Seagull put
that in in a rap one timein the nineties. He said, I
packed guns like the zip code onenine one four five. So this is
my environment. This is what Ihave to look to, right every time
(17:34):
I step out the house. Soif I believe what I saw on my
block, if I believe that thatwas my future or my destiny, right,
I mean I should have just gaveup at thirteen fourteen it was over
for me then, right. Therewas always something uh inside of me.
I think my grandmother put it insideof me. Uh, you know my
mother as well, just to beable to aspire to be greater than what
(17:59):
your eyes can see, because wedidn't see much, right, And I
think that's what is allowing you,in my humble opinion, to develop young
women athletes, right, because it'sa similar struggle to growing up in a
city like this. I think abouturban youth racing to a school in Philadelphia,
and they're trying to teach NASCAR tokids that are less fortunate because obviously,
(18:21):
like you can only join NASCAR ifyour dad's a millionaire or something could
afford to let you go wreck,you know, amazing vehicles and learn the
sport. So they've cut it downinto a science where you know, the
assimilators and money from NASCAR to getthe youth that loves motorsports. And you
know, maybe it's a kid whostole a car, let's find out why
(18:44):
he stole the car. So samething with women athletes, Like it's just
like it's been so terrible to seeour society kind of just put it on
the back burner. Like you ifyou get outside of what is it like
UFC all the combats for it,WWE, you know, tennis, thank
you to the Serena sisters right honestly, and then soccernavy and then WNBA like
(19:07):
that's your five pillars and there's somany other sports. Like what have you
seen since you've joined the WNBA,like growth wise? And does it excite
you? Oh man, Well,first of all, yes, it excites
me for sure. I Mean I'vebeen around women's basketball for some time.
The quote unquote first player that Iever developed was a girl by the name
(19:30):
of Andrea Hines in Delaware, liketwo thousand and eight or something like that.
So it's a long time, right, didn't know I was being set
up for destiny, Right, didn'tknow that. Right. I'm like,
oh, kid, get out theway I'm trying to do my stuff.
It's this little girl. Oh no, no, I want to, you
know, show me. I'm like, get it out to beat it,
kid, right, and she stays. So here we are from seventh grade
(19:52):
to what twelfth grade? And Iused to always bother her and this this
is a tight end, right,this is a Google one. I used
to always say, Oh, you'rea good but I mean, I mean,
you're no Skylar Diggins. Right.Oh, it's her off, right,
it's her all. So then shegraduates, She goes to the University
of Central Florida. Right, shehas a great career. She graduates,
(20:14):
right, she's a nurse now.And on her graduation day, she sends
me a picture right off of Google. It's like Getty image whatever it is,
right, and it's her guarding SkylarDiggings, Central Florida versus Noorida dead,
and she said and I said,see right now, I didn't know
I was on a something, right, I didn't know I was being led
in the destiny. But that's wheremy passion started to see these young people
(20:36):
go from nothing to something. ObviouslyI'm not a woman, but I am
an underdog right through and through.And the level of disrespect that women's sports
are received, you know, isjust I mean, it's preposterous to me
at this point. I'm out thereon the floor with them, right So,
I mean, I wasn't an NBAbasketball player, but I like to
consider myself to be a pretty goodbasketball player. Right So, I'm like,
(20:57):
you guys are talking about you're betterthan women in the NBA in a
w n B A. I'm like, bro, I'm not even better than
some of the I was gonna say, I'm rooting for Sabrina to beat Steph
because, like you know what Imean, like that would be huge.
Like so, it's just it's it'scrazy. We have another show on our
(21:18):
network. It's called Protect Our Queen'sand it's too passionate guys just like Mike,
and they are trying to raise youknow, awareness on this sport and
they're so passionate about it, andthey report on it, and I'm just
hoping because I look at sports asa whole and there's a lot of old
heads that need to go away,and a lot of them are in the
(21:40):
writing, writing and broadcasting side,and so this is a great path for
the youth to like and then alsoelevate. So, yeah, it hasn't
been an easy road for Mike.Hasn't been an easy road for my family.
Like I grew up in Brooklyn.My my grandma Jane Cope, God
bless her. Yeah, she shewas hard on me. I wrote it
(22:00):
to apologizer. Once she looked atme dead in the eyes and she said,
next time, I want it inblood. So we all grew up
in that odds against us, youknow, and you use that to then
further people that obviously still have ittough, and you try to relate with
human beings. That's all we are. This world's hard enough, like,
so just keep supporting and keep helpingeach other. That's that's really it.
(22:22):
In a nutshell, I want tocircle. So you're leaving to go coach
USA basketball, right right? SoI have had the unbelievable honor right of
being selected to help out with theAmerica Cup. The America Cup is like
this relude to the twenty twenty fourOlympics. Right, everybody's doing it.
(22:47):
All the nations are doing it.It's like almost like a pre Olympic qualifier
Team USA. But on the men'sside, they decided that they were going
to use little old me to helpout with some support staff stuff. Uh,
maybe a little player development here andthere. Right, And you guys
got to understand this, right,I'm from public housing, right, the
(23:10):
little six seven eight year old kidright that that dreamed fantasyze went to McDonald's
right in nineteen ninety two and gotthe big gulp right with Jordan and Magic
and Bird on it that said inthe USA, I was that kid,
right. I was obsessed, absolutelyenamored with all things basketball. Right,
(23:33):
So it didn't hit me in untilyou know, you know, one of
my cousins he talked to me,but he say, man, this is
this is this is USA. Youknow what I'm saying, Oh yeah,
you know, because I'm focused ongoing forward, you work, doing the
work. He's like, no,you don't get it. They're gonna give
you like a red shirt. It'sgonna be like white and Blue, you
know, like the Dream Team,man like like that that world. Yeah,
(23:56):
and then I got a little ohman, m damn, this is
this is crazy. So it's suchan on and the blessed any time you
can represent a country and help outany way, man. And so I'm
I'm just blessed. I'm just blessed, blessed. I want to go back
to that time. I feel likeit was a lot simpler, you know,
people still, the country wasn't asdivided. I blame social media and
stuff like that for that as well. Don't get me wrong, like the
(24:18):
media is a huge part of that. But yeah, it's it's so cool
to see growth. And that's that'severything I look at when I look at
the w n B A and Ismile, and you know, Mike gets
as excited for uh, w nB A than he does for the NBA
or for the Cubs. And that'sthat's hard to do. It's closed,
(24:40):
I know, Mike psych Yeah,not that hard. It's not that horrible
horrible. But got a couple moreminutes. I want to let Mike fire
off. He was so excited totalk to you and hopefully this will continue.
Uh, you know, our relationshipand we'll have you back and on
on all of our afternoon shows.It would be cool, of course,
of course, but you you know, man, we talk about Team USA
(25:02):
and we talk about everything that's goingon. I'll be there tomorrow obviously,
Brooklyn. We're in the house.Kaliah Copper, Aja Wilson Kelsey Plumbing Company
will be there, and of courseSabrino and Escu. How can I not?
How could I? Now she's aboutto make it look steffortless. But
with that being said, Cole isgoing to be representing Team USA yet again,
(25:22):
and I want to talk about yourrelationship with her North Philly, North
Philly versus South Philly. You knowthat whole relationship pretty much just skyrocketed you
into the w n BA. Youhad already been working with players, but
now getting a job player developments directorand coach for the Chicago Sky for some
time. You know what what wentinto your relationship with Kalia Copper now North
(25:47):
versus South in Chicago. Man,I try to, I try to,
you know, stay open. Youknow, I'm rocking with the West,
South East everywhere, but we knowit's a rivalry always. So what was
that relationship like with you her atmosphereversus your atmosphere, coming together and helping
her grow into not only a wNBA Finals MVP, but a champion.
(26:10):
Well, I think the first thingis that we were bonded by purpose.
I just feel like these things justlike God has a way of aligning people.
Right. I wasn't like necessarily lookingfor a colleague of copper right.
I don't know if she was necessarilylooking for me, right, but I
had been doing my work on myend, she had been doing her work.
(26:30):
And then during her her last year, I guess over last winter she
didn't go over to Europe, right, she was like, oh, you
know, I wanna be in Philly, man, you know. And I
had already known her through a mutualfriend of ours, a Keisha Hampton,
who also played for the Sky backin the day, Right, And she
said, hey, man, youknow you got some time to work me
out. And I'm like, I'mcoaching Division two women's basketball, right,
I'm working at the school, I'mworking fifteen hour days. I'm like,
(26:52):
I don't know, man, likefor a finals MVP, I think I
might be a fit in my schedule. Let me serious, right, Love
Then and then we went at itlike that. I just think that her
competitive spirit, uh you know,it's it's similar to my competitive spirit.
She's just more talented than me.Right, I would like to be able
to do what she does. Right, She's just more talented than me.
(27:15):
And you know what, we talkabout relationships again, you know what,
Kylliah and my relationship. Most ofthe time, probably ninety percent of the
time, we're not talking about basketball, right, So I got to know
her family, right, she gotto know some of my family. Right.
We argue about who can dress better, like, clearly it's her.
(27:37):
We argue about who makes better Frenchtoasts, Clearly it's me. Right,
everybody knows that, especially her.I'm my love her dog. Right,
So we just have this, youknow, a friendship to me that goes
beyond basketball. You know. Iwish the very best for her in every
scenario of her life. And agreat thing about Collia copper as we're talking
(27:57):
about, I guess what the nationalcompetition. You go to Colaida's Copperence house.
She has a gold medal from theWorld championship. Right, it's awesome
what it's sitting on the mantle withlike male like pet food, right,
right, like an old hot dograpper. So's the most down to earth
(28:21):
superstar. I'm like, yo,what are you doing? Yo? You
know, yeah, I know thatshe gives that that colaias smile and I
just laughed at this dog over girl. This is why I'm bald, right,
this is why I'm bald. Right. So, so that's what she
is, and she's she's a phenomenalplayer. We all know that. But
you know you, I'll go onrecord of saying she's an even better and
(28:41):
a more incredible human being, andthat's rare for someone of her elk and
magnitude and talent. I will say, Mikey did get a hair cut today
because he was worried about two beautifulbald people. But yeah, we dude,
this has been awesome. Coach Das. We will have you on anytime
you're back in Philly. You justcall me. I'll be on the Daily
(29:02):
Take with Sean Brace that's coming upnext, Mikey. Any final thoughts or
any final words for either one ofyou. We have about a minute.
I'm rocking out. I'm all goodto go, man. Any message out
there, Coach dazaid that you wouldwant the Philly market to hear what I
want the Philly, the market tohear Man's you know what, Let's come
together a little more. You know, Mike talked about South Philly, North
(29:23):
Philly, that whole thing. Right, Let's start to do away with the
geographical stuff, right, and let'sstart to function more in purpose. I
mean, we can get further together, right than we can do individually.
So that's what I like to seemore out of Philly. And please Joel
and be get healthy soon. Ineed it, all right, I need
I need it. Let's go bringhome a metal next time we have you
(29:45):
here. I want to say,a metal that would be nuts. Thank
you for all you do. You'rean ambassador to humans like That's that's pretty
much it, right, uh,And it was. It's been such a
joy. Like I said, walkingthrough that hallway. I'm glad we had
some technical difficulties because we got tospend some time. So I do appreciate
that. And Mikey, thanks forthe connect and we'll be back. If
(30:07):
you can wager on it. We'retalking about it. It's the Gambler
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com