← Fudd Around And Find Out
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- [00:00]
Podcast Host (Sponsor Announcer)
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human this sports spotlight is brought to you by Capital One Saver card, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports did you know that Toni Stone is considered the female Jackie Robinson, the first woman to play big league pro baseball. Stone signed with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League in 1953 to play second base. Hank Aaron played second for the team before her. Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment and at grocery stores with the saver card from Capital One. What's in your wallet? Terms apply seecapitalone.com for details.
- [00:34]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Coming out of the draft, it's been a special time for us here at Futaround. I want to thank everyone from the fans to the sponsors, especially geico. Not just for supporting az, but for showing up where it matters. Like the business of Women's Sports Summit. That kind of thing really moves the needle. And now that AZ is starting a new life in Dallas, we don't know what next season is going to bring. But we know that we're all on the same team and it's been amazing to feel the love and support. So keep showing up for our girl. Show up for each other. Thanks to GEICO and our listeners.
- [01:06]
Podcast Host (Sponsor Announcer)
Brought to you in part by Vital Farms. Let me tell you why Vital Farms Pasture raised eggs are the only eggs I have in my fridge. The hens, they're living the good life. Fresh air, sunshine and wide open pastures. I use my Vital Farms for my famous frittatas and you could trace your eggs back to the farm they came from. Check the carton for the farm name, pop it into vitalfarms.com farm and boom. You're looking at the pasture. So next time you're in the store, look for the black carton in the egg aisle and visit Vit to learn more. Vital Farms Good eggs, no shortcuts Host compensated for their time I used to play team sports and shared a locker room with a whole lot of women, plus 14 roommates in one college house. I still text, call or see so many of those women regularly. We talk about everything, even breast cancer which has affected several of my friends. Breast cancer has impacted all our lives in one way or another. So we know talking about it is important to share, understanding and to keep everyone updated. If you or someone you know was previously diagnosed with HR positive HER2 negative early breast cancer and went through treatment, you might be surprised to learn that it could come back. That's why I want to tell you about a breast cancer treatment called Kiskali Kiskali Ribociclib 200 milligram tablets are taken with an aromatase inhibitor. It's for adults with HR positive, HER2 negative stage 2 or 3 early breast cancer with a high risk of recurrence and it can help reduce the risk of cancer coming back. In a clinical study at three years, 91% of people taking Kiskali plus an aromatase inhibitor were cancer free versus 88% taking an aromatase inhibitor alone. Individual results may vary. Kiskali may cause serious skin reactions, liver problems and low white blood cell counts that may result in serious infections. Life threatening lung problems and abnormal heartbeats can occur. Your doctor should test your heart and blood before and during treatment. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening cough, chest pain or dizziness before taking Kiskali. Tell your doctor all your medical conditions, medicines you take and if you're breastfeed, pregnant or planning to be as it can harm an unborn baby. Common side effects include nausea, headache and tiredness. It's all about doing more today to help protect your tomorrow. Visit kiskali.com I know it's tricky to spell, so that's K I S Q A L I To learn more and ask your doctor if Kiskali is right for you.
- [03:18]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Welcome back to PUT around and find out. It's your girl Ashanti. And this week we have a very, very special guest, Tim Fudd. Woo.
- [03:27]
Tim Fudd
Thanks for having me on. I'm excited to be here.
- [03:29]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
I'm excited to have you. This has been months in the making and it is my honor to be able to host you today.
- [03:37]
Tim Fudd
I'm looking forward to it. Let's have some fun.
- [03:39]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
So let's just talk about this past week. Your daughter, the Dallas Wings, played my New York Liberty. Tell me what it was like for you in that environment. Let's talk about the game.
- [03:53]
Tim Fudd
First of all, New York City shows out at the Liberty games. Not only for Liberty games, we were in Brooklyn for unrivaled this past season as well. And it was crazy there. It was crazy for the Liberty game on Sunday. It was crazy in Brooklyn when UConn went there. So it's a great basketball atmosphere. It's gotta be one of the top in the W. You know, we went to Indiana for the first game and they were, they were really rapid fans there. But New York is New York. That's the, that's the Mecca, you know, Mecca of the basketball capital. Well, not the basketball capital of the world, but the Mecca. We'll give them the Mecca.
- [04:35]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Ah, listen, listen. You know I'm a little biased, but we definitely always show out for our sports teams. It does not matter if you like hockey, soccer, football, basketball. New York fans are literally unmatched. But I'm really glad you liked the environment. It was definitely electric. And our girl Az lit us up. Oh my goodness. 17 points in the third quarter. I was so excited, but also sick for my Liberty.
- [05:09]
Tim Fudd
What the FUD of the week. Maybe, maybe that's what the FUD of the week.
- [05:14]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
That might be your what the FUD of the week. But I got something cooking up.
- [05:19]
Tim Fudd
Crazy part about it is that the, you know, we were in the city all weekend and the. The whole city was. Is vibing partly because the Knicks are making the run, but you know, it's just exciting. It's a great time for, for the be, you know, to be a basketball fan in New York City or around New York City. If, if you can get to the city, people are excited. You will see people, ordinary people just walking around with Nick hats on. And you know, they don't know no thing about basketball, but hey, they're representing. And it was, it was actually fun. It was really fun.
- [05:47]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
I'm glad to hear that. Yeah, I mean right now, Knicks have the city on fire. So people are like selling shirts, hats, wearing gear. People are allowed to change up their uniform at work. I mean, like, it's a real exciting time to be in New York.
- [06:03]
Tim Fudd
Well, just being a basketball fan, you know that this time of year for the Knicks and just the history and you know, I was a big Patrick Ewing fan back in the day. Of course he was Georgetown University and you know, we claim him here in the dmv, but he was one of my favorite players when I was growing up. So I followed the Knicks a lot. And the Garden is always exciting, even with regular season. It's always exciting. It's always buzzing. And then we went to, you know, when we went to Brooklyn the other day on Sunday to play the Liberty, it is just such a buzz, man. It's like you don't know who's who. It's like you looking around and you know, celebrity here and were sitting next to celebrities and got to meet Jason Sudeikis. He. He came over and said hello and met his sister, took a picture with her. Stan Van Gundy came over with his daughter who said she was a big fan of AZ and got a chance to take a picture with him, have a conversation with him. And so like coach, I'm a big fan of yours. I've been listening to you for decades, you know. So, yeah, it was, it was exciting, for sure.
- [07:06]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
I mean, New York, let me tell you something. One thing about New Yorkers, we all believe that we're celebrities. Like, you'll be surprised. It'll be so many celebrities walking around or just existing in this space. And New Yorkers are kind of like, used to it. I'm sure people have the same experience in la, but I think that's super dope that you got to meet these people and you get to see everyone's pretty normal. You know what I mean? Everyone. The thing that we all have in common is we're here for. For the sports, we're here for the basketball game, we're here to enjoy the culture, the New York City sport culture. So that is awesome to see those
- [07:45]
Tim Fudd
people in the stands and people not bothering them, just leaving them alone. They're like normal people, you know, so that it is something to be said for that, you know, you guys are respecting people, respect their space, their time, their energy, and allow them to be. Be normal fans as well, you know, for sure.
- [08:01]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
And, you know, security be tight.
- [08:06]
Tim Fudd
Yes, they be tight. Yes, they be on it. Especially in Brooklyn.
- [08:12]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Come on, they never play. So speaking of you being in Brooklyn, you and Katie got to train at my gym. I see you rocking our hat. The program nyc, how was that? And I want to hear more about your other New York City activities.
- [08:29]
Tim Fudd
So first and foremost, if you don't know about the program, you better get with the program, because that is a phenomenal space, you know, for someone who has. Both Katie and I have aspired to own our own gym and to do something like what the program is doing, providing the opportunity for kids to learn, train. And trainers going into the gym and bringing their clients in, it was amazing. So we get a chance on Saturday to show up and actually get to work with a few kids in the area. And that was awesome. You know, just being able to pop in and just give some knowledge to some of the kids. And you look around and everybody trained. Well, there's a lot of trainers that look like they're all cookie cutter, but most of us train differently and we train different things. And Katie and I have been built from the foundation of, you know, we're about development and trying to correct and trying to teach and trying to allow, you know, the kids a chance to grow their games and not so much of a hectic environment, just something that's. We're trying to teach. We're trying to give you something that you could take away for a Long time and use it for years to come. So it was great being in the gym with kids and imparting some knowledge and some expertise on them and giving them a chance to show them some of the things that we taught easy along the way. So it was really, really fun. Yeah. The rest of the weekend, we kind of hung out. We hung out with Jack and Jonathan a ton. Had some great meals. You joined us for a couple of the meals or one or two of the meals or whatever. And, you know, it's kind of sucky because of rain, but, you know, we were going to. We were planning on heading back home on Sunday, and then we kicked around and decided to stay over overnight and come back Monday. Katie got a chance to train a couple more kids at the program again, but just the vibe in the city on even a rainy holiday weekend was pretty cool.
- [10:30]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Well, I just want to say on the behalf of the program, you guys are always welcome. Thank you. And I see that you've been holding a guest popping in and out. Please tell us about your special guests on your left.
- [10:44]
Tim Fudd
Well, she just jumped down, but let's say hi. This is Stewie. Stewie wanted to make a guest appearance because she said her mommy showed out on Sunday, and she. She blocked your namesake, Stewie. That was pretty good. That was pretty awesome.
- [11:06]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
One thing that. That truly amazes me about AZ is, like, you. Yes, she is a phenomenal offensive player. Her three fire middy, great. But her defensive game is super underrated, in my opinion. Like, blocking the former mvp, former champion, like that as a rookie is insane as any player is insane. Um, so, yeah, shout out to az.
- [11:35]
Tim Fudd
Yeah, it's hard not to. Not to get excited about some of this stuff and talk about it and. And, you know, you. You hear everybody's talking about it or saying mention and. But you also want to be respectful because Stewie is one of the goats. And, you know, of course, a UConn. UConn alum and one of our favorites. And things happen when you're on the court, and the whole premise is you go out there and you compete and whatever happens, happens. And she happened to get a chance to defend her on a. On a situation where she switched on her and did a darn good job of fending off the basket and then got her hand on the ball at the end of the end of it and knocked it away and helped Dallas kind of keep that little cushion of a lead that they had. But, yeah, it was unbelievable, and it's really surreal, even to this point. It's Only been about a month, but to see her on the floor, on the court with some of the greats and the people that we've been watching, she's been watching for a long time, and we've been kind of daydreaming of this day coming, but it's here and it's just like. It's not normal. It's just surreal. And to see her how she played on Sunday in that environment, in that game. One of the last things I said to her before the game, we send a little pregame text all the time just to kind of just lock it in on certain keys or whatever it is. And one of the last things I said to her was like, enjoy this environment. You know, this is kind of why we play the game. You go out in that environment, there's no reason to be. You may have the anxious jitters at first, but there's no need to be nervous because you're here to play. And once that ball goes up, you're playing. And it is what it is. It's just basketball and you just out there competing and hooping, you know?
- [13:16]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Yes, absolutely. And she sure did. Oh, she. Whatever you texted, I need. Got to text her that every single time.
- [13:27]
Tim Fudd
Yeah. She makes me have to be. Diversify what I want to say because I definitely want to be like, all right, copy paste, you know what, rinse and repeat. Let's do it again, you know, but no, no, no two games are alike. And hopefully for me, it's. It's an opportunity to see her. And it's funny because the discourse with about AZ has been crazy online, which I. She doesn't. She doesn't really see any of that stuff. She stays off of it. But, you know, to see people debating whether she should be starting or which coming off the bench or, you know, all the rookie of the year craziness that they're debating and. And it is that people are going to debate that. That's the barbershop talk. But the one thing that really like for me is that, you know, she's achieved some of the loftiest goals. Number one draft pick, man, no one's ever going to be able to take that away like that. I don't care if basketball cease to exist tomorrow. That's always going to be her mention as that number one draft pick. And you could say to all the what ifs in the world, but that's. She gets to own that for the rest of her life and beyond. But also just the fact that, you know, AZ is just a different kind of character. And, you know, this having worked with her, she's not about all of those individual accolades that doesn't drive her. Like, it's not. It's not what she plays for. She's a. She's a connector. She's not necessarily a. Someone who. Who's driven by, you know, the. All the. The individual stuff. As a matter of fact, there's clips of her getting individual awards at UConn and handing the trophy off to. To her teammates because it's not what she plays for. She plays for them. She plays for them. And you can kind of see her kind of developing that rapport with her teammates in Dallas where that she wants to play for them. She wants them to be successful and she won. She plays because she's a winner and she wants to win championships. That's all. That's. That's the driven, driving force for her, for sure.
- [15:29]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Absolutely. You know, let's just. I. On that note, I do want to know more about, like, what it was like for you coaching AZ as she was growing up.
- [15:38]
AZ (Basketball Player)
Right.
- [15:38]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
You were one of her first coaches ever. Right. So tell us more about what it was like as coaching young az.
- [15:48]
Tim Fudd
Just what you see AZ loves on her teammates. She. That's what ca. Like, kind of caused her to fall in love with the game because of that camaraderie that she had with her teammates at a young age. She was so excited to show up on the weekend to play with her teammates, to experience something with her teammates. And slowly but surely, we introduced work to her and doing a little bit extra and teaching her that just because you show up to practice doesn't mean that you're just doing the bare minimum. You have to do a little bit extra every day to increase your aptitude, your knowledge, your skill level and your expertise. And sooner or later, that becomes habit. And that habit is what she has instilled under today that causes her to want to get that extra work in and continue to push herself and push those boundaries. But she is so driven by that camaraderie with her teammates and wanting to have this common goal that you're working towards. It's. That's the epitome of who she is. And when you're coaching her, she's so coachable to the point, to a fault at times. Like you tell her X, Y and Z, she's going to work to do X, Y and Z and focus on that as opposed to working on A, B and C off on her own. She's going to worry about what you say and that's just who she is. And this kind of the type of mentality. And she's always been that way, even as a young child. Like, she would, she would, she would. As a toddler, she'd be, she'd have that. We would call it the warm up period. She did wake up from a nap and she'd be very social before the nap and she'd wake up from the nap and she'd sit in our laps for like 10, 15, 20 minutes. And it was like, then she would slowly come out of her shell and she'd be back social again. And you could see the same type of thing happening with her in the Dallas environment where she's been introduced to this new environment. And she's like, okay, let me see what this is about. Let me see how I can interact and relate and connect with my teammates. And as soon as that stuff starts to happen, she's like a flower that hits with the morning dew and the sun hits it and it just slowly opens up and you get that full, full blossoming personality. That's the way I describe her. She's so slow.
- [18:09]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
It's poetic.
- [18:10]
Tim Fudd
Yeah. And you see it, you see that now it's like all of a sudden, okay, we're seven games in and here, okay, here, come there. Here she is. She start is starting to open up and it's not something that we haven't seen all throughout her life and every, every new environment that she's ever been in. So it's really exciting to see.
- [18:28]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Absolutely. I love seeing her get adjusted and starting to look and feel super comfortable out there.
- [18:39]
AZ (Basketball Player)
Thanks everyone for all the positivity coming out of the draft. I am so blessed to have so many people that believe in and support me. My listeners, my friends and family and the whole GEICO team who put my family in a commercial with me. That was so cool to see. The Gecko even showed up wearing my jersey. Well, a smaller version of it. And my grandfather is a huge fan of the Gecko. During my injury rehab, I was a little nervous about the future, but I've had so much support and so many people believing in me and we came through it together. I know I'm leaving the bubble of college, headed to a new city, joining a new team. It's a lot of change all at once, but I don't feel like I'm alone. The way I feel about basketball is the way I feel about life. You help your team and your team helps you. So thank you again, everyone. Whether you're on the GEICO team or just a fan wearing my team's jersey. Thank you all so much for all the support.
- [19:27]
Podcast Host (Sponsor Announcer)
This sports spotlight is brought to you by Capital One Venture X card, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Did you know that USC great and two time WNBA champ Lisa Leslie was the first first player to dunk in the WNBA in July of 2002. In her second season with the LA Sparks, Leslie gathered an outlet pass and threw it down in the open court to make history with Venture X. Enjoy easy to use premium benefits like a 300 annual Capital One travel credit. Plus you can earn unlimited double miles on every purchase. Terms apply. See capital1.com for details. Brought to you in part by Vital Farms Let's Talk Eggs Vital Farms pasture raised eggs to be exact. My favorites. The only kind I've got in my fridge. No joke. And here's why. These aren't your average eggs. The hens live on open pastures with fresh air and sunshine all year long. They forage on local grasses and stretch their wings. They're living their best life. That care really shows in the taste. I love mine scrambled with a little butter or whipped up into a fancy frittata. And here's something most people don't know. You could trace your eggs back to the farm they came from. Seriously. Side of the carton you'll find the farm name. Type it in@vitalfarms.com farm and you'll get a 360 degree peek at the Plus Vital Farms is a certified B corporation, which means they're committed to improving the lives of people, animals and the planet through food eggs you could feel good about. So next time you're in the store, look for the black carton in the egg aisle and visit vitalfarms.com to learn more. Vital Farms Good Eggs no shortcuts this is Sarah Spain from Good Game with Sarah Spain. As a former college athlete, there were many moments where I second guessed myself. It's natural when you're under pressure. When I had those moments of self doubt, I found that the smallest thing can steady you like a smile. Not because it's easy, but because it reminds you you belong here. You've put in the work. You can handle this. Colgate has supported female athletes for over 50 years with the Colgate Women's Games, helping them build confidence and self esteem while competing for scholarships. The Colgate Women's Games is the nation's longest running indoor track and field series for girls and women. Colgate knows that resilience is the key to better performance and sometimes resilience takes the shape of a smile. So if you ever doubt yourself, remember your smile is your strength.
- [21:56]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
As her former coach, or I guess she would still kind of coach her in this life.
- [22:00]
Tim Fudd
Yeah.
- [22:01]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
How do you get the best out of AZ on the court?
- [22:06]
Tim Fudd
You challenge her. You have to challenge her and you have to always be willing to adapt those challenges. It can't just be concrete level of expectation because she'll rise to it. She'll rise to a level of expectation and you gotta, you have to then adapt and adjust and fix your expectations so that she continues to rise because. And it's like any high level great player, they have this unique ability to rise to the occasion and to meet those challenges and meet those expectations. But that's the way I found it. Like, we would be in the gym working out and, you know, we just, just working on shooting or whatever. And I found that. I started finding that she was getting bored throughout the workout. Okay, make 10 shots from this spot mid. Okay, we're going to do X, Y and Z. And you're going to make, you're going to make seven shots here. And then. So you could see her like in the midst of shooting that, making those 10 shots halfway through, her mind's like, like, was wandering because this is too easy. And so now I'm. It's like the smart kid in class that's bored, you know, and he's showing he's displaying negative behaviors or different behaviors. That's not, that's unbecoming. Right. But you have to challenge them to keep them focused. So we had to start doing things differently. And we asked questions. How do you, how do you challenge certain players and college coaches, right. Giving us advice. And so we. Everything was. Is about winning and it's about competing. You have to, you have to make this many shots. All right, in this spot, six of eight from the, from the corner three, you have to do. And then when you can make the six of eight, and then next time around, I'll be like, okay, we're going to shoot in corner three. All right? You got to make five swishes in a row before we move to the next spot. And it'd be amazing how you could literally see her eyes, the sparkle in her eyes start to like. And her eyes, like, narrow the focus. Narrow. It was like you could literally see her lock in on that goal. And before you know it, she's in it. And it's like she's knocking shot after shot after shot after shot. And it's like, okay, all right, so when she, when she's challenged, it's like, it's a. It's almost like this bravado in her. Like, okay, I. You think you're going to beat me? I'm going to beat you. You know, so you got to challenge her 100%.
- [24:28]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
That's awesome. I love seeing the competitor of AZ. So with the success of coaching your daughter, is that why you and Katie decided to build out GTS Fusion? Tell us about it. Yes, tell us what is GTS Fusion?
- [24:45]
Tim Fudd
So. Well, let me start with the coaching piece. I never wanted to coach her because I'm a butthole, man. I, I am not nice. Like, I can. I cannot be. I can be really tough. And as a young coach, I'll give you a story. As a young coach, within the first year we got married. I got my first head coaching job at a. An elite private school here in the dmv. And I go to coach there, and they want to have a national program. I recruit a bunch of kids. I got. I got five international kids. I have kids from. We were like 45 minutes west of the city. I have kids from the city driving that far out. Just go to school. We were really good. We were 33 and 1, so three of the five international kids lived with us. We had, we hosted them, me and me, Katie and az. There was az's big, first big brothers. That was, that was it. And I was really, like, so locked in on my craft and being a great coach and trying to be. I wanted, I always wanted to be a college head coach. Right. That was my goal. And so I, I coached those kids on the court, in the classroom, at home. One kid, you know, that I coached, he was, he was Cameroonian and he was like, chiseled all the stone, didn't lift the weight, couldn't lift the weight, could barely understand how to lift weights. But he was, like, chiseled out of stone. He was this naturally, like, strong cut up and. But he was kind of like, not super motivated. He's lazy sometimes. And so I would. I would see him lazily walk up the stairs at home, and I'm like, that's like, that's exactly what you look like in the game last night. I was like, I'm doing stuff like that. And to the point where I was. I was over the top with it. In retrospect, I was over the top with it, and I didn't know any better. I was a young coach, eager, eager beaver, just trying to get it done. And that's one of the only players I've ever coached that I've never heard from him again. Never heard from him again. So I didn't want to coach AZ because I didn't want me coaching her to ruin our father dollar relationship. That was the most important thing for me. And so I was reluctant. And so she played for someone. Her first year playing, she was in the first grade. It was developmental basketball, but it was driving me crazy. And I was coaching in college at the time. I was coaching three hours away. I was living away from my family. I'd come on my days off, I'd go to the gym, I'd go watch her practice. And this coach would be the only coach in the gym. And she'd stand in the middle of the floor at the jump ball circle, and she would just scream out instructions to the kids. And I was like, yo, these kids are like, for first through third grade, you got to demonstrate for them. You know, you got to show them they don't have any. She's like calling out lines and they don't know where to go. And so. And me and Katie would go and we were like, just ask us to help. We'll help. Like, we'll just go get a basket. We'll mimic whatever you want to do if you need help. And she would never. She was just too arrogant. She never asked for help. And knowing that we were coaches, she knew she never did that. So I sent her my resume at the end of the first season. I said, hey, listen, here's my resume. I'm interested in coaching the team. Would you be interested in. And she was. She was the president of the organization. And so she was like, you could coach the B team and you could take AZ with you. I was like, okay, all right. And mind you, easy was not good at the time. Like, she was just. She was. She loved her teammates, right? And I was like, oh, so that's how you want to do it? Okay. So someone had already offered me a head coach, a team while I was coaching in college and bringing her with me. And that's what we ended up doing. We ended up leaving, and Katie was coaching in the same organization that we left. And so that's how I started coaching her. And so it was just out of a need to. I felt like she wasn't learning, she wasn't getting enough teaching. And I was like, well, I know I can teach her. Katie can teach her. So what. What kind of coaches would be are we. If we allow our kids to go through an environment where there's not based on teaching and instruction and development and growth. And so that's how I got involved. But I. I wanted it to be about her, not about me. And so I had to check my ego at the door and said, you know, I'm not going. Like, when we leave the gym, when we leave the court and we have our little group huddle at the end of a game or whatever, we're not rehashing this. We're not, like, talking about what happened, what she should have done, what she didn't do. I wanted to be dad. So it was a physical switch, and it became a thing of ours where I would come up to her, and she's always hungry, always hungry. And we both love ice cream, Right? Although she loves it more than me. Yeah. So I'd come up to her, I'm like, hey, you hungry? And she would. Yes. Or I'd be like, you want to go get some ice cream? And she'd be like, yeah, but that was a physical switch from me being coach to dad. And I'm not gonna. I'm not screaming. I'm not. No. Well, not screaming, but just yelling instructions or whatever. It could be screaming. I said, I want to go back to dad, and we're gonna. We hold hands and walk out the door. That's. That was a thing for us. That was, we'll work our butts off while we're in the gym, when we're on the court, but when we leave, we leave the business here, and when we come back, we'll pick up where we left off, but we're not going to take that home with us. She may tell you a different stuff, but truthfully, we very rarely had conversations in the car about what was going on. And if we did have a conversation, it was limited to, like, three or five minutes max, and we moved on from it. And so that was my big thing. But coaching her was. I've coached other pros. You know, Kendall Marshall is one that comes to mind who is one of the best players in our area. Played in North Carolina, played in the NBA for about four or five years. You know, unbelievable talent. Unbelievable. Just mental abilities in terms of learning and understanding the game. And those two. He and AZ are very similar in that regard. But, you know, I never got the joy of coaching a kid like I got from coaching her. It was. It was just different. And just watching it, this is. It was just different.
- [31:29]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
So, you know, that's awesome. Is GTS Fusion still around? Is that something you and Katie still do?
- [31:40]
Tim Fudd
Forgot to answer that part. But GTS Fusion is so Katie is a basketball trainer by trade and which I used to be with her but I had to kind of take the route of going to do the corporate job thing, get insurance for the family or whatever. At the 2008 things got really crazy. So she trains is called her, her business is called game time skills GTS and so when we started to eventually two years in, we brought AZ's team under, under the umbrella of the business and instead of calling the Game Time Skills we just called it GTS and we just gave it GTS Fusion and everything we did, you know, I hated pink. But everything we did when AZ started playing was to allow her to the foster like being her environment. Right. So our uniforms were pink. We had these pink leopard print tiger print shorts and on one side it was really like basic but then you flip the other side with their reversibles and they were like this wild print uniforms and the kids loved it. You know we were pink. You could, everybody knew who we were because we went, we were there, that team was wearing pink, did the pink. We were the only team wearing pink in a you know, 200 team tournament. And that's, that's kind of how GTS came about is just bringing it under the umbrella. We, we trained the team, we coached the team. It was really holistic because AZ is such a connector in terms of connecting with her teammates. Her teammates were at our house all the time. They were having sleepovers at our house all the time. It was so her teammates became sisters and like extensions of our family to this day. Like you know we have our, at her draft party a bunch of those kids were now young women were there and it was just great to see and hug them all. And one of them to this day, Malou, who lives in Dallas, works in Dallas and she, she calls me dad to this day and so she's like, hey dad, when are you coming to Dallas? You know she'll ask those questions or dad, I'm coming home. Can I, I'm gonna come see you. So it's it. We created this and fostered this family environment that was built on development, a holistic development of the, of obviously the basketball player but the person as well. And I went on, I was coaching boys for a long time but when Naisy got to high school I made a full on switch to girls and I went on to coach several of them in high school. So it's been quite a journey with her and her connection to people and people become connected to Us and part of our little group and our crew, as you know that our crew runs deep.
- [34:41]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Let me tell you something. It's always a packed house when it comes to the funds.
- [34:48]
Tim Fudd
Something to be said for that. There's something we've said for that. I always. I was joking with a guy yesterday while we were at the program while Katie was training his daughter. And I said, you know, this is. This is my way into heaven. You know, if I leave it up to everything else I've done, I'm gonna be, like, begging and banging on the door, trying to get in, you know, so. My way into heaven.
- [35:11]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Help me, please.
- [35:12]
Tim Fudd
Yes. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it.
- [35:17]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
So you talked about, you know, az's draft night and having all her friends and family there. I do want to talk a little bit about that night for you and the family and the emotions leading up. I mean, you've been in this, Your baby girl's life, the entire basketball career. Her entire basketball career. And to see her name being called that whole night in general, I do want to hear, like, your emotions and how that night went for you.
- [35:47]
Tim Fudd
Oh, man, it was. That was an emotional world when surreal is the word that we use all the time. And, I mean, that's the best descriptor. It was just different and very emotional. Very emotional. So obviously, you. We had come off the disappointing loss in the Final Four and how we played in the final four in terms of UConn in that South Carolina game, that was very disappointing. And you look at that, and it's the culmination of her college career. And I remember that my. My last moments of my college career is like a wealth of emotion just hit you. A wave just drowns you, almost, right? So, like, this is something you've been doing all along, all your life, and you're changing, right? And you don't realize, you know, you love an environment. You know, you love doing something, but you don't realize what it really means to you until you're not with it anymore or they take it away from you. And that, you know, I went on to play after college, but it still was not the same. So we're all grieving from that process. And you're thrust right into this draft process. And this year's draft was. I would say it was a competitive draft. You don't know what was going to happen. And couple that with, you know, the renegotiation of the CBA free agency that needed to happen, and you have this uncertainty about the draft that I don't think has ever existed in the, in the history of the W. You know, you got free agency happening the week of the draft. As we're leading into the draft night, free agency is going on and people are signing with teams, so. And teams are evolving and changing rapidly and you don't know how you fit where you fit. The one unique thing about Easy is that for me, from the basketball evaluator, and I live, 90% of the time I'm a basketball coach, I'm living the game, I'm talking the game. You know, when we talk to, I talk to her, I just want to talk to the game sometimes and not just be dad, right? So 10% of the time I'm in dad mode. And for me as an evaluator of talent, her skill set is something that, you know, I think a lot of teams, if not majority of the teams in the W, needed it, right? Or had a need for her skill set. And so you didn't know, you knew she was going to be in that top three pick or whatever it was, but you shouldn't know how it was going to work out with free agency. And so on draft day, you know, you don't. I have a very delicate palette. That's a great way of putting it, that I'm very picky. And so I knew that they were not gonna, they're gonna serve light hors d' oeuvres at the, at the pre draft thing. And I was like, oh, they're gonna have anything I like. So I went, I was like, about 3 o', clock, I was like, I gotta get something to eat, something heavy so that I'm not going to be hungry during this whole. Because I'm not going to be able to eat until after the draft. Which turned out I didn't eat, eat there either at the draft party. And so I went and got a burger right, right around the corner from the hotel by myself, just sitting there and I'm there and I'm doing deep dives on social media, looking at stuff. I'm like, okay, is this, is this really real? Is this, you know, all this other stuff? And all of a sudden as I'm waiting for my burger, I'm crying like someone, like someone died. I was sitting there and I'm like just bawling by myself, just, just wiping tears and just like. So it was a, it was very emotional and I'm not a big crier. I cry more now in my old age than I, you know, I had a harder stone, but you know, I guess I'm softening up as I get older, but yeah, it was very emotional for sure.
- [39:45]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
That's really beautiful.
- [39:50]
AZ (Basketball Player)
Thanks everyone for all the positivity coming out of the draft. I am so blessed to have so many people that believe in and support me. My listeners, my friends and family and the whole GEICO team who put my family in a commercial with me that was so cool to see. The Gekko even showed up wearing my jersey. Well, a smaller version of it. And my grandfather is a huge fan of the Gecko. During my injury rehab, I was a little nervous about the future, but I've had so much support and so many people believing in me and we came through it together. I know I'm leaving the bubble of college, headed to a new city, joining a new team. It's a lot of change all at once, but I don't feel like I'm alone. The way I feel about basketball is the way I feel about life. You help your team and your team helps you. So thank you again everyone, whether you're on the GEICO team or just a fan wearing my team's jersey. Thank you all so much for all the support.
- [40:39]
Podcast Host (Sponsor Announcer)
This sports spotlight is brought to you by Capital One Saver Card, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Did you know that in January of this year, Flag Football was officially added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program? A step toward giving the sport NCAA Championship status. Flag Football will make its Olympic debut at LA 2028. Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment and at grocery stores with the saver card from Capital One. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com for details. Brought to you in part by Vital Farms let's talk eggs Vital Farms pasture raised eggs to be exact. My favorites. The only kind I've got in my fridge. No joke. And here's why. These aren't your average eggs. The hens live on open pastures with fresh air and sunshine all year long. They forage on local grasses and stretch their wings. They're living their best life. They that care really shows in the taste. I love mine scrambled with a little butter or whipped up into a fancy frittata. And here's something most people don't know. You could trace your eggs back to the farm they came from. Seriously. Inside of the carton you'll find the farm name. Type it in@vitalfarms.com farm and you'll get a 360 degree peek at the pasture. Plus Vital Farms is a certified bee corporation which means they're committed to improving the lives of people, animals and the planet through food eggs you could feel good about. So next time you're in the store, look for the black carton in the egg aisle and visit vitalfarms.com to learn more. Vital Farms Good eggs no shortcuts. This is Sarah Spain from Good Game with Sarah Spain. As a former college athlete, there were many moments where I second guessed myself. It's natural when you're under pressure. When I had those moments of self doubt, I found that the smallest thing can steady you like a smile. Not because it's easy, but because it reminds you you belong here. You've put in the work. You can handle this. Colgate has supported female athletes for over 50 years with the Colgate Women's Games, helping them build confidence and self esteem while competing for scholarships. The Colgate Women's Games is the nation's largest, longest running indoor track and field series for girls and women. Colgate knows that resilience is the key to better performance. And sometimes resilience takes the shape of a smile. So if you ever doubt yourself, remember your smile is your strength.
- [43:09]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
So Tim, on Instagram you said the WNBA draft afterparty was a blast, at least from what I can remember. So for you, what was the after party with AZ's friends, family and teammates like?
- [43:23]
Tim Fudd
I could give you the first like 30 minutes of that. What is it like the party was
- [43:29]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
on the road, which you can remember?
- [43:31]
Tim Fudd
Yes. Like, so I had the pre draft part and for those of you guys who have never done that stuff, you go to the draft, you're in the back room, there's a red carpet stuff, orange carpet stuff and you can watch everybody walk out and the kids get interviewed by a multitude of reporters. You see people, you talk in the families, they have light hors d', oeuvres, they have some alcohol. I think I had a, I had a beer, I was like, and I don't, I'm not a big drinker. And so I was like, I'm gonna have a beer. It was just like, you know, the anxiety, I could feel it kind of building. So I'm just like, like settle my nerves or whatever. And that nerves are saying the anxiousness of the whole, whole moment. So I had a beer and I was like, let me, I thought about it. Halfway through the beer I said, let me not drink, drink this beer. Because they told us we cannot get up from those tables and that we're locked there until basically they release us. I said, so let me not drink Too much because I don't want to have to go to the bathroom. And so, you know, you break that seal, you're done. You're gonna be running to the bathroom left and right. So I had that little beer, and it was like a MC Ultra, whatever it was. And so then we leave the after party after the. I made the draft to go to the after party, get to the after party. I could not move. I walked in and literally, I was greeted with by people that I haven't seen in, like, a long time. Months, years. And then my former players, our former players, friends, family. I couldn't even. I couldn't make it to the bar. I wanted to go get a drink. Like, I don't drink a lot, but I was like, yeah, we're celebrating tonight. Let's go get it. And one of this is not even one of our players. So one of the kids who plays for one of our former players at Marymount University here in Arlington, Virginia, her girlfriend, they're cool. They work AZ's camp. They become, like, part of the crew. And she was like, can I get you a drink? What do you want? And I was like, I just. I don't know what I want. Get me this. And she ran. And all night long. She says, I told her to do it. I didn't. She offered. Every time I looked at her, she was coming. Coming with, like, sometimes two in. In her hands. It was. It was just. I didn't have to go. I didn't go to the bar once. So mind you, I'm thinking it's gonna be. There's gonna be food in this place, so I get to eat something and I won't be as bad. Please. There were. Everybody ate the food before we got there. There was no food for us. And I was like, screw it. Usually I'd be complaining, like, I'm hungry. I gotta get something to eat. And it was so much fun just catching up with people, celebrating with people. Everybody smiling and telling the stories and reminiscing and enjoying the moment. I probably remember the first half hour, 45 minutes of that party. It was amazing. And then. I don't remember anything. I knew we went to another spot after the party, was we. That the time slot was over for the party. We went to some other. A hookah lounge. I don't know. Well, I don't know where the heck it was, but I do remember this piece vaguely. The ride to this place was the bumpiest ride I'd ever been on. And if you guys have ever maybe some of you guys, hopefully you all guys are old enough to drink who you listeners. But if you've ever, ever been shaken and stirred after drinking, you know, that's. That is not a good thing. It is not a good thing. So I got to the. I got to the. Out of the car. I'm like, okay, all right, we're out of the car. We're going right to the bar. I ordered two drinks. I got a drink for someone. I think it was the. The young lady who was getting me the drinks all night. I got a drink for her, got a drink for me. And I just stared at that drink, and I could. That's when I first felt. Was like, whoa, just slow down, big fella. You good. Just let it. Let it die. Let it pass by. It'd be all right. You know, you don't have to drink that one right now, right? And so I sat there for about five to 10 minutes, just convincing myself that it's gonna. It's gonna pass. It's gonna be all right. You cool? You're right. And then I said. I looked at Katie, I said, I'll be back. I went out on the street, and I was like, I'm about to lose it. So let me go somewhere where I'm not around anybody. I'll lose it by myself. And funny, funny story. I don't know where we were. What part of town were we in? I don't even remember. I don't know where that place was. Anyway, it wasn't a bad part of town, but it was like I was on the street. I'm leaning on the street sign, and I'm just trying to convince myself, just go ahead. It's okay. Just let it go. You got it. It's. You're by yourself, you're safe. And I'm sitting there and my knees are weak. I'm, like, buckling at the knees, and I'm like, you know, holding onto the street sign and, oh, man, waiting for all of the wretchedness to come out of me, right? And all of a sudden, I look behind me, and this guy was sizing me up. I was like, wait a second, wait a second. Like, no, you got the wrong one. I was like. I stiffened my back. I stood up straight. I made sure he saw the. All. Every bit of the six, seven. You come over here, it's good. You got six foot seven to fight with. Come on. But I was. He eyeballed me up and down the street, went down one side. He went back up there. He was checking on me. He was waiting for me to fall over because I was, I was seconds from being done with it and I held onto it. Yeah, definitely. Well, I did forget most of it. I don't. I remember the ending, I remember the beginning. The middle part is real mushy in that middle part.
- [49:04]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
So. You know, AZ is not the only professional basketball player in this family. Katie got drafted into wnba and you also play professional basketball. Take us back and tell us a little bit more about your basketball beginnings.
- [49:18]
Tim Fudd
Yeah, man, I tell you what, I'll give you a little quick one. Basketball. I'm lucky to be able to play basketball as long as I did. It was the worst sport I played. I was much better at football and baseball than I ever was at basketball. Basketball, I think in high school, my freshman sophomore year, I was the last person picked on a, on the 15 man roster and barely played. Like my mom went to all. I have a twin sister, my mom went to all my sister's games and didn't come to my games because I never played. And so it was my sophomore year, probably three quarters away through the season, we got blown out by one of our team, local team and I got to go in the game, the last four minutes of the game. So, you know, you get four minutes of garbage time. It's a bag, it's a bad loss. It's either a bad, bad win or a bad loss. So I go in the game and you know, and coaches are creatures of habit. We get wound into these rotations and playing people the same way. We all humans are creatures of habit. Right. So my coach had done that and I go in the game at four minutes ago and I scored 14 points in four minutes. From that point forward, I started starting. Oh, back when I was growing up, you weren't very athletic early. You got your athleticism later. And the guys who got it early were you often way better than everybody else. And I was one of those late bloomers, uncoordinated, goofy, couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time. On the basketball court, it was really, I was really goofy. But football, great hands, I could catch anything that come to me. Baseball was pretty good. I had good hand eye coordination with baseball. Basketball didn't have it. And so I had a late run in high school, got offered about eight scholarships. Half of those were probably D2 schools and then got one was to American University, which is eight miles from my house. And my mom like me and Katie loved to watch us play. And so I was like, I'm gonna, I'm Go to school right down the street from my house. Because my mom would be at my games and, you know, she'll come over, she'll bring me food. I'm thinking of all the good things. And that's what I did. And when I got that scholarship offer, they were honest with me. They told me, they said, you're a project, but we have one scholarship and we want to offer it to you. And I said, okay, I don't know what the heck that means, but I'll take it, right? And so just through my work ethic and my ability to compete at a high level, I turned that projects last person getting a scholarship on the roster to starting half of my freshman year, if I think it was something like that. And then being the third leading scorer my sophomore year to leading the conference and scoring my junior year to in senior year being one of the top scorers in the league. I had an injury and I played a fifth year. I fractured my kneecap and had to have surgery. It was. Had a day to remove my tendon, put it back on, it came back. I had a lot of tendinitis coming back. So I wasn't quite the same. I didn't run quite the same for about a year and a half. And it kind of skewed me a little bit in terms of potentially doing some other things with basketball. So I went overseas, played over there, and I played in. My first stop was Holland and the Netherlands. And I had a terrible experience, much like Easy is today. I was like a connector. I connected with my teammates. I love being around my teammates. You turn to professional basketball. And I had conversations with her about some of this stuff. Like when you go turn pro, it is business. And it's a different feel to it. It's not pure anymore. And it's not about the camaraderie of the team, the team doing. It's about you have to handle your business or that next contract isn't coming. And I went over and dealt with a lot of the selfishness from a professional standpoint, from other players on the team, other Dutch players, and struggled my first year to the point where I was averaging like seven points a game. And they expected us to average 20. And they sent me home.
- [53:41]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Wow.
- [53:42]
Tim Fudd
Sent me packing. And I was like, you know what? Screw that stuff. I heard these horror stories, nightmares from some former teammates of mine at AU and guys who came before me who played overseas, like, yo, you gotta go handle your business. Make sure you get your numbers or they're gonna send you home. Blah, blah, Blah, blah. And it happened to me my first year. So I was like, you know what? I'm done with this. I'm done. I'm just gonna go be normal. I gotta, I got a regular job. I had a, an accounting job at the Washington Hilton Hotel where Reagan was shot right in D.C. and I didn't, I didn't touch a ball for like four months. I didn't touch it. I was like, I'm done. You know, I was so disappointed by the experience. And one month, one time, my teammates and my friends and high school buddies like, yo, we're hooping tonight, man. Why don't you come play? Play? I was like, man, all right, I'll come play. And I went out there and when I tell you I was terrible, I was terrible. So bad playing pickup because I hadn't played in four months, out of shape, couldn't, couldn't shoot, couldn't do anything. And pissed. I was pissed at myself. The next day I was over, over at au. I was running sprints. I was working out on my own with, you know, doing all this other stuff was, I was just, just to be good in the pickup games. That's all I wanted to do. Like, I'm not going, I'm not going out like that. And then I got this itch. I didn't like how it ended, so I was like, I'm playing again. Called my agent, told him I was ready to play again. And he's like, he got me a deal in Finland, which is kind of underrated for the level of basketball there and the level of play, but it was, it was like high level stuff. The games are great. I ended up averaging like just under 20 a game. I think that second year and in the playoffs, I averaged 33 and 15. And it was like, I know that's right. I, I, I was just, yeah, I just, I was on another level. Shot 40% from three. I was just, I was feeling the best I've ever felt. I mean, the most athletic I had had felt in my career. Played in Spain, play. I ended up playing in like 17 different countries. Wow, 17. I've played in Venezuela for a little while. Just a great experience. Unbelievable. Like, the game of basketball has taken me places that I never would have gone myself. This little country kid who in a DMV, you know, up to 13. I live in the country. I moved to Falls Church near the city when I was 13 years old. My mom got remarried. And I would have never had these experiences if it wasn't for the game of Basketball, the ability to experience other people's cultures and appreciate other people's cultures and have this outlook that, you know, doesn't matter what we all look like. We're not very much different from each other, right? So I remember being in Spain, I'd wrecked my car and crazy experience, just being dumb, young and dumb and doing stupid stuff. I wrecked my car. And in Spain, everything is manana, or the Spanish culture is manana. Trinkilo. No, no, no worries. It's tomorrow.
- [56:57]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Tomorrow.
- [56:58]
Tim Fudd
Tomorrow will turn into three months later. My car was still in the shop. They hadn't given it back to me. So I was walking six miles a day. I would walk into my grocery store, picking up my groceries, walking home, walking to the gym in the morning to go get our workout in, walking back home, taking a siesta, because siesta is a big thing there. You get the afternoon from like 2 to 5. It's nap time. And I'd go back to the gym for practice at six in the evening, I'd walk back home. So I was walking six miles a day. I was like, man, I thought about it. I was like, I would never do this. If I was at home, I'd get in the car, I drive around the corner to go to 7 11, right? So just from just embracing the culture and just embedding yourself in situations that isn't normal and just embracing is the word. That's the word of the day, right? Just kind of diving in and like being. Living like everybody else lives, right? It taught me so much more about myself. Figuring out that I didn't need to be around a group of people to be okay figuring out I'm okay being by myself and dealing with the loneliness, being homesick and things of that nature. I had to force find my way through all of that stuff to be able to do the things I wanted to do. And it was a time period in my life where I grew the most, for sure. But you also played. So what was your experience overseas like,
- [58:26]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
listening to you even when you're talking about, like, getting into basketball late, being a late bloomer. We share a lot of similar experiences. Basketball was my least favorite sport. I played volleyball, I played softball, and I was much better at those things. But then I got to 6:2 and my mom was like, sweetheart, we go to college for free. There's other things you could be doing. Because at the time there weren't a lot of opportunities for softball after college or like volleyball after college. Obviously now there's so many different leagues, but so really started to bloom in basketball, probably like my sophomore year as well. And then fast forward playing Division 1 at A and M Corpus Christi in South Texas and also getting injured tearing my ACL going through the. Do I still play basketball? This is really hard. A lot of people aren't the same and the technology in 2026 compared to when I was in college is like much, much different. So the rehab, it just felt like everything was just taking a little bit longer. But I still had basketball hopes and dreams. I knew for a fact that I was going to play professional basketball because I told myself that there was no other option. And so that was my dream and I chased it. And then I was able to land in Malta, which was like a very small, like market team. But I was like, I'm just going to kill here. My agent was like, just do really well. You'll be able to go other places. And it definitely was a rude awakening. You get there. Like, like, I believe myself to be a connector as well. I love hanging, team camaraderie, all that kind of stuff. But there's really, I'm not going to say there's none of that, but it is very much. I'm showing up, doing my job, I gotta pay my bills, doing this job, and I'm out. And a lot of these people are either from Malta, so they have their own lives and their families outside of this. So I had to learn how to be by myself. I had to learn that the expectation is you are the top scorer, top rebounder, top passer, top everything. And if you're not, you're going to get sent home. And I remember actually getting hurt when I was out there. And in the contract, it was like, if you sit out three games, you're gone. So having to figure out how to push through so I don't lose my job, you know. And it really challenges you sometimes with like, do I really love this? Is this for me? But I told myself that this is just a temporary situation. And I did do really well. And then I had the opportunity to travel to my next team, right? I got to play in Germany, Czech Republic, you know, I played in Malta. And then I. The last place I played was Australia, which honestly was the best time. It was like night and day in comparison. My experiences. One, Australia, a lot more money, it's a bigger market. I was more familiar with the culture, right? Everyone pretty much spoke English. It's warm there, it's hot there. And just everything. They had a nutri. It was like high level. What you experience at the top colleges overseas. And everyone really invested in making the team better and winning. So I ended up, you know, playing for a bit and I loved it. But I definitely understand, like, one, you gotta get comfortable with being by yourself. Things are different. And you can't just run home and family can't just show up.
- [62:04]
Podcast Host (Sponsor Announcer)
Right.
- [62:04]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
So you have to really grow up in that moment. Two, it is business 100%. If you're not doing what you're supposed to do, you're going to get sent home. Right? Like, I got hurt and I almost got sent home, but I figured it out, so I missed those three games. If we lose, it's 100% your fault. If you win, it's a team thing.
- [62:24]
Tim Fudd
Yeah, exactly.
- [62:25]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
So just learning. Learning how to adjust playing abroad. But I think that experience is something I hold with me forever. And I'm so happy. No regrets. And back then, going to the league, I wanted to, you know, I wanted to play in the W when I was younger. But at the time, the money that the girls were making in the W was less than what the girls were making overseas. And I also thought, like, I can go to a normal job and make more than what they were making in the wild. So I'm really glad to see that the girls are getting to the back now. So it's an opportunity to really be like, you don't have to pick and choose. You can have it all, essentially. But yeah, that's my overseas experience.
- [63:08]
Tim Fudd
It's funny because, like, I didn't have anybody that could really kind of mentor me when I was over there. And I got discouraged. Cause all I wanted to do was like, go get a tryout with a team. I didn't care if I'm. Obviously I cared if I made an NBA team, but I wanted to get a tryout. Because if I got. If I at least got a tryout, I made significantly more money when I went back overseas. And it was just hard navigating that My agent. My agent was. Was an international agent, only he didn't do anything with the league. So just the connections and stuff like that. Even, like, I felt like I had to do everything the hard way, which is not. Not. I'm not complaining whatsoever. It is what it is. And you navigate that and you figure it out. But even when I got out of coaching and got out of playing and got into coaching, all my coaches were out of the business at that point in time. So I had no easy way in. Like, I didn't get to go coach my coach as a part of the staff or whatever. I had to prove myself to get opportunities to coach at the collegiate level. And it is what it is. But it was the same thing over there. The same thing. You prove yourself over and over and over again. I remember my agent got mad at me. I was playing in Spain. I averaged, like, 28 and 12, and I had transitioned from being a five in high school, a four in college, to playing a two and a three as a pro, and I was averaging 2812. And I was like, look, I need to get. I need to get a little bit more money the next year. And he got mad at me and dropped me from representing me because I was basically advocating for myself the next year. He came back, wanted me to go to Turkey. By that time, I was like, you know what? I. I just don't like. I just don't like how this stuff works, man. It's like everybody's in it for themselves, and. And it's. You can't. There's no loyalty. Absolutely zero loyalty. And that's not how we operate, as, you know. That's our mentality.
- [65:01]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Yes, absolutely.
- [65:02]
Tim Fudd
But the experience and playing over there and having all of that stuff happening and learning, growing, developing, I wouldn't change it for the world. I mean, if I could go back and do it again, I would definitely do it again.
- [65:20]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
All right, Tim, so it is our time for our what the FUD of the week for the listeners. A what? The FUD of the week is something that happened this week that made you say, what the fud. Do you want to go first, or do you want me to go first?
- [65:34]
Tim Fudd
You go first.
- [65:35]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
So my what the fun of the week is my New York Knicks are in the finals. Come on.
- [65:42]
Tim Fudd
I knew it. I knew it.
- [65:43]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
27 years. 1999 was the last time, baby. We are bleeding blue and orange around here.
- [65:51]
Tim Fudd
Is that when John Starks went 0 for 18 or something crazy like that?
- [65:56]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Oh, my goodness. We not talk about the past.
- [66:01]
Tim Fudd
That was my era. That was. That was. I was rooting for the Knicks, and he went. When he went 0 for 18 against the. Wasn't it against the Rockets?
- [66:08]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [66:10]
Tim Fudd
Yep.
- [66:10]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
I remember that. Let's go, Knicks. It's a great time to be a New Yorker.
- [66:15]
Tim Fudd
Yeah, I like the Knicks. I like. I like how they play. I love watching Jalen Brunson play, but just not just him, because he's super, super good. That connection, that Villanova connection, man. Those guys ball well together. Next. There you go. There you go. All right. So, my. What the fud of the week. What the what the fud. What the fud. I don't want to do it, but you know, I gotta do it.
- [66:44]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Oh, I know what you're about to say.
- [66:45]
Tim Fudd
I have nothing else on my mind.
- [66:48]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Don't do me like this. Don't do me like this. This.
- [66:54]
Tim Fudd
So what people don't understand is that that kid has so much in her that she just holds in the reserve tank. But when she came down the court,
- [67:07]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
I didn't know where you were going.
- [67:08]
Tim Fudd
When she did that transition. Pull up three. I was like, what the fud. Where has that been? Like, I've been waiting for that.
- [67:14]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Okay, okay, okay.
- [67:15]
Tim Fudd
You know, I'm saying that's my. What the FUD of the week, that transition. Pull up three. Hopefully I can see a little bit more of that. That'd be awesome. It'd be awesome.
- [67:23]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
That's a great. What the fuck? I'm gonna just say this because I know the people wanna hear it. We'll have a little asterisk, a little in the air. What the fuck of the week. I was wearing a Liberty Fit at the Dallas Wings Liberty game. And that is the Internet's what the FUD of the week. They wanna hear it. Y' all got it. I've been getting roasted the last week, and I stand by it, okay? Because I still have my AZ nails, and that's my girl, and I always want her to do well, so I wasn't rooting against her. But I'm a New Yorker at heart, okay? That's it.
- [67:58]
Tim Fudd
Okay. So were you, like, sad that Liberty lost, or were you happy that the Wings won? Or were you sad that the Liberty lost, or are you happy that AZ even showed out?
- [68:12]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
I was that one. I was really happy AZ showed out, and then I was sad that the Liberty lost. But I always want AZ to show. I said, you know, she asked, like, we talked about this pregame, but also weeks ago. I was like, I always want you to have 30, 40, 50. I want you to always do well. And I want my Liberty to win. So, I mean, listen, any other team, I'm like, let's get it. But, you know, the Wings is the Wings and the Liberty are my team. So that's it.
- [68:43]
Tim Fudd
You know, you gotta be happy for just what you see with. From the Wings in general. Just, like, young and up and coming and showing some signs of potential growth, you know, still real early. We'll see what happens. And it was a stark difference from how we played that game at Atlanta. Then we. How we played with New York. So you gotta find some level of consistency in there. Hopefully it's the New York side of the game and not that last five minutes of that Atlanta game where it didn't look like we were ever in that Atlanta game the way it felt. But hopefully we'll find some common ground and some consistency where we're playing well like we did on Sunday, for sure.
- [69:23]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Definitely. I will say the Wings, when they're clicking on all the cylinders, they're passing the ball, they're cutting, they're making moves, they are so fun to watch. They are electric. So, yeah, I'm rooting for a great season for them.
- [69:41]
Tim Fudd
Likewise. Wings up. How you do it?
- [69:45]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Wings up.
- [69:45]
AZ (Basketball Player)
Wings up.
- [69:46]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
There you go.
- [69:48]
Tim Fudd
However you do it, Wings up.
- [69:50]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Tim, thank you so much for joining me today. This has been really awesome. Thank you. It's been a pleasure having you.
- [69:58]
Tim Fudd
Yeah, just so you know, this is not my first podcast. You know, I've been on podcasts.
- [70:02]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Oh, let us know.
- [70:03]
Tim Fudd
You know, I've been mentioning on podcasts for y', all, y' all out there in the audience. 13:30. That's all you need to know. 13:30, go find Shout Out Tim Fudd. Fut around and find out. 13:30.
- [70:17]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Shout Out Tim Fud. All right, you guys, that's it for this episode of FUD around and Find Out. With AZ Out, I have to close out the show. So don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to FUD around and find out wherever you get your podcasts.
- [70:31]
Tim Fudd
Peace.
- [70:41]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Coming out of the draft, it's been a special time for us here at futaround. I want to thank everyone from the fans to the sponsors, especially geico, not just for supporting az, but for. But for showing up where it matters. Like the business of Women's Sports Summit. That kind of thing really moves the needle. And now that AZ is starting a new life in Dallas, we don't know what next season is going to bring. But we know that we're all on the same team and it's been amazing to feel the love and support. So keep showing up for our girl. Show up for each other. Thanks to GEICO and our listeners.
- [71:13]
Podcast Host (Sponsor Announcer)
This sports spotlight is brought to you by Capital One, Venture X Card, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Did you know that the largest crowd ever to witness a women's sporting event was in 2023 at the University of Nebraska 902003 Fans filled the home of Nebraska Football Memorial Stadium to watch Nebraska volleyball defeat Omaha. Three Nothing with Venture X. Enjoy. Easy to use premium benefits like a $300 annual Capital One travel credit. Plus you can earn unlimited double miles on every purchase term supply. See capitalone.com for details. Brought to you in part by Vital Farms Let me tell you why Vital Farms Pasture raised eggs are the only eggs I have in my fridge. The hens? They're living the good life. Fresh air, sunshine and wide open pastures. I use my Vital Farms for my famous frittatas and you could trace your eggs back to the farm they came from. Check the carton for the farm name, pop it into vitalfarms.com farm and boom. You're looking at the pasture. So next time you're in the store, look for the black carton in the egg aisle and visit vitalfarms.com to learn more. Vital Farms Good eggs, no shortcuts this is Sarah Spain from Good Game with Sarah Spain. When I competed in track and field at the collegiate level, there were times I second guessed myself. That's why it's important for female athletes to have a space to build confidence and self esteem. Colgate supports female athletes of all levels through the Colgate Women's Games, the nation's longest running indoor track and field series for girls and women. By supporting female athletes, Colgate hopes to put more smiles out into the world. Colgate, your smile is your strength. This is an iHeart podcast.
- [72:43]
Ashanti (Podcast Host)
Guaranteed Human.