← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
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- [00:01]
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- [01:20]
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- [03:42]
Zena Kaeda
There to watch them.
- [03:43]
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- [04:56]
Zena Kaeda
For the Athletic I'm Zena Kaeda and this is the Athletic Women's Basketball Show. Happy New Year everyone. Welcome back to the Athletic Women's Basketball Show. It has been a while since we've been in community with you all and a lot has happened since we last spoke in terms of what's going on in the women's basketball world. From the college level, unrivaled is right around the corner. I mean, there's a lot going on in women's basketball, but I am very excited to get it all going and get back into the chat. I got Sabrina and Chantelle with me, and as always, I gotta encourage any of you. If you've been with us and you're subscribed to us, we appreciate you. If you're new and this is your resolution to learn more about women's basketball, you're in the right spot. This is exactly where you want to be. You got some experts that are going to break it down for you in a very approachable way. That's what we're about. We want to create a safe space to talk about women's basketball, and this is exactly the space that you want to be in. So today it's a resolution year. It's a new year. We want to do something fun. We want to make some big and bold predictions for 2025, because we all know 2024 was a crazy year for women's basketball. I mean, things blew up. It wasn't just viewership. It wasn't just engagement. It was just like, relevancy. People really tuned in to women's basketball. I can't tell you how happy it makes my heart to watch SportsCenter top 10 at night and how many times in a top 10 play women's basketball shows up. Last night, it was Hannah Hidalgo with that crazy, I don't even know, loop de loop, hook of the arm, overhead finish, layup in the basket. I mean, in the paint, like top eight. I love that. I love that for women's basketball. And it's going to keep growing. And so today I got Chantelle and Sabrina with me. We're going to make some predictions. So let's first go into the business of women's basketball because let's be real, there was a lot of growth in women's basketball that I don't know if the business was ready for. When you think about the viewership numbers that were exceeded, when you think about the launch of a new professional women's basketball league and already all the sponsorships that have backed unrivaled that we're seeing on display right now, I mean, just all of the sponsorship and brand relevancy that you're seeing, some of these nil deals in college start to surface up. So let's talk about some big predictions that we have in 2025 for the business of women's basketball. Ladies, I'm going to go first, and I this one's going to be interesting for me, I think that on the college level, there is going to be a player collective, nil, in which players band together and they create like, almost like, I don't know, they create like a deal with the NCAA to find out a way to get brands to sponsor their team, sponsor the ncaa, and they get a portion of the revenue as a part of nil. So I think it's going to be pretty broad across all colleges. NIL deals in which players have some sort of a collective in which they start getting revenue shares directly from brand sponsorships at the NCAA level. That's my thought for 2025. There's gonna be a way they're gonna work around it. It's kind of crazy. I know there's a lot of legal proceedings that would have to happen. And we know with the NCAA and legal proceedings, things take a long time. But I feel like something's going to happen when NIL allows these players to get some revenue directly from the schools. What are your big, bold predictions, Sabrina? I'm going to go with you first.
- [09:10]
Sabrina
So I went in a slightly different direction. Kind of took a page out of our friend Richard Deitch's book. I was thinking about the PAC 12, which still does not have a network deal, which is a fun thing. Currently the conference only has two teams, but that will change in 2025. They will add some more. Taking the remains of the Mountain West. My prediction is that the PAC12 will get a streaming only broadcast deal, that there will be that little interest in the PAC12 that it'll be only on streamers.
- [09:40]
Zena Kaeda
That makes sense. I mean, all the big colleges left that would have made sense for a bigger TV network. And streaming is. Streaming is the way to go. You're seeing a lot of pro teams go streaming packages as well as, you know, broadcast packages. But yeah, okay, I like this prediction. I like this prediction and I like that Pac12 fans get something right. Don't want to leave them without anything after.
- [10:03]
Sabrina
Can't leave them hanging, you know?
- [10:04]
Zena Kaeda
Can't leave them hanging.
- [10:05]
Sabrina
Justice for the Oregon State Beavers always and forever on this podcast.
- [10:09]
Zena Kaeda
I love that. If you haven't listened to our podcast, you got to go back to understand the soft spot in our hearts about what happened to Oregon State, America's team that is now broken up all across America. All right, Chantelle, what is your big, bold prediction for the business of women's basketball?
- [10:27]
Chantelle
So I feel like my prediction says as much about women's college basketball as men's college basketball, maybe. And sort of the direction we're seeing both sports go, I think that in 2025, for the second year in a row, we see the women's national title game outdraw the men's for viewership. So last year I was gonna do.
- [10:46]
Zena Kaeda
That one and I thought it wasn't bold enough. I feel like it's like, is that not bold enough? I don't know.
- [10:51]
Sabrina
I mean, if, like, UConn is going for a three peat on the men's side, I feel like that would draw some attention. Yeah.
- [10:56]
Chantelle
Here's the thing. This is team specific, and I think that's where it gets a little bit dicey because there are teams that, though we love watching them play broader, America might not be pulled in as much as was for like an Iowa, South Carolina, national title game. So I think it has to for this to come true, the women's title game. And I'll say, regardless of what's happening on the men's side, the women's game would have to include like USC, UConn, Notre Dame, LSU, like a recent champ, exciting team, or some kind of an upstart with a big star like Maryland might not be a team that pulls national viewership all the time, but if Cheyenne Sellers starts going off for like 42 a game, like, if she's going for like 42 and 8, this is like, very bold. So there you go.
- [11:41]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, sure.
- [11:42]
Chantelle
If she's dropping huge numbers, then I think it's sort of like you have these fans who are like, who's this player? What's this team? Can they get back to the top? I think there's enough interest in something like that. And I think recent history tells us that that becomes enough of a draw for sort of casual viewers to tune in.
- [12:02]
Sabrina
So you said Chantel wasn't being bold enough, Xena, and then she just throws out that Cheyenne Sellers is going to score 42 points a game in the XCOM.
- [12:09]
Zena Kaeda
Listen, Chantel, directions. She's all about following directions. She's like, oh, not bold enough. Let me show you bold enough.
- [12:16]
Chantelle
Let me just take it up a notch.
- [12:18]
Zena Kaeda
Exactly. Let me turn up the heat up on this one a little. Yeah, no, I, I absolutely agree with you that if there is some sort of like quote I. I say quote around it. Cinderella team. Right. Because again, the casual viewer might be like, this isn't a Cinderella team. They've been killing it all year. But you're right in that they might not have the same sort of fanfare and Absolutely. If Cheyenne sellers is dropping 42,8 you know who I thought of if Reagan beers with Oklahoma goes off in the paint? Just, you know, I thought you were.
- [12:47]
Sabrina
Going to say Cody from Oregon State, right?
- [12:50]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah.
- [12:50]
Chantelle
America's team. I thought. I thought you were going to say Cody. I thought you were going to say Cody McMahon, Ohio State, because I feel like that's another possibility where same thing, like Jelani Cambridge. You have this, like, incredible freshman, Cody McMahon, someone who's like, been there before presence, but also just like the most wonderful interview and player to watch. Like, if you sort of capture all of that in a bottle and they just take off through the NCAA tournament, like, you know, suddenly, like, Ohio State, USC title game is like, oh, dang, this is exciting.
- [13:25]
Zena Kaeda
I. I absolutely can see it because people love a good Cinderella story. People love a good underdog story. I was thinking, I said Chance Graham, also thinking Taylor theory. Like, I'm obsessed with the two of them in their backcourt. But anywho, absolutely believe that. That that's legitimate. Okay, so we can't make big, bold predictions without judging them, obviously. We need to judge these. Okay. So I feel like the most sensible of all of our predictions is probably the Pac 12 streaming. In my opinion, I think the most. The biggest bold but, like, could actually happen and should happen is the viewership numbers. The title game getting more viewers. Viewership than the men's side. The one that I really want to happen for the player's perspective, at least in college, is my prediction where they get some even more money. Why not? Why not make it? Make the money that I didn't make, folks. Make it for me, if anything. Okay, all right, what are y'all thoughts? What are your thoughts on the other predictions?
- [14:35]
Chantelle
I feel like, Xena, I like your prediction and I feel like this is where it's tough because the NCAA effectively doing anything in regard to player autonomy and nil is like a huge laugh. Right?
- [14:48]
Sabrina
Yeah, right.
- [14:49]
Zena Kaeda
Exactly.
- [14:50]
Chantelle
However, with the way that nil and revenue sharing is going to change going forward, all of the nil specific things where it's like brand money going to players will have to be approved by the ncaa, which I think is just going to get bogged down. And so an idea that, like a national project with like, you know, even if it's just women's basketball players, but if you're dealing with like, players from Texas and Minnesota and California and New Jersey, suddenly you're like, also dealing with, I think, a bunch of different, like, state tax laws. You know, I think that's one where the NCAA will just sort of like, throw its hands up and be like, nope, I.
- [15:29]
Liquid IV Host
Too hard.
- [15:30]
Chantelle
Nope. We're gonna. We're gonna back into the hitch here.
- [15:33]
Zena Kaeda
Like, makes sense. Makes sense. What do you think about PAC12?
- [15:37]
Chantelle
This is an interesting one. Sabrina. I shouldn't be surprised that you went with a West coast prediction as our one track mind. Chantel, as someone who, like, was also on the west coast with you during the Death of the Pac 12 DirecTV sort of situation death, you know, Larry Scott, all of that, you know, like, downtown San Francisco offices, all of that debate. I'm just like, man. And Zena, I agree with you that, like, streaming is the way that a lot of other sports are going, but college sports are still sticking to, like, linear tv.
- [16:14]
Zena Kaeda
Like, that's true.
- [16:15]
Chantelle
The Big Ten, like, Fox is the lifeblood and the sec, like, ESPN is the lifeblood. Like, you need that linear TV money. But I'm also sort of like, ken, is the PAC 12 going to. You know, even when they were 12 and they had powers like USC and Oregon in it, they couldn't get that deal done. And now they have two teams. So I feel like yours is maybe the most realistic. I'm just trying to think who, like, which streaming service.
- [16:41]
Sabrina
I feel like live sports show up everywhere now, right? Like, wouldn't that just be funny if, like, I guess ESPN and Hulu have a thing. But, like, if you could only go to Hulu to watch the Pac 12.
- [16:51]
Chantelle
That would be very Pac 12.
- [16:53]
Zena Kaeda
But I feel like with ESPN, there's the ESPN plus and the ESP, the ACC plus network. And there's so many pluses now and, like, layers on layers on layers of even streaming sites. That's what made me feel like, yeah, that feels doable. If I'm in the partnerships room with the Pac 12, if I'm in the. In the media partnerships room in the Pac 12, I'm like, I'm looking at this like, we should be able to get this done. Um, to be able to give the product to our fans and find a way to put the product somewhere. Sabrina, I'm gonna close out with you. Clearly, your choice is our top prediction here with as far as, like, feasibility. But any other thoughts on Chantel's viewership? Thoughts? Cheyenne sellers, dropping 42 or a player collective or around INIL.
- [17:41]
Sabrina
There was one prediction that I thought about that I didn't end up using was that one of the NCAA players is going to challenge the WNBA eligibility rule. But I just, I don't see that happening yet because currently the WNBA monetary situation is like, not overwhelmingly better than what you could get as an nil star in college. So maybe I'll leave that for a couple years down the line when the financials of the WNBA change in a meaningful way. But I like Chantel's a lot. I'm rooting for that one. Let's. Let's keep that viewership number up on the women's side.
- [18:13]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, I like it. Okay. All right, let's keep it moving, guys. Next big, bold prediction is gonna be around our favorite college time of the year, March Madness. I'm not a singer, but if anyone liked that, let me know. I might be able to look into another, you know, another career. All right. March Madness is the thing that really kicked all of this off, right? Like, let's just be real. If you were not a women's basketball fan before 2023, I'm going to. I'm going to take a guess and say that March Madness is what got you into it. The competition in March Madness, the personalities in March Madness, the urgency in March Madness, and then that trickling right into, you know, the WNBA right after in the summer season. But this year, the personalities don't stop. Folks don't think just because Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese graduated that it all ends. No, no, no. There are still a ton of storylines that are brewing right now in lead up to March Madness, and we got some big, bold predictions, and I am very curious. I'm gonna let you guys go first. Chantel, what is your first or your big, bold prediction for March Madness this year?
- [19:31]
Chantelle
I'm glad you're letting me go first, because I feel like I might be stealing Sabrina's.
- [19:36]
Zena Kaeda
Ooh, okay.
- [19:37]
Chantelle
My bold prediction. And I also. Now I'm like, shoot, you guys are going to say it's not bold enough, but I'm going to go with it.
- [19:44]
Zena Kaeda
Okay.
- [19:45]
Chantelle
I think Tennessee gets to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2016.
- [19:50]
Zena Kaeda
That's a good one.
- [19:52]
Chantelle
They never. They never got there under Kelly Harper. They got to the Sweet 16 once. They got to the Elite Eight three times with Holly Warlick, obviously, most recently in 2016, but not in the second half of her tenure, but I think in Kim Caldwell's first year, I think with this system, because it's especially hard to prepare for on a short turnaround. And I think especially because, like, your legs are so tired when you get into March, like, going against that pressure and that speed and that sort of being ready for it, mentally, physically, all of it. I think they can make the Elite Eight this year.
- [20:28]
Zena Kaeda
I believe so too. I actually like that prediction a lot. And bold enough.
- [20:35]
Sabrina
I think it's bold. It's been like nine years since it happened. I think it's unranked to start the season. Right.
- [20:41]
Zena Kaeda
This is a team with a new coach fitting into a new, like, program and strategy of play. Yeah, I think it's a bold prediction. I think it's a good.
- [20:49]
Chantelle
Guys, my TV viewership. I literally picked something that has only happened in history once. And you said it wasn't.
- [20:54]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, no, it's great.
- [20:55]
Chantelle
So then I had to say that Cheyenne Sellers is going to drop 42 a game. So I just.
- [21:00]
Zena Kaeda
Listen.
- [21:00]
Chantelle
I mean, that this happened nine years ago.
- [21:01]
Zena Kaeda
It's just because of the momentum. It's just because of the momentum, you know, but no, this is a good one. I like the breakdown of it. Yeah, this is a good one. Okay, Sabrina, you go next.
- [21:11]
Sabrina
So my March Madness prediction is. Given all of the parody we have atop the, you know, rankings this year and the number of good teams that we have, I believe that only one number one seed will make the Final four this year.
- [21:27]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, that's a good one. I like that one. I like that one a lot. And you know what's funny? My prediction is similar in this. Not. Excuse me, not similar. It uses the same thought process around parody in order to make it. And I believe that either an HBCU or an Ivy League will make it to the Sweet 16 this year. Big one. Big, bold prediction. And I say that. I think about Harvard's win over Indiana. I think about the fact that Columbia lost the Florida Gulf coast by one point this season. Overall, I'm looking at Harmony Turner at Harvard. I'm just like, she could play with the best of them. I look at, you know, even Norfolk State's games. They've been. They've been keeping some big D1 programs in the game till the end. And I think this is the time that these smaller programs that have not been known for basketball make a splash in the NCAA tournament.
- [22:26]
Sabrina
I'm just wondering, has an Ivy ever won an NCAA game? I know that. Not. I'm thinking about, like, Harvard versus Stanford. Yeah, definitely.
- [22:32]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah. Yeah.
- [22:32]
Sabrina
Okay. Yeah.
- [22:33]
Zena Kaeda
So right now, it's been Princeton's turn. Princeton. Princeton. Princeton. Princeton. But right now, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton. Playing pretty well. Playing pretty well. Okay, let's take a step back. We gotta judge em, y'all. We gotta judge em. We got Chantel. Chantel. You're talking about the Tennessee making the Elite Eight. There it is. I was. I was going back to viewership. Again. Yes. Tennessee making the Elite Eight. Sabrina, you've got a number one seed. At least one.
- [23:03]
Sabrina
Only one.
- [23:03]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, only.
- [23:04]
Sabrina
Only one will make the Final Four.
- [23:06]
Zena Kaeda
Only one. Oh, that's even. Yeah, that's pretty bold.
- [23:09]
Chantelle
It's usually like three.
- [23:11]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, that's.
- [23:11]
Sabrina
We had two last year, so it's not like it's completely out of the ordinary.
- [23:15]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, sure, sure. Yeah. Okay. And then mine is an Ivy league or an HBCU will make it to the Sweet 16. Okay. I've kind of given my thoughts as we've gone. So, Sabrina, I'm gonna go with you first. What are your thoughts on some of these predictions? Other than your own, of course.
- [23:31]
Sabrina
So the Elite 8 thing is interesting to me because usually if you have a weird system that's hard to scout, that would be. Make it easier on the second day of the weekend. Right. So I feel like if Tennessee were going to make it to the elite, you should have just said Final Four, Chantel. Because if they're going to get that far, that's the day where they would win.
- [23:47]
Chantelle
I mean, that. That would be very bold. And I don't personally believe that.
- [23:51]
Sabrina
Not even the most bold thing you've said on this podcast?
- [23:53]
Chantelle
No, no.
- [23:54]
Zena Kaeda
Let's think back to the Arkansas yet.
- [23:57]
Chantelle
I even brought up Arkansas yet.
- [24:00]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, for those that are just joining us for the top of the year, we don't have to stay in our. We'll continue to make reappearances throughout this podcast. All right, let's keep going. Sabrina. So, yes, Tennessee thoughts.
- [24:12]
Sabrina
Okay, as far as the Ivy and HBCUs, so last year was the first time that an Ivy League team got an at large bid to the end. So it tournament. Right. Like, it was the first time Columbia made it. I want to say they lost in the first four. So I don't know. I feel like winning. It's not even just gonna be a matter of winning two games for them. I think a lot of them are gonna end up in the first four, so they'll have to win three games, which is really challenging. And I think that, like, Princeton is just not as good as it was a year ago, you know, But I love the boldness, obviously, big fan. I think back to like, you know, even a couple years ago in Kim Mulkey's first season at lsu, when I want to say Jackson State almost beat them in Baton Rouge in the first round of the tournament. So there is possibility here. I. I could easily see round of 32 sweet 16. That's. I mean, that's why we're here, you know, to make the hot takes, so I like it. Cena.
- [25:00]
Zena Kaeda
Okay. All right. Chantel, what do you think?
- [25:02]
Chantelle
Yeah, I think I. I'm with Sabrina on this one. Like, it just feels like winning three games at that point in the year, like, that would be the path for an Ivy League team or an hbcu. Like, I don't know, but, like, Norfolk State, like, the team that you brought up, it's like, maybe, gosh, like, it's time for a Cinderella to really happen, right? Like, where parody is going in this sport. It's time. But I think sort of the magic of the Cinderella is that you don't see them until they show up, and then it's like, oh, damn, this team is in the sweet 16, and no one picked them. So I wonder if it's less of a. If it's less of, you know, one of the teams that we're thinking, like, oh, they've already had success in the tournament, and more of, like, Rice just shows up and goes to the sweet 16 out of nowhere. And you're like, no one saw Rice coming. They, like, made the tournament for the first time last year because they won their conference tournament. No one saw that coming. And so I think that, to me, feels like we're maybe a few years off from that.
- [25:59]
Zena Kaeda
Okay. All right. I want to remember that Norfolk State has a win over Missouri. Lost Alabama by 10. Like, ranked Alabama by 10. I mean, I just feel like with March Madness, that's why it's madness, right? In the sense that any day things could swing a certain way. This is me desperately, clearly, trying to make my take a little bit more relevant.
- [26:19]
Sabrina
But, I mean, they did just beat Auburn, too. So that's.
- [26:22]
Zena Kaeda
They beat Auburn. That's the one I'm thinking. I was thinking. I was saying before Alabama, Auburn is who they just. Okay, all right, all right, all right. It is a little bit deeper of a path, I'm gonna say. I don't know. I like Tennessee and the elite eight, and I don't know if it's. If. If it's just, you know, to. To restore glory to a program that had such regalia around it, like it was Pat Summit's team. And even. What's funny is there was, you know, some highlights playing again on TV of. Of Tennessee, and even seeing their. Their creamsicle, like, uniforms just felt right. Them being highlighted on TV again, it was just like, yeah, this makes sense. It's been a while since Tennessee has been of lore, so, yeah, I like that prediction. Okay.
- [27:14]
Chantelle
I will say just to debate myself on this, to, like, to play the devil's advocate to my own.
- [27:19]
Zena Kaeda
Sure, sure.
- [27:19]
Chantelle
Like, I think where this could go wrong for me, because it's like, I think it's bold, but I also think it's totally possible. So historically, and we're not 100% sure how this out with how conferences have changed. Exactly. But you can't play someone from your own conference until the sweet 16. So in a world where Tennessee plays an SEC opponent in the Sweet sixteen, I think that's where things could get a little tricky, because if they're facing a team.
- [27:46]
Sabrina
Familiarity.
- [27:46]
Chantelle
Yeah, the familiarity is there. They already have the scout done. Like, the players have already seen this on the floor. They've already. Already gone through it. So I think, you know, when the bracket comes out, if I see a SEC Sweet 16 matchup, I'll be like, well, there it goes. Like, you know, potentially. But it's like, you look at their Oklahoma game over the weekend, and it was like, when you don't have the inside presence against someone like Reagan Beers, which most teams don't in the country, and if they shot a little better from range, that's a much different game. Right. Like, the tweaks aren't that far off. And so I think thinking forward, but it's like, you know, if they see Oklahoma again, Oklahoma's already seen them. Right. Like, if they play Texas, if they play any of these teams in the sweet 16, then it's. It's. You know, my. My prediction kind of goes a little bit shit there.
- [28:35]
Zena Kaeda
The thing about Tennessee is that they just have. Even when you said, you know, how the inside presence, they still have enough talent on the outside to just go off unexpectedly. Like, if Talasia Cooper is not having the best night, which she had, I think an okay performance against the Sooners, but, like, Jules Spears goes off, and it's like, Jules Beer. Okay, cool. Like, they just have so many tools, I think, and they're so fast that I think madness. You know, on any given night during the tournament, one of those tools could just go off. So, yeah, I think I'm. I'm choosing to lead a. Again, I was going to say, I can't wait to hear what you guys listening Think about these predictions. If we're going bold enough, if you're like, whoa, y'all need to chill out. It's the new year, but you don't need to be doing that much. Very curious about that. Okay, our last prediction is going to be around moves made in women's college basketball, whether it's coaching, whether it's the transfer portal, or whether it's players who are draft eligible and what they decide to do. So these are like moves within the women's college basketball space. And I went first, then Chantelle, you went first. So, Sabrina, it only makes sense. We're gonna let you go first this time. Big, bold predictions around moves in women's basketball, college basketball.
- [29:54]
Sabrina
So this is no longer a bold prediction after her lovely Instagram story statement following her suspension against USC the other night. But I think Kyomi McMiller will be playing on a new team starting in the 2025, 2026 season. So that's one bold, not bold, not bold.
- [30:11]
Chantelle
I think we, we've even talked about this today. I think we can. We can probably put together a list of, like, three schools where we could see her ending up.
- [30:18]
Zena Kaeda
Okay, wait, wait. Let's time out. Give me a 30 real quick, because first, I, I do want to break that down really quickly for Those listening. Kiyomi McMiller, freshman at Rutgers.
- [30:30]
Sabrina
Star freshman at Rutgers. Really having a great season. Yeah.
- [30:33]
Zena Kaeda
Correct. I mean, her bag is insane. Her handle is one of the two.
- [30:37]
Chantelle
Best players in the country, if you ask her agent.
- [30:40]
Zena Kaeda
Correct. I mean, I would, I'd agree with that. You know, Sarah Strong at Yukon and.
- [30:45]
Sabrina
No, no.
- [30:46]
Chantelle
Best players in the country players, not freshmen players.
- [30:50]
Sabrina
That's what her agent said. Yeah.
- [30:52]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, her agent.
- [30:53]
Chantelle
Yeah.
- [30:54]
Zena Kaeda
Talk about bold predictions. That is a bold statement. There you go. That's who you want in your corner, though. So shout out to Ki McMiller for having that belief in her corner. That's great. But overall, someone that a lot of people would have been very excited to see play up against juju Watkins, similar in the sense of the similar style of player, just being able to both be offensive powerhouses. And she was sat in this game against USC by her coach and proceeds to post on her Instagram story that she won't be playing and that the decision was made by her coach, Coquis Washington. And yeah, folks, if you have kids, if you're listening to this and they're aspiring basketball players, if you are an aspiring basketball player, if you are currently playing basketball in high school in college, I strongly advise you to not do that. Just don't publicly announce these sorts of things. Handle it privately like it's just best. Now, what has also happened and proceeded, and this is probably why Sabrina is also saying this, is that later on, Keomi McMiller reposted an Instagram story that someone else Made that said that Keller should transfer immediately. She later deleted that Instagram story that was reposted. Okay, now let's back get back into the prediction. This is probably why. Yeah. Some people can imagine that she might end up at a different school. I want to quickly hear, what are the three schools you think that Kiyomi McMiller could end up at?
- [32:30]
Sabrina
LSU is one.
- [32:31]
Chantelle
Yeah. We were just discussing earlier today, and we were like, LSU feels like that's one of her original offers. LSU is a school that obviously hits the transfer portal hard. And you look at a player with her skill set, and you're like, kim Mulkey finds ways to use talented players no matter sort of where the depth chart lies. And it's like she would find a place in that starting rotation for her, like, 100%. And so I sort of see that, and I'm like, you know, a program that welcomes transfers, a program that knows how to use talent. That, to me, sort of feels like if. If she ends up at lsu, I'm not surprised.
- [33:09]
Zena Kaeda
Absolutely.
- [33:10]
Chantelle
Maybe our list of three is just a list of one. I don't know.
- [33:13]
Sabrina
Just a list of one.
- [33:15]
Zena Kaeda
What about you, Sabrina? Any thoughts on where Kiyomi McMiller might end up?
- [33:20]
Sabrina
I like to see her in the acc. I just think it's a really good guard conference, and I think there's a lot of schools that could use her talent. Like, I feel like North Carolina could use her really well, but I don't know if that logically makes sense as a Jersey kid, But I don't know. I'd like the fit there. Yeah.
- [33:38]
Zena Kaeda
Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you for that sidebar. Let's get back to the predictions. So, yeah, not bold enough. I don't know if we can accept that one.
- [33:48]
Sabrina
That was. That was a cutting room floor prediction. This is. This is the new one.
- [33:51]
Chantelle
Okay, okay. It was the real one.
- [33:52]
Sabrina
My actual prediction is that Paige Beckers will not declare for the WNBA draft this year.
- [33:59]
Zena Kaeda
Oh, hold on. Let me fix my hair. Hold on. That's interesting. Why?
- [34:08]
Sabrina
Well, first of all, we kind of alluded to the finances earlier. She'd be locking herself into a rookie contract that is presumably worth far less than it would be were she to be drafted in 2026. So just financially, it doesn't make a ton of sense to play in the WNBA's rookie in 2025 versus 2026. Also, there's been a lot of buzz around whether Paige actually wants to go to Dallas, given the instability without organization and the political climate in Texas too. You know, that factors into things like women's health rights there and then I don't think UConn is going to win a national title this year. So I kind of feel like maybe one more year of Paige and AZ running the band back and that's their time.
- [34:48]
Zena Kaeda
I don't dislike this prediction. I. It shocked me. I'm not going to lie, guys. I was like, if you're just listening.
- [34:54]
Sabrina
More edge than Kiyomi McMiller.
- [34:57]
Zena Kaeda
Absolutely. Wow. Okay. And for the record, Sabrina is not saying that the rookie contract, you know, is. She's going to lose money. No, no, no. It's just different levels of money. I just don't want anybody listening to use that as justification. Right.
- [35:14]
Sabrina
Just to clarify, if she were to declare this year, she would lock into a four year rookie contract that averages somewhere around $85,000 per year, whereas the expectation is that salaries will jump significantly with the new collective bargaining agreement. So she would have the opportunity to make a lot more money on her rookie contract if she waits in college for one more year.
- [35:34]
Zena Kaeda
Thank you. You see why we got the experts here. You see why you're in the right place. They break these things down for you. Okay. Appreciate that clarity, Sabrina. I like that prediction. I like that prediction. Okay, I'm gonna go next and I'm gonna say I didn't make one like player or college specific, but I am anticipating the creation of more super teams like from the college transfer portal. We're seeing what has happened with UCLA and their transfers. We're seeing what has happened at USC with their transfers. We're seeing what Liatu King and Liza Carlin are providing to Notre Dame as transfers and those are the big name schools. We're not even talking about the fact that Maryland, it has an unbelievable amount of transfers. They're performing incredibly well. Ohio State is seeing their transfers integrate a little bit and do well. I am absolutely seeing the top scores from lower tier D1 schools and that they're not in the, quote, top 25 ranked every, you know, in the AP poll, et cetera, top scores, leaving and creating super teams at other schools. I'm seeing more of the Liatus, I'm seeing more of the Lucy Olsen's. I'm seeing more of these school, these players coming together, talking in the off season and being like, where do you want to go? And coming together and making some more super teams. That's what I'm predicting because I think not only does it help with these players brands to be able to collect more opportunities in Nil players want to win championships and now they have the opportunity to do so by linking up with their favorite players. I saw this like through friendship. This is like a personal anecdote. My male friends in North Carolina, I remember them talking about going to these elite basketball camps and the like general collective belief that people were like, let's stop going to the True Blues, let's stop going to Kentucky and Duke and UNC and let's go to the Memphis's, let's go to the Wichita states, let's go to these other schools and rack up and try to get some, some wins and get some championships in these other programs, the Louisvilles of the world, et cetera. I feel like that is going to happen on the women's basket and more of these super teams are going to be created. Chantel, what is your big bold prediction?
- [38:10]
Chantelle
So I like your prediction and we'll get back to why I like that. But my prediction actually like goes directly opposed to Sabrina's. So I think this is kind of exciting because usually we're on the same wavelength. My prediction is actually the opposite. I think Paige Beckers is the only player who goes to the draft with the option to come back. Like of the other players like the Az Fuds, Olivia Miles, Janaya Barker's of the world, I think Paige is the only one who leaves any NCAA eligibility on the table. And it's because yes, she would be locked into a lower contract. We don't know sort of what the CBA rookie deals will look like moving forward, but given her like nil agreement she already has with Nike and other huge partners over four years, let's say the difference in the rookie contract is going to be like, even if it doubles, we're talking about like $350,000 over four years. Maybe like in the lifespan of a Nike deal that Paige might have over four years as a WNBA player, like they can, they can make up for that a little bit. And I think because, because of where sort of the WNBA is pushing right now with this viewership. What we've seen the popularity of the game rising like crazy. We're seeing it at the college level too. But I think, you know, there's also benefits of being in the WNBA where it's like, it's just basketball. Like you don't have to go to class anymore, you don't have to like, like you can just play basketball.
- [39:45]
Zena Kaeda
Right?
- [39:46]
Chantelle
Right. Like that is your job and your life. And there's a part of me that thinks there's players that really Just are like, let's, let's go. Let's just play basketball. And I'm wondering if she's able to. Which, as Sabrina has written before and a piece on the athletic, maybe just use some of her leverage to get out of the Dallas deal somehow. And I think specifically this would happen if she's able to get traded or if, you know, if the Valkyries are able to somehow get the number one pick. So I don't know what they would have to acquire through free agency in order to give Dallas whatever they want for the number one pick. Exactly. Like a boatload of everything. But if that can happen and if she's going to a city or a place that like, feels really attractive, that she wants to be in, that she's made known, like she wants to be there. And I think the Valkyries feel like a fit. She was like, talking about how great their jerseys were, how much she liked.
- [40:37]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, she loved the colorway. She did.
- [40:40]
Chantelle
And so I think if it's a four year deal in San Francisco, like, if you're going to San Francisco, like $320,000 over four years. Like, we've got people here who know the Bay finances really well. Like, it's a different. It's a different financial calculus out there. And I think if you're going there already as a rookie, you've got that Nike money. Like, I don't know, maybe it doesn't matter as much in that way.
- [41:06]
Zena Kaeda
And I know the Dallas Wings are. They're in the process of kind of updating everything with their organization. But, yeah, I ain't gonna lie as a person that's sitting in the Bay right now and well aware of what Joe Lako wants to do as an owner of the Golden State Valkyries. It's not a bad place to be, folks. It's not a bad place to be. This is a bold prediction. Like, two of them in one, leaving eligibility on the table, and then somehow Dallas finding a way to say, you.
- [41:34]
Chantelle
Know what, I'm just making up.
- [41:35]
Zena Kaeda
You got her for.
- [41:37]
Chantelle
Thank you for my first prediction.
- [41:40]
Sabrina
Listen, I like how Chantel goes in with a perfectly normal prediction. It's like, you know what? I'm just gonna. As I talk, listen, I just talk.
- [41:48]
Chantelle
Myself into, like, higher and higher stakes.
- [41:52]
Zena Kaeda
I love it for you. I love it.
- [41:54]
Sabrina
I'm really disappointed we couldn't get her to Tennessee national champion by the end of that.
- [41:57]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, I mean, listen, give it a little bit more time.
- [42:00]
Chantelle
Talk me into it. Talk me into it. I was gonna say tell me no Tell me why.
- [42:04]
Zena Kaeda
Like, she might be open. She might be open. Okay. These are some really good predictions. Trying to see who I started with in terms of opinions on last time. Sabrina, I'm go with you. First thoughts on these bold predictions in the space of women's college basketball.
- [42:20]
Sabrina
So I'll take a. Chantel's first. I think we're kind of on the same line about players not wanting to enter the draft this year versus next year. She just applied it to everybody, but Paige. And I applied it to Paige as well.
- [42:32]
Chantelle
Only Paige, you know.
- [42:34]
Sabrina
Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's not to say that I think that everybody's going to declare. I think the people with eligibility. I kind of line up with Chantelle here. I think it's going to be very unlikely that people who are able to come back to college choose to. I'm sorry, don't choose to because of just the financial ramifications here. But okay, so I wanted to clarify the super team prediction you made. So you said that the men's players didn't want to go to all the big schools, but I feel like the big schools are where all the talent is congregating on the women's side. So are you thinking that we're gonna find, like, powerhouses on non traditional schools on the women's side too, or.
- [43:08]
Zena Kaeda
No, no, no, no. I'm just saying that they. So I'm just saying that the way that they communicated, like they came to the. Came to the conclusion of, like, let's go win championships at other schools than where we're at. I do not believe that it's going to be happening at non traditional schools necessarily. I think it's.
- [43:25]
Chantelle
So there's more discussion behind the scenes during the transfer portal window.
- [43:29]
Zena Kaeda
Exactly, exactly. And I don't know. That would be a really interesting conversation to have with like, a Kiki Area fan and, you know, or. Or the. The ladies at ucla. Like, what were the conversations in the background? Did you guys talk to each other and say, let's all get together and like, like, hook up at X, Y and Z school? But I do feel like those kind of conversations are going to happen more often to see if players themselves can create the programs that they want to be able to, you know, ride to a national championship.
- [44:04]
Sabrina
I hope that's the case. And it's not just like, oh, players go wherever the most money happens to be. Because I think we've seen a couple of those situations where the basketball fit. Doesn't make a ton of sense to me. And I'm not going to baselessly speculate about who got the money, but the exodus from Michigan confuses me quite a bit, I got to be honest. So I do think that if it's players deciding based on basketball fit and they're winning and they're succeeding and they're probably making some money while they're at it. Because you talk about the schools that have collected the talent, like LSU and USC and ucla, I know their players are being compensated. So I think that's great. If the players have a say in the matter, if it's all just like, we're throwing out one big check and school B gets the best player in the transfer portal and nobody to surround them, then that's going to really bum me out.
- [44:51]
Zena Kaeda
No, of course. Yeah.
- [44:52]
Sabrina
I like the idea of the talent congregating because then it just leads to more excitement down the road in March.
- [44:57]
Zena Kaeda
Yeah, I, I just have this idea that, like, these players, they work out in the summer together, players that aren't necessarily, like, on the same teams and, or. Or even in the same conferences. And it's like if you, if you're on a Team usa, right, or if this is like, your old AAU teammate, like, and it's like, I really enjoyed playing with you. We ended up at different programs, but, like, now we have an opportunity to link back up. Like, I feel like that would be super dope and I might be a little biased because of what I'm seeing on unrivaled. Like, it's really fun seeing these, like, superstars of the WNBA linking up right now on completely different, like, teams within the unrivaled scheme. And it's fun to just be. It's going to be fun to be able to see, like, how do these different playing styles that we've seen from different teams around the country come together in this smaller format. But either way, it would just be fun to imagine and predict. Now, those are our big, bold predictions for the year, and I'm very curious to hear what you guys had to say about them or what your own predictions are for the year. Maybe we, like, missed on some big ones that you're like, are you kidding me? This is obviously going to happen. Please reach out to us, comment, whatever it is, get in touch with us, let us know. We'll have way more to talk about as this year starts brewing. Of course, we're in conference play, folks, and that's going on unrivaled is starting January 17th. That's about to go on. Free agencies coming up for the WNBA still Got more coaches to talk to that have just been hired in the wnba. So we're kicking off the year strong. As always, we appreciate you joining us to start your year off with the women's basketball world. That, that feels good. That really does feel good. We're always super appreciative. So if you've never been around here before and you haven't heard me say this, I always close it out with thanking our writers. Sabrina, Chantelle, as always, appreciate you guys with your bold predictions and breaking things down, as always, and I thank you all for listening. I let you guys know if there's anything you want us to talk about, please write us, send it to us, let us know. We want to talk about what you want to talk about. I let you know, go on the website because the two that were with me today, Chatel, Sabrina, along with Ben Pickman and all of our crew at the Athletic, are writing great women's basketball content that you should tune into. And then I always say it is important that I encourage you to keep listening, keep watching, keep learning, and keep loving the game. Because remember when Chantel made that quote, bold prediction about viewership and how it might be better this year than the men's side? It's from people like you, listening, tuning in, watching, learning and loving the game that the game keeps growing. All right, Happy New Year, y'all. Until next time.
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Zena Kaeda
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Zena Kaeda
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Kim Holderness
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Kim Holderness
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Kim Holderness
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Penn Holderness
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Zena Kaeda
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