Transcript of GOOD FOLLOW - Nneka Ogwumike Denied By FIBA, Portland Names Its First Head Coach & More!

You're listening to DraftKings Network. Hey, what's up, you all? Welcome to Good Follow Show, presented by DraftKings. I'm Roz Gold on Wooday, and that is Angela Suma Khatri, five-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist. And we are coming to you live from the LA studio, and you know it's always a more fun show when we're together in person. We're together.

Yes.

And you think they're wondering why we're dressed like this? Yes.

Please explain.

This is the first ever inaugural Pajama Show on Good Follow Show. Even though we got PJs on, our show is anything but sleepy. Part of my soft hour right now. I like to be at home with With my incense. You all see I brought candles today. I got candles and the lighter, although we were told we were not allowed to light anything here.

The vanilla sea salt, guys.

And this one says cozy season. And also, shout out to our producer, because the set is crazy. We came in here today and the whole thing looks like a campfire tent set. They got pillows. Oh, we got these?

Oh, they gave us friendship bracelets. We got to put them on our friendship bracelets for the show.

That's cute. No, that's fine.

And, Raj, you got to show them your nails. Come on. The nails is what sets it off.

This ain't have nothing to do with it. This is not the sleepover. This is where the fire comes. Yeah, I'm a nail girly right now. So now we just wanted to bring some fun and softness to the show, but we are ready to get into this show because it's never a sleepy day on Good Follow Show. Here's the menu for today. The Portland Fire named their first head coach, We React, and our girl Nneka Agumake. She was denied to compete for Nigeria at the Olympics yet again thwarted.

Well, guys, you can check us out Tuesdays and Thursdays. Continue to like, comment, and subscribe. We appreciate all the love because this is a family environment.

Yes, it is. Absolutely. I also want to introduce the stuffed animal, Goat, here for all goaty conversations. Love that. Let's go. But beyond that, guys, just want to remind you, look, women's basketball, it's WNBA, it's College Bowl, it's Unrivaled, it's Athletes Unlimited, it's a new CBA. It's crazy free agency. It's all the things. Our show is going to be here twice a week. We're going to do this with you, covering it Tuesdays and Thursdays. So stick with us, all the things. Yes. Angel.

Yeah.

Today's a big day for you. It's a big day, man. Yeah, it's a big day for Angel on Good Follow Show because she has a debut segment that you're revealing to the audience. What is your segment? Angel has a segment, everybody.

All right, guys. A new segment is called Halo or Hell No. This is how it works.

Wait, I'm dead. Look at that.

We're going to talk about a topic. Yes. And we're going to give it a halo if we like it, and a Hell No if we're not rocking with it. So let's get started, Rose. I'm excited about this.

I love that. And it's because your name is Angel. For those of you.

I'm just playing off the name, give him a little halo.

So if you all didn't follow what was happening here. You know what I'm saying? Okay, let's do it. Okay, halo or hell no. Let's start off here. First up, the Portland announced that their head coach for its inaugural year in the W is going to be Alex Serama. He was an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers. And we've seen coaches coming from the NBA side have success. Think about Coach of the Year this year, Natalie Nacasse, obviously, Becky Hammond, Nate Tibbets with the Phoenix Mercury. These are all coaches who have done well, coming from more of an NBA background. So, Angel, halo or hell no? Looking outside the WNBA for head coaching roles?

I'm going to give this a halo only because we don't know. We all want more black women coaches, but we don't know, are they applying for these jobs? We're going to give him a chance to show what he can do in the league. But I will say, can we hire more WNBA coaches or women coaches in the NBA? Let's start doing that as well.

Yeah. And I know before you had mentioned that there were a number of coaches you were looking at that said, these are black women, women who have been coming up or just coaches coming up in women's basketball that should be getting looks. Yeah.

I have a list of women who I think could be really great women head coaches. Christie Oliver is one. Watch her in Maryland. She's done some stuff in the NBA. She's great. We have Courtney Paris, who's a teammate of mine, Ronika Hodges, Latoya Sanders. I mean, the list goes down. It's so many more, but just for time's sake, those are just a few I had on my list.

Yeah, Breanne January comes to mind as well. It's not even just that it has to be women or black women. It could also be males. It's just coaches that have been working their way up for years within the women's basketball system, whether that's college hoops or WNBA. But there does seem to be a little bit of a recent trend of looking completely outside of women's basketball. And look, the goal when you're in franchise is to win, right? It's to win. As a player, you respond well to any coach. It doesn't matter if man, woman, black, white.

I'm not going to say that.

I'm asking.

I'm asking. This is a pro level, so it It has to be a coach that relates to the players because we're not in college. It's a different level in college. You're on their case more. You're watching what they do, who they're hanging with. We're grownups. You know what I mean? So you have to relate like adults.

Yeah. Actually, understanding what the lifestyle is, being able to talk to a grown woman, these aren't kids in college. There's an issue of demeanor, being able to connect. And you may be a brilliant mind, but you might lose the locker room if you can't get the message across. And a lot of people might have pointed to was the connection, right, for Coquelanus, who is highly regarded, and Dallas only lasted a season there. Just using that as a case study. So there might be something to be said about someone who understands what it's like to be in that locker room.

You have to understand. And I will say for men coaches, understand women. We love a constant pat on the back. We always want to feel like we're doing it right. I want to challenge men coaches to really understand the psychology of women, especially in sports and what we go through in our biology.

Yeah. I just think that's different for each player and person, too. There are some people who like to get dogged on and push to the limits. And there certainly are some people... I think a good coach is one that understands there might be a different message for each player. And a great coach can bring the best out of a talented player understanding what they need while also holding people accountable. So you might be able to push this player a little bit differently. You may have to pull this player to the side and talk a little bit more softly. The amount of patience that takes and also there's an emotional IQ aspect to coaching that is not just about, are you the best at drawing up plays?

And you connect emotionally. Like you said, that's the mark of a great leader and a coach knowing your player and personnel, who you can yell at, who you can't, who shuts down doing this, how do you motivate. And that's where you also have your leader as a player to coincide with you with that. Exactly.

That's why I think point guards end up being great I'm super biased, but often, as a point guard, you got to learn how to talk to your player, your teammates around you. I was constantly aware of like, all right, Tara Van der Veer is getting on this player crazy. I'm going to relay the message later in a different way. And bring that player back up. Shoot, I had to do that for myself sometimes. But to come back to... But that's an interesting conversation just about the different types of coaches. I just want to say, too, being hard or not relating, there's plenty of female coaches that also can be out of touch or even abusive. Clearly, there were some, allegedly, issues with the Seattle Storm and Jewel Lloyd. It just wasn't a match there, right? I don't know exactly what was true or not, but we know that that didn't work out. And so that's an example of, Hey, that's a female coaching staff and a player it didn't work for. Also, with Coach Noelle Quinn now being let go, there are no black female head coaches in the WNBA, which does ring a bell.

There's no representation now of that. Coming back to the Portland fire, bringing in Alex Serama as the head coach for the Portland Fire, honestly, the reveal of that was pretty ho-hum in the sense that, here's what we knew from just this tweet that came out. He's got experience in Europe. He made a splash. He had a little splash in Portland with the G League team. He was a part of the coaching staff for RIP City Remix. So there's a tie, I guess, to Portland. He had a season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. So some people are critical. All right, well, bro, he was with the NBA. He was only there a year with the Cavs. So it's not exactly a riveting headline to win the press conference. And again, especially when representation is slim, people are critical of there not being any black female head coaches in the WNBA. And even just any type of coach, regardless of gender or race, they've been working their way up in women's basketball, and still someone else got chosen over them. But I am here, as always, to present the other side. All your favorite NBA players are back.

And DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA, is the place to bet on NBA stars this season. New customers download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use code GoodFollow. That's code GoodFollow. Below, bet five bucks and get three months of NBA League pass, plus get $300 in bonus bets if your bet wins. In partnership with DraftKings, the Crown is yours.

Gambling problem? Call 1-800 Gambler. In New York, call 877-8 Hope & Y or text Hope & Y 467-369. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg. Org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas, pass-through of per-wager tax may apply in Illinois. 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Restrictions apply. Bet must win to receive bonus bets which expire in seven days. Minimum odds required. Nba League pass auto renews until canceled. Additional terms at dkng. Co/audio. Limited time offer.

If there's one thing I love, it's I'm going to try to give all the information and present it. Here's the other side. As a scene set, the New York Liberty, after going to the finals, let of Coach Sandy Brundello. The franchise discussed, the GM discussed, looking for more innovation despite how far the team went and the year before the team won a championship. That should cue where the WNBA is, where they're entering not only an arms race of practice facilities now, but an arms race of analytics and innovation. And think about it, the way that the NBA had, often these types of things happen in trends, and then everybody copycats it. Think Mike D'Antoni and the Phoenix Suns or the Houston Rockets. Remember, it was pace and space and a whole ton of threes, and then everyone was doing it. So now the WNBA, you're hearing the word, we're looking for innovation in our approach. And methodology and innovation could possibly be really advantageous with women because athleticism is not quite as explosive as men's is. That suddenly is a huge advantage if you've got this methodology that works, perhaps. Who knows? If you invest in it.

So new head coach, Alex Serama, is a big voice for CLA method, which CLA means Constraints-led Approach. In fact, he's actually a thought leader for CLA. He wrote a book called Transforming Basketball. Many people look to him to... He didn't create it, but he's furthered the conversation around it. Okay. So CLA, Angel, I wanted to present this to you and then be like, What do you think about this as an actual pro athlete. Let me tell you, I'm not an expert in this, but I did read a whole bunch of articles to try and understand what CLA was, and here's what I've gotten from it. It's about reacting to unpredictable environments versus muscle memory. So we came up with a muscle memory approach. We're going to run the same triangle offense over and over and over the same offense, understand all the actions because we've put it to muscle memory, or We're going to work on the same move, the same step back 1,000 times, 500 times in a day, and so that it becomes muscle memory. What CLA is saying is no, players have to adapt moves on the fly. So they want to say that...

They want to say that they would argue that muscle memory actually limits you because in a real game, scenarios are unpredictable. So that move you did a thousand times over and over, that's not That's actually how it appears for you in the game. And they want to prepare you to be able to react and adapt as situations. So let me pull this up from the athletic. One more thing, angel. That means putting players into scenarios with different limitations called constraints to stimulate the unpredictable environment of an actual game, whether it's the number of steps they can take, the area of the playing surface from which they are allowed to maneuver, or even the weight of the ball that they're using. Players are repeatedly told to overcome restrictions that they can't predict to accomplish a task. And the last piece of information I want to give to this angel, this method is not obscure. It's catching disciples. Guess the names that are into it. Victor Webbenyama, Serama. Kelsey Plum basically said her career was changed by it. And I think one of the best case studies of this is Cleveland Cavaliers' head coach, Kenny Atkinson, literally read Serama's book and said, We're going to bring this guy to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This is how we got the assistant coaching job for the year. We're going to bring him in, and he's going to teach us and help us implement the CLA system. They made him an assistant coach last year with the Cavs. And guess what? The results are undeniable in that the Cavs won 64 games, the most in franchise history. Kenny Atkinson was named Coach of the Year. Perhaps this method helped influence that. And that is the guy that the Portland Fire are bringing in as their head coach. Now, Now that is a headline.

So it's evident that it works. I am a believer in muscle memory, so why not incorporate both? Despite him not having the warm welcome that he's had. I mean, guys, it's evident that they hired him for a reason that he's doing something right. And we just have to congratulate him and see what he does. I'm going to look into this C-L-A and see what it can do for me because I'm still working on it. I'm going to try. I mean, you have to upgrade things every 10 years. You can't have the same system over and over, but you can still add a little bit of old with the new. Hey, I'm a believer. Let's try it out and see how it goes.

If you were a player on the Portland Fire, would it excite you to hear a coach coming in with some new strategy?

Yeah, I'm all for it because sometimes, how do things get invented in life? Somebody comes up with a great idea and they perfect it and it can change the world. So I'm always open for new ideas. I didn't think there could be anything new in basketball.

Right, right, right, right.

But you see where it can go, the evolution of it, of where it can go. So I'm actually anxious to try this out.

Yeah, I'm a big proponent of analytics, but also good old fashioned hoops and feel and the combination. I don't like to be too this way or too that way. I think together. But at the end of the day, I'm old school, too. I'm like, hoop is hoop, talent is talent. But these types of strategies could make a big difference. And the Portland Fire decided they're going to invest in that and build from the ground up. And see where they can go with Serama and CLA.

Yeah, I'm interested to see.

I am, too. All right, we'll be right back. Hey, what's up, you all? Welcome back to Good Follow Show. Today's episode is presented by DraftKings. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is here. And since 2019, DraftKingserves has partnered with the Lowry Fitzgerald Foundation on the PENCAM campaign to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research. Founded in 2005 by Lowry Fitzgerald Jr. After losing his mother to breast cancer in 2003, the Larry Fitchdarell Foundation aims to provide equitable access and support for families affected by breast cancer. They partner with organizations dedicated to this cause and fund mobile mammogram activations, offering free screenings to residents in underserved communities.

This October, DraftKings and the Larry Fitchdarell Foundation are teaming up once again to support breast cancer research. With the Pincom program, DraftKings' Serves is pledging to raise $100,000 during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To join the cause, visit draftkings.

Com/serves.

Enter a weekly Pinkam Contest, and DraftKings will donate $1 per entry on your behalf.

All right, Angel, we are back. Back to your debut segment of What is it called again?

Halo or Hell No.

Presented by Angel. I love this graphic they have for you. Okay, we are back. The next segment of Halo or Hell No is about Nneka Agumake's again failed, tried to play in the Olympics Olympics in the World Cup. Fiba has denied Nneka Agumake's application to compete for Nigeria at next year's World Cup and the 2028 LA Olympics. And this is her third time Fiba has denied her appeal to play for Nigeria. So three times. I mean, you're talking about over a decade. Usa Basketball gave Nneka its blessing. They gave it to her to play for Nigeria after being left off of the 2020 US National Olympic team. Now, Angel, you are a two-time Olympic gold medalist. You've been a part of some of the very controversial financial decisions for some of those team rosters. And actually on our show earlier, on Good Follow Show, when you were a guest, you felt strongly that Nneka should have been on that USA Basketball team. Here's what you had to say. Let's check out the receipts. Also, my sister, Nneka Ogumake, wasn't on that team, and she was the MVP of the WNBA that year. They had just won a championship.

They should be in a team. I'm going to speak up now and say, Nneka is the MVP. Nneka should have a shoe deal.

Oh, yeah. And so that was the It was a 2016 Olympic team where the Sparks won the championship, and Nneka was the league MVP, and both she and Candice Parker actually were left off of that Olympic roster. Anyway, halo or hell no, Nneka should be an Olympian.

Hell no. Now that Fiba will not appeal the decision to let her play for the Nigerian national team. She is Nigerian. I know you're also Nigerian. Could you imagine you being able to go and support her in that?

I played for the Nigerian national team. You did? Yeah.

And how much fun did What did you have with that?

Girl, it was one of the highlights of my career and life. Actually, we were part of the teams that were setting a path for the current woman's Nigerian national team that actually, in the last Olympics in Paris, made it to the quarter final. They were the first African national team in the Olympics to ever win a game. Ever. Men's or women's, the women's Nigeria national team. Props to them. And obviously, think about what they could do with adding Nneka Agumake.

Oh, my goodness. Could you imagine? So thank you, Ross, for paving the way. But Nneka has extended a lot of resources and time to be an Olympian. And it's so unfortunate that even during a time where she's a league MVP and she's winning a championship, she's still left off the Olympic team. And I know there's rules. The rules are if you play on an Olympic team, you can never play for another country. Those are the rules.

They discourage that.

They discourage that.

It's not that it's never happened, by the way. I want to remind you. Has that happened? There's been changes in nationality. There's been cases where they've allowed that in the Olympics. I don't know exactly what sports, but it has happened.

Well, that's interesting. I have to look more into that. But in this case, Nneka has never actually really played on the US. She's played in tournaments. Exactly. But I think for a situation like this and for someone of Nneka's caliber and for the world who wants to see her play in the Olympics, FIVA, give the appeal. This is a hell no for me. Give her a chance. She deserves to be there. I always tell people to have an Olympic experience, to be around that to be around different countries. I just tell people, just go. Put that on your bucket list. And for Nneka, that should be something that she should have on her resume, and it's no excuse why she shouldn't. Let her do it. If I need to call Fever myself, if we need to petition, what we got to do to get her on Olympics? Let's do it.

Yes, it feels very unfortunate, very arbitrary, very punitive in the way that Nneka is being handled and has been handled now over the last decade around this. I think there's been a lot of mismanage and miscommunication that she's getting from both the Team USA side and from the Olympic Committee side. What's happening as an individual is really being hurt by this and denied an opportunity that she really deserves. And legitimately, blood earns it. It's in her blood. She's an American. She has a right to being an American and absolutely has a right to being a Nigerian. Her parents from there, I've heard of much crazier stories situations of people creating ties to certain countries and what country they can represent. This is somebody who legitimately both parents are from Nigeria, and to your point, has never actually played on a USA Olympic team, although has trained with them. In some ways, it feels like Nekle was gaslit along the way and just misled and maybe even being used as an example at this point. You're talking about somebody who is one of the most decorated, talented, and one of the most contributing players. Contributing. Let me say that again.

One of the most contributing players to this woman's basketball game as a sport. To deny her, it feels very tragic. But just to take you through, I think Nneka's best chance, to your point, was that 2016 national team, which is just an abomination from USA B-Ball, where literally this is the MVP of the league, and she just won a championship.

Can Can I say this, Roz? Can we stop taking it for granted? I know that we are America and we're used to winning and we have the best players in the world. I've listened to what other countries would do for their Olympians if they win gold. When I was in Turkey, they said, Oh, my God, if we win gold, we get a million dollars plus gold. And the car in Russia was like, We get $10,000 a month for the rest of our lives. But here we are, taking our Americans for granted because we're that good. Don't take this stuff for granted.

And here's my thing, angel. Guess what? La Olympics, 2028, that France national team that took them USA basketball all the way to the wire in Paris, that France national team, let me say a few names here. Dominique Malunga, Gabby Williams, Marine Johannes.

If you don't know who Leila Khan is, you need to see her in person.

She's tough. She's long and tough. Janel Solange. I'm just naming a few names. Janel Solange was in a Rooky Year conversation. Leila Khan as These are young players who have three years.

Young and hungry.

And tough and physical and good. Basketball globally is getting better in women's basketball. But I just think there's been a number now of controversial decisions. And maybe back in the day, you could get away with that because Team USA was so strong. But to go back to Nneka's case, we talked about how strong her case was in 2016 as a champion, as an MVP. But even the Olympics before that, in 2012, Nneka was a rookie, the number one draft pick. She went to win Rookey of the Year. Sometimes you see national teams decide to still invest in that young player and put them on the roster. They didn't do it there. Obviously, 2016, they didn't do it there. 2020, now Nneka has been in the system, going to camps, doing all the programs, doing all the smaller cup games, this and that. Absolutely. And then was not put on that 2020 roster after devoting now years to USA basketball. So in some ways, she might feel gaslit. And then after that, 2020, 2024, 2028, she's been denied for her quest for Nigeria basketball. We failed her.

We failed Nneka.

Yeah. Very, very disappointing, in my words, tragic, that she won't have international Olympic experience to put on a resume that, regardless either way, is going to be a future Hall of Fame. Absolutely. All right, that does it for our first ever programa show of Good Faller Show. Thank you for rocking with us. We're Tuesdays, we're Thursdays. We'll see you next time.