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7 episodes with american basketball league
fWotD Episode 2861: Leroy Chollet Welcome to Featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia’s finest articles.The featured article for Wednesday, 5 March 2025 is Leroy Chollet.Leroy Patrick Chollet (March 5, 1925 – June 10, 1998) was an American professional basketball player. Chollet and his brothers attended Holy Cross School in New Orleans and excelled in sports. After a year in the United States Navy, Chollet enrolled at Loyola University New Orleans and led the Loyola Wolf Pack to their first NAIA men's basketball championship in 1945. Louisiana schools were segregated at the time. Chollet had an African American great-grandparent, and when this was revealed he was pressured into leaving Loyola. He moved to New York and played three seasons for Canisius College. In New York, he passed as white; Canisius would later claim Chollet to be the school's first African American basketball player.Chollet played for several professional teams, including the Syracuse Nationals. During the inaugural season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), he became a role player behind established veterans, and the team made it to the 1950 NBA Finals. An ankle injury limited Chollet's second year in the NBA. The Elmira Colonels, an American Basketball League team, signed Chollet for his third and final season. He married Barbara Knaus in June 1950. After retiring from professional basketball in 1952, he moved to her hometown, Lakewood, Ohio. They had three children: Lawrence, Melanie, and David. In Lakewood, Chollet worked on the construction of St. Edward High School and became a teacher and varsity head coach. He was inducted into the Halls of Fame of Holy Cross School, Loyola University, and Canisius College. He died in 1998.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:30 UTC on Wednesday, 5 March 2025.For the full current version of the article, see Leroy Chollet on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm standard Salli.
For those in the know, it's been a long road from where it began to where women's professional basketball is today. The WNBA got its start in 1997, but it wasn't the first women's league. The women's professional basketball league formed in 1978 with franchises across the country, even a team in San Francisco—the Pioneers. And at the same time the W was getting its start, the American Basketball League was working to get more women on the court, too. While the WBL and ABL didn't last, their formation spoke of a craving to see women's basketball teams compete and to see more women hoop. And now, the WNBA, almost 30 years later, is not only surviving—it's thriving, reaching a golden hour of popularity, global attention, and the kind of popularity it's been seeking all along. KCBS reporters Mary Hughes and Holly Quan take a deep dive into the rise of women's basketball on this edition of In Depth.
Despite their name, the Harlem Globetrotters weren't originally from New York's Harlem neighborhood, nor did they start out as true world travellers. This all-Black basketball team, founded by Jewish immigrant Abe Saperstein, originated on Chicago's South Side and began touring the Midwest rather humbly in Saperstein's unheated Ford Model T. With his sharp promotional skills and the players' incredible talent, the Globetrotters quickly grew into an international sensation. Author-brothers Mark & Matt Jacob ("Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports") step into the box office this week to discuss their definitive new biography of Saperstein, a diminutive visionary whose outsized innovations made a profound impact on basketball - and beyond. Starting in the 1920s, the Globetrotters battled everything from harsh weather to rampant racism, all while building an iconic reputation for excellence and comedy that would captivate audiences worldwide. But Saperstein's influence stretched far beyond the Globetrotters. He helped keep baseball's Negro Leagues alive, was a force in getting pitching great Satchel Paige his shot at the majors, and befriended Olympic star Jesse Owens when he fell on hard times. When Saperstein was denied an opportunity to own an NBA franchise, he started the rival American Basketball League, where he helped pioneer the three-point shot, now a staple of the modern game. + + + SPONSOR THANKS: Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 READ EARLY AND OFTEN: "Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports" (2024): https://amzn.to/3TNDFaM FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable
The original Harlem Globetrotters weren't from Harlem, and they didn't start out as globetrotters. The talented team, started by Jewish immigrant Abe Saperstein, was from Chicago's South Side and toured the Midwest in Saperstein's model-T. But with Saperstein's savvy and the players' skills, the Globetrotters would become a worldwide sensationAt 5'3”, Saperstein is not who we might imagine would bring the sport of basketball to the entire world, pioneer the three-point shot, or to befriend the likes of Jesse Owens, Satchel Paige, and Wilt Chamberlain to name a few. Born in 1902 in London's Whitechapel slum neighborhood to parents who had immigrated from Poland, Saperstein and his family then immigrated to America in 1906. He founded the team in the 1920s, steadily building a reputation for talent and comedy until their footprint covered the entire world.Abe Saperstein's impact went well beyond the Harlem Globetrotters. He helped keep baseball's Negro Leagues alive, was a force in getting pitching great Satchel Paige his shot at the majors, and befriended Olympic star Jesse Owens when he fell on hard times. When Saperstein started the American Basketball League, he pioneered the three-point shot, which has dramatically changed the sport. Today's guests, Mark Jacob and Matthew Jacob, authors of “Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports” piece together the of his life.
In this episode, we explore the recent history of women's sports, particularly basketball, in college and professionally -including in the 90's, when the first women's professional league was established - the American Basketball League or ABL, followed closely by the WNBA. With increased attention and interest on women's college basketball, and an acknowledgement of the high level of play and skill, the hope is that women's basketball, soccer, and other sports, will get the attention and fan base they have deserved for years. But women's sports have been in the spotlight before. How is this moment similar, and different, to what we have seen in the past. My guest is Sarah Fields, Professor of Communication at the University of Colorado, Denver; and President of the North American Society for Sport History. (photo courtesy Tulane Public Relations)
We're in Baltimore to visit with Dunbar High School AD, Dana Johnson who shares her incredible journey - including playing Pro Ball in the American Basketball League - along with some BEST PRACTICES on The Educational AD Podcast! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/educational-ad-podcast/support
pWotD Episode 2531: Dawn Staley Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of a popular Wikipedia page every day.With 190,575 views on Saturday, 6 April 2024 our article of the day is Dawn Staley.Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball Hall of Fame player and coach who is currently the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Staley won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA as a player and later was head coach of another U. S. gold-medal winning team. Staley was elected to carry the United States flag at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics. After playing point guard for the University of Virginia under Debbie Ryan, and winning the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, she went on to play professionally in the American Basketball League and the WNBA. In 2011, fans named Staley one of the top 15 players in WNBA history. Staley was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. She was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.While still a WNBA player, she started coaching the Temple University Owls women's basketball team in 2000. In eight years at Temple, she led the program to six NCAA tournaments, three regular-season conference championships, and four conference tournament titles.On May 7, 2008, she was named head coach for women's basketball at the University of South Carolina. Staley built South Carolina from the ground up. In her first six seasons as head coach, she improved her program's record every year, winning the SEC in 2013–14. In late 2014 her team achieved the program's first #1 ranking, making her only the second individual to both play on and coach a #1-ranked team. Staley has gone on to lead South Carolina to eight SEC regular season championships, eight SEC tournament championships, eight Sweet Sixteens, five Final Fours, and two NCAA women's basketball national championships.On April 2, 2020, Staley became the first person to win the Naismith Award as both a player and a coach. She also won the other three major National Coach of the Year awards after she led her team to a 32 win season and a final ranking of #1 in both major polls. Staley served as the United States women's national team head coach from 2017–2021, finishing with a perfect 45–0 record, before returning full time to South Carolina. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Staley won her first gold medal as head coach for Team USA, and fourth overall, winning all six games. On April 3, 2022, Staley led the Gamecocks to their 2nd national title with a 64–49 win over UConn, finishing the season 35–2 and being ranked #1 in both major polls for the entire season. Staley again would be named Naismith Award winner as the best coach in the nation for 2022 and 2024.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:53 UTC on Sunday, 7 April 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Dawn Staley on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Justin Standard.
Leadership Lessons from Coaching and Business: Interview with Cathy AndruzziHer passion for basketball blossomed on the playgrounds of New York City. Later, as a player at Queens College, she led her team to a #2 national ranking. Andruzzi subsequently moved into coaching at Wagner College and after two successful seasons, headed to East Carolina University (ECU) where her courtside strategies put the Lady Pirates on the map. She led ECU to the school's first and only AP Top 20 ranking and NCAA Tournament appearance. During her stint at ECU, Andruzzi served as creator, executive producer and on-air talent for the Cathy Andruzzi Show, the nation's first weekly women's basketball coach's television and radio show. Andruzzi next ventured into the corporate world where she cut her teeth in the highly competitive environment of retailing. It was here that Andruzzi honed her skills in business and marketing as owner-operator of six successful Domino's Pizza franchises in New Jersey. She was only the fourth woman franchisee in Domino's Pizza history. Integrating business, sports and the media represented a natural progression for this strong communicator. As a television basketball analyst in 1996-1997, Andruzzi produced and marketed the Women's Basketball Show and The Game of the Week, a national package of women's basketball games. She also created and secured the sponsorship for the first TV special devoted to the NCAA women's basketball tournament, The Dial NCAA Women's Tournament Preview Show. Strong contacts and a top-notch reputation persuaded executives of the American Basketball League to tap Andruzzi as the General Manager of the Philadelphia Rage in 1997. Andruzzi returned to the business world where she is managed her own consulting firm, Druzz Ltd., through which she is a strategic advisor for several organizations. In 2015 she consulted Rutgers University on the development of the Global Sports Business Masters Program where she provided direction and strategic advice relative to launch. She became a faculty member of the program where she taught Sports Leadership and Ethics. Andruzzi is also a Sr. Associate Director for the DeVos Sport Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida and an Advisor at University of North Carolina Kenan Institute Sport Entrepreneurship. During the Spring 2013 semester she was an Entrepreneur-In-Residence for the Sports Business Ventures course at the UNC.Now Cathy is a Leadership and Performance Coach. She provides executive leadership coaching to senior leaders and teams in their organizations.Website:Cathy Andruzzi Leadership & Performance CoachTwitter:(6) Cathy Andruzzi (@CathyAndruzzi) / TwitterInstagram:Cathy Andruzzi (@coachdruzz) • Instagram photos and videosEric Reyes: Host of Hey Coach! Podcastemail:eric@heycoachreyes.comLinkedIn:Eric Reyes | LinkedInFacebook:(1) Hey Coach | FacebookFacebook Group:(2) Hey Coach! Sports,Life and Business | FacebookInstagram :Hey Coach Podcast (@theheycoachpodcast) • Instagram photos and videos
Become an Optimal Performing Entrepreneur: www.JeffHeggie.com/GroupCoaching Cathy Andruzzi cultivates high performance teams through self discovery, awareness and choice. As a certified Leadership and Performance Coach her program is designed to uncover the potential of athletes as individuals and team players by developing their leadership competencies, mental skills and competitive mindset. She also works with coaches preparing them to manage change, communicate effectively with their athletes, and lead their teams to success. Cathy has developed customized Leadership and Performance Programs for Rutgers Women's Soccer and Lacrosse, Sky Blue FC of the National Women's Soccer League, and Players Development Academy (PDA) – the largest youth soccer program in New Jersey. In her four years as Leadership & Performance coach of Rutgers Women's Soccer, her program was instrumental in developing a high performance culture which led to the team winning the school's first BigTen Championship, going undefeated in conference regular season play and advancing to the NCAA Women's College Cup, the Final Four of women's soccer. Cathy has a wealth of experience in collegiate athletics and in business. She has been a collegiate athlete, coach, and recruiter, as well as an entrepreneur, broadcaster and public speaker. Cathy played basketball at Queens College and served as head women's basketball coach at Wagner College, Fordham University and East Carolina University. She was also an assistant coach at Rutgers University and Seton Hall University. Cathy led her ECU team to the school's first and only AP Top 20 ranking and NCAA Tournament appearance. At ECU she also served as creator, executive producer and on-air talent for the Cathy Andruzzi Show, the nation's first women's basketball coach's television and radio show. Following her stint at ECU, Cathy took on a new challenge. She moved out of basketball and into the business world where she became the fourth ever female Domino's Pizza owner-operator. She built six successful Domino's Pizza franchises in New Jersey. After 13 years with Domino's, Cathy was called to return to the sports world as a TV analyst and producer. She produced and marketed the Women's Basketball Show and The Game of the Week, a national package of women's basketball games. She also created and secured the sponsorship for the first TV special devoted to the NCAA women's basketball tournament. Cathy was later tapped as the General Manager of the American Basketball League's Philadelphia Rage. There she held responsibility for player personnel and team operations, which included corporate sponsorship programs, ticket sales, marketing and public relations. She next served as Executive Director of the 2000 NCAA Women's Final Four in the host city of Philadelphia. After a career in coaching and leading basketball teams and building businesses, Cathy found her passion in teaching and coaching others which led her to attain her professional certification in Leadership Coaching for Organizational PerformanceTM from Rutgers|Heidrick & Struggles, an International Coach Federation (ICF) ACTP accredited program. She is a Professional Certified Coach and is certified in administering TTI Success DISC, Driving Forces and Emotional Quotient assessments. She has a Master's Degree in Sports Leadership from Concordia University. She also served as an Associate Director of Rutgers Global Sports Business Master's Program where she was a member of the team that launched the program. She has been an Entrepreneur-In-Residence for the Sports Business Ventures course at the University of North Carolina and an Advisor at the University of North Carolina Kenan Institute Sport Entrepreneurship. In addition, as a Sr.Associate Director for the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program at the University of Central Florida, Cathy provides leadership coaching to the DeVos graduate students. Cathy's coaching and playing talents have led to her induction into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame and the Queens College Athletics Hall of Fame with her teammates from Queens College, the ECU Athletic Hall of Fame and Staten Island Hall of Fame as a coach. Cathy is a certified vinyasa yoga teacher and an avid practitioner of ashtanga yoga. Website: https://www.cathyandruzzi.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachdruzz/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/CathyAndruzzi LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/cathy-andruzzi/46/735/546 High Achievers Accountability: www.JeffHeggie.com/Accountability Don't miss these programs from Success Coach, Jeff Heggie The Confident Athlete www.JeffHeggie.com/ConfidentAthlete High Achievers Mindset Secrets https://mindset.jeffheggie.com/
The SEASON 2 PREMIERE of Off The Looking Glass! Jess & Kate are giddy over welcoming the iconic Geena Davis, who helps put a bow on Season 1 and addresses the controversial debate: Did Dottie Henson drop the ball on purpose? Plus, Cheryl Miller pops by for a quick story, Kate drops an Extra, Extra on the American Basketball League, and the aggressive Tactical company has a brand-new product for your consideration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The SEASON 2 PREMIERE! Jess & Kate are giddy over welcoming the iconic Geena Davis, who helps put a bow on Season 1 and addresses the controversial debate: Did Dottie Henson drop the ball on purpose? Plus, Cheryl Miller pops by for a quick story, Kate drops an Extra, Extra on the American Basketball League, and the aggressive Tactical company has a brand-new product for your consideration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A WNBA State of Mind episode with Illinois State standout Cathy Boswell as we discuss her recent nomination into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame, overseas, and the American Basketball League! Thank you for watching, listening, and sharing! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/adrienne-goodson/message
A WNBA State of Mind episode with Illinois State standout Cathy Boswell as we discuss her recent nomination into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame, overseas, and the American Basketball League! Thank you for watching, listening, and sharing! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/adrienne-goodson/message
In this episode, Steve Holroyd and Sydney the Wonder Chug revisit the American Basketball League of the 1920s, the sports first attempt at a major, national league. After initial success, the league was ultimately doomed by the Great Depression…but not before providing the best pro basketball of the era. Hear about the famous Original Celtics, and how the ABL resorted to extortion to force them to join the league…only to wish they hadn't ABL footage from the 1929-30 season featuring the Celtics can be seen here: https://youtu.be/2qPTWhmtFZgBe sure to like and subscribe. Follow us on:Twitter: @inthelowpostFacebook: www.facebook.com/OnlyTheBallWasBrownYouTube: http://youtube.com/channel/UCWaSIz6CIm1qaaYonrALBNwInstagram: @OnlyTheBallWasBrownSnapchat: @inthelowpost
Crystal Robinson is a retired professional Basketball player and coach who's played the highest level in the Women's NBA. Today, she's a thought leader in the space of conscious leadership, mental health, and diversity. In sharing her life and professional lessons Chrystal talks about: Growing up in poverty in rural Oklahoma and learning to deal with poverty and racism while dealing with her own sexual identity. How Basketball became her coping mechanism. How learning to deal with life's challenges helped build resilience in her career. After writing her book, “Finding Myself”, she admits she still hasn't found herself and continues to learn. Join our Tribe at https://leadership-hacker.com Music: " Upbeat Party " by Scott Holmes courtesy of the Free Music Archive FMA Transcript: Thanks to Jermaine Pinto at JRP Transcribing for being our Partner. Contact Jermaine via LinkedIn or via his site JRP Transcribing Services Find out more about Chrystal below: Finding Myself Book: https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Myself-Crystal-Robinson/dp/1777573726 Full Transcript Below Steve Rush: Some call me Steve, dad, husband or friend. Others might call me boss, coach or mentor. Today you can call me The Leadership Hacker. Thanks for listening in. I really appreciate it. My job as the leadership hacker is to hack into the minds, experiences, habits and learning of great leaders, C-Suite executives, authors and development experts so that I can assist you developing your understanding and awareness of leadership. I am Steve Rush and I am your host today. I am the author of Leadership Cake. I am a transformation consultant and leadership coach. I cannot wait to start sharing all things leadership with you And a special guest on today's show is Crystal Robinson. She's an American basketball coach and former Women's NBA, All-Star. And she was the first black woman to be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Now, after chronicling her life's lessons in her book, Finding Myself, she's now an ambassador for the LGBTQ Community, but before we get a chance to meet with Crystal, it's The Leadership Hacker News. The Leadership Hacker News Steve Rush: In the news today, we explore how diversity and inclusion has evolved and diversity education started in the sixties, so it's nothing new to us. And over time we would have all become aware of how it's evolved to take into consideration inclusion. And while many think that diversity and inclusion are the same thing, they're not. Diversity is the act of creating community, comprised of people with varying backgrounds, creeds, ages, differences, and inclusion is finding a way of making sure that all of those people feel really valued in what they do and how they behave. Wait, where did equity come from? Well, it's always been there. In recent years, diversity and inclusion issues have been bolstered by the addition of the concept of equity and unlike equality, which focused on providing equal resources, regardless of context. Equity actually focuses on the process of just being fair. Equality is treating everyone the same. Whereas equity is about achieving the same benefits, even if it means that everyone receives different, there's still fair and justified treatment and experiences. Regular listeners will know that we love the difference that makes the difference. And that's because all humans are different. We all have components of our identities that are both seen like race, gender, identity. And then there are hidden things like our mental health or disability or sexual orientation, and whether you're willing to admit it or not, we all come from different backgrounds and we hold multiple interconnecting identities and biases that show up in our relationships and our workplace. Research also shows that higher levels of diversity may lead to increase conflict and misunderstanding. And often because we struggled with accepting and celebrating our differences. Inclusion doesn't mean that we can just pretend those differences don't exist. It means that we can acknowledge those differences and take advantages of differences to create diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities that we work and live in. And therefore, we now arrived at our current incarnation, this essential tool that features equal and equitable attention on diversity, equity and inclusion. And as I reflect on this, a single piece of the puzzle missing could create an incomplete picture. Diversity is the heart of different voices in any conversation. Inclusion is uplifting, validating and hearing each and every voice and equity as a manner in which we amplify those voices. So, the leadership hack is dead simple. When you're thinking diversity and inclusion, think everyone everywhere, and do you have equity? Not equality. Making sure the right treatment for the right people, the right places at the right times means that we all get to benefit from diverse and inclusive behaviors and diverse and inclusive communities. That's been The Leadership Hacker News, I would love for you to share anything that's on the top of your agenda, so get in touch. Start of Podcast Steve Rush: Crystal Robinson is a special guest on today's show. She's a retired professional athlete and coach who's played the highest level of basketball in the Women's NBA. Today, she's a thought leader in the space of conscious leadership, mental health, and diversity. Crystal, welcome to The Leadership Hacker Podcast. Crystal Robinson: Thank you for having me. Steve Rush: So, let's just start by calling out a few of your kind of credits to your name. So former WNBA player and coach, named an all American by the WBCA, you earn a rookie of the year award and an ABL All-Star, you've been indicted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, indicted into the NAIA Hall of Fame, drafted overall sixth by the Women's NBA. Now author, coach, and ambassador for the LGBTQ community. Wow, that's not a bad backstory. Crystal Robinson: Yeah, I've had a pretty fun and exciting life. Steve Rush: Now, it hasn't been always that smooth sailing to be fair, has it? So, I know from the last time that we met, you grew up in rural Oklahoma. Having had a really kind of tough upbringing, having to navigate some poverty, a lot of racism issues, and then having to deal with and come to terms with your own sexual identity along that, on the journey, I guess. So just tell us a little bit about how early life really was for you. Crystal Robinson: Overall, I guess, at some point in life, you know, I was just a poor kid growing up happy, you know, you don't know you're poor until you learn you're poor, but lots of struggles, but I think everybody in life has struggles. I think in my book, I write about them, but that's really, for me not wasn't the focus of my life. I think I wrote about those struggles basically for people to understand that that are commonalities with all of us. We all have struggles, but just kind of how we end up dealing with them, determines where we end up in life. Steve Rush: Yeah, wise words, is often the case, isn't it? Crystal Robinson: Yeah. Steve Rush: You know, often, most people are faced with adversity of some kind, but it's a reaction to that adversity that makes the difference. And clearly, you know, you face into those really well because you ended up as a professional athlete. So, tell us a bit about the journey of how you ended up in baskets ball? Crystal Robinson: Both my parents were college basketball players. I was just something, they were both all Americans that I was an innate. I was born with a great ability and five years old; they gave me a basketball goal and I started playing on it and fell in love with it. Then the rest was kind of history after that. So, I just excelled, I played basketball all the time. Basketball became a place for me to take out my anger and anything that I wasn't feeling good about. It was a place for me to, you know, just release all of the negative feelings that any negative feelings that I had. Steve Rush: And having the foundations of using basketball if you like as a bit of a coping mechanism, most people will use some form of coping mechanism to deal with some adversity, but there is a different level of coping when you turn into being so good at it. You become recognized in your country as being the elite in your sport. Tell us a little bit about when that kind of pivotal moment happened for you when you became a pro basketball player? Crystal Robinson: It's so funny, you know, there was no professional women's basketball whenever I started playing basketball, you know, we were young girls. We didn't have the ability to look and say, hey, I wanted to be in the WNBA one day. So, you know, I just played all the time. I play with my guy cousins and overall goal was to be as good as my best cousin and things just kind of snowballed from there. Then I ended up being recruited by every college in the country. The town I grew up in, it's a population of about 400 people. It's called Stringtown, Oklahoma. So, you start having people from all over the United States coming to watch you play basketball and offering you scholarships. I'd say at that point, I thought I was pretty good and believe, but I don't think it wasn't until, you know, hindsight after your career, you kind of evaluate and see where your skillset fit in to your professional career. Steve Rush: Yeah, and you've told the story through your book, which is just an amazing read, called Finding Myself and tell us a little bit about how you decided to put your stories down into pages for others to read about? Crystal Robinson: I wanted it to be interesting, one, because, even though I've been a basketball player, I'm not Kevin Duran or Stephan Curry or no one with a big name like that, putting your story down for other people. It was about, you know, helping people, helping people see that. One thing, there's few things that we all have in common. Like it doesn't matter what color you are, what race you are or how rich you are, nothing matters. We're all going to encounter obstacles. Some of them make us stronger. Why does it make some of us stronger, and some of us not? You know, some of us suffer. So, I think that lots of people that are suffering feel alone, but just putting those stories out there that we all suffer at times. It's just about, you know, figuring it out. The perspective on how to navigate it. Steve Rush: Was there an element for you as well, as you wrote the book and you put all the stories down and into kind of words and stories, was there a little bit around another bit of therapy going on there for you at the time as well? Crystal Robinson: Honestly, it was all therapy going on there. Steve Rush: Yeah. Crystal Robinson: Honestly, to tell you the truth, I went to therapy and I was told to journal and I didn't set out and write a book like, oh, I'm going to write a book. I started journaling and just writing things that bother me, things that made me feel good, things that just, I don't know, things. And after seven or eight journals later, I felt better. And I sent and all of it to one of my friends that writes for the Amsterdam News in New York. And she said, this would be a really good book. You should organize it. So that's kind of how the book journey started. It wasn't that I just sat down to write a book. It just kind of happened. I probably have stories together and then put it in book form. Steve Rush: I would love to get into some of the stories if you are okay with that, because there were some really inspirational things that happen to you that we can all get some life lessons from. I remember the time that you talk about it in your book, when you were playing little league baseball, your dad turned up at a game to watch you, he was blind drunk. And despite that, you kind of played a brilliant game. What happened for you in that process and how did you use that as a positive? Crystal Robinson: I think in those moments, you don't ever feel like it's a positive, I think, but for me, I think that it taught me perseverance, you know, and at an early age, I had to figure out how to, you know, really just walk with my head, held high, even though everybody in the town knew that my dad was a big drunk. But my dad was a very functioning drunk. He worked, he went to work at times, you know? I think that taught me, first off, you know, the people who are going to care are going to care. At that point, I think I started to learn to not care about what other people thought, you know, some circumstances we were put under, we don't ask for them. We just have to learn how to deal with them and cope with them. Steve Rush: I would imagine that taught you a huge amount of resilience. Crystal Robinson: Yes. Steve Rush: Not just that occasion, but many occasions like it, I guess. Crystal Robinson: Definitely resilience. And I think that just in life, anybody who wants to make it, or just to be successful in life, it takes resilience. I'm sure when you started this podcast, it wasn't easy. You have to get people to come on, you know, you have to get all this things together, and I'm sure there's many, a times that you go through things you might want to quit, but you're resilient enough to know the benefits of it down the road, or you have a foresight to keep going. That's the best way to say. Steve Rush: Absolutely, yeah. And some of that kind of resilience, I guess, was also born about, through your experiences in high school. And I also remember reading in the book that when you were playing high school basketball, you came acquire a bit of, you know, racial slurs and verbal abuse. In that environment, you know, how do you deal with that when you're trying to focus on playing a game? Crystal Robinson: Oh, man. My stance on this has changed so much over the years, just recently in my hometown, I was racially profiled and pulled over, basically taking the jail for no reason until they realized who I was. Then they tried to let me go after like six hours of wasting my time. And I said, no, so they trumped up a charge. And it was just a lot, like, it just kind of changed my stance on just how I am. I think that the racial environment in the world right now has everybody on edge. And I think that I find myself having to go back to a lot of that stuff and a lot of the teachings and a lot of the way that I used to feel, just because of the place that the world is in now and the experiences that I've had. Steve Rush: That's really interesting. You you're most talking as if at one stage in your life or your career, you thought you'd got through that, but it seems to almost have another resurgence. Crystal Robinson: Well, I would say that, I would probably say that I didn't experience a lot of racism as a young kid. I did once or twice in my life, but I live in rural Oklahoma where there's no, we still bury people in black cemeteries and white cemetery. So, racism is definitely alive and well. Steve Rush: Wow. Crystal Robinson: You're really good at sports and you really good at things. You know how it is, people overlook that. And then at the back end of my career, you know, people change, times change and some young cops pull me over and don't know who I am and they just proceed to search, the car, I'll all this stuff because I have my dreads down. And then when the speaker of the house representatives and the judges are called in, like, what are you doing? And at this point I'm a voice. I'm a voice that can bring some attention to it. And it was just a lot, so my stance on that, I find myself, I won't say in prayer, but really having to check myself and think about that a lot more now, just because I feel the world is racially charged right now. Steve Rush: Yeah, it is. I sense that as well, right. And here I sit as a white caucasian guy who has had no racial issues to deal with per se, right? Yet, I still feel there is that racially charged tendencies. In fact, there is this terminology, isn't there? For people who are of my ethnicity called white fragility, where, you know, we're not having the conversation because we're almost afraid to. What's your spin on that? Crystal Robinson: For me, the people who are on that side, people like you, you shouldn't have to carry that burden, it's just like the Taliban. There's a certain amount of people with money that are racist, but everybody has to pay the price for that. Do you understand what I'm saying? Steve Rush: Absolutely. Crystal Robinson: Just like certain amount of my population that might be thugs. That might be certain things, but all of us have to pay the price for that. But those people are louder than people like you. Steve Rush: Yeah. Crystal Robinson: Heard more, and I think that when people stop having that fear and stop feeling guilty, you have nothing to feel guilty about, you know, but I think a lot of Caucasian people have a feeling of guilt and stand on the sidelines because I've had to really reconcile some of my friendships because I feel like some really powerful people stood on the sidelines and are standing on the sidelines that could expose this. And it would stop, but they have no interest in that because they're not boat rockers. They keep going the way it is, it doesn't matter that they hurt my career for no reason. Steve Rush: The whole kind of racial tension that exists today seems to be far louder than it ever has been. And I remember, so I grew up in the outskirts of London, very diverse community, lots of different ethnicities in my community. I didn't even know there was a racial issue until I probably hit high school, right. So, at what point do you think we're going to actually have a face into this and deal with it or do you think we could ever deal with it? Crystal Robinson: I think that there's a group of people that doesn't want it to change. It'll take a lot of bravery on a lot of people's parts for it to change. For some reason in society, there always has to be someone getting stepped on. I don't know why that is. I saw something on the news the other day, not the other day. I saw it maybe today scrolling through on Instagram. And I saw where Mexicans were showing up down there, given the Haitian people water and food, lots of things that they were providing for those people. And I was just thinking it's always the downtrodden that show up first because, no one's more, you know, trying to cross the border or get into the United States or do, you know, more than Mexican people. So, for them to be down there helping the Haitians, it was amazing to me. Steve Rush: Yeah, awesome. I think the more we can celebrate that and promote that, then the better it will be, right? Crystal Robinson: You're saying it so good. What you just said, what you said was basically, media publicizes the bad things. There's not enough said about things like. Steve Rush: That's very true. Crystal Robinson: They keep us at odds because that's what you see. And I shared that story simply because, you know, I said, it's not enough good things being shown in the world today. There are good things happening, so. Steve Rush: Hallelujah to that, yeah. So, as you were growing your career in basketball, and as you becoming more successful, not only had to deal with the racial slurs, but internally there's stuff going on for you, as you were trying to work out your own sexuality and having feelings for the same sex. Tell us a little bit about how you dealt with that kind of confusion and managed to come to terms with that and move forward in your life? Crystal Robinson: Very sloppily, to able to figure those things out. I knew I was different; I knew it wasn't accepted. I knew I lived in the Bible bell. I did go to church, and how are you supposed to be when everyone tells you your whole identity is something that you're going to hell for? I mean, you know, it was a lot at that time. That's all I could say. I didn't really have anybody to talk to. I just went with it. But at a certain point, I just, you know, I think that you get to the point to where either I have one life to live, I'm going to live at the best way I possibly can. And the people who want to be friends with me will be friends with me and the people who won't want. And that's just life in general. Steve Rush: Yeah. Crystal Robinson: I think that once you break it down to, you know, that simplicity of that, no one likes anybody a hundred percent of the time and no matter how good you are, some people are still not going to like you. Steve Rush: It got so bad for you at one state though, you were seriously thinking about taking your own life, right? Crystal Robinson: Oh, yeah. Steve Rush: That doesn't get any deeper than that, does it? Crystal Robinson: On more than one occasion, I felt like that, you know, but I won't say it's because of the way people treated me, it's because I just wanted to fit in. I didn't want it to be different. I didn't want this; I didn't ask for it. It's just who I was. Steve Rush: Yeah. Crystal Robinson: I was born this way. Steve Rush: And you still live-in rural Oklahoma. How have things changed for you? Are you more accepted by those same people? Have they become less bigoted and more educated? Tell us what that fell like for you now? Crystal Robinson: I wouldn't say that. Oklahoma is still about 25 years behind the rest of the world, you know, I have a group of people that are very educated. They travel, they do a lot of things and they don't have no problems with it, but there's always going to be a group of people who will have a problem with it, but won't say it out loud. They might talk behind their back and stuff like that, but I don't spend any energy worried about those people. Steve Rush: Good, and also you can see it and spot it, can't you? Because there'll be little micro behaviors and micro language you'd spot, perhaps because you've had more experience of it than some. And therefore, you can make those choices, right? Crystal Robinson: I think that for me, you know, being a professional athlete people that don't even like you, still will come up to you and ask you for an autograph, you know, that's just a kind of a part of the thing. I just kind of take it for what it's worth, you know? And I think that's one of the strengths that people should work on building is not really caring what other people think, you know, and living your life to the best of your ability for you. Steve Rush: That's really that easy to say though, right. But you've been in the public eye, you've been featured on TV. You've been, you know, press would have followed you. And that's got to take some toll when that's adverse commentary, right? Crystal Robinson: Yes, it's different. I tell you; I really took a completely different stance and approach as a pro athlete. I kind of immersed myself with the fans. They all knew who I was. They spent time with me. If they saw me, be like, oh, hey Crystal, I was around so much that they left me alone. I didn't put a barricade between me and them to set myself apart to where they wanted to be around me. If you understand what I'm saying. Steve Rush: Yeah, definitely, so, yeah. Crystal Robinson: I gave them access, like after games, I might stay two hours and sign everybody's autograph. And that way, when they see me with my family, it's just, hey Crystal and they keep going. You know, I think that that's one of the things that was just different about me. I love basketball. I love what I did. I was blessed to be able to do it, but that's just what it was. It was a great talent. It doesn't really change or sets me apart from people, on the fact that I had some really great experiences. Steve Rush: I love the way you've approached that, by the way, because many people in the public eye aren't accessible and actually become less accessible because of their publicity and their public figure. Whereas actually, I wonder if some of our pro sports people and actors and other people in the public eye, if they gave more of themselves to their fans and their public, whether or not they'd actually have much more of a peaceful life anyway. Crystal Robinson: Well, you know, that is true. I agree with that. But at some point, some of these fans are not normal, right? I mean, I had a teammate named Debbie Black, this man had a whole sex change and change his name to Debbie White and sat outside and he stopped her. Steve Rush: Oh dear. Crystal Robinson: There is some danger to it. Steve Rush: Sure. Crystal Robinson: Oh, and you know, when you get a certain level, like I'm not a star to that point to where people are wanting anything like that, other than the autograph. But, you know, for some people, it is definitely dangerous. As little as I am, I just was, you know, it was inducted into the New York Liberty Ring of Honor. And a media person made up a bunch of lies and tried hard to tell me they wanted me to be in a documentary and all this stuff. My publicists kept telling me this stuff, but she didn't have no credentials. So, a lot of the big things that she should have, so it just didn't make sense to me. And she was not legit. So, stuff like that definitely happen. Steve Rush: So, when I read your book, one of the things that struck me was there were, you know, paragraph after paragraph, there was real crappy experiences, lots of abusive relationships, lots of adversity, but on every occasion, you managed to find it in yourself to kind of lift above that and keep positive. Just for those listening to this who maybe are struggling to find themselves like you did. How did you manage to just keep that positivity? Crystal Robinson: I think it's probably sheer, what's the word I'm looking for? Just the fact that I don't ever like to give other people control over me. I can't be anybody's victim. So, I had to figure out a way to persevere and persevere in a way that I was still whole. I wouldn't say that I found myself. I think I'm still finding myself every day; we grow and we change, but, you know, I didn't want those experiences to control my life. And I think that when you get stuck in places, those experiences control your life. Steve Rush: Yeah, I love that. Was there a particular time though for you, as you were coming to terms with who you are today and the great work that you do now, where you thought, yeah, I'm happy, I'm content. I've found myself for now. When was that moment? Crystal Robinson: I would say I haven't. Steve Rush: Oh, great. Crystal Robinson: I definitely different. There're people who have the same jobs for 50 years. And I applaud them to be able to do that, but I'm not that kind of person. I'm the kind of person who I was great at sports. I mastered something in the business world, thought leadership world now, and I'm trying to master that. I'm pretty comfortable being uncomfortable. And for me, the experiences in life is not, I don't want to be at the same job for 30 years. I want to experience as much as I can. So, lots of people look at that and they say, oh, you're not settled, or you don't do this, or you don't do that. But you know for me, that's how I choose to experience life. Steve Rush: That's fabulous, and the reality is of course, for those people who are comfortable and aren't in control, probably aren't actually growing as much as those that are restless and are comfortable being uncomfortable. Crystal Robinson: I would really agree with that statement. I think that, you know, young ages at sports, I went away from my parents and stayed for long periods of time to be able to play basketball. And then I went to Europe, I played in Europe for eight years. I have had so many different kinds of experiences in so many different countries. And to me, that's what life's about. Like, I don't have no opinion about Italy. If I can't go there, I spent four years there. I live like the people, you know? And to me that's where I found value in life. Steve Rush: Yeah, can you knock up a great Italian pasta dish though? Crystal Robinson: Oh, I can make, pasta, actually my own tomato sauce. Steve Rush: Awesome. Crystal Robinson: So, I lived in Italy. I actually had a translator my first year. And then the second year I was there, I stayed in that country for four years. One of my teammates was going to college to learn English. So, I helped her with English. I had a Spanish background, so it just kind of came together. And then by the end of that year, I was completely fluent. So, I loved Italy and most countries that I did play in, I just really tried to understand their culture and at least learn enough words to be able to live like them. Steve Rush: Empathy is everything. So, you had a super pro career, then you coached pro basketball. So how much of that experience in your sporting life is now shaping your approach when you coach others? Crystal Robinson: Well, I think that leadership is leadership. Like as a player, I was a leader on the team and I think that as a coach, I have the opportunity, you know, we kind of were trailblazers. There was no WNBA. We started something and these young players are figuring it out, you know. When I played, there was no free agency. Now there's free agency. True free agency, where girls can go out and get their own endorsement deals. The league owned all our likenesses. So, we couldn't shop our names around. So, there's so many things that I still have a hand in with the younger generation, helping usher this end for them and help them make decisions that I still am highly involved in, in basketball. Steve Rush: That's great. So, on the basis, you're still finding yourself, which I love by the way, what's next for you? Crystal Robinson: What's next for you? We will see, I took a year off of work to promote this for basketball. To promote my book and who knows next year, I could end up back in basketball. But I only want to be back in basketball in an head coaching basis, just because it's a lot of work at the pro level. You don't really have a life; coach has a life because the assistants do all the work. Steve Rush: But you've earned that even the ability to be able to pass on that knowledge and to help guide, and actually also helps other people lead in that space as well, doesn't it? Crystal Robinson: How much public speaking as I can possibly do. I like to influence, so those are probably the two things that I would end up in. I'm already public speaking. I do a lot of that. Next month, I'll start doing a lot more of it. But eventually I'm sure basketball would probably call me back into it. Steve Rush: Is it a bit of a drug for your, basketball? Crystal Robinson: It used to be. Now is a completely different challenge. Now it's a challenge of convincing people. As the head coaches about psychology, you have all these great players. Convincing them to give up seven shots and give up a $50,000 potential bonus to help your team win. Like it's all psychology of moving people. And to me, that's a great challenge. It's easier to do things than it is to get people to do them. So, I'm still very driven towards perfection and figuring that out. And I think that, you know, as an assistant coach, most of the time I've been hired, it's been because of my ability to problem solve and my ability to keep the locker room good. So, I'd like to try that from a head coaching angle. Steve Rush: Cool, look forward to seeing you on the WNBA circuit soon then. Crystal Robinson: Yes. Steve Rush: Yeah, awesome. So now I'm going to turn the lens a little bit. Crystal Robinson: Okay. Steve Rush: Now you talked about leadership as a player and as a coach and having been a thought leader in your space as well. I'm going to ask you to try and think of, to distill all of those great leadership learnings that you have. And to narrow those down into your top three leadership hacks, what would they be? Crystal Robinson: My top three leadership hacks. The first one, probably be, treat people how you want to be treated, you know, being relatable. I think that one of the things that I've learned as a leader now with this younger generation, if they don't relate to you, you can't convince them to do anything you want them to do. It's going to be a fight and struggle with everything, you know, being relatable. Second thing I would say is, I was recently told by someone that I went into business with, you know, I'm a partial owner of a business and he told me, you can't tell people what to do if you don't know what to do. So, I suggest you get down there on the bottom level and learn what to do. So, I think, know what your employees are, what the people you're leading have to do. So, you can go back to relate to them, to help them along to be able to do it a better way. And then I would say, make sure everyone, it's not input. Everyone has to feel valued, you know, as a head coach in sports, you have this always a balancing act, you know, of treating everybody the same, but then you have players that score 30 points and you have player the score, no points, being able to make them feel important, no matter what their role is, I think is something that a leader should be able to do. Steve Rush: Yeah, that's great advice. It's not all about scoring goals, isn't it? Crystal Robinson: Yes, not all about that. I'm telling you, the best teams I've ever played on. It was a bunch of mediocre players who completely knew their roles and work together to make it happen. And it takes good leadership, and for me, I was in college, I could average 65 points a game, but in games where I could score 10 points and we could still win, I'd give my teammates their opportunities to shine. So, when I take over games, they, got out the way and they were very conducive to what we were trying to do. Steve Rush: The next part of the show Crystal, we call it Hack to Attack. So, this is typically where something in your life hasn't worked out well. And we know already having learned some of the stories from you already in this short conversation and having read your book, you've had a bunch to choose from, but maybe if there was one experience in your life that was perhaps at adversity, but you now use that specific advent for something that's positive in your life or work, what would be your Hack to Attack? Crystal Robinson: I was drafted into the American Basketball League and I was almost the last pick taken because I ended up leaving the NCAA school and going to a really low-level school, but I was still beating everybody at a high level. The American Basketball League where I was rookie of the year, and I was first team, all everything, it folded after two years. And I had no idea what I was going to do with my life at that point. I had a teaching degree, but I didn't know exactly what I was going to do. And then I got drafted in the sixth overall pick in the WNBA. Through that time period before that happened, I had gained some weight. I've kind of given up and whenever the WNBA came into play and I was the sixth overall draft, it just changed my life and my outlook on everything. And in terms of, you know, I almost given up hope, like I had been given this gift of basketball, and it would just snatch from me. I just made up my mind that, no matter what happened to WNBA, if anything ever happened, I was going to land on my feet and have a plan and be ready to go. Steve Rush: Yeah, and sometimes it's just being available and open to coincidence as well, isn't it? Crystal Robinson: Yeah, it is. Steve Rush: Sometimes when you're driving so hard to achieve things, you don't often see what else is going on around you. Crystal Robinson: And not being prepared for it. Steve Rush: Yeah. Crystal Robinson: You know, I just thought it was going to last, you get caught up in that euphoria, just wasn't prepared for it. When I retired from basketball, I retired at a very early age. I retired at the age of 34. I probably could have still played for four more years. But I knew basketball wasn't what I was going to do forever. I'd done everything I could possibly do in it. And my body was sore, so I retired. Steve Rush: Yeah, get out of the top. That's what it's about, right. So, if you could go back and meet Crystal at 21 and give her some advice, what would be your words of wisdom to her then? Crystal Robinson: I think my words of wisdom would be, always be kind and never give up, even when you don't see a way, don't stop. That would be my advice to my young self. Steve Rush: very profound, and indeed your pussy cat like that. Crystal Robinson: She just got closed and now she's making noise to get out. Steve Rush: So, Crystal. Your book by the way, is a fantastic read. So, any of our listeners who want to get their hands on a copy of Finding Myself, where's the best place for us to send them to? Not only get a copy of your book, but to learn a little bit more about the work you do now? Crystal Robinson: Amazon.com or go to susanhum.com. It's a thought leadership platform where I speak for a foundation called Still Rose. I'm also on the board of a foundation called Code Red, it's a foundation. It's a lot to that foundation. One of them is sex trafficking. And one of them is school shootings. We designed an app that schools don't have surveillance systems in them, but this app goes on teacher's phones. And if in a situation like that, it turns into a surveillance system, it's route it to a private company. And then I'm on a foundation of a board of Go Friends. You can also go to gofriends.com and read things about me. And basically, we go into prison systems, female prison systems, and we teach goal setting to try to help them when they get out of prison, hopefully they can stay out of prisons. Steve Rush: You're doing some fantastic work, honestly, from the journey you've been on, the adversity you've been through to now still being in the service of others. I just wanted to drop my hat and say, thank you. And thank you for being part of our community here on The Leadership Hacker Podcast. Crystal Robinson: No, thank you so much for having me. These are the podcasts that I love. I would much rather prefer to talk about this stuff than basketball in general. So, thank you for having me. Steve Rush: It's our pleasure. Thanks Crystal. Closing Steve Rush: I genuinely want to say heartfelt thanks for taking time out of your day to listen in too. We do this in the service of helping others, and spreading the word of leadership. Without you listening in, there would be no show. So please subscribe now if you have not done so already. Share this podcast with your communities, network, and help us develop a community and a tribe of leadership hackers. Finally, if you would like me to work with your senior team, your leadership community, keynote an event, or you would like to sponsor an episode. Please connect with us, by our social media. And you can do that by following and liking our pages on Twitter and Facebook our handler there: @leadershiphacker. Instagram you can find us there @the_leadership_hacker and at YouTube, we are just Leadership Hacker, so that is me signing off. I am Steve Rush and I have been the Leadership Hacker.
It's a return to the Nation's Capital this week as we take a romp through Washington, DC's surprisingly rich pro basketball history with Brett Abrams (The Bullets, the Wizards, and Washington, DC Basketball). While today's astute District hoops fans know the current Washington Wizards were once known as the Bullets - the name under which the franchise won its one and only NBA title back in 1978, and from which it converted to its mystically less violence-connoted label in 1997 - lesser devotees of the team are aware of its previous home (Baltimore: 1963-73), let alone its origins as the NBA's first-ever expansion club in 1961, the Chicago Packers. Of course, true Washington basketball connoisseurs know the city's relationship with the professional game runs far deeper - dating all the way back to the mid-1920s American Basketball League "Palace Five" - owned by future Washington NFL football owner George Preston Marshall. And in between, a host of teams - all domiciled in the NE quadrant's history-drenched Washington Coliseum (née Uline Arena) - attempted to keep pro hoops in the local sports spotlight: The Red Auerbach-coached Capitols (1946-51) of the NBA-antecedent Basketball Association of America; The half-season-lasting Tapers of Abe Saperstein's not-much-longer-lasting "new" American Basketball League (1961); and The exceedingly curious single season (1969-70) American Basketball Association "Caps" - the peripatetic franchise that began its life (along with the ABA's) in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, and ended as the regionally-oriented Virginia Squires until the league's demise in 1976.
Pittsburgh's dean of sportswriters Jim O'Brien (Looking Up: From the ABA to the NBA the WNBA to the NCAA - A Basketball Memoir; Looking Up Again - A Basketball Memoir) has seen it all in his more than 50 years of chronicling stories across the pro and collegiate sports landscape - but perhaps no more deeply than in basketball, and in more detailed fashion than during the old American Basketball Association. Throughout the life of the league, you could find O'Brien's reliable ABA reportage and musings seemingly everywhere: essential weekly columns in The Sporting News; meticulous pre-season team & player profiles in the annual Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball; and the hugely influential Street & Smith's Basketball Yearbook (which he co-founded in 1970) - where he strove to ensure the challenger circuit's coverage was equal to that of the legacy NBA's. We merely scratch the surface of O'Brien's treasure trove of stories from the old "red-white-and-blue" in this week's episode - where you'll hear personal reminiscences of legendary ABA figures like Connie Hawkins, Julius Erving, and (Episode 132 guest) Dan Issel; the significance of the former league's recent fiftieth anniversary; and why Pittsburgh was (both in the antecedent American Basketball League, and thrice-versioned in the ABA), and then wasn't a great pro hoops city.
Guest: Lin Dunn, Special Assistant to the Head Coach for Kentucky Women’s Basketball TeamCoaching legend Lin Dunn joins the podcast to discuss ways to help you and your team reach their full potential. Lin Dunn is currently a special assistant to the head coach with Kentucky. Coach Dunn has had an incredible coaching career and is currently a special assistant to the head coach with Kentucky. She has more than 500 wins to her name and has served as a head coach for four different college teams and three different professional teams including being the 1st GM and head coach of the Seattle Storm, and including the 2012 WNBA title with the Indiana Fever. A native of Dresden, Tennessee, Dunn graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 1969. She coached for decades in the college ranks, amassing a 447-257 record in 25 seasons as a college head coach. In her tenure at Austin Peay State University (1970–1976), the University of Mississippi (1977–1978), the University of Miami (1978–1987), and Purdue University (1987–1996), she made the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship seven times, and the Final Four once, in 1994 with Purdue. She is in the Athletics Hall of Fame at both Austin Peay and Miami. Dunn also was president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association in 1984-85. Dunn was abruptly fired at Purdue after the 1995-96 season but resurfaced in the pros with the American Basketball League's Portland Power in 1996. She was ABL's coach of the year in 1998, right before that league folded. Dunn then became the first coach and GM of the expansion Seattle Storm in the ABL's rival, the WNBA. Her folksy southern personality was a hit in Urbane, Seattle, with fans often wearing Dunn masks and quoting her rustic aphorisms. The team started with a dismal 6-26 season. Dunn left the Storm just as it was starting to have success. New superstars Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird led the team to the 2002 playoffs, where they were swept by the Los Angeles Sparks. Dunn then resigned, leaving the path open for Anne Donovan to build a championship team just two seasons later. Dunn is a former head coach of the Indiana Fever. Dunn won the WNBA championship with the Fever on October 21, 2012. On May 6, 2014, Dunn announced her retirement from coaching at the end of the year. On June 14, 2014; Dunn was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. On May 24, 2016, she was introduced as an assistant coach for Matthew Mitchell at Kentucky. In 2018, her role at Kentucky changed from special assistant to head coach. Breakdown1:00 - Mentoring and Working with Coaches5:00 - Suggestion to Coaches9:00 - Hiring Staff13:00 - Holding People Accountable18:00 - Process of Helping Coaches21:00 - Ask People for Help24:00 - Staff perspective27:00 - Giving Ownership to the Assistants30:00 - Simplifying Drills33:00 - Example of Multiple Drill36:00 - Women's Basketball Games41:00 - Decision Making44:00 - Process of Timing PLays48:00 - Advancing the Ball53:00 - Defensive Transition59:00 - Two-for-One Strategy1:02:00 - Priority List1:07:00 - Better in Special Situation1:12:00 - ConclusionLin Dunn’s Bio:Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_DunnTwitter: https://twitter.com/ukcoachdunnBasketball ImmersionWebsite: http://basketballimmersion.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bballimmersion?lang=enYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/basketballimmersionFacebook: https://facebook.com/basketballimmersionBetOnline Website:Website: www.betonline.agBest in the West Video SeriesBest in the West Website: http://bestinthewestclinic.com/
International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum director Doug Stark (The SPHAs: The Life and Times of Basketball's Greatest Jewish Team) joins this week's 'cast for an authoritative exploration of one of his first loves - pro basketball's pioneering Philadelphia SPHAs. Originally organized in 1918 as a local amateur team by South Philadelphia High School grads Eddie Gottlieb, Harry Passon and Hughie Black - and acronymically named for their early uniform sponsors, the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association - the SPHAs rose from a regional amateur league power in the 1920s to become an early avatar for professional basketball dominance in the 1930s & 40s. With home games played in the ballroom of Philly's Broadwood Hotel (replete with customary singles dances afterwards), the SPHAs became a sensation in the local Jewish social scene, and soon graduated (under the guidance of Gottlieb) to winning titles in various early pro hoops leagues like the Eastern League and Abe Saperstein's American Basketball League - while beating legendary teams like Boston's Original Celtics and New York's Renaissance Five along the way. In the ABL alone, the SPHAs captured seven titles in their 13 years of play between 1933-45, and were runners-up twice. In 1946, the NBA-forerunning Basketball Association of America debuted, and the ABL ceased to be a major league. With Gottlieb establishing the Philadelphia Warriors as his BAA franchise, the SPHAs continued with the minor league ABL and as a touring opponent of the Saperstein's barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters. Gottlieb sold the team in 1950 to former SPHAs star Red Klotz, who changed the name to the Washington Generals. Support the show by trying one month of BlueChew for FREE (just pay $5 shipping) with promo code GOODSEATS at checkout!
Pittsburgh-based The Athletic sportswriter Stephen J. Nesbitt (“How the Pipers, Condors and Pro Basketball in Pittsburgh Went Extinct”) joins to help us dig into the surprisingly rich (though mostly woeful) history of professional hoops in the Steel City. Though the game has long thrived at the collegiate level (Pitt’s Panthers began playing in 1905; the Duquesne Dukes in 1914), the city’s record of success at the pro level has been distinctly more fleeting. In fact, some would argue it was never better than the pre-integration Black Fives era of the 1910s/20s, when eventual Naismith Hall of Famer Cumberland Posey led his Monticello (1912) and Loendi Big Five (1919-23) clubs to five “Colored” Basketball World Championships. As professional (and eventually integrated) leagues took root in the decades that followed, Pittsburgh’s attractive demographic profile made it a natural choice for inaugural – yet ultimately short-lived – franchises in virtually every major hardwood circuit that came calling, including: The never-playoff-qualifying Pirates (1937-39) and re-born Raiders (1944-45) of the NBA-precedent National Basketball League; The lamentable Ironmen (1947-48) of the NBA tributary Basketball Association of America; The Connie Hawkins-led Renaissance (“Rens”) of the one-and-a-half-season (1961-62) American Basketball League; and especially; The head-scratching Pipers of the legendary American Basketball Association – who, despite winning the league’s first championship behind regular-season and playoff MVP Hawkins in 1968 – relocated to Minneapolis, moved back to Pittsburgh, and finally re-branded as the “Condors” for two forgettable last seasons (1970-72). With a checkered pro history like that, it’s little wonder that the basketball team most memorably associated with the City of Bridges wasn’t even a real club – the Pittsburgh Pisces (née Pythons) of the 1979 sports/disco fantasy cult film classic The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.
Bonjour à tous! Ici votre hôtesse Amélie Delobel et je suis très heureuse de vous accueillir sur mon podcast Athlètes-Entrepreneurs pour cet épisode #033. Athlètes-Entrepreneurs est un podcast qui a pour but de motiver les athlètes ou anciens athlètes qui souhaitent se lancer en affaires. Toujours penser plus loin selon Michelle Brooke-Marciniak Une carrière incroyable au niveau secondaire Pour cet épisode, j’ai décidé de vous parler d’une athlète méconnue par la plupart des gens, mais qui a marqué son époque aux États-Unis, soit l’ancienne vedette de basketball féminin, Michelle Brooke-Marciniak. Son succès débute lors de ses années au secondaire, alors que l’athlète originaire du Maryland a été nommée joueuse nationale de l’année en 1991 alors qu’elle évoluait pour l’école secondaire catholique Allentown Central située en Pennsylvanie. Elle évoluait à la position de meneur ou point guard comme on dit en anglais. La femme de 5 pieds et 10 pouces a marqué un total de 3 025 points avec Allentown Central. Sans surprise, son numéro 23 a été retiré par son lycée et ses exploits ont attiré l’attention de Sports Illustrated, qui a rédigé un article sur ses succès. Un talent inné Il faut dire que Michelle Brooke-Marciniak a commencé très tôt à jouer au basketball et a toujours semblé être en avance sur les filles du même âge qu’elle. Dans sa jeunesse, elle jouait beaucoup dans la cour arrière de la maison familiale avec son grand frère, qui a également joué au basketball tout au long de son parcours scolaire. Dans une entrevue, elle avait déclaré que de jouer contre son frère lui avait permis de devenir une meilleure joueuse, d’être plus intelligente sur le terrain. Comme elle ne pouvait pas le battre au point de vue physique, Marciniak a développé ses tirs de trois points ainsi que ses lancers francs. Son succès s’est poursuivi au niveau universitaire Par la suite, Marciniak a fait le saut au niveau universitaire. D’abord avec l’Université de Notre-Dame, puis avec l’Université du Tennessee, où elle est rapidement devenue l’une des meneuses de cette dominante formation. Avec les Lady Vols, « Spinderella », son surnom donné en raison de ses acrobaties et son style de jeu, est devenue l’une des favorites des partisans au Tennessee. Au cours de sa carrière de trois saisons avec les Lady Vols, elle a inscrit plus de 1 000 points et a terminé sa carrière dans le top-10 pour les aides ainsi que les lancers de trois points réussis. Un fait assez impressionnant sachant qu’en moyenne, une joueuse évolue pendant quatre ans au sein de la même université et non trois. Avec celle qui a endossé le #3 à l’université, les Lady Vols ont remporté deux titres consécutifs de la conférence sud-est en 1995 et 1996. Lors du championnat en 1995, l’équipe de Marciniak a terminé au deuxième rang derrière les Huskies du Connecticut. Puis, en 1996, elles ont participé de nouveau au fameux Final Four, regroupant les quatre meilleures équipes universitaires au pays, après avoir subi uniquement quatre défaites lors de la saison régulière. Cette fois, ce fut la bonne pour les Lady Vols, qui ont remporté le championnat national en défaisant l’Université de la Georgie lors du match ultime. Lors de cette saison de rêve, Marciniak a également été nommée joueuse par excellence du tournoi en plus d’obtenir son baccalauréat en psychologie. Une belle carrière professionnelle Elle a finalement débuté sa carrière professionnelle dans la défunte Ligue américaine de basketball féminin (la Women’s American Basketball League) où elle a évolué pendant les deux saisons et demie de son existence. Lors de son parcours dans la ABL, l’athlète a joué pour le Power de Portland, le rage de Philadelphie ainsi que le Noise de Nashville. Après sa première saison en tant que professionnelle, Marciniak faisait déjà partie de la première équipe d’étoiles de cette ligue remplie de talents. En 2000,
Today's guest is Jen Rizzotti. Jen is entering her third season as the head coach of the George Washington women's basketball team. Jen guided the Colonials back to the NCAA Tournament in her second season at the helm in 2017-18 after leading the program to the Atlantic 10 Championship. Rizzotti was named the 10th head coach of GW women's basketball on April 15, 2016. Coach Rizzotti spent the previous 17 seasons as the head coach of the Hartford Hawks, where she built a conference powerhouse in taking the Hawks to all six NCAA appearances in program history, winning a pair of NCAA Tournament games, and distinguishing herself as the all-time winningest coach in America East history. Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, Rizzotti is well-known in basketball circles around the world. After taking control of a Hartford program that went 8-19 in the year before she was hired and that had never won more than 15 games prior to her arrival, the Hawks enjoyed 11 seasons with more than 15 victories in her tenure and won at least 20 games seven times. Following the 2009-10 regular season, Rizzotti was named a finalist for the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year award after leading Hartford to a school-record 20-game winning streak, a perfect 16-0 record in conference play and the program's first-ever national ranking. Rizzotti is also deeply connected to international basketball through her involvement with the USA Women's Basketball national program. She served as head coach of 2010 FIBA Americas U18 gold medal winners as well as the 2011 U19 World Champions. In 2011 she was crowned as the USA Basketball National Coach of the Year. More recently Rizzotti served as an assistant for the 2014 FIBA World Championships and served in a support role for the USA Basketball Women's National Team's Gold Medal run at the 2016 Olympic Games. As a student-athlete at the University of Connecticut, Rizzotti first vaulted into the national spotlight as the starting point guard for the Huskies' first national championship team in 1995 with an undefeated 35-0 record. During the run to the national title, Rizzotti was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. A former All-American and the NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player after her junior and senior seasons, in 1996 Rizzotti virtually swept the postseason awards as Big East Player of the Year, Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Associated Press Player of the Year, the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the Wade Trophy winner. Rizzotti graduated as UConn's career leader in assists (637) and steals (349) and still ranks second all-time in those categories. As a coach and formerly as a student-athlete, Rizzotti's focus on academics has always been exemplary. Under her guidance, Hartford was ranked among the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Academic Top 25 teams on three occasions. Another accolade from her playing days was awarded in June 2016 when the two-time Academic All-American and 1996 Academic All-American of the Year was officially inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame. Rizzotti played eight seasons of professional basketball following her graduation from UConn in 1996. In addition to five seasons in the WNBA - two with the Houston Comets and three with the Cleveland Rockers - she competed for three seasons with the New England Blizzard in the American Basketball League. In the ABL she was a two-time All-Star. You can follow GW on Twitter @GW_WBB. Also, if you liked this episode and others, please support us at Patreon or follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @IntentionalPerformers. Thanks, Brian
Carrie goes for a walk with 6-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner Kersee! Jackie discusses her favorite Olympic memories, managing her asthma as an athlete, playing in the American Basketball League and her Winning at Life curriculum. Show notes for this episode can be found at ctollerun.com. Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jackie grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. The second of four children born to Al and Mary Joyner, Jackie's athletic talent and determination helped her to push through obstacles and go on to win six Olympic medals, including three gold, one silver, and two bronze in four total Olympic games. Jackie has become known as one of the greatest athletes of all time. Her list of achievements include:Jackie grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. The second of four children born to Al and Mary Joyner, Jackie's athletic talent and determination helped her to push through obstacles and go on to win six Olympic medals, including three gold, one silver, and two bronze in four total Olympic games. Jackie has become known as one of the greatest athletes of all time. Her list of achievements include: First woman to win back-to-back gold medals in the heptathlon, a 7-discipline event First woman to score 7,000 points in the heptathlon First American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the long jump Current world-record holder in the heptathlon with 7291 points (1988, a record that has stood for 30 years now). Jackie's success as an athlete is only surpassed by her achievements in serving her community. She has open-heartedly leveraged her athletic ability to give back and has been honored for this work by The Jesse Owens Award, The Sullivan Award, Volunteers of America Humanitarian Award, The Trumpet Award, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Outstanding Achievement Award, International Olympic Committee Women in Sports Trophy, and 8 Honorary Doctorate degrees. In her autobiography A Kind of Grace, Jackie explains that, in itself, giving back to the community is a kind of grace. She travels throughout the United States as a motivational speaker to raise awareness about issues such as: overcoming social injustices; winning with grace and humility; dealing with health problems; team building; track and field; youth health and fitness; and women in sports. Her speeches highlight how to combine and apply dedication, determination, and desire. Jackie exemplifies the theme she wrote about in her book A Woman's Place is Everywhere by applying her famed athletic tenacity to develop great programs and discover committed sponsors in her Foundation's initiatives worldwide.
Award-winning Cleveland Plain Dealer sports columnist Bill Livingston (George Steinbrenner’s Pipe Dream: The ABL Champion Cleveland Pipers) joins Tim Hanlon to delve deeper into the history of the ill-fated 1960s American Basketball League – this time through the lens of one of its (and ultimately, one of pro sports’) most combustible figures. Livingston describes how Pipers owner (and future New York Yankees “Boss”) George Steinbrenner: • Retooled a local Cleveland industrial amateur team into a fledgling pro club with NBA ambitions; • Traded a player at halftime of a league game, and fired his collegiate hall-of-fame coach in mid-season – and still won a championship; • Convinced a risk-averse college star named Jerry Lucas to spurn surefire NBA stardom with the Cincinnati Royals for partial ownership/oversight of an ambitious, yet financially wobbly ABL franchise; and • Outmaneuvered a similarly-aspirant Abe Saperstein in the race to secure a coveted NBA franchise, only to hasten the demise of the ABL and the financial viability of the Pipers in the process. Thank you Audible for sponsoring this week’s episode!
Penn State University professor emeritus Murry Nelson (Abe Saperstein and the American Basketball League, 1960–1963: The Upstarts Who Shot for Three and Lost to the NBA) joins Tim Hanlon to discuss the oft-forgotten second incarnation of the ABL – and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer who willed it into being. In this hidden gem of an episode, Nelson describes: How the master promoter of the legendary Harlem Globetrotters attempted to parlay his influence in pro basketball circles into securing his own West Coast NBA franchise, only to be rebuffed; How the advent of reliable and speedy commercial air travel encouraged Saperstein to not only launch the upstart ABL, but with franchises in virgin pro basketball territories like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu, Hawaii; The peripatetic Washington-to-New York-to-Philadelphia Tapers, whose owner also secretly owned the relatively stable Pittsburgh Rens, featuring league superstar and future Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins; Why the ABL’s (and Saperstein-owned) Chicago Majors outdrew the more-established NBA’s cross-town Packers; and How an ambitious young shipbuilding scion named George Steinbrenner engineered a championship for his Cleveland Pipers franchise, only to sink the ABL the following season with an ill-fated plot to secretly bolt to the NBA. This week’s episode is sponsored by our friends at Audible!
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