The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - GOOD FOLLOW - The Real SC has been Crowned! Is Sarah Strong the best in the NCAA? Project B Signs Another, & More!

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

Today on Good Follow, Ros Gold-Onwude and Angel McCoughtry break down the battle of the SCs at Crypto.com Arena. What was at stake between USC and South Carolina? How are the Gamecocks finding their identity? How did Dawn Staley lead this win? Next, they react to Sarah Strong, Hannah Hidalgo, and Audi Crooks’ insane stat lines from last week. Then, Ros and Angel recall what it was like to play against UConn. How does Geno’s system work for every player? Ros gives her DraftKings Pick of the Week. They continue their conversation about UConn Sophomore, Sarah Strong. Who does she remind us of? What is her play style like? Lastly, how does Jonquel Jones heading to Project B impact the WNBA and CBA negotiations? Does it? What is Project B all about? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Draft King's Network. Hey, what's up, y'all? Welcome to Goodfellow, presented by Draft Kings. I'm Roz Goldon-Were, and she is Angel McCodry, five-time WNBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and the homie. The homie. What's up, Angel? How you doing? We got to put your accolades in the script to the end. Come on.

Right. I mean, like, what would be mine? Like, I don't even know. You're on the good follow wall? Oh, the good teammate wall. Okay. Like, what am I known for? I'm known for Red Lobster Chedibiscus five-time Red Lobster All-American.

See? Okay. Like, that's how I've known in the streets. But, no, I mean, how was you. your weekend. It's been pouring rain in L.A., like torrential downpour. It's been pouring, pouring in L.A., but I got to do some fun stuff. I got to go to Eddie Murphy's screening. Did you meet Eddie? I met Eddie, and I punked out on getting a picture, y'all. I punked out. You respected his face. Yeah, because everybody was in his

face, so I was like. Absolutely. That is a big moment to, like, navigate where, one, there's, you can act like you've been there before. Yeah. Also, you also are, but this is Eddie Murphy, so, like, it's big levels, right? But also, like, respecting his personal space and his event and stuff. Yeah, and that's what I want to do, you know, being a new filmmaker. I didn't want to say, like, I'm, because inside I'm like, oh, my God. You know, but I was acting cool, y'all, you know. That's why you need to have the homie there or your content creator there.

Can you come with me next time, Rose? I'm the, I'm the friend. You've got to go. And I'd have been like, oh, first of all, I've been taking the pictures when nobody, candids. And then I'm the one that makes you look like you're not thirsty. I'd be like, oh, my God, Angel, Eddie, come on, let's take a picture. See, that's what we need. Okay, next time we're rolling.

I'm that. Five-time WMBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist, Roz, the friend that'll get you to picture. And with that, we all have our roles in this life. Let me take you to today's menu on this show. Breaking down the Battle of the SCs. So South Carolina and Southern Cal faced off at Crypto.com Arena.

Then there were some insane NCAA stat lines that came out of this weekend. play, my goodness. And Project B signs another one. They got another big name coming to this Project B league. Let's get it. Let's go. And you can check us out. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please continue to like, comment, subscribe. Where can they find us YouTube? Wherever it is that you get your podcast, you can download, you can listen, you can watch us on YouTube, you could mess with us on social media. All the things. All the things. SCs. On Saturday, the Gamecocks had a big win, 6952 over the Trojans in the Battle of

the Real SC. This was at crypto.com arena. Now, coming into the game, we had highlighted to Nia Latson transfer into South Carolina. She was our player to watch last week, and she finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists. But there was a lot going on in the game. And more importantly, at this early stage of the season, there's a lot at stake. What was at stake? What was at for both SC teams. What was at stake, guys? We know the bragging rights. Who is the real SC?

I called it last week. South Carolina. I mean, but let's break it down a little bit. Identity and reputation. I feel that, you know, USC performance, it exposed a lot of their weak areas. And that's what you want to see early in the season. They struggled offensively,

especially from the three-point line. It was one for 14 from the three. So it's good to know your weak points early in the season. Sophomore Kennedy-Smith had 12 points. I mean, as a sophomore, if I got 12 points against South Carolina, the top team of the nation, I'm feeling good about myself. And we're only going to grow from here.

So Southern Cal, they're in a good position, man. It's interesting, though, because, like, we even talk about South Carolina and what was at stake in this game. They come in as the number two team in the nation, but it wasn't, like, juggernaut style, right? Like, I actually think all of these early season games are super important for South Carolina because they've got to define and decide who they are as a team, what they're about. what they're going to be. There's a lot of players and new roles and positions.

They really had a lot of turnover for a number of reasons. If you think about it from graduation, transfers, and unfortunate injuries, they got a lot of new things happening. So, like,

just to break that down for you, they lost Tahina Palpau to graduation, Bree Hall, you know, obviously, Malaysia, Full Wiley, transfers, injuries to Ashland Watkins, Chloe Kitts,

huge deal right before the season, season. So you've only got one returning starter from that championship team last year. That's Raven Johnson. Raven. And you're looking at Raven and being like, well, you got to look like that. And actually, Raven really did great in this game. Raven is setting the tone as you expect her to. Yes. Raven Johnson, 14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks. That's what you want to see from your fifth year. Right? Yeah. Tessa Johnson. The other Johnson, 14 points. So your back court is giving you some motion there. We knew Joyce Edwards was going to have to take a step forward from last year,

the freshman, right? And I loved when I met her during the final forum, I was talking with her. She just had an eagerness to learn and listen and get better. And so here she is in her sophomore year. 17 points, 10 rebounds, two steals, two blocks, four offensive rebounds, shot the ball really well. Unfortunately, too many turnovers, but that's okay. It comes with the territory when you're having more responsibility.

in the ball in your hands more. So that's coming with growing pains. But I thought, you know, the returners showed what you wanted to see out of South Carolina. And then Tenaya Latt's in the transfer, 12 points. What I'm looking at, six for 14 shooting. I'm looking at how is she getting her shots? This is somebody who took 20 plus shots a game last year for Florida State. Right.

So, like, how does she exist in this offense? You know, like, what do you make of all of the new and the opportunity that's at South Carolina this season? When you transfer, I think the biggest thing is, like, fit into a new system. It's the whole new identity. And the fact that I feel like we got to give credit to Don for that. Don understands her players. She knows who they are.

She's a great leader. And she knows how to fit them in with their strengths. And it makes it easy for them to fit in, even if they transfer. So I'm really not surprised, you know, that these players are doing well. It's Dawn for me. Yeah. In Dawn, we trust is a good motto to have. You know, and I feel like it was a Dawn Staley win in the sense that there was a

culture for this program, and you saw them lean on it to get the win over the Trojans. Like for the Trojans on the other side, the hype was coming in on Jazzy Davidson. The freshman, she was bowling out, a 21-point game in the upset against the top 10 team in NC State. Yeah. And, you know, versus Dawn and those Gamecocks, she was held to four for 11 shooting, eight points, four turnovers. She looked like a freshman.

And, you know, ultimately, you go back to the Gamecocks, even though they got all. All these things they're figuring it out and new players and new roles, they have a culture. Defense, rebounding. Yes. Defense, limited Jazzy Davidson. They held the Trojans to seven points in the fourth quarter. Wow. And they out rebounded them 56 to 32.

Wow. So you talk about like, all right, we figuring some things out. But at the end of the day, we're going to defend. We're going to rebound. And so, like, that's the sign of a great program. It's the sign of a great program. South Carolina definitely leaned on their physical. dominance, like you said,

rebounding, interior control in this game. And that's maybe what they're going to be. You know, we've seen in the past that South Carolina wasn't really known as a defensive team. They like to score and just used overpower from the athleticism. But now I think Don is really honing in like, hey, we want to win a championship this year. We saw what happened last year. We got to play some defense.

And they're showing that early in the season. Let's go. Let's keep it moving because there were some insane box scores and stat lines that came out of women's college basketball this past weekend. Here's some standouts. Okay, we're taking it to Yukon. Sarah Strong versus Ohio State. Wow. 29 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, five steals, three blocks. But I'm impressed with 12 for 17 field goal shooting. The efficiency. Two for four from three. My God, the range. Zero turnovers. What? Oh my gosh. As a sophomore. Okay, Notre Dames, Hannah Hidalgo versus Akron, 44 points, nine rebounds, four assists.

Wait for it. 16 steals. Jesus Christ. What the hell in 28 minutes? My goodness. And we already know she's a dog, yeah. She loves to D-Up and get all up in you and just bring the energy. Against Michigan, later she did struggle, you know, in the next game.

But boy, oh, boy, is she something special. Then Iowa State Jr., Audi Crooks, did all this in 20 minutes against Valaprazo. 20 minutes. I mean, some of these preseason games are. crazy or not preseason excuse me um just out of conference games 43 points seven rebounds two assists she shot nearly 80 percent my goodness okay these are my thoughts okay this is how i thought as a player if i'm playing a boparazo or i'm playing an achron acron however you said i'm supposed to score 40 that's how i thought as a player right and then the good side of it is that it's not hard

It is hard to score 40, right? But you don't take the teams for granted. That's the beauty of it that, you know, because some people play weak teams and they're like, oh, you're not taking them for granted. So that's the beauty of it. But you're supposed to score 40 on them teams with your talent. I want to score 40 on Yukon, on Ohio State, on Stanford.

That's what I want to score 40. If I can score 20 against those teams, you're showing that you're one of the best. That's how I think about it. Yeah, I mean, so you want to bring up Yukon. and this is the top team in the nation, right? Some people are saying they'll go undefeated this season. I mean, when I'm looking at this Yukon team, that ultimately, let me look at this Yukon team.

So in this game against Ohio State, they forced 24 turnovers. They got 37 points off those turnovers. I mean, Ohio State, you know, did lose some players in the transfer portal and this and that. I mean, it's still not like, you know, you're, this is a pro. program. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. 37 points off those turnovers. They had 30 assists. My goodness. They shared that ball. They're playing with pace. All this versus Ohio State. We talked about how ridiculous the stat line was for Sarah Strong. Azy Fudd, 19.7 assist. The transfer, Sarah Williams, five for seven shooting 12 points. I mean, let's just have, and this was in front of a

big audience, Jose Fernandez, Rashid Mezzian, Sandy Brandello, all head coaches in the WNBA were there to watch all of these studs and stars for Yukon. But one thing's been consistent with Yukon over the decades, over the years when you and I played them, there's a Yukon way. There's a way. There's a Yukon way.

And I think the only thing that's been in the way in the years where they haven't been final four, it's been a health issue. What's the Yukon way that you remember? Honestly, can I first say this? If I'm a coach, if I ever become a coach, I will mock Yukon system to the team. We did that.

We did that one year. We played Yukon. This is Stanford Women's Basketball. We played Yukon one year in a preseason tournament, like in the island jam or something. And they bust us up. Wow. For the rest of the season, we basically stole their offense and ran it exactly like them and practiced it every day. We basically prepared our whole season.

And then we saw them in the final four and beat them. And beat them. Guys, I don't know. know what coaches are doing don't have an ego your coach was a taran vandavir is a legendary coach the fact that she could do that and not have an ego about it it's genius mock the best coaches that have proven it over and over i'm going to mock their system when i play under gino for the olympic team i could score 20 30 points off like shooting five field goals i didn't even know how i scored that many points his system allowed me to score so easy i was like i'm not even tired

after the game, I have 20 points. Why was it so easy? The system allowed you to score at ease. You would just get layup after layup. After just cut layup. It was just amazing to be a part of. So I feel that Gino, yes, I feel that Sir Strong is one of the best. He has the talent.

But Gino could take an average player right now off the street playing outside on the court, bring her in his system and she's going to be a star. It is his system and it doesn't get enough praise and it is underrated. They don't talk about it enough. Yeah, I mean, I say what I feel about the system, both what I remember and what I see as an analyst watching Yukon Women's Basketball, I feel like there is, they're very smart, cerebral, IQ offense. A lot of times you'll see them operating really high with a lot of space behind them. Everybody's a willing playmaker. Again, 30 assists.

They make you pay for mistakes. You turn it over. They're off to the races and they're sharing that thing. What I remember is, and what I see is, pace of play, of running of sets, where is on you over the game, conditioning level is superior and higher, and you'll just see them pull away. So on top of them having these, like, incredibly poised and high IQ players, I mean, just to say one thing about Sarah Strong before we had to break, for me with Sarah Strong, for her to do, that's that line, I'll say it again, why not? 29 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks, 12 for 17 from the field, 2 for 4 from 3, zero turnovers. To be that involved at all times on both ends, that level of engagement and have no mistakes,

no turnovers. No mistakes. Her IQ, her poise, her versatility, her control on the court is really impressive for a sophomore. We're going to take a break, but when we come back, we'll discuss who she's reminding us of, because she's getting a lot of comparisons to some of the greats of the game. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Good Follow Show. Today's episode is presented by Draft Kings.

It is now time for the Draft Kings pick of the week presented by Draft Kings. This week, I've got my eye on Michigan at Yukon. This top 10 matchup will be a competitive game. Michigan is hot after notching a big win over Notre Dame. I'll be watching Michigan Guard Olivia Olson. She won co-Big 10 freshman of the year last year. And this year, she's leading Michigan to the second highest ranking in program history.

They now sit at number six on the AP poll. On the other side, I'll be watching Sarah Strong, who is making a huge argument for best player in the NCAA. I'll expect the poise and championship talent from the Yukon side to pull out this win over Michigan. This segment is presented by Draft Kings. Draft Kings, the crown is yours. Okay, so we've been talking Sarah Strong, obviously had this huge game over the weekend. And people are saying, is she the best player in the country? She's starting to get these comparisons.

Some people are saying, Maya Moore. I can't tell if it's because she, like, kind of physically resembles Maya Moore. But also, you know, there's some game comparisons there. Another comparison we're seeing pop up. Brianna Stewart, do you like that one? I mean, so who is Sarah Strong and her game kind of reminding you of? First, I like that she is positionless. She could play the two, three, four, like, she does it all.

she reminds me of Alyssa Thomas Oh, why? Elite IQ She has that strong frame She powers through contact She has an elite motor She could pass She could hit the three

Well the three would be different The three is That's what I was going to say The three is a little different What makes her a little bit better Is that her range extends She can hit the three Alyssa hits more of the mid range

But as far as the overall game It's like a missed triple double That's what is given And just when you have that overall game Like that I mean with the system that we talked about. The system too. Yes, you are the best, she's the best player in the country right now

because of all of those factors. Yeah, and I also think that the Brianna-Stewart comparison works because of the impact on both offense and defense and the shot-blocking. You know, when I think about the comparison to Maya Moore, it makes sense. I mean, Maya had a bit more of that mid-range game that I haven't seen yet from Sarah Strong.

Of course, Sarah's a sophomore, you know, so she's got a lot of time to develop. And imagine if she does take the next steps to be what Maya is or was in the sense that Maya was so strong. Her body was so elite. You know, like Sarah's body over the years with work in the weight room and just getting after it could be really like next level. Imagine when she gets there where Maya was and the speed and the conditioning to get there. I mean, what really separated Maya too was just the competitive nature. Oh, my God.

Was there anyone who competed harder than Maya? I don't know. I would say like she probably is one of the hardest people I've ever had to guard because her motor just never increased. It was always like this motor. Even when we played in the all-star game, we don't have rinketing all-star games during our time. We play hard. We play like it was the greatest pickup game you'll ever see.

Maya didn't lower her motor and that's the beauty of it that I see with Sarah. Yeah, yeah. You know, even for me in college, you know, I was packed 12, packed 10 defensive player of the year. So I was put on Maya. First of all, I was way too small to defend Maya. Like, she could just see over me. But mostly what I remember is I couldn't breathe.

Like, she was just constantly on the move and the run. And I also think that's the Yukon system. But, like, you know, the conditioning level is such a game changer. And so, you know, I just think, like, we are looking at Sarah Strong, who's just at the beginning of her sophomore season. Like, imagine if as she adds that, you know, all of these aspects to the game, the potential is unlimited. It's very exciting to see. We'll be watching. We'll be talking about Sarah Strong all year.

Okay, let's move along. Project B. Oh, yes. Project B update. Okay, we have an update to the Overseas League, Project B. This league is playing. They're paying stars. If you remember, we talked about this at length in our last show.

You want to have a really good Project B discussion. Watch our last episode. But they're paying, just to catch you up. They're paying upwards of $2 million a year, some more. Ch-choo! They're offering. They're offering equity, ownership. Currently, they're scheduled not to conflict with the WNBA.

It's supposed to play November to April. This is of next year. So we're talking 2026. And it's an overseas league. So after all this talk about staying in the U.S., they plan on playing in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. And last night, they signed another big name. They signed Jean-Quil Jones.

So what's your reaction, Angel? So now they got, so Caccio, if you ain't keeping track, it is John Quill Jones, Alyssa Thomas, and Nekha Agrooma Kay. So what are you making of all this? Oh, wow. So have you noticed, what is the pattern? Is it every week or is it every couple days? I don't know what the pattern is.

What do you notice in, Detective? And plus I want to know, what does Project B mean? What is the B stand? Is it Project Bob? Like, you know. That's what I'm saying. I'm like, of all the marketing, because you got a billion dollar investment and this was the name, Project B.

That doesn't, maybe it's Project Basketball. Something, maybe something like that. So how I think is, there's going to obviously be big name after big name signed, but I'm just curious of what this means for the WBA. Are they going to put some kind of stipulations on this league like they do for players who just play overseas? You know, as you guys know, they find players who are still overseas when the Dunbay training camp starts, which is, to me, ridiculous. So are they going to start doing these stipulations?

What does it mean for NECA who, you know, as a part of the CBA negotiations, I do believe this puts a lot of pressure on the WBA. This league is a new disruptor for the WBA because you sign up to all these big names who are ready to play. And this season starts right after the WBA season ends. So are these players going to sit out and enjoy their summer

and just play Project B if they're making $2 million? It's so many factors. And I see a lot of mixed reviews from the fans. The fans are wary. But I think the beautiful thing about this is it puts pressure on the WBA to figure out the CBA negotiation that's the main thing that needs to get done right now because if that doesn't get fixed there is no double bay and players like I don't care I'm playing in project B I'm going to

make millions of dollars and maybe we don't want that for the lower echelon middle tier players because they still need a job and they still need somewhere to play so I know I just gave you a lot there Ross no it's great it's great to hear you think about it I'll counter a little bit I'll slightly push back in that I do think that the intention of these players at the bargaining table and and the leadership group, is to leave the game better than how they came to it. And while it may, there's, it's easy to think it is self-serving to go and join Project B, and it may be as well. That's part of it, too.

I still think, like, the goal is to have the WNBA come correct, meet the players where they want with a great share of the revenue and the business in this new CBA. But what I'm seeing from Project B so far, the consistent theme is these are players who are 32 and up. Some of them are 34 and up. You know, you're talking about players who are older in their basketball career and they are fighting for the next generation in the CBA. The people who will benefit from the WNBA CBA are going to be the next wave of college graduates, you know, maybe the young rookies coming up.

They're the ones that are going to start to see these big, you know, influxes of money and business and all this and that. They're fighting for that. However, it won't serve them for that long. So what they're doing, while they're fighting for, you know, next generations in this current WNBA-CBA renegotiation, Project B is kind of a way of taking them, taking care of themselves in this current cycle.

And I'm not mad at that. Wow, Roz, I never thought about like that. You know what I'm saying? Wow, you just opened up a whole. They, much like people like yourself, much like the ladies of right now, much like the ladies of 10, you know, 20 years ago, have put in the work to make it possible for this next group of players to benefit off of all this money that's coming up.

But the ones that are sitting at these negotiation tables, they also are using common sense that I can't be mad at, sweat, blood and tears in, and taking care of themselves right now in the current cycle. I don't see nothing wrong with it. Ultimately, though, what I do want to know more about is just like, what does Project be about? What does the season look like? What is this business model?

Where is the money coming from? You know, what are the games like? How do fans watch their favorite players and follow this league in women's basketball? And what will be, if any, conflicts that come with this league existing? But we'll be following it. We'll be talking about it. It's really interesting. Yeah, the state of women's basketball.

There's never a dull day. All right. Keep rocking with us. Thank you for watching. Good Follow. We're here Tuesdays and Thursday. Subscribe. Watch all the things. He's Angel. I'm Roz. We out. You know what I'm