After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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Download Thumbtack and start a project today. Hey, hey, happy summer, first day of summer this Thursday. If you're already into your Thursday, I'm still feeling like it's Friday night, but that's just me. It's how I manage to stay sane. I do not mark the next morning until we actually get to the final hour of the show.

And so whether it's your Wednesday night, whether it's your Thursday morning, heck if you want to pretend like it's Friday, I'm okay with that too. Whatever the case is, we're glad to have you with us. On Twix, even though it makes some people mad, ALaw Radio or our show account which I've seen has a bump in the number of followers. So we've added another number to our show account.

Glad to know that so many of you are following that one as well. That's at Amy After Hours. And then on our Facebook page After Hours with Amy Lawrence. So I'm laughing a bit as I'm looking back to some of your responses. I previewed my conversation with Jennifer Rizzotti, which we will get to coming up in let's say 18 minutes.

How about that? 18 minutes here on the show. We're going to get to my conversation with Jen, who is the president of the Connecticut Sun. She played in the WNBA. She coached in college for a couple of decades, both Hartford and George Washington. She's been to NCAA tournaments. She's been on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a player. She's been part of USA Basketball for 20 plus years as a coach, a scout, and now the director, the selection committee chair. So the chair of the USA Women's Basketball Selection Committee. Not to mention she's got a role in the WNBA as an executive now, too.

So she's balancing both of those. She will be in Paris as the coach of the women's 3x3 team. Her resume goes on for miles. I worked with her when she was the coach of Hartford Women's Basketball.

I traveled with the team for eight years because I did their play-by-play on the radio. I got to know her really well. She grew up under Gino Auriemma at UConn. She, for a lot of years, was expected to take over the UConn women's program when he retired, but he's still coaching, just signed a five-year extension. So she finally went on and coached at George Washington, left Connecticut, which is where she's from. And she is, along with Rebecca Lobo, one of the cornerstones of the Huskies' success going back to the mid-90s. She's won every award you can as a player and now as a coach with USA Basketball and in college.

She's in a white-hot spotlight. Like many executives and coaches in the WNBA because of the Kaitlyn Clark phenomenon, the other rookies, the fact that people who have not watched a lot of the WNBA, maybe have never watched the WNBA, are now voicing their opinions. And that's fine. It's not a bad thing that people are having opinions about this league that has been largely, I would say, overlooked for nearly the 30 years of its existence. At the same time, a lot of the reaction and the opinions, they are uninformed. Okay, so on social media, there's a ton of clickbait. On social media, you don't necessarily need to factor in the truth, right? The truth, I sometimes say, is irrelevant on social media.

And so it's pretty crazy. Some of the narratives, the opinions, even coming from the media, I'm embarrassed by some of the reaction from inside my own business, my own industry, where you would expect that we will be a little more informed collectively. I'm kind of embarrassed by some of the reaction and the vitriol that's been thrown at USA Women's Basketball and the WNBA over Kaitlyn Clark's debut. I was able to ask Jen why Kaitlyn was left off the roster by the committee. Her response to this idea that there would be a lot more eyeballs, there would be a lot more TV viewers tuning in to the Paris Olympics, if Kaitlyn was on the roster.

I asked her directly whether or not Kaitlyn is an alternate for the team. We also talked about her reception in the WNBA. You're going to hear that conversation starting in now 15-ish minutes.

If you care about any of this at all, you're going to want to hear it. I hope that as people continue to invest in women's pro basketball as fans or as members of the media, that some of these narratives will get disproven or they'll die down. But judging by social media, as I preview the conversation, the responses that I got, it must be Jen and her UConn bias. She's just the committee chair. She's not making the decisions by herself.

This idea that they hate Kaitlyn or don't want her on the team or they're worried about Kaitlyn stealing their thunder. Just listen to the interview. She does not shy away or evade answering the questions.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Proud of the conversation with Jen, but also proud of the fact that she is extremely candid. I know that I've earned that trust over nearly 10 years of working with her and a lot longer knowing her.

So I'm thankful that she told the truth and that she spelled it out for me. Again, that's coming up in just now 15 minutes. We'll have it on our podcast when the show is done. And of course, we'll also make it available for you whenever you want to download it separately. If you just want to listen to the interview, I hope that you'll let people know once you hear it and really give it some thoughtful consideration.

Our phone number is 855-212-4227. Again, Twix and Facebook. Before we get to that though, I found this sports audio report. That's what it's called. The sports audio report. It's a joint effort from Edison Research, Group M, and Sirius XM Media. Okay, so these are three different outlets that combined to explore what sports fandom looks like in the United States and the role that radio and audio play in the way fans follow their favorite teams or follow their favorite leagues. It's really fascinating and I know I'm a total nerd, but I think you might find some of these numbers fascinating.

Here's one. 64% of sports fans frequently or occasionally listen to sports content via audio like radio or podcasts or satellite. Okay, so 64% of us as sports fans frequently or occasionally listen to sports content, whether it's a live radio show like ours, a podcast like ours, or satellite radio which has both on-demand as well as live shows. 64%. Among sports fans, how about this?

It's a wide-reaching pastime. Jay, I want to take a while to guess how much of the American population, which is roughly, what is it, 330 million people-ish, how much of the American population ages 13 plus would identify themselves as sports fans? Would say, ooh, ooh, ooh, yes, I'm a sports fan. I'm guessing over 50. I'm gonna say 70 sounds like a lot, but maybe like 65-ish.

Very close. Two-thirds of the American population, which would be about 66 and a half percent, identify as sports fans. The number is 186 million people in our country over the age of 13 would call themselves sports fans. And how about this? 68% of those sports fans say it brings their families closer together.

Isn't that neat? I would agree with that. The majority of fans use sports to keep those family ties strong, according to this poll. Well, it's a study, it's not just a poll. Younger sports fans are more interested in the athletes away from the field, the court, the ice, the track, the pool. Younger sports fans, so we're talking Gen Z and Millennials, actually follow the personal lives of the athletes they like beyond what they do in their sports careers. So that's where social media plays a major part. Right. Growing up, people didn't have that option, that before Gen Z or Millennial. Right, exactly. So the sports audio report, again, from Edison Research, Group M, and Sirius XM Media, so you know I'm not making these things up, it's available online.

I just have access to it because of some emails and some chains that I'm on as a member of the industry. So that's sports fans. 186 million ages 13 plus. 68% of those people say it brings their families closer together and the younger fans, the younger generations, they are the ones who are more apt to follow their athletes away from their favorite sports.

All right, now this is pertinent and directly what we do. This is more about sports audio and radio. The vast majority of sports, and we're going to call it audio, okay, it's not just radio, it's radio, it's satellite, it's podcasts, okay. The vast majority of listeners say they listen at least some of the time with other people.

How about that? It's a community opportunity. It's a community activity. So sports podcast listeners and satellite listeners are more likely to co-listen.

That's what they call it. Listen as a group activity. That's interesting. It is interesting. I would have thought it would be more solo.

It's not. The vast majority. And the ones that do podcasts or satellite, those are the ones who, again, non-traditional radio listeners are more likely to listen with other people. So a group of friends, maybe you're driving in a car and there's other people, maybe you commute, maybe it's a family road trip. And the beauty of both podcast and Sirius XM, which by the way, shameless self-promotion, shameless plug, we are on both Sirius XM channel 158 and we have a podcast that you can access whenever you want.

It's largely free of commercial breaks and it's broken up by hour as well as having our guest podcasted separately. Co-listen. It's a new term I'd not heard before. Here's more. Here's more. Sports listening is changing. Of course we know that. While the majority of sports audio and the majority of listeners still use AM FM radio.

How about that? The majority still use AM FM radio. Podcasts are now taking over as a greater market share, if you will. So the number of people who listen to podcasts for their sports has almost doubled since 2018.

And that includes me. I listen to podcasts when there's an interview that I miss. I don't listen to a lot of sports radio because I need to form my own opinions. I need to stick to my own style.

I don't want to be imitating other people. So I don't listen to a lot of sports radio, but I do listen to interviews and I listen to podcasts. Travis Kelsey and his brother Jason sometimes. Tom Brady's podcast. Dear Lord, how often do we, not only what we did before Pat McAfee moved to a competing network and now I choose not to, but how often have we used Aaron Rodgers on McAfee? How often do we get info and intel from Draymond Green's podcast? Micah Parsons. Micah Parsons, who we love.

The Edge. So yeah, podcast listening has doubled among sports fans since 2018. This of course is going to make sense to you. Younger sports audio.

Sorry, that sounds funny. They call it audio consumers, but that's annoying. Younger sports listeners. They are the ones who are turning to digital. So ages 13 to 34, they spend way more of their time listening to sports content with podcasts. Podcasts versus radio. It's a three to one ratio for younger people, ages 13 to 34. Again, Gen Z and Millennials, they listen to podcasts three to one over radio.

How about that? I would say it makes sense. I thought you were talking more to like 13 to like 18.

I would say I'd get that because they're not driving around. They're more just in their homes, maybe on YouTube or it's just easier to throw on a podcast than they can have them or AM station. But from 18 to from 18 to 34, also moving to podcasts is surprising. Well again, I still think my husband listens to podcasts. He doesn't listen to the show live and he's not 34.

Ew. So yeah, there are a lot of people who are doing it, but obviously the smartphone being something that's attached to people from the time that they're, gosh, now like 12 years old in many cases, Gen Zs and Millennials, they've grown up with it. So they're more apt to have the on demand and to look for it on demand. And then one more, and we'll do some more stats later in the show, but I want to get to our interview. 40% of listeners to sports radio or audio or satellite say there aren't enough shows to cover the sports they like or follow.

How about that? I am stunned by that considering that I feel like there are 8,922 podcasts and you can find them anywhere about anything, anytime. There's millions. And yet sports radio listeners, sports audio listeners, 40% of them say I'm not getting enough of what I want specifically, the specific content that I want. 40%, how about this? I love that we are not part of this. 40% say what they hear, there aren't enough different perspectives.

How about that? A lot of sports radio is dudes who yell. Dudes with their hot takes, but we're not part of that. So yeah, 40% of audio listeners in the sports world say they need different perspectives. So not enough content that I want or that focuses on my teams and not enough different perspectives, not enough variety.

That's amazing, isn't it? Yeah, considering how many podcasts are out there, maybe it's just too saturated and they feel like it's almost overwhelming. There's so much of it, it's almost like a vomit on you where it's hard to single out just one because there's just so much.

It is hard to find what you want because you're weeding through so much content. All right, we'll do more of this coming up, but I find this really fascinating. Mostly we're talking to a lot of people who love diversity in their sports. 186 million people age 13 would identify as sports fans. 68% of us say sports bring our families closer together. I love it.

Coming up, my conversation with Jennifer Rizzotti, the selection committee chair for USA Women's Basketball and the president of the first place team in the WNBA, the Connecticut Sun. It's after worried about letting someone else pick out the perfect avocado for your perfect impress them on the third date guacamole. Well, good thing Instacart shoppers are as picky as you are. They find ripe avocados like it's their guac on the line. They are milk expiration date detectives.

They bag eggs like the 12 precious pieces of cargo they are. So let Instacart shoppers overthink your groceries so that you can overthink what you'll wear on that third date. Download the Instacart app to get free delivery on your first three orders while supplies last.

Minimum $10 per order, additional term supply. Have you ever covered a carpet stain with a rug, ignored a leaky faucet, pretended you're half painted living room is supposed to look that way? Well, you're not alone. We've all got unfinished home projects, whether it's a door that sticks or a disorganized closet or an AC unit that only works half the time.

It all matters. You just haven't taken care of it yet. But there's an easier way. Just download the Thumbtack app. You can search for what you need done and find tons of highly rated pros right in your neighborhood. Check prices, reviews and book a pro right on the spot. Plus, you'll know what to tackle next because Thumbtack is the app that shows you what to do, who to hire and when. Pull out your phone and in just a few taps, say goodbye to all those unfinished home projects and say hello to caring for your home the easier way.

Download Thumbtack and start a project today. Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. It's part of the WNBA.

Unfortunately, I've lost a starter to injury every single year that I've been a head coach in this league and you just have to have the mentality of next person up and rally around it. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The voice of Kurt Miller, head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks and the worst fears confirmed for that team as they lose the number two overall pick. 6-4 shot blocker, great rookie Cameron Brink out of Stanford and finding out about the torn ACL not only means that she misses the rest of this season in her pro debut but also that she misses the Paris Olympics. Supposed to be part of the three on three team coached by Jennifer Rizzotti that would play in Paris and have the chance to make its mark the way the five on five team has in women's basketball. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. I've been talking to you about this conversation with Jennifer Rizzotti. I'm really excited to present it to you. I hope that you will give it thoughtful consideration and take it straight from the horse's mouth.

You can find us on both Twix and Facebook if you want to react and our phone number 855-212-4227. Jennifer Rizzotti is a long time member of the USA basketball community as a player as a coach. She's now the president of the Connecticut Sun. She's coached in college. She played at the highest level. You're going to want to hear this conversation.

I started out by asking her about Cameron Brink. We heard Kurt Miller say it's a tough part of basketball Jen but still really hard to get this news for a rookie just starting out. Anytime a player that's committed to this being their profession gets hurt your heart goes out to them right. It's like we've had it in Connecticut and it's been across the league but I think this one for me has been hard because I had an opportunity to coach Cam like last summer in the World Cup and a couple women's series events at 3x3 and I know how hard she worked to prepare to be an Olympian and so when you look at her video when she got surprised with the announcement it's heartbreaking to know how much it meant to her and that she's going to miss out on this opportunity but fortunately unfortunately I guess she was she was at in Connecticut last night so I got a chance to be with her and talk her through you know some of the challenges and how she can come out on the other side even better than than she is now and she had a really positive mature attitude about it for a 22 year old and she continues to impress me. Where do you go to find someone to fill her spot on the Olympic team? Yeah anytime someone gets hurt it's always hard to think about who can fill their shoes right because they were chosen for a reason but you know we also have an alternate pool and I don't know that everybody understands how 3x3 selection works. First of all you have to have played in an event in the last calendar year which not a lot of WNBA players have done and then you have to have two top 10 players on your team out of the four. When the team was selected by the committee Haley Van List, Cameron and Sierra Burdick were all part of that top 10 group so it does give us a little bit of extra flexibility to add somebody who's not in the top 10.

You know I feel like we have some great options and you know the pool of talent in America is deep. The challenge for me is that 3x3 is very different than five on five so I'm not replacing Cameron who's an experienced 3x3 player with someone who really understands the game as much as her but I certainly no one's going to feel sorry for me because we're probably going to replace her with a WNBA player anyway. It's funny that you say that about the difference in coaching and really the style because I was thinking about that in getting ready for our conversation. What are the main strategies that are different from a typical basketball game? Well first of all I can't coach them during the game so that's like the biggest difference. When the game starts I'm in the stands so they essentially coach themselves once the game starts so the level of preparation and accountability not just to themselves but to each other is raised exponentially because of that. Secondly it's a 12 second shot clock so you have to sync the game really quickly. By the time you take it out of the net and get it past the three point line you probably have about nine or ten seconds to run off it so you have to have high IQ players. And then third it is a 10 minute sprint. You have to be in exceptional shape you know to be able to think while you're tired and execute while you're tired and so you have to be used to that style so fortunately we have some players that played for me in the last calendar year that I think will be great options for us but Cam understood that she's you know within the kind of shape and had this style of game that's really hard to replace but I'm more heartbroken for her than anything and we'll just have to find a way to move on past this moment. We're spending a few minutes with Jennifer Rizzotti who is the coach of that 3x3 as I say it not three on three 3x3. 3x3 yes. 3x3 team for USA basketball at the Olympics in Paris and also president of the Connecticut Sun who have the best record in the WNBA right now so we'll get to that.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. The big conversation around the Olympics team has been Kaitlyn Clark. What are you looking for when you put together an Olympic team especially one with a tradition of USA women's basketball?

Well you know we can start there right we're talking about the most successful team sport in Olympic history you know a team that's going for its eighth consecutive gold medal so expectations are high and although people think it's easy because we've done it seven times in a row it's really not. The team and the women on the team work really hard to make it look easy but it's hard to go to the Olympics and play against other countries that have been training together for years and months at a time and find a way to continue to come out on top. So number one experience matters and you know for those who want to be critics of the process they don't live in it right they don't live in the space where as a coach a former coach right and somebody who's been involved with USA basketball for 20 years like you understand the value of having coaches and players that have been there that have done that and understand the magnitude of the moment right then you look at the criteria and the criteria clearly states that you want to have experience in international and familiarity with international basketball familiarity with the team and the coaching style and leadership qualities and so when you name a team you want to focus on the players who made it because they have those qualities and this process unfortunately has been a lot of focus on who didn't make it and I'm not going to you know evade the question like I think Kaitlyn Clark is phenomenal I think that she has been tremendous along with the rest of the rookies in this class and bringing great attention to the WNBA and helping us all as business leaders fill our stands nobody negates that impact that they have had on bringing attention to the WNBA but this is the hardest team in the world to make and it's been a three-year process three years we have been evaluating talent after the Tokyo Olympics through the 2022 World Cup through eight to ten different national team camps and when you think about the women who have committed to that process and have the experience and have the reps and have the familiarity with each other it's really hard to argue with who we put on the team and I think Kaitlyn and other players that are coming into the WNBA this year and over the years to come are going to be Olympians and they're going to represent our country in the highest way but I think the depth of the pool right now in USA basketball is so deep and so strong that it's hard to look at who we put on the team and argue that they don't deserve it and there's a mix of versatility there's a mix of experience there's a mix of leadership and obviously you need depth at every position and we feel like we checked off all of those boxes and as much as other players might be more popular right now we really felt like in in order to uphold the integrity of the process we needed to choose a team based on basketball criteria and we did that. Some of these rookies are struggling with the physical nature of the WNBA how much does that play into it at the international level? It plays into it a lot I in talking to Cam Brink over the last couple days because she was in Connecticut she even said that she like really appreciated her time in the weight room because she knows she has to get stronger as she continues to navigate through WNBA competition. You've heard Kaitlyn Clark talk about the physicality of the game and how she wants to continue to evolve and she wants to use her time over Olympic break to get stronger and get in the weight room so it's a real thing and it's not a negative thing right it's not something that is is is looked down upon but you know the women in the league have been playing basketball for decades they have committed to the process of hiring strength and conditioning people that have allowed them to be elite athletes right you look at their bodies you look at even some of them and how they have changed their bodies from college to when they are 27 or 28 and it it's hard to not notice that right again it's not a negative thing that rookies are coming in and struggling defense you know to play against the defense of the WNBA and honestly when I look at the attention being paid defensively to boxing out in the league out Angel Reese or defending Kaitlyn Clark off of a ball screen it's actually a compliment to them that there's WNBA defenses that are really focused in on their skill set so I think they are the future and I think that they're going to learn a lot through the their first year and through the competition that they're facing and I think you know the narrative of them not being appreciated is false I think that everybody in this league that has fought for so long to get the eyeballs on the game are very appreciative that we're at a point that all of us all the former players all the current players have played a part in the momentum that we're seeing now in the WNBA and everybody should be celebrated for that and everybody should be appreciated for that is she on your list of alternates one of the things that has to happen after you name a team is that you have to go back to the rest of the players in the pool and ask them if they were be willing to be an alternate because they do have to stay on the testing pool so everybody that's been engaged with USA basketball right now is a possible alternate those alternates don't have to be declared until July but Kaitlyn along with others are definitely players that would be considered if we had a situation where we needed to replace somebody on the Olympic team and so they're all aware of that they're all committed to that process and they all want to be a part of it and I think again it's a compliment and a testament to USA basketball and what it means to represent our country on this Olympic team in the wake of the announcement and the roster coming out people were talking about how this is a dumb choice because so many more people would tune in to watch the games if Kaitlyn Clark were on the roster what's your response to that my response is that that that may be the truth right like that may be very true that more people would tune in because they're intrigued by what kind of impact she could have on the Olympic team I can't deny that but at the same time that was not the criteria that we chose the team from you know our goal was to put together not just the 12 best players not just the 12 most popular players it was to put together a team that Cheryl could feel good about going to the Olympics that checked off every single basketball box that she felt she had the talent the skill the experience the depth the versatility to win a gold medal in an environment where she's going to feel an enormous amount of pressure if you don't want to tune into that that's your problem right like you're missing out on this greatness because I think what Kaitlyn what Angel what Cam what Camilla have done Rekia is they've brought attention to how good the WNBA players are in this league right so I applaud that and I would hope that people would want the USA basketball team to be successful that when you listen to Kaitlyn's comments about how hard the team is to make and that she roots for them and wants to see them be successful that as a fan you would take that to heart and understand that that her time will come right we will be celebrating her one day but the women that are on this team every single one of them including others that didn't make it deserve to be on this team and you can't argue that. I told you she did not shy away from answering the question about the selection process the criteria criteria and why Kaitlyn and other younger players did not make it but also this idea that they had a responsibility to put players on the team like Kaitlyn because more fans would watch I mean she's right if you miss out I guess that's your choice all right coming up second part of my conversation with Jennifer Rizzotti the president of the Connecticut Sun and one of the coaches for USA women's basketball in Paris I asked her about the league now and the reception it. TuneIn is the audio platform with something for everyone news in order to secure convictions in a court of law it is essential that we conclusively sports.

The step back three music and even podcasts whatever you love hear it right here on TuneIn. Go to TuneIn.com or download the TuneIn app to start listening one two three four those are numbers but you already knew that if you want to know what number you're going to pay each month for your car use Kelly Blue Book My Wallet on Auto Trader they're really good at numbers Auto Trader and for Kaitlyn and what it's like to be in this white hot spotlight it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence you are listening to the After Hours podcast this is After Hours with Amy Lawrence part two of my conversation with USA women's basketball selection committee chair and 3x3 coach Jennifer Rizzotti she's also the president of the Connecticut Sun in a new role since she stepped away from coaching in the college ranks it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence you heard her responses about the Olympic team I also wanted to get into pro basketball now for the women with all the attention Jen what's it like to have so many thousands of fans show up and TuneIn on TV who've never watched the sport before it's tremendous obviously I'm in a new role now as an executive in a front office business is booming and that's a great thing and it's across all games it's not just one opponent it's not just one player it's across the league every game you can see that crowds are up exponentially this season eyeballs on the game tv ratings are up exponentially so it's just really exciting to be a part of and you know for me I feel like I can be behind the scenes for for the Connecticut Sun and I feel really proud of the product that we're putting on the floor and the fan attendance that we have this year and the success we're having on the business side when I'm in the spotlight for picking an Olympic team whether it's your opinion or not you can bring that heat on me because at the end of the day I really do want every player to be celebrated nobody should be blamed for any kind of negative thing that's happening in the league let them play basketball you know let them be who they are and part of who they are is speaking out about things that are they feel like are you know important to them they take a platform with social justice they take a platform for what they think is important and they and they have each other's back every single one of these women have each other's back so the narrative sometimes can be frustrating because I know that because I'm living it but at the end of the day I'm just excited that people are paying attention and people are excited about our team and excited about the league and I hope that we're creating a new fan base that's going to support this team and this league into the future. The Connecticut Sun are off to their best art in franchise history and now it's sitting at 13 and 1 a team to watch for a lot of reasons as you point out what's special about the roster right now? Everything's special about the roster right I mean we've got Alyssa Thomas who probably should have won the MVP award last year in the league who's like a triple double queen we've got DeJuana Bonner is a top five in in the WNBA scoring history Brianna Jones back from her Achilles injury is dominating right now and we just have a really balanced roster I think we're the only team in the league that is average has all five starters averaging double figures so there is a balance and a buy-in and a focus on being the best defensive team in the league that makes us really special so they're fun to watch and we're not even playing our best basketball but there's a commitment to winning and there's a commitment to doing things the right way and as a fan of the team but also the leader of the team it makes me really appreciative. Stephanie White is your coach she's the reigning WNBA coach of the year and just earned another honor in May for coach of the month why is she the right person for this team as you move forward? Stephanie just really understands the game at a high level I think that as a former player she has been there like she's been in the shoes of our players so she knows how to motivate them she knows how to talk to them she also knows how hard it is to win and that's really important for our players that they have a leader who understands what they're going through on a day-to-day basis but they also want a leader who they respect and Stephanie's ability to understand x's and o's and create defensive teams that'll work for our team and put a staff around her that can help us be successful it's just been really fun to watch them evolve as a coaching staff and I think the success of this year's team has a lot to do with the fact that our coaching staff has settled in right they've settled in with a team they've settled into their strengths and in year two you can see the difference in how they're impacting the players. I saw some comments from Brianna Stewart when she talked about her initial entry into the WNBA as talented as she is one of the best women's basketball players that we've got on the planet and she was talking about the process of integrating as a rookie that it wasn't that different from what we're seeing with Kaitlyn. I know a lot of the focus has been on Kaitlyn how typical is the reception quote-unquote that she's getting?

Well I think the biggest difference right between any star player that has come into the league has been the social media attention when Stewie came out of college when even Sabrina came out of college when Asia Wilson came out of college there wasn't a hyper focus of attention on them through every single medium whether it's ESPN to TikTok right the players in this generation have grown up as social media darlings and so everything that they do and everything that they say has been scrutinized. You know I think Kaitlyn plays in a way that's captivating right I feel like people love to watch her play because she's an exciting offensive player that you never know what you're going to get whether it's a no-look pass or a logo three it's captivating right and and even if there were players like that in the past not everything they did was captured the way it was in the last year for for Kaitlyn Clark and so I think the scrutiny good and bad is there for these players in a way that you know you kind of hope they have mental health like some more and Kaitlyn talked about that because it's hard right but every good player whether it was Diana Tarazi 20 years ago or Brianna Stewart six or seven years ago they came into the league the veteran players wanted to compete and they were physical and they showed them a level of respect by not backing down and that's where the narrative needs to turn is like the level of respect for Kaitlyn is shown by how hard people are defending her that's what we should be talking about you know whether they bumper a little bit or talk trash that's not the issue the fact that teams are putting their best players on her and focusing on her that's a level of respect that Dewey had and Diana had and Asia Wilson had and that just speaks to like who they are as players and and you look at the trajectory of their career and you can kind of imagine that Kaitlyn will hopefully take the same kind of trajectory before I let you go Jen just to bring it back to USA basketball what's the next thing that has to happen with the Olympics just over a month away yeah well we need to kind of keep our fingers crossed and bubble wrap all of our players that are in both the 3x3 and the five on five pool right like we want we were able to help fulfill their dream of being an Olympian and now you want them to be able to you know put on that uniform and compete in Paris so we'll finish up here with the last few weeks of the WNBA season everybody will meet in Phoenix for the WNBA all-star game the five on five Olympic team will play against WNBA all-stars and the 3x3 team will also have an exhibition game there against the college select team so there'll be some great exposure for both teams and then they'll both teams will head over to Europe on right after the all-star game so I think one of the things that people aren't considering is how little time we have to prepare when you think about the fact that the all-star game is July 20th and open opening ceremony is July 26th having players that have experience and familiarity with each other and the team is really imperative in a year with very little practice time so I think it's just like let's get through this you know stretch let's keep let's keep everybody healthy let's get together in Phoenix and then you know go hopefully assert our dominance and on the world stage but support each other have people watch and be excited about our Olympic team and and continue to bring home the gold medal. It's a lot on the plate this summer but it should be exciting especially as you talk about the dominance for so many Olympics it's a chance for this group to be part of that tradition Jennifer Rizzotti is the USA basketball selection committee chair but her day job is the Connecticut sun president best team in the WNBA. All right so let's make a deal when you're done you've got another gold medal you have to come back on the show. That's a deal I will definitely agree to that okay. All right thank you so much as always for your candor and your time Jen.

Yes thanks Amy it's great great talking to you. Experience that's the word that I will take away that is the answer to the question of why Kaitlyn Clark and other younger players under the age of 26 did not make the Olympic team. She did confirm that Kaitlyn is among the alternates should someone else get hurt. Cameron Brink just tore her ACL she has to be replaced on the 3x3 team. It's possible not that we wish injuries on anyone that Kaitlyn will still end up in Paris but when you think about how little time the group has together maybe think about it U.S. soccer. They get together for training camps over the course of the world cup qualifiers or heading into a world cup but they don't play together all the time like the international teams do. It's the same thing for USA women's basketball. I hope that conversation gave you some clarity. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence.