wnba draft

Fernando Mendoza Talks ‘Underdog Status’ While Azzi Fudd Takes on ‘Wings’ at the Top Spots in Their Respective Drafts

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In the space of just over a month, we saw the sports world light-up like a fireworks display. Back in March when the slate of teams was announced for the men’s and women’s NCAA Championship, there was another marathon happening in the background. This was between the WNBA league and players’ Union.

The previous Collective Bargaining Agreement had expired at the end of last season and a new one needed to be in place for the next season. Many issues were being discussed but the sticking points were revenue sharing and housing. The good news is both sides signed a new CBA on the dotted line.

Then, sports media coverage jumped to the drafts in the WNBA and the NFL. On the basketball side, Azzi Fudd was the #1 pick, joining the Dallas wings and her former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers. The football side saw Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza secure the #1 pick by the Las Vegas Raiders.

As they get more of the spotlight, Mendoza reflects on his underdog status as a player. He plans on staying in character and on skillset for what he’ll face in the pros. While Fudd enters at a time of the league’s new CBA with excitement and dollars to go with it. They’re focused on further realizing their:  

  • Greatness:- Mendoza and his Hoosier teammates were undefeated in the season by winning the big game. That’s not easy to duplicate but is a reminder of what it takes to level-up in any field.
  • Witness:- His faith is a big part of how he rolls. While he’s often seen as a witness for his belief system, his edge prob comes from his system of beliefs. A witness and fitness in life and game.
  • Uniqueness:- Some might feel Fudd isn’t a high-flying star player in the UConn tradition. But clearly, she maximizes her uniqueness on the court in how she delivers as a high-impact player.
  • Wholeness:- What they’ve come to know as athletes and individuals is that if their game has a ‘hole’ in it, it will take the ‘W’ of wisdom to fill it, and the ‘W’ of winning to build on it.       

The UConn women’s team was on track to have an undefeated season. They fell one game short of making it to the championship. Even though UCLA won it all, it was Fudd who landed the #1 spot in the draft. So, in life even if you lose sometimes, that doesn’t mean taking an ‘L’ makes you a loser.

For Medoza and Fudd, a new learning curve has begun. They’ll be working on making their greatness come through at the pro level. What they do to continue being a witness on and off their field of dreams will draw on their individual uniqueness and strengthen their wholeness as ambassadors of the game.

Talkback: Does it matter if some feel Fudd wasn’t a high-flying star player in the UConn tradition?

Tip: Don’t get hung up on what others say about you. What you say and do about you speaks for itself.

Tracks: Alicia Keys – Underdog – https://youtu.be/izyZLKIWGiA?si=FyyakKvi638ChXjo

Agent Sasco – Winner Right Now – https://youtu.be/yrNe0eqoEPg?si=pashp9oqeo3_-WiA

Next Gen Ready to Ball? How Aliyah Boston and Diamond Miller Show Up Not Just for the Fame But to Raise Their Game

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It was ‘lights out’ excitement at the recent NCAA Women’s Final Four Championship. The build-up was epic and the boost in game cred carried over from semis to Finals. The numbers speak for themselves, on the court in player stats, in sports entertainment as well as market stats. Why is all this happening?

Well, seems like next gen is ready to ball! Just look at team play and individual records of Aliyah Boston and Diamond Miller. Boston is prob the most heralded South Carolina Gamecocks player in history. While Miller is the second Maryland Terrapins player to achieve high first-round pick in the WNBA draft.

Aliyah Boston on GMA
#1 Overall Pick

Boston’s stat sheet reads like a long form record book of accomplishments. The highlights include three straight Final Four appearances, Finals Most Outstanding Player, multiple Defensive Player of the Year Awards along with Player of the Year distinction. You could easily run out of breath trying to list them all.

Miller is no slouch either as a product of Somerset NJ (hometown of this blog’s editor) and a scoring machine for the Terps. At the end of her high school days she realized she had what it took to be among the best. So, she just put in the work and feels blessed for the chance to grow as a player and person.

It’s a very proud moment not just for Miller in NJ but also Boston who’s a native of the U.S Virgin Islands. Friends and fam know that they don’t just show up for the fame, but moreso to raise their game. Plus, since the WNBA isn’t just a game but also a business, they’ll up-level their value as players by turning:

  • Skill into silver:- When they sign that contract they’ll be trading their talent for cash, coins and maybe a few pieces of silver? Going from NIL to the pro space gets dollaz added to the bag.     
  • Product into gold:- Every team starts out the season hoping to go as far as possible and to maybe one day win it all. This requires stellar performance for players to take home the gold (silver) trophy. 
  • Hustle into rubies:- That’s when passion for the game makes a player/team red hot. We saw that with Boston and the Gamecocks. The Indiana Fever hope she’ll light the same fire there.      
  • Status into diamond:- To have diamond status in the music biz is to forge impact in industry and beyond the charts. Miller’s fandom thinks she’s got the goods in the game and beyond the arena.          

Here’s some more on the market stats. The TV ratings for the Finals game was almost double from the semis two days earlier. It was also almost double since the last record high in 2002 when UCONN won the title. The jump in market appeal reminds us of what U.S. Women’s Soccer has done over the years.

Diamond Miller
#2 Overall Pick

In the next few weeks, the dust will settle before the start of the WNBA season. The veteran players and rookies will take the court to showcase their skills, improve the product, fire-up their passion and elevate the status of the league. You can bet Boston and Miller will be among names making the highlight reel.

Talkback: Did the Finals game between LSU and Iowa meet or beat fan expectations?

Tip: You go from ‘diamond in the rough’ to top draft pick by turning skill into silver, passion into rubies as well as hustle & flow into what makes winners go.

Tracks: Rihanna – Diamond – https://youtu.be/lWA2pjMjpBs

Ace Hood – Hustle Hard – https://youtu.be/r_dh16HQkqQ