YOUR ATTITUDE ON THE BENCH DEFINES YOUR CHARACTER ON THE FLOOR ASU — COACH SPILLS

First Practice And Culture Details

SPEAKER_04 0:05

Okay, so welcome to our podcast. This is a little bit different today because this podcast is a spin-off of our radio show. Thank you for coming on this podcast. That's good. And uh I was really I'm pretty nervous about it, you know. What?

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Why not? We've met. I know we've met. We have the same energy.

SPEAKER_04 0:34

Oh actually, you know what's funny is my wife was telling my son about you, and she goes, You're gonna love her. She's so great. And Kemp goes, my son, Kemp goes, why? And she goes, She's just gonna make you she's so happy.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

I you get the giddy, excited, happy version today. Oh, really? Because I just left practice.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

And it was a good practice?

SPEAKER_01 0:51

It was the first practice with kind of the new crop of kids coming in, um, our transfers and our freshmen. It was their very first practice as a Sun Devil. So we got to do that whole gig today. And I just I'm on cloud nine. So you couldn't wipe the smile off my face if you tried.

SPEAKER_04 1:07

Is the first day of practice uh different than day 30 of practice?

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Well, it's it's summer access. So it's not really these full, you're not in full season practice mode. You're kind of working on player development. We like to take that time to develop kind of the culture and the standards. So it's really important when we are in this first, second, third week that you don't cut corners. That's my biggest thing. And so we have to dial into the details, we have to dial into it's a lot of stopping and teaching, which I don't want to take up all the air in the room. I don't want to talk that much. But I do have this, you know, like, no, we're gonna do it right, redo. Like today when we we did stations, so we were rotating. Well, I blew my whistle and they jogged to the next station, just kind of normal. Like, do redo. So when I blow my wish whistle, what's really important is communication and then pace is everything this summer. So I said rotate, and I want you to repeat that. It's pace and dialogue. That's what our theme is right now. So we're gonna be on the hop from one station to the next. So it's a sprint, it's getting touches. It's when I say rotate, everyone says rotate. So there's just these finite details that matter that you cannot cut out when you're starting this thing to get off on the right foot.

SPEAKER_04 2:22

I'm all about the small stuff.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:24

The small stuff matters. So is it even like when you run in the uh suicides, you gotta make sure you you gotta touch the line. Touch the line.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Otherwise, redo it.

SPEAKER_04 2:31

Right? You make and redo it.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

Yeah. I mean, I one of my favorite quotes is how you do anything is how you do everything. So if you're gonna be there, you have to have intent. You're you're there. Why not give it your all?

SPEAKER_05 2:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

You know, don't shortchange yourself in those moments. That's not how you get the best version out of yourself. So yeah, we're really particular. Um, I I think at this level, these kids appreciate that because they want to be pushed. Um, we've got some players that could be on draft boards in the future.

SPEAKER_05 2:59

Really?

SPEAKER_01 3:00

And so we would be doing them a disservice if we're not handling everything like a pro would handle it, you know, and and taking care of your body. That's off the court, that's your mental health, your physical health. So that's a really important piece to me as we're getting started is what does it look like from a brand perspective, from a standards perspective, from a culture perspective? And it was just a really good day.

SPEAKER_04 3:22

That's great. So when you say take care of your body off the court, what are you what are you doing? How are you helping them? What are you telling them to do?

SPEAKER_01 3:28

I mean, if you think of the student athlete today compared to when I played, which wasn't that long ago, but it still is a decent amount of time ago. Um, there's so many more requirements. I mean, I had to focus on the classroom and basketball was kind of the two heavy hitters. Now they're focusing on their brand. They're mini entrepreneurs in this NIL stage. They're focused on, you know, the community and the service to the community. Um, and they have to focus on academics and they have to focus on their mental health, and they have to focus on basketball, and they have to focus on the weight room. There's just so much that goes into being a student athlete, which is great. And they work really, really hard behind the scenes, but then we have to make sure we're not doing them a disservice by how they approach all that work. And in our program, you don't get to pick which pieces to be committed to. You have to be committed to all of that. So, just in this mental state of how do I balance, how do I be where my feet are? Um, I try to be the model behavior in that because I'm a mom, I'm a wife, I'm a coach, I'm part of this community. So I want to be a role model to say you can do everything well.

SPEAKER_04 4:41

I love that you say be where your feet are. That's a big thing that my wife over here says all the time. So that's such a great thing. Like so many times we're somewhere and it's like be where

Career Journey Into Head Coaching

SPEAKER_04 4:50

your feet are.

SPEAKER_05 4:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:50

Be where you oh, here, Peyton coming in late for the meeting for the podcast. I'm so sorry. Well, I mean, we're in the you want to pop down right here, real quick? This is Coach Miller. This is Peyton that I was sending you back.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Peyton, good to see you. Okay, sorry. All good. We're just chatting it up here.

SPEAKER_04 5:07

Yeah, we are. It's just delayed back casual. But uh, so Peyton played Division I at Weber.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Yeah, played them a couple times. Oh, have you? Yeah, GC. We never got the chance to play at ASU, which was such a bummer for me because I was like, any chance I get to go home during the college season is always such a good opportunity. But I was there my freshman year, transferred to a D2 in Texas, didn't really have the best experience there. And I was like, I'm done playing basketball, I'm just gonna move to Portland, but I finished at a small NAIA in Portland, Oregon. That's great.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

So yeah. Yeah, everyone's journey is unique. I started from the division two ranks. I played there and then coached at my alma mater, and you know, I just wouldn't have it any other way. It teaches every stop teaches you a little bit of everything. And at that level, you have to dabble in a little bit of everything.

SPEAKER_04 5:49

Right. So when you're so you were a player division two, and then you were able to coach there. How did how does it is that like a GA assistant? Is that right?

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Oh, this is kind of a crazy, like, I know I'm supposed to coach because of this story, is I played and I loved it, and I was a I was a pretty good player. My dad was my coach, so I had a high basketball IQ. I was a point guard. If you can tell my stature, I had to, you know, be the one that was feisty and dribble the ball up and play uh defense. But then um I was getting my MBA, and someone in my MBA class was the head of this neurosurgery group, and they were looking for a marketing director. So there's 12 neurosurgeons and they're looking for a marketing director to kind of do their PR and their marketing. Um, and so he was like, You should interview. And I'm like, Oh, I I like I feel like I'm too young for this job. Like, I don't have any experience in the real world. I've been playing basketball my whole life, basically as my job. And so um I interviewed and I got the job. And I love, you know, I'm I love marketing. I love people, I love kind of those jobs that you can be on the go. And um, so I did that for about three years. And then the assistant No basketball. No basketball.

SPEAKER_05 6:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

And the assistant job at my alma mater during university came open, and everyone was in my ear. Like, you should, you should apply, like you'd be a great coach. Why to take like a $15,000 pay cut? And when you're 20-something years old, that's a big chunk of change. I'm trying to buy a house, you know, there's all the things that I want to save for. Um, but some reflection, I'm like, you know what? I I love this game and it's given a lot to me. Maybe I'm called to give something back to it. So the rest is history, but I was an assistant coach there and then got the head coaching job and then Grand Canyon and now Arizona State.

SPEAKER_04 7:28

Wait, when you were the assistant coach, was the head coach your coach also at the time?

SPEAKER_01 7:33

So, yes, he was my head coach for one year. So Nyla Millison was the architect of the program. She started the women's basketball at Dory University and she was my coach for three years, and then she moved on to Division I and then Steve Um Harold was my coach for one year. And I went to him and I was like, Would you encourage me to like pursue this and take this job? It's like, heck yeah, I'd encourage it. I'm like, okay, let's do this.

SPEAKER_04 7:57

So then he leaves, you get promoted.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:59

And how long are you there for?

SPEAKER_01 8:00

I was there for six years. Um, it was awesome. I mean, the heartbreak of it all was during COVID, we were the number one team in the country, and we went undefeated. Uh, we're 32 and oh, we're marching our way to a national championship, and just the season gets cut. And I, they're like time heals. I'm like, no, it doesn't. But what's really cool is there's like three players from that team that are coaches now, and one coaches for me. She's an assistant for me, our point guard on that team. So it really is about the moments and the relationships and not so much the wins and losses and scoreboards, but I'd like to say we were honorary national champs that year.

SPEAKER_04 8:39

Yes, of course. How does uh so how do you get to the GCU? Do they come after you?

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Yeah, I got a phone call, and you know, in my mind, I wasn't to me what what wasn't motivating, it wasn't monetary, it wasn't level, it wasn't status. I wanted to win and I wanted to be at a place where I could be supported and do it the right way. Those three things were important to me. And I was there, I was at Drury. Like they wanted to see me win. I was, they watched me grow up since I was Yay big, and I was at my alma mater. So they were in my corner cheering for me. Um and then we could do it the right way. We called it the jury way, and we had a great culture, super strong culture, um, great character kids. Like we had that thing going. It was a well, well-oiled machine. And then I was supported there for Division II. I mean, we had one of the best support systems in the country. So again, I wasn't looking to jump. Well, when someone calls, you never want to shut a door. So I educated myself. You know, we took the call, I'm listening. I think in the beginning, I was like, you know, thank you for this opportunity. I'm not sure I'm ready to not go chase this national championship that still has a bitter taste in my mouth. And so I called a couple of coaches in the league that I knew, and they're like, no, this is this is a great spot. Like they it was a private Christian university, so I was used to that at jury. So it was gonna be a good transition. Um, they're well resourced, like you can win there, Molly. It's in Phoenix, like there's this destination spot. And so here I am, you know, I hadn't really I'm in my 30s and I hadn't really spread my wings anywhere outside of Springfield, Missouri. But these coaches are saying this is a good opportunity. So, you know, a lot of for me it was thoughtful prayer, talking with my family, understanding, you know, maybe I can spread my wings and and impact a bigger scale than I currently am or currently have, and maybe this is my next step in my journey. So we went for it and moved to Arizona and the rest of the system.

SPEAKER_04 10:30

Wait, when you get the call from GCU, how does that work? Are you literally your cell phone rings and it's a coach? Is it the president of the school, athletic director? Who's that person? Did you know it was coming?

SPEAKER_01 10:41

No, I wasn't really, I mean, I wasn't searching, I wasn't proactively looking for jobs. That's the kind of nice thing. I've never done that. You know, I've never gone and knocked on people's doors. It's always been them knocking on mine. So um, except I think the Arizona State was a little unique. I think both parties really kind of saw a match there. And so this is a place I wanted to be. And at the end of the day, when they wanted me, I'm like, this is gonna be phenomenal. This is gonna work. But Grand Canyon actually, um, they had a search firm and their search firm called my agent. So there was an initial connection there. So and then your agent kind of briefs you like, this school's called, this school's called, would you have interest? Would you not have interest? I swear my answer for like three years has been, nah, no, no, thanks. But you know, I this is big educating myself on what um this next level could look like at the right stop was important. And I did that. And, you know, the two things were true. I adored my time at Drury. I was the I played there, so I was coaching at my alma mater, which was really special. We were gonna be in the hunt for national championships every single year. I know the grass isn't always greener, but then you make the move and you're like, okay, you know, I can do this at this level. And then, same thing, going to Arizona State. It's like two things can be true. I enjoyed my time at GCU, but now I'm ready for this next chapter.

SPEAKER_04 11:59

Did you make the $15,000 back?

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Eventually. Not right off the bat.

SPEAKER_04 12:04

Do you think the three years of marketing has helped you in any way?

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Oh, totally. I mean, you hit that because I have to reconcile a budget. I have to promote my team, I have to manage a team and a group and staff. If I can manage 12 neurosurgeons' egos, I think I can be decent. So it was meant to be.

SPEAKER_04 12:23

It was like it was like uh kind of like that karate kid Mr. Miyagi thing, like you went to go do something totally different, but it's actually helped you in this field.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Yeah, I mean, besides the X's and O's, I gained a lot of valuable experience from my days as a marketing director. So it is kind of cool how those two things intertwine. And I chose business because I didn't really know what I wanted to do in life. So I guess life just nudged me in different directions and it's worked out.

SPEAKER_04 12:47

It's so funny you chose business. That's exactly how I feel about my son over here. He did a bea business major, Magna cum laudi.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Oh, there you go.

SPEAKER_04 12:54

Is that how you say it?

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Three class. I mean, it's so well-rounded, you can do pretty much, you know, whatever path you want.

SPEAKER_04 13:01

Would you say that being a parent has helped you be a better

Coaching With A Parent’s Empathy

SPEAKER_04 13:04

coach?

SPEAKER_01 13:04

100%. I say all the time in my interviews because when I became a parent, I definitely became a better coach because I would always put my kids in the kids' shoes that I was coaching. Like, how would I want Crosby, my daughter, who's dying, to be treated? How would I want someone to help her growth? How would I want um people around her to support her in her struggles and her triumphs? And so you always go back to that because they're my basketball kiddos. So I I I love and care for them and I want to see them succeed. Now, I've also said a parent, you can't put this bubble wrap around them. You have to let them fail and see what those that journey looks like. You have to guide with kind of an accountability and sometimes a firm hand. Um, but I've always said with a gentle heart. And that's the biggest thing about parenting is you have to be able to put those guardrails on them, but also let them experience. And I feel that that that is totally coaching too.

SPEAKER_04 14:03

Well, you know, it's funny because um through experience as a dad and with a kid who's playing uh college basketball, what are our frustrations? I'm trying to figure out why isn't this happening? Why isn't that happening? And then it was about, oh, wait a minute, this coach doesn't have kids. And so I was trying, I even went to Chat GPT and I said, How many college coaches have kids and don't have kids? And there's like two. Yeah, right. So uh at the gym I go to, this is I have a weird situation. My gym is also my doctor's office. That's really weird. So uh there's a someone I was working out with. Uh uh, she's a very famous, well-known agent, uh sports agent. She has a lot of the basketball players. I mean, even the some that are in the finals tonight. Uh, and I said to her, I go, uh, what's your take? I go, Do you think you have to be uh to be a good coach, you should be a parent? I said, That's my take on it. And she was like, Oh my god, yes. She was like, she went in the empathy, she went into everything you just talked about, and it just hit me between the eyes. All the frustrations I think I had as a dad watching my son play was because that coach didn't have kids. And I think it's I think it's complete night and day, just like what you just said.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Yeah. Well, you gain wisdom, I think, with some experience and compassion. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:18

Compassion. Like there's stuff like that. I mean, Peyton, her dad was her coach too, very similar to her story, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:23

Yep. I was a coach's kid and it was tough. I had like now as an adult, me and my dad are super close, but I still have a little bit of that coach's kid feeling because I felt like growing up, I always needed constant validation from my dad, right? And it was always how come I can't get a good job? And it's like, you're supposed to be great. That's what you're supposed to do. This is what you put in all that work for. So I feel like being a coach's kid, that's what stuck with me as an adult. But it really is such a special bond, too, to be able to have those moments growing up. Like my best friends are still, you know, really close with my dad because he coached us all the way growing up. But I find it so fascinating your relationship with your players because you hop online on social media, you're doing TikTok dances with them, you're bonding with them, and it's such a different atmosphere having social media being so present in student athletes' lives nowadays. I graduated high school 10 years ago and it was predominant then, but I can only imagine how it is now. And I'm curious how you are able to maintain those relationships, but still be able to lay into them and expect greatness from them without them getting in their feelings all the time.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Yeah, I I think having those genuine moments and relationships with them allows for the tough conversations. And when you're in a space, I I mean, I want them to have fun. I mean, again, I'm putting Crosby in their shoes. Like I want Crosby to have a good experience if she decides to play a sport or be in a musical or be in a band, whatever it is. I want her to have a good experience through some of those crafts. And for me, I mean, I love pouring into these kids. They really are great. They're phenomenal. So when you do that, and there's just this natural family atmosphere, and families bicker, families have fun, families challenge each other, families adore and love one another. All that's true in a locker room and as part of a team. So they'll keep me young. I mean, they egg me on with those TikToks, but I'll try to learn a dance or two. But then that also allows me to say, hey, you know, let's sit down and have this chat about how your academics are looking right now, or what's your body language is like what's going on. And usually if you ask, they'll open up and there's something is going on. If they're comfortable enough to tell you that, then there's a path towards success, and you just have to help them get there and find that. But I also am very I I figured this out as a parent too. You don't ever want to be judgmental when you're trying to course correct. And that was something I learned very early when I was a parent, but then I've kind of translated into the coaching career. I'm very matter-of-fact with them. There's no games. I'm I'm not gonna try to manipulate. I'm not gonna try to do anything that would harm our relationship or your progress. So they know that. And um, I mean, we spent this weekend on the lake together. You know, those things outside of the lines, I think, are really important. Yeah, we have we went to Lake Pleasant. Um, we have a boat and we also rented a pontoon. Um, so we were tubing, knee boarding, got up on the wakeboard. It was, it was fun. But those moments are like moments that are core memories for them.

SPEAKER_04 18:32

Sure. Is that all the players and coaching staff? And how many people is that?

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Um, that was about 17.

SPEAKER_04 18:41

Wow.

unknown 18:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:42

So is your dad that well, does your dad sometimes like, I mean, is he freaked out that you're ASU women's basketball coach? I mean, you're his little girl.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

I mean, is that uh I think he's definitely a proud dad. I get stories from my friends or family or um past players' parents back home because he'll still go to jury games. He's around basketball a lot. He's like, your dad is a walking ASU billboard. He has the yellow hat on, a bright yellow hoodie, like maroon Adidas shoes.

SPEAKER_04 19:08

So Do you call him for advice ever?

SPEAKER_01 19:10

Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, he's the one who taught me what um coaching looked like from an authentic perspective. He got the best out of us, but I don't remember like he's never cursed any of us up and down or the players that played for him. He did it the right way. I mean, he truly is kind of the beacon of coaching for me and what it should look like and how you should well, one, he loved fundamentals, and I feel that's a lost art these days. I mean, I got kids coming in. I'm like, I teach you to pass in high school. I mean, we've got to be able to sharpen some of these fundamentals. So that was that trickled down to me. And then just his care and how he went about um coaching, but also like being there as this figure of a role model or a support system. Um, and he had such a love of the game that that trickled down too. So it wasn't about like, oh, I'm we're playing for a scholarship, a full rider, we're playing to get X amount of dollars for an NIL package. We're playing to have this, that, and the other materialistic objects that go along with being uh, you know, a college basketball player. Like we played because we loved the game. We were hoopers. So I enjoyed that too.

SPEAKER_04 20:26

Is he still coaching?

SPEAKER_01 20:27

No, he's not. He's he's retired. He's been retired for a while. He was a he was a high school counselor. So I've always said coaching is teaching, and that's a art. And and he figured out that art really well. And I think that was passed on to me too.

SPEAKER_04 20:43

Has he critiqued any of your coaching or any of the games and given you advice after a game?

SPEAKER_01 20:47

He's so good about that. You know, he knows. I think he reads me and he understands when I need a little bit of, hey, you know, look at this, or what do you think about this? Or I just need some positivity or just keep it up, kid. Like he gets what I need in those moments, which I think is so valu valuable. Um, he doesn't shove opinions my way, but when he does, what he says, I'm like, gosh, I need to ask more. Like he is so thoughtful in his approach to coaching, and he understands the game really, really well. So now that you say that, that's gonna be one of my goals for this year is just to seek more dad coach advice.

SPEAKER_04 21:26

Hey man, dad stuff's great.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

It's dad stuff is great.

Recruiting And Protecting Team Culture

SPEAKER_04 21:30

Um, how do you recruit in uh Phoenix? Is it easy to recruit Phoenix? Is it like it's 120 right now? Let me play out here.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

Like here's where it's it's nice when you're recruiting transfer kids because that's right, like March, April, and so it's still pretty perfect. High school visits are around August, September, sometimes June and July. So um, you just have like, trust me, like you know, seven months out of the year. This is the best weather in the entire country, and we're an indoor sports. And I send them home in August before school. So you don't have to deal with the heat that much. Um, but yeah, I mean, we want to try to keep kids in the backyard that are really good. And I know these past few years uh we want to get back to Arizona State being a school of choice. And I think we're at that point now where we've had some success and we've changed the perception and reality of what we're gonna do and where our floor is. So we're we're becoming a school of choice with these players, with these transfers, with these freshmen. So I'm really excited to see where that can go.

SPEAKER_04 22:29

So you still go after freshmen. Like I remember hearing about it's all about the transfer portal now.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

Yeah, it's I believe in freshman development and recruitment. So we're gonna try to blend both transfer kids and freshman kids to fill our voids and our holes and what we need for the future. Um, it is a little tricky because there's probably not as many spots left as there used to be. But I, you know, I want kids to be able to call Arizona State their alma mater after four years. And I've had that at every stop. You know, I had a kid at GCU, she was my first recruit when I first got there, and she was an all-conference kid, um, a double double machine defensive player of the year. So she was a COVID kid, so she got five years. Well, after her fourth year, you know, we had a conversation. I was like, hey, I'm gonna support you. I I understand like you could make a jump to the next level. Um, and she decided to stay. And I'm like, how cool is that? And for her to have kind of the hindsight, like the the brand was suited for her, it was perfect. She understood, you know, leadership. She didn't necessarily want to start over in a program, be a freshman all over again. We had a good culture. So instances like that, I think we're gonna try to uh put these things out there that maybe matter more than money. Um, and all our transfers, they they could have probably made more money somewhere else. But you know, there's there's something to be said about a good culture, a vision, people that care about you and the success you can have here at Arizona State.

SPEAKER_04 23:55

Is it wild talking about money so openly now? How it was all like, you know, coaches got fired for doing stuff back in the day, and now it's like here's a budget making. Is that weird?

SPEAKER_01 24:04

Uh I mean, I think you just have to be adaptable to the environment. You know, I I it's it's weird to where it's gotten to. I understand the intent. I mean, I think of like a person like Tim Tebow who didn't see a drop of those jersey sales.

SPEAKER_05 24:17

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

I mean, is that fair? No. But or what what we're doing now, it's a little bit too much. Um, so I don't know if there's a common ground that can be found. I know there's a lot of hard work being worked towards a solution, but for now, you just have to do the best with what you have and then really be true to your program and your authentic self.

SPEAKER_04 24:38

And the loyalty too, it's like that goes away, right? Like I see the men's basketball where somebody, some of my son's teammates, they played at a different school five years in a row because they were going here for for more money.

SPEAKER_01 24:49

It's like same thing. I mean, you're gonna have that inevitably, but hopefully you also have kids that appreciate where they are. And like I said earlier, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. If they're in a good situation, you know, and and it's different if someone um maybe sees the writing on the wall and there's not a path to playing time, and maybe you need to help that person go down a level or see where better fit is. That's a that's why the portal's great, you know. Um, jump just to jump for money. I mean, you know, you that's that might be a tough pill to swallow. But at the end of the day, okay, if they don't want to be here because we have X, Y, Z and these things are helpful to your growth and your journey, those are decisions that have to be made.

SPEAKER_04 25:33

How important is it to meet and like the parents of the recruit?

SPEAKER_01 25:38

I think it tells a lot about what you're in for. I mean, I'll even I'll be sitting there and watching a game, and you know, parents in the stands. If if it's a little obnoxious and overboard, I'm like, whose kid is that? So I'll study him a little bit. And I've done, I'm like marked someone off the book because of it that we're gonna do. Because of their parents. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 25:59

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

I mean, there's a lot going on in this day and age. Like, we don't need any more headaches. Um, and I just, I mean, my unsolicit advice to parents is you know, continue to root and cheer on, but make it fun. You know, I think these kids face a lot of pressures and they're under a microscope. And let coaches coach, um, let teammates play, um, and then a parent as a support system. And then, you know, if if you're knowledgeable about the game, I think there's uh room for coaching them up, you know, and uh when it's appropriate, but going crazy on the sideline is not that.

SPEAKER_04 26:37

I've seen that before. It's terrible. One of my my son's teammates, um uh we were they were playing um what's it got? Oh, Gary Payton, who she's named after. Yeah, the glove. They were playing against his team, and one of the dads on him, my son's team screaming at Gary Payton, and him and Gary Payton start screaming at each other across the whole thing. It was so embarrassing and traumatic. It was so the glove. Yeah, it was crazy, right? But have you ever like uh looked at a recruit and saw their body language on the bench and you're like they were a fantastic player, but you're like, forget it.

SPEAKER_01 27:10

100%. Um, I mean, I've done that even a kid that we probably should have offered because they were maybe a local kid, or for whatever reason, there's connections. And I'm like, you don't want culture killers in your program. I mean, like a couple bad apples can ruin the bunch. And I wouldn't be doing I'd be I'd be doing my team a disservice if I didn't vet that. Because I want to protect them. I want to protect what we have and I want to protect what we built because culture is tough to build. Like it's so easy for it to go away. And to try to build that up, um, it's not worth it. I I don't I don't know if we're the most talented team this year, but we had a lot of success because we were a really connected team. And we were a team that bought into each other and we were a team that um was kind of willing and able to do what the coaches needed and wanted in those moments. So that's more valuable sometimes to me than a skill set.

SPEAKER_04 28:01

What about parents that have access to your cell phone and do they ever reach out to you about playing time or any of that stuff? And how do you handle that?

SPEAKER_01 28:07

You know, I have a I have a little bit of an unspoken rule. You know, we tell parents like, I reach out to me about your kids' well-being, academics, you know, off-the-court issues. But there kind of needs to be this order of operations when it comes to playing time. Like I should probably meet with the kid first. I think that's important that they, you know, put on the big girl pants, walk into an office and have a conversation. Coach, what do I need to do to play more? Um, that's important for growth for them and understanding from them. And then um, I'll usually say, tell the parents, you know, we can we're gonna get through season and then we can talk after season about playing time opportunities, what they need to work on the off season, where I saw the deficiencies were, where I saw the strengths were, um, the vision moving forward. So, you know, middle of season, those conversations aren't really um something that we want to have, but I'll have those conversations with the kids, which I think is really important. You know, we're at a college level now, so it's a little bit different than maybe your high school parent.

Intentionality Instead Of Work Life Balance

SPEAKER_04 29:07

What about your personal time? Like, do you ever get to do anything? Because I I have some friends that are coaches in college, and it's like they never, ever, ever can have free time.

SPEAKER_05 29:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:18

I know it was after like after March Madness ended. I know one coach took off to Spain for a while, but uh and it do you get any time off or is it just nonstop?

SPEAKER_01 29:28

I like working, so it kind of gives me energy, but I you know it's unpopular opinion to maybe say this out loud, but there is no such thing as balance. Not in our profession. You you can't have a balanced work life, home life, family life. It's just intentionality. So when I'm a coach, I'm all in. I am where I'm at, I'm pouring into those kids, I'm focused on that. When I'm a mom, I'm a mom and I'm all in if we don't get date nights. But um, if there's an occasional, actually, I take that back. I did go to a concert this weekend, it was really good. Alex Warren. Oh, yeah. It was awesome. It was so good. So, um, which reminded me, I probably need more of that, but um I I've always said this. I work frantically, I enjoy staying busy. The work is the reward. That's another one of my life sayings. And so when you do make that time, you just have to be intentional with that time and it has to matter. So when I'm with my kids, you know, they feel like they're the most important thing in the world.

SPEAKER_04 30:33

You're where your feet are.

SPEAKER_01 30:34

Yeah. And you can blend the two. So I can be where my feet are in my work life and my family life at the same time, which is so cool about my job. Like my kids will come to the gym.

SPEAKER_04 30:42

Oh, that's good.

SPEAKER_01 30:43

And they're running around like they own the place. And they really probably do.

SPEAKER_04 30:46

But if you're home and you're doing kid time let's say story, you're reading a book, and then you have that watch and you get a text to a player or whatever, does it stop? Does it does it destruction?

SPEAKER_01 30:54

Sometimes I have to take those recruiting calls. And they know that it's like just our normal. But do you know what I say? Hey, I'm with Crosby and Cy. You want to say hi? And then, hi, are you gonna play for mommy someday? I'm like, wait, are you gonna be a Sun Devil? I'm like, more, more. So it's just, it's part of it. And you just you have to do what you have to do. And so if I have to walk out and take a call, I walk out and take a call. But then the next day they might be showing up at practice and getting piggyback rides for my players. So, you know, there's this give and take and blend that I really enjoy. And our players come to our house, and some have brought them Legos and they've done Legos together. They've built forts, they've had Nerf gun fights, they've swam in the pool. So I'd say um, life is good for my kids.

SPEAKER_04 31:33

Is your husband in the sports business?

SPEAKER_01 31:35

No, he's actually in the medical business. So that works out really good.

SPEAKER_04 31:38

Did you meet him when you were in the marketing department?

SPEAKER_01 31:40

So he was a football player at Missouri State, and I played basketball jury, and they're like down the block from each other. So some of my football friends that I went to high school with was his teammates. So he kind of crossed paths and um the rest is history. It it was it was good dating an athlete because we both really didn't have time for each other and we understood that.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

And you get it.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

Yeah, he got it. He's like, when I hang out, I'm like, I'm so tired. And he's I'm like, Do you want to hang out? He's like, I just had two days, I'm tired too. I'm like, all right, this weekend.

SPEAKER_04 32:08

What about now? Do you exercise now? Do you get to work out? Do you get to work out your players?

SPEAKER_01 32:12

Do you you know what? I try to. I haven't been very intentional about that. And I really want to. I've gotten up and gone on a jog and a walk or a hike these past few days, which has been really nice. I'm at a time now where I can do it. During season, it's an awful excuse, but it's just so hard to find the time.

SPEAKER_04 32:29

During season, what what are your hours? Like when you you wake up, what time to go to bed?

SPEAKER_01 32:33

I mean, you don't probably want to hear that. No. No, no. I mean, I'm I'm a little bit of a night owl. Um, and so is one of my assistants. So sometimes it's not unordinary for me to text Daniel at like 2 a.m. and him respond and text me back, and we're like going back and forth about a scout or a plan. That's totally normal. Um, I don't, I'm not encouraging this because that's not balance. Um, but yeah, then you get up and you're in season, you're practicing and um meetings with kids and scouts. I mean, there's not enough hours in the day, so you just try to make the most of them. But, you know, we'll sleep later. I don't need that much sleep either.

SPEAKER_04 33:10

So uh how many siblings do you have?

SPEAKER_01 33:12

I've got two. I've got I'm the oldest. So my sister was two years younger than me. So we played in high school and college together.

SPEAKER_05 33:18

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

And it was fun. I've got I some stories though. Oh my gosh, we had to be separated once because I was throwing punches on a blockout drill. Then we got the whole team in trouble, and then I got kicked out of practice, and my sister got kicked out of practice. Whoa. Now we're best friends.

SPEAKER_00 33:33

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

I mean, we're so competitive. No, we're so competitive.

SPEAKER_00 33:36

And then you have the sisterness on top of it.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

Yeah. So, and then I have a younger brother who's two years uh younger than my sister.

SPEAKER_04 33:43

So I'm kind of stair-stepped and what are they what what's their path? What are they doing?

SPEAKER_01 33:49

Um, my sister, she is um, she was doing some accounting and she just had her third kid. Um, so she's got two girls and a boy. And her husband, Adam, played basketball at jury, so that's how they met. And then my brother Sam owns his own construction business. They have two kids, a girl and a boy. Um, and it's just it's the best because they want to come to Phoenix for all the holidays. So, like Christmas, Thanksgiving, we're the destination spot. So they'll come here, but yeah, because nice weather and I'll just see them, treat them.

SPEAKER_04 34:20

Where do you get the name Crosby from?

SPEAKER_01 34:21

That's such a good question. Because I was a name snob when I found out that we were having a girl. You know, you get all your girl names. Well, Crosby was born in July, so we were doing camps in June. And so you're like, oh, I can't name her. That kid, she was not fun to be around. She was wild. Can't name her. And my husband loved Avery. And I was like, okay, it's okay. Well, literally that year of camp, we had like 16 Averies. I'm like, we are not naming her Avery. There's just too many of them in this camp cycle. Um, so one of the neurosurgeons that I worked for, he had a daughter named Crosby. And I'm like, oh, that's really unique. I like haven't heard it, but it's nothing off the wall that you can't pronounce. So Crosby it was. And um, it was a name that uh I got to pick, I guess. So my husband got to pick Cy, my son's, and his Native American, his middle name is Cy, and he's got Native American heritage, so that comes from his side of the family.

SPEAKER_04 35:20

I thought maybe Crosby was like your maiden name.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

No, Carter. If you were gonna have another boy, it was gonna be Carter. And and Coach Carter was so much cooler than Coach Miller. So I blame my husband for that one too.

SPEAKER_04 35:32

Have you ever seen this show? I don't know if you ever did you get any time to watch TV?

SPEAKER_01 35:35

Um, no, TV is not online.

SPEAKER_04 35:38

There's this show called Broadchurch. It's a really good show. I mean, it's a serial killer show, but there's a a female cop on there. Her name is her last name is Miller, and they always go Miller.

SPEAKER_01 35:49

Well yeah, it's Miller time a lot.

SPEAKER_04 35:51

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's very cool. Uh so how long have you been in Arizona with GCU and

Hosting Recruits And Coach Community

SPEAKER_04 35:55

ASU? How long have you been in here?

SPEAKER_01 35:57

Um, this will be my sixth year.

SPEAKER_04 35:59

Sixth year? Okay, so that's long enough for you to have your favorite restaurants, favorite place to go.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

Put me on the spot.

SPEAKER_04 36:04

You're oh oh, you don't have to say, but what are your you well, you don't have to say your favorite favorite, but what are some of the places you like to go?

SPEAKER_01 36:10

Um, you know, there's a little, I'm like into food crawls. Like I will go to one place for an appetizer, and then I'll go to someone else, some other place for a main course. I'll go to some other place for dessert. There's like a little row where there's joyride taco. Um, what's right there? And Central? Yes. Like right there. Yeah, it's all in a row.

SPEAKER_04 36:28

Federal pizza.

SPEAKER_01 36:29

Federal pizza is there, Windsor, dessert.

SPEAKER_04 36:33

Same guy owns all those.

SPEAKER_01 36:34

Yes, postinos, which is my app place. So postinos for apps, grab a slice of pizza and then do a little Mexican.

unknown 36:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:41

Same guy owns all those?

SPEAKER_01 36:42

Yeah, it's perfect for a food crawl. Right. So that's kind of one of my go-to's when I have family in town. We'll just make our way.

SPEAKER_04 36:48

There's no uh, but you don't go, you don't do let's see, like stick 44.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

Um, I'm not that fancy.

SPEAKER_04 36:54

But when you take, so whenever you take in a recruit and shoes again, where do you go?

SPEAKER_01 36:58

We have to see what they like. And so we have just this list. What do you like? Italian, American food, Mexican food, and then we'll kind of choose from there. Um, I mean, we've been to a Brazilian steakhouse because we've got a kid from Brazil. I'm like, that sold her. Um, really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:14

I guess it's all the time.

SPEAKER_01 37:17

No, a little taste of home. And it shows that you're paying attention, right? And you're caring. So um, what's really cool is Novus Place, right on campus, um, has a bunch of different restaurants. And so during lunchtime, you can literally walk from our practice facility to Novus Place. It's right across the street, and they're in awe of there's a restaurant on every corner, there's a Starbucks, there's ice cream, then there's apartments behind them. I'm like, this is like your own little athletic village. People, yeah, people would die to be here. I mean, here you're pretty crazy the way school is now.

SPEAKER_04 37:48

Yeah. Are you friends with other coaches at the university?

SPEAKER_01 37:51

100%. Like besties.

SPEAKER_04 37:53

You know Missy K?

SPEAKER_01 37:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 37:55

We've known Missy K for like 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 37:57

They're all the best. I mean, we are a really tight-knit group and then we're really supportive of each other. We have this head coach's chat, and it's all they're all paying attention. We're paying attention to one another, we're rooting one another on. And then, you know, when we have these booster outings or dinners, it's like we enjoy spending time with each other and we'll have group text and inside jokes and chat. And I've said this in previous interviews: like only coaches know what coaches go through. So it's important that we're kind of locked in with each other. We can, we can vent, we can tell stories, we can give tips and tricks, we can share the answers, recruiting. So I've never been a part of a more connected group than the one at Arizona State. And a lot of that comes from our leadership. I think Graham has put together a phenomenal um group of coaches. And these coaches, they they push you to be better. They say iron sharpens iron. Well, that's been true here because everyone's winning left and right. You don't want to be, you don't want to be the outlier in that group. Um, but they're really cool people.

SPEAKER_04 39:01

Are there any books you've read that have helped inspire you or shape you that you think is a

Benergy And Roles That Matter

SPEAKER_04 39:05

must?

SPEAKER_01 39:05

A must. You know what? This is an easy read, and I'm gonna tell my girls to read this. It's top of mind right now. But I love the energy bus because it's very it's short, but it has a good message. Energy's always been my edge. Oh, yeah, you get the Benergy. Yeah, the Benergy. Remember you telling me about the. I want to talk about Benergy? We can talk about Bengy.

SPEAKER_04 39:22

Benergy is tremendous.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

I mean, that's huge. Okay. Yes, a lot. Yeah, I coach high school girls basketball, and we are always on the bench all the time. So it's like, I mean, it's it's so contagious. So contagious. If your bench is on fire, you're probably playing and you gotta have the same thing, can't make subs and lack energy as well, too. So I know Benergy.

SPEAKER_04 39:45

No, but she has the phrase. She it's her.

SPEAKER_00 39:47

You coined Benergy? Yeah, I am impressed. Okay, definitely.

SPEAKER_04 39:52

She's got hats and clothing.

SPEAKER_01 39:54

Yeah, I'm repping a Benergy shirt this year for awesome. We'll have to get you guys along. We'll get you some Benergy merch. But yeah, that started when I was at jury a long time ago. And it was just a way to inspire the bench. Like, get into the game. Even though you're not in the game, impact the game. So give energy. I've my mom said this since I was like really, really young. Give energy to get energy. That's probably where I get a little bit of my persona. And on the bench, if you can pour into your teammates, well, when they sub out, they're gonna pour into you. And you feel that. So everything's this feel and the vibe. So it started as bench energy, you know, the energy from the bench. And I'd be like, come on, more Benergy. And they get into the game and you rally. Um, but it's really morphed into everyone gets in the game. That's been our tagline. And so you can have Benergy, you can have impact if you're a fan, if you're a donor, if you're a community member. Um, you can get into the game, you can have impact on our program, what we're doing. So, yeah, Benergy is worldwide.

SPEAKER_00 40:51

How do you handle that when there is a player on the bench that feels like they should be out there, that they've worked for it and they just can't get locked into the game? How do you handle that?

SPEAKER_01 41:03

I think conversations one-on-ones are really important. Um, when you talk about how you can impact the game and your role, or how can you star in the role that you're in? I've had so many morphosis of players that weren't gonna see a lot of playing time. They were spot minute kids when we're up by 20. It just was that. So, you know, you'll sit them down and be like, here's the here's the role. Now, if you want to see more minutes, I need you to do X, Y, and Z. And if you prove on those, you'll get more minutes. But the role you're in right now is, gosh, how can you help this team? You can be the best like practice player, kind of. You know, if we're doing scout and they're on scout team, then you play free. You don't play, you know, you're not worried about mistakes, you're not worried about judgment, just go ball out. And so, you know, I've had some of those kind of into the bench players take on that role as I can impact practice, I can help the team like that. Maybe if I get these practice reps that are really, really good, then I can get more game reps. And so there's a trickle-down effect there. Um, but again, no one wants to be the outcast, right? So when you have everyone bought into this binary concept, you'll stick out like a sore thumb. You'll stick out on a sore thumb on tape. So I like to show them like I will film our bench during games. And I don't have to call anyone out, but I say, hey, good Benergy or poor Benergy. If everyone's standing up and cheering, and then two people over there golf clapping, they'll get the message. Um, so you you it's gotta be a visual too. They have to see it. And then when they kind of see themselves making the mistake, I think that's a reality check. Um, instead of me just, you know, harping on it and and nagging them, that's gonna be something that they see. And that has impact. Energy has real impact. So it's a big thing in our program.

SPEAKER_04 42:47

I got a great book for you to give to your to your teammates. I think it's fantastic. And uh all my kids read it. And I we read it quite a bit. And there's an audio version, and there's a book, it's called Mind Gym. Mind Gym. Have you heard of it?

SPEAKER_05 42:59

I've heard of it.

SPEAKER_04 43:00

It's and and it's the the dude that wrote it. Uh uh, I don't know exactly his connections, but he was here. He was living here. He was a profess he might have been a professor at ASU.

SPEAKER_01 43:08

Oh, wow, that's cool.

SPEAKER_04 43:09

Yeah, and he and it's it's such a great, but he references all these athletes that were in the year 2000. But it's I just think it's fantastic about the mental health video. It's called Mind Gym.

Audience Q And A Plus Coaching Advice

SPEAKER_04 43:20

Um Hey, thanks for jumping on this podcast. And thank you to Hayden.

SPEAKER_01 43:23

Yeah, thanks for having me. That was really cool. Thanks for having me. Gosh, time flies when you're having fun. That was awesome.

SPEAKER_04 43:28

Was it all right? Yeah, I was pretty stressed about you being on here. Oh, yes, yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 43:33

Yes, question from the audience. What is the craziest thing that a recruit has asked for?

SPEAKER_05 43:40

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 43:41

Oh, good, good question. Um it's not it's not crazy this day and age, but they want flight miles for their parents. So yeah, I don't know, I don't know if anything's been crazy, but you know, that's something that's like the cherry on top would be flight miles. For my parents. You know, ask for cars, you know, apartments. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:06

Well, it's just like you have a question, yes, you, sir, cameraman.

SPEAKER_03 44:11

Have you ever experienced an athlete who just doesn't see eye to eye with you about culture or about anything on the team, but still is a good player? And how do you traverse those conversations with that individual?

SPEAKER_01 44:26

Yeah, that's a good question. We'll do constant culture checks. So I correct the behavior in the instant moment. And if that keeps on happening, it becomes a little redundant. And it's funny, player-led teams are so much better than a coaching-led team. But players all of a sudden seeing that. So now there's an accountability measure on the team and on the players to be able to say, like, you gotta change something at this point in time. Because we're sick of doing consequences for your behavior. We're sick. So those culture checks, instead of letting them get by with it, and then I don't judge them. It's like, hey, that we can't have that poor body language after a turnover. I need you to sprint back and get on defense. And so there's some real-time feedback there that helps. And again, if it keeps becoming an issue, we might have to have deeper conversations. But I've I've had pretty good leaders on teams where the locker room can kind of take care of that on its own. And that's my hope is like the players police themselves. Will I have to get involved every once in a while? Yes. If we're not seeing eye to eye, the biggest motivator is playing time. And I think you have to, you have to be stern in that because then, you know, if if you don't bench your best player, then there's gonna be an issue. Like that's not, and everything's gonna be it's it's gonna be fair, but it might not always be equal. So I think you those are tough waters to navigate sometimes. That's really fair, but it's not always gonna be equal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:51

Dang, that's good. I mean, you're amazing. You are amazing.

SPEAKER_05 45:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:57

Is your whole uh like I was just my question is like for my son over here. He's been doing like looking for grad assistants stuff. Do you have all the grad assistants? Boy, you'd be so great if you're on this team. Grad assistant coach.

SPEAKER_01 46:09

I know, that'd be fun. We like we're our grad assistants didn't turn over this year because it's a two-year cycle.

SPEAKER_04 46:14

How many grad assists are there on a team?

SPEAKER_01 46:16

Um three.

SPEAKER_04 46:17

Oh, there's three? Oh, so they were good, they stayed.

SPEAKER_01 46:20

Yeah, I mean it was first year, so we hired them all year one and now their second year.

SPEAKER_04 46:24

And you guys have the um, I remember I seen an ad somewhere where they were looking for players. So you like your scout team is a guys?

SPEAKER_01 46:31

Yeah, that like we need scout team players.

SPEAKER_04 46:33

Where do you find those guys?

SPEAKER_01 46:34

On campus. Like they have to be enrolled as a full-time student. Three of them played on on the club team, so that was nice.

SPEAKER_04 46:40

We just like to try them out to make sure they're good enough.

SPEAKER_01 46:43

Oh, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 46:44

And do they ever lose their temper when they're playing against no?

SPEAKER_01 46:47

I've got those boys whipped into shape. They don't well go ahead, yes.

SPEAKER_04 46:53

You and a question in the back.

SPEAKER_02 46:55

What is your best advice for somebody like him who is just came out of college, just graduated, loves the basketball space, he has a really high basketball IQ, he um he has a business degree, and he wants to stay in. But what is the best, like what is the best route to try?

SPEAKER_01 47:18

You know, hopefully there's some people in the circle that can get you in the door a little bit. Have those people that have connections that have influence make calls, and then you can't be picky of where you start. You know, it could be a GA for an NAIA, it could be a volunteer spot for a division two. Like you can't really be picky where you start. You'll earn your keep. He's meant for this and you're a hard worker. I'm I'm telling you, the cream rises to the crop in this business really, really, really fast. So not being picky in your opportunity, have those mentors reach out, um, send some emails, pick up the phone. I mean, I I get emails across my desk every day wanting to be a part of it. So that's a little trickier. You don't stand out as much. But if someone's calling me and say, hey, I've got this really, really good bright and up and comer you need to take a look at, that's more impactful. That's good to know.

SPEAKER_04 48:04

Because you get all because there's emails and text. Tons.

SPEAKER_01 48:06

Tons.

SPEAKER_04 48:07

And you don't respond to all of them.

SPEAKER_01 48:08

It's hard. It's hard. I usually pass them on to one of my assistants like, hey, just tell them we don't have an opening right now, you know, keep you in mind. Um, because there's a lot that come through.

SPEAKER_04 48:17

Well, third time for me saying thank you.

SPEAKER_01 48:20

Thank you for having me. This was fun, and the whole fam's here. I love it.

SPEAKER_04 48:29

Okay, so welcome to our podcast. This is a little bit different today because this podcast is a spin-off of our radio show.