WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from

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<v Speaker 1>KFI AM six forty.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes Later with Mo Kelly, We are live everywhere on

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<v Speaker 2>the iHeartRadio app Let's go be on the box Score

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<v Speaker 2>with Jackie Ray, who joins me.

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<v Speaker 3>Good evening, Jackie Ray.

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<v Speaker 4>Good evening, Good to be here.

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<v Speaker 2>I saw this story and I forwarded on to you,

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<v Speaker 2>talking about how cal matters wanted to reach out to

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<v Speaker 2>the public universities here in California and get a sense

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<v Speaker 2>of the nil name, image and likeness that Division one athletes,

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<v Speaker 2>the amount of money that they were receiving at these

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<v Speaker 2>various universities, and to make a long story short, not

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<v Speaker 2>only were the universities not forthcoming, there was almost no

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<v Speaker 2>information made available at all. For example, three hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>ninety thousand dollars to Jalen Tyson, a former basketball guard

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<v Speaker 2>at UC Berkeley, a non sports school.

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<v Speaker 3>For the most part, right, I.

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<v Speaker 2>Don't even know who Jalen Tyson is was as a

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<v Speaker 2>basketball player, no disrespect. Three thousand dollars to UCLA gymnast

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<v Speaker 2>and Olympic gold medal winner Jordan Childs. I'm guessing she

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<v Speaker 2>probably got more than three thousand dollars three hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>ninety dollars to Makai May's, a former cal State long

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<v Speaker 2>beach sprinter. Probably not on my radar. I say all

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<v Speaker 2>this to say, if the universities are this not forthcoming

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<v Speaker 2>with the information about NIL deals, I have to imagine

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<v Speaker 2>that Jordan Childs made more than three thousand dollars, is

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<v Speaker 2>Olympic gold medalist and the UCLA gymnast. I have to

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<v Speaker 2>imagine that someone on the UCLA men's basketball team got

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<v Speaker 2>something from an NIL deal.

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<v Speaker 3>What did you make of the non disclosures?

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<v Speaker 5>When I saw Jordan Childs and three thousand dollars, that

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<v Speaker 5>instantly sent up the somebody is lying flag because there's

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<v Speaker 5>just no way, especially you can't win, but two time

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<v Speaker 5>gold medal winner and then she's been in the World Champion,

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<v Speaker 5>she's beautiful. She definitely can promote your brand. I think

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<v Speaker 5>sometimes people forget that's what NIL can do. We're seeing

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<v Speaker 5>a lot of there's an LSU gymnast, forgive me, I

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<v Speaker 5>can't remember her name right now, but there's an ls yes,

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<v Speaker 5>and she's constantly on her Instagram doing a cartwheel and

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<v Speaker 5>somebody's apparel, So she's getting a deal from that.

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<v Speaker 4>Jordan child's is very beautiful.

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<v Speaker 5>She can flip, she's she can do some makeup, so

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<v Speaker 5>there's no way that I'm buying that she didn't have

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<v Speaker 5>any other endorsements. And for you to your point, I

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<v Speaker 5>had to look up Jalen Like and he was drafted

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<v Speaker 5>in the first round to the Cleveland Cavaliers and he's

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<v Speaker 5>doing okay, you know, but that's not the nature of

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<v Speaker 5>NCAA sports right now. We don't really know the guys

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<v Speaker 5>like that, we really because they just they're kind of

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<v Speaker 5>won and done, so it's not a thing. So I

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<v Speaker 5>definitely and shout out to cow Matters because they definitely

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<v Speaker 5>kind of buried the lead in that story. But they

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<v Speaker 5>did they were forthcoming and saying they were not transparent.

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<v Speaker 5>They answered questions, but they were not transparent about the amounts,

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<v Speaker 5>and I'm not sure why that is. You know, in

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<v Speaker 5>my head, I can see there's going to be certain

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<v Speaker 5>sports that are going to do great, you know, men's basketball,

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<v Speaker 5>women's basketball, that's going to do great as far as endorsement,

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<v Speaker 5>and then it's going to trickle down from there. Are

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<v Speaker 5>they trying to protect the kids, maybe not have kids' feelings?

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<v Speaker 4>Get why aren't they forthcoming? This is California.

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<v Speaker 5>This is California then, one of the entertainment capitals of

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<v Speaker 5>the world.

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<v Speaker 4>These kids are making some money off of nil deal.

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<v Speaker 3>And not only that.

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<v Speaker 2>And part of the reason why the nil deals matter

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<v Speaker 2>is because with this what I call open free agency,

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<v Speaker 2>in which the transfer portal, you can have students athletes

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<v Speaker 2>transferring to a different university every single year. You kind

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<v Speaker 2>of know if someone's going to stay at a university,

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<v Speaker 2>it is financially worthwhile for them to stay at a university.

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<v Speaker 2>Don't tell me that Jordan Child's is only worth three

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<v Speaker 2>thousand dollars to the University of California, Los Angeles.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm not buying that.

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<v Speaker 2>So it says to me, if you're not forthcoming over

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<v Speaker 2>something which is legal, right, what we're not talking about,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, the one hundred dollars handshakes. We're talking about

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<v Speaker 2>the stuff that is legal about board And I know

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<v Speaker 2>USC private university. But someone like Caleb Williams, who is

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<v Speaker 2>the number one overall draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner,

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<v Speaker 2>he was making more than two million a year, right,

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<v Speaker 2>I know. These other athletes got to be making hundreds

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<v Speaker 2>of thousands of dollars a year.

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<v Speaker 5>Yeah, and that was the confusing part to me because

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<v Speaker 5>I could almost see if the school was was getting

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<v Speaker 5>their boosters to raise the money. But they could do that,

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<v Speaker 5>that's happened in other schools. I'm like, there's no reason

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<v Speaker 5>to not be forthcoming about how much it only benefits

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<v Speaker 5>your school. If cal Mathers calls you and says how

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<v Speaker 5>much of your kids making and you could say, our

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<v Speaker 5>kids are getting paid over here, that's only going to

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<v Speaker 5>help your stockpile right with other kids looking So I

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<v Speaker 5>have no idea why the transparency didn't happen.

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<v Speaker 2>What this Also, these are just questions which the article

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<v Speaker 2>in cal matter. It's just inspired me. This makes me

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<v Speaker 2>wonder what under the table dealings are going on even still,

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<v Speaker 2>which are outside the boundaries of what is supposed to

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<v Speaker 2>be just you know, open season. As far as paying money.

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<v Speaker 2>You can have boosters paying money. Yes, you're supposed to

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<v Speaker 2>document it, but boosters can do it. You can have

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<v Speaker 2>actual businesses approaching athletes and doing sponsorship deals.

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<v Speaker 3>There's not too much you can't do, right, So what

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<v Speaker 3>is it that you're afraid of?

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<v Speaker 5>And that was my entire thing because at first I

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<v Speaker 5>was like, well, I could see them being fearful and

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<v Speaker 5>saying the boosters. But then I was like, oh again,

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<v Speaker 5>they can do that. So unless to your point, because

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<v Speaker 5>I can't think of an illegal situation when you are

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<v Speaker 5>literally given this free for all to raise money for

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<v Speaker 5>your kids in any way, I can't think of anything.

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<v Speaker 4>Illegal that they would be doing.

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<v Speaker 5>But this, if I was an investigator, this would peauk

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<v Speaker 5>my interest and now I would have to do a

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<v Speaker 5>deep dive into every school that was not transparent because what.

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<v Speaker 4>Are you hiding is tax evasion? Like what is happening?

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<v Speaker 3>See that's a great point.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a great point because if you list that Jordan

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<v Speaker 2>Childs only made three thousand dollars, and I'm assuming that's

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<v Speaker 2>what the university is reporting, that's the logical leap I'm

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<v Speaker 2>going to make. Then Jordan Childs only has to, in

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<v Speaker 2>theory pay taxes on three thousand dollars. But if all

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<v Speaker 2>this is not above board and you have athletes like

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<v Speaker 2>a Caleb Williams, I'm not trying to sully his name.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm just saying someone who we all kind of know

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<v Speaker 2>from southern California made millions of dollars in college and

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<v Speaker 2>they're not paying taxes on that money or it's not

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<v Speaker 2>being declared to the university.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, then you have a different type of problem, And that.

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<v Speaker 2>Would make more sense than not being forthright, because evidently

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<v Speaker 2>they're telling the university saying one thing to the irs,

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<v Speaker 2>and obviously the general public knows better.

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<v Speaker 5>Right and listen, I would tell the universities to be

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<v Speaker 5>very careful, tread very lightly, because there's going to be

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<v Speaker 5>that one kid that has parents like mine, and the

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<v Speaker 5>university is telling them, hey, you only made three thousand

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<v Speaker 5>when you know you made one point five million.

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<v Speaker 4>Meanwhile, my mom and dad are over.

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<v Speaker 5>My soldier saying, don't you let them tell that lie

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<v Speaker 5>on you. You better file this right before the government

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<v Speaker 5>comes and gets you, right, and that's just going to

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<v Speaker 5>expose you. So if that's what's happening, which is the

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<v Speaker 5>only thing I could think of, that is going to

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<v Speaker 5>get really muddy very quickly.

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<v Speaker 2>When we come back, I have to talk about my

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<v Speaker 2>favorite player in not just college basketball, women's college basketball,

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<v Speaker 2>but college basketball more broadly. Juju Watkins still is a thriller.

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<v Speaker 2>Over the weekend between USC and UCLA. UCLA women came

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<v Speaker 2>out on top after coming from behind, but I think

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<v Speaker 2>it makes it even better for the tournament. You have

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<v Speaker 2>two teams from Southern California, probably both being number one

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<v Speaker 2>seeds probably, and then you have just the rivalry renewed

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<v Speaker 2>in Southern California which is going to hit the Nationals stage. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>got to talk about that when we come back. It's

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<v Speaker 2>Later with mo Kelly, Beyond the box Score with Jackie Ray.

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from

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<v Speaker 1>KFI AM six forty.

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<v Speaker 3>It is Later with Mo Kelly.

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<v Speaker 2>We are live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app as we

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<v Speaker 2>continue to go Beyond the box Score with our regular

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<v Speaker 2>commentator Jackie Ray. Jackie Ray, I know, I know that

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<v Speaker 2>you saw that game between USC and UCLA for the

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<v Speaker 2>Big Ten Championship, which was kind of ironic because this

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<v Speaker 2>is the first year that both USC and UCLA played

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<v Speaker 2>in the Big Ten and none of the heritage legacy

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<v Speaker 2>Big Ten teams were in the championship UCLA and USC,

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<v Speaker 2>and UCLA came out on top. Let me recap very quickly.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the third time they've met this season. USC

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<v Speaker 2>won the first two USC blew out UCLA in the

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<v Speaker 2>second matchup. USC was leading handily in this third matchup

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<v Speaker 2>but couldn't make a shot in the fourth courter, and

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<v Speaker 2>UCLA came back.

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<v Speaker 3>I think it sets the stage for a.

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<v Speaker 2>Thrilling yes tournament where both of them could be number

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<v Speaker 2>one seeds.

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<v Speaker 5>What do you think I have to admit them? When

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<v Speaker 5>they went up by like thirteen points, and they were

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<v Speaker 5>up by thirteen points for a while, I kind of

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<v Speaker 5>stopped paying so much attention. You know, you hear the

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<v Speaker 5>commentators and you know when to look up.

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<v Speaker 4>But then all of a sudden, I was like, Okay,

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<v Speaker 4>they haven't scored in a minute. What is happening?

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<v Speaker 5>And then the bottom fell out and this is exactly

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<v Speaker 5>what you love. When I first moved to California, one

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<v Speaker 5>of the things people asked me there was like, hey,

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<v Speaker 5>do you go to see women's basketball? Because they knew

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<v Speaker 5>I was into hoops and stuff. And I was like, yeah,

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<v Speaker 5>I go to UCLA all the time, depending who I

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<v Speaker 5>would say that to. If I said it to somebody

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<v Speaker 5>from USC they would clutch their pearls and gasp right away,

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<v Speaker 5>like how dare you?

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<v Speaker 4>How dare you? Lady? I don't even know you, but

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<v Speaker 4>you know.

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<v Speaker 5>It was just one of those things that that rivalry

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<v Speaker 5>was not only good for the fan base, it was

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<v Speaker 5>good for the ticket sales. It makes basketball fun. And

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<v Speaker 5>now you throw Juju in there, and Juju is an

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<v Speaker 5>entity in herself just to go see her specifically, but

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<v Speaker 5>this renewed rivalry and everyone is still talking about that game,

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<v Speaker 5>wondering what happened in the fourth quarter, how did they

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<v Speaker 5>go score? You know, there was all these things. And

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<v Speaker 5>I love this for the women's game, because the women's

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<v Speaker 5>game we have a very I gush about it sometime

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<v Speaker 5>because we get to know these players. These players are

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<v Speaker 5>not one and done. We get to watch their careers evolve,

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<v Speaker 5>and so that makes us a fan of that player,

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<v Speaker 5>a fan of that school, and so it really builds

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<v Speaker 5>up the fan base. This is fantastic. I cannot wait

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<v Speaker 5>for this next move for them.

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<v Speaker 2>Speaking of players and storylines and four year careers, Juju

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<v Speaker 2>Watkins did surpass Kaitlyn Clark on the list of most

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<v Speaker 2>points scored in the first two seasons of a player's

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<v Speaker 2>college career in women's basketball. Now, point of clarity, Kaitlyn

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<v Speaker 2>Clark really upped her game scoring wise in the final

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<v Speaker 2>two years of her career, but Juju Watkins is on

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<v Speaker 2>pace at this point to exceed and surpass Caitlyn Clark

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<v Speaker 2>for the all time leading scorer.

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<v Speaker 3>I wonder if Juju's gonna stay four years.

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<v Speaker 5>Man, listen, I will tell you this when she comes

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<v Speaker 5>to the La Sparks game, if anybody's putting a bug

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<v Speaker 5>in her ear, it is to come on, come on,

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<v Speaker 5>come on over here. You see how we're investing. Now,

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<v Speaker 5>let me just put it on record. La Sparks have

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<v Speaker 5>been a dumpster fire since for a while, even when

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<v Speaker 5>Candas Parker was here, as far as the investment in

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<v Speaker 5>players and making sure that they have a place to

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<v Speaker 5>work out, gyms and things of that nature. But the

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<v Speaker 5>times have changed, and I think we can really really

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<v Speaker 5>give that to the Aces because the Aces kind of

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<v Speaker 5>set the tone of giving a practice facility, their own arena,

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<v Speaker 5>things of that nature, and then other teams took notice,

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<v Speaker 5>and so now the La Sparks have to keep up.

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<v Speaker 5>And so they are literally creating a market where it's

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<v Speaker 5>not only good for the player, it's good for the fans,

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<v Speaker 5>and it's going to attract young people. So I can

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<v Speaker 5>tell you I've seen her on the sideline a couple

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<v Speaker 5>of times, and I have seen some people, Hey, like

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<v Speaker 5>how you liking it?

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<v Speaker 4>Like you know you wouldn't just here in LA. So

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<v Speaker 4>I don't know how that would work.

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<v Speaker 5>With the draft because if they do decent, obviously they

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<v Speaker 5>won't be in contention for that. But I know, and

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<v Speaker 5>I'm sure the Sparks are not the only team in

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<v Speaker 5>the WNBA that have said, hey, Juju, how you doing?

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<v Speaker 4>Like you want to come see how we're doing over here.

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<v Speaker 2>Look, I will say this, and I'm a student of

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<v Speaker 2>basketball history, there are times where you can look at

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<v Speaker 2>someone and see that they are a generational talent. Caitlyn

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<v Speaker 2>Clark generational talent. What I mean is you only see

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<v Speaker 2>one or two every generation. Juju Watkins is another generational talent.

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<v Speaker 2>This might be No, I know, this is the beginning

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<v Speaker 2>of the golden age of the WNBA. If you know

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<v Speaker 2>history and you know the evolution of the NBA, this

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<v Speaker 2>is it. And here's what I mean. Let's say three

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<v Speaker 2>years from now, you will have an Angel Reece, Caitlin Clark,

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<v Speaker 2>Paige Becker's, Juju Watkins, and five other names that the

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<v Speaker 2>general public doesn't really know about yet who will be

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<v Speaker 2>stars in the NBA. And the fact that everyone knows

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<v Speaker 2>that they will all be household names, not w NBA names.

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<v Speaker 3>Household names.

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<v Speaker 2>You go to see a fundamental change in the perception

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<v Speaker 2>of the w NBA and I cannot wait. And a

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<v Speaker 2>large part of that is going to be Juju Watkins.

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<v Speaker 2>Hear me out, And this is why Angel Reese is

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<v Speaker 2>a forward. She's not really in direct competition with Caitlin

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<v Speaker 2>Clark as a guard. Juju Watkins is guard who can play.

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<v Speaker 5>Say that again for people who don't understand this comparison

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<v Speaker 5>between Kitlin Clark and Angel Reese's a but go ahead.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm just saying Juju Watkins is the more comparable comparison,

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<v Speaker 2>even though Juju can play guard and forward. When you

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<v Speaker 2>have Juju Watkins possibly d ing up Caitlin Clark or

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<v Speaker 2>Paige Becker's okay, that's going to be scintillating. You don't

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<v Speaker 2>have that wonder one face off between angew Reese and

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<v Speaker 2>Caitlin Clark. They're only tied together because they came up together.

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<v Speaker 2>They played against each other in the National Championship, but

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<v Speaker 2>they're not really playing against each other. Juju and Caitlyn

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<v Speaker 2>could face off for ten years in a row.

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<v Speaker 5>Yeah, And I'm gonna tell you right now, like you said,

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<v Speaker 5>respect to Caitlyn Clark, Shout out to Kelsey Mitchell too, though,

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<v Speaker 5>because she always gets overlooking Mets and she set that

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<v Speaker 5>record for the two years, long time ago. I don't

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<v Speaker 5>see anybody breaking it anytime soon, so shout out to her.

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<v Speaker 5>But to your point, this is what we want, This

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<v Speaker 5>is what we want to see. Juju is going to

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<v Speaker 5>be locked in with everybody that she plays against in

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<v Speaker 5>the league. She's already got the State Farm commercials, so

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<v Speaker 5>we're already getting used to seeing her face and advertising.

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<v Speaker 5>She's also gorgeous, she shows up at events. She does

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<v Speaker 5>everything right now as a college basketball player that you

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<v Speaker 5>want your star or the face of your league to

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<v Speaker 5>do once they make it to the pros. So she's

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<v Speaker 5>not gonna have the learning curve or getting all the attention,

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<v Speaker 5>which I think both Angel and Caitlyn kind of struggled

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<v Speaker 5>with their first season. It was very negative. So hopefully

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<v Speaker 5>we've remedied that and we can all move forward talk

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<v Speaker 5>about basketball. But I think that for Juju, she kind

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<v Speaker 5>of got to watch that from Afar and she already

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<v Speaker 5>knows how she's gonna deal with that if that happens

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<v Speaker 5>to her, So she's going to be seamless. In my opinion,

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<v Speaker 5>and every rookie struggles first couple of games, no problem,

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<v Speaker 5>even the first season, no problem. But I just think

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<v Speaker 5>her learning curve is going to be so exponentially lower

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<v Speaker 5>than most rookies just because of her basketball IQ, the

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<v Speaker 5>way that she sees the floor, how comparable she is

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<v Speaker 5>two players right now in the league. I think her

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<v Speaker 5>learning curve is going to be very, very low, and

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<v Speaker 5>she's going to come out the gate transforming teams.

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<v Speaker 2>Assuming Juju Watkins does not come out this year. Is

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<v Speaker 2>Page Becker's number one pick?

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<v Speaker 6>Oh? Absolutely, okay, to make sure, Yeah, absolutely, I would

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<v Speaker 6>actually encourage Juju not to come out this year, kind

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<v Speaker 6>of let Page do her thing, keep building her star power,

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<v Speaker 6>and then just blow up the spot when she comes out.

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<v Speaker 5>So if I was close to Juju, I would tell

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<v Speaker 5>her for sure to stay for another year.

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<v Speaker 2>I hope she does, and I think she will. But

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<v Speaker 2>you know, the money's gonna start getting good in the WNBA.

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<v Speaker 3>It is, it is, but.

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<v Speaker 5>But she, you know what, with her endorsement, she's still

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<v Speaker 5>gonna make more than her WNBA contract in college. So

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<v Speaker 5>it's there's nothing hurting you to stay another year. And

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<v Speaker 5>as the NBA has shown us this one and done

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<v Speaker 5>is kind of starting to dumb down the league. Go

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<v Speaker 5>in there and get that extra experience so you can

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<v Speaker 5>come out all guns blazing when you get to the

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<v Speaker 5>w Stay that extra year.

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<v Speaker 4>Jackie Ray always good to talk to you, Great to

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<v Speaker 4>talk to you as well.

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<v Speaker 2>It's Later with Mo Kelly CAFI AM six forty. We

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<v Speaker 2>are live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app.

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from

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<v Speaker 1>KFI AM six forty