Cal women's basketball coach talks about promoting sport, new Bay Area WNBA team

TAKES ON USC IN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL. BUT IN CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SPORTS DAY, THERE ARE A FEW BIG EVENTS BEFORE AND AFTER THE GAME. I GOT TO SPEAK TO CAL’S HEAD COACH, SHARMAN SMITH, ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE DOING TO HELP YOUNGER PEOPLE DISCOVER SPORTS, AND I ALSO ASKED HER ABOUT THE NEW WNBA TEAM COMING TO THE BAY AREA. SHARMAN, YOU HAVE A BIG AND EXCITING GAME HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND. TELL US ABOUT IT. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE TEAM? >> OH WELL, I EXPECT US TO GO OUT AND PLAY EXTREMELY WELL. YOU KNOW

WE’RE PLAYING USC. UM, THEY’RE THEY’RE A NATIONALLY RANKED TEAM. THEY’VE GOT A LOT OF TALENT. UM, THEY HAVE POTENTIAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR IN JUJU WATKINS. AND WE’RE EXCITED FOR THE CHALLENGE AND LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING WELL IN FRONT OF OUR HOME FANS. AND HAAS PAVILION. >> YEAH. AND HOW IS THE TEAM DOING SO FAR THIS YEAR? UM, WHICH PLAYERS SHOULD WE BE GETTING REALLY PUMPED FOR? I MEAN, ALL OF THEM REALLY. BUT UH, GIVE US SOME HIGHLIGHTS. YEAH >> I MEAN, THIS TEAM IS DOING REALLY WELL. UM, WE HAVE 13 WINS ALREADY, WHICH IS

THE MOST THAT I’VE HAD IN MY TENURE. SO I’M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS BEING THE BEST SEASON IN MY TENURE AS HEAD COACH. AND THE

THING THAT MAKES US REALLY STRONG IS THAT WE HAVE A REALLY DEEP TEAM. SO YOU KNOW, OUR GROUP THAT STARTS IT OFF WITH LEILANI MCINTOSH AND, UH, JOANNA CAMELLI, WHO’S A PROLIFIC THREE POINT SHOOTER, UM, MARTHA SUAREZ BEING REALLY VERSATILE. UM AND MICHELLE WRIGHT, THIS IS A REALLY POWERFUL GROUP. BUT THEN WE’VE GOT OFF THE BENCH, YOU’VE GOT MIA, YOU’VE GOT CAMRYN, YOU’VE GOT LULU, YOU’VE GOT ISLA. SO LOTS OF

PEOPLE COMING IN AND MAKING THIS A REALLY DEEP TEAM, WHICH IS WHAT YOU NEED IF YOU’RE GOING TO COMPETE IN THE PAC 12. >> THESE WOMEN THAT YOU MENTIONED SHOULD WE EXPECT TO SEE START, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT SEEING SOME OF THEM IN THE WNBA AND CHEERING THEM ON AT A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL? >> YEAH, I MEAN THAT’S ALWAYS THE HOPE, RIGHT? LIKE WE I DO THINK WE HAVE SOME POTENTIAL W W NBA PLAYERS HERE. UM I’VE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH GM’S AND COACHES AND MAKING SURE THEY’RE AWARE OF THE PROFILES OF OUR PLAYERS AND I

KNOW, YOU KNOW, LEILANI WANTS TO PLAY, YO WANTS TO PLAY. YOU KNOW MARTHA WANTS TO PLAY. SO UM, HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE WATCHING THEM. AND WHAT WOULD BE GREAT FOR ME IS IF THEY WERE ON THAT BAY AREA TEAM, YOU HAVE, UH, THE GO GIRLS GO BEARS GO PLAY EVENT HAPPENING BEFORE THE GAME. >> TELL US ABOUT THAT. YEAH >> I MEAN, IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE INVOLVED IN OUR COMMUNITY AND ALSO TO HIGHLIGHT THE PHENOMENAL YOUNG WOMEN THAT WE HAVE HERE AT CAL. SO THERE WILL BE A LOT OF FEMALE STUDENT ATHLETES

AND DIFFERENT TEAMS THAT WILL BE PRESENT AT OUR GAME. AND UM, WILL OFFER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE YOUTH TO INTERACT WITH THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THERE’S BEEN A LITTLE SHIFT IN THE PROGRAMING BECAUSE OF THE RAIN, BUT, UH, I KNOW THEY’RE GOING TO BE A LOT OF FUN ACTIVITIES. UH, ALL OF THE KIDS GET A FREE TICKET TO THE GAME, UM, AND ALL OF THAT INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON CALBEARS.COM .COM, BUT WE REALLY WANT TO HAVE THE YOUTH INVOLVED WITH WITH OUR PROGRAM. >> THAT’S GREAT. START THEM YOUNG, GET THEM EXCITED ABOUT BASKETBALL. UH, WHY

NOT ADD DID YOU HAVE A PANEL ALSO? UH, THAT’S GOING TO BE SPEAKING. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT? >> YEAH. I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE’RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THE WNBA COMING TO THE BAY AREA. I CAN’T WAIT TILL THEY ANNOUNCE THE NAME OF THE TEAM. BUT I KNOW THEY RECENTLY ANNOUNCED JESS SMITH AS THE PRESIDENT. UM, AND WE’RE EXCITED BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THE BAY AREA CAN SUPPORT A WNBA TEAM. AND, UM, THERE WILL BE A GREAT FAN BASE. AND SO WE’RE BRINGING IN A GROUP OF, UH, PEOPLE JUST TO TALK ABOUT

THE STATE OF THE WNBA TO WHERE IT IS NOW, UM, HOW FAR IT’S COME. AND ALSO LIKE WHERE IT’S HEADED AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, HALEY JONES, UH, CURRENT WNBA PLAYER WITH THE ATLANTA DREAM. LAYSHIA CLARENDON, WITH THE LOS ANGELES SPARKS. UM, JAMILA WIDEMAN, WHO I BELIEVE WAS A MEMBER OF THE FIRST WNBA GAME TEAM, UM, AND WAS IN THE FIRST WNBA DRAFT, A TEAM MATE OF MINE FROM STANFORD. UM AND THEN ROS GOLD ONWUDE WILL SERVE AS THE MODERATOR FOR THIS PANEL. A LOT OF GREAT PEOPLE. >> YOU PLAYED FOR THE WNBA. UH, I

WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT THAT. I MEAN, HAVE YOU NOTICED A SHIFT OR AN INCREASE IN POPULAR PARITY FOR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL? UM, YOU KNOW, AT A COLLEGE LEVEL, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AT A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL, UM, YOU KNOW, AND ESPECIALLY HERE IN THE BAY AREA, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS A LOT OF INTEREST HERE, WHICH IS GREAT THAT WE HAVE A TEAM COMING , BUT DO YOU THINK WE’RE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? >> UH, I THINK WE ARE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. UM, IN TERMS OF THE INTEREST IN, YOU KNOW, WOMEN’S SPORTS, UM,

AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL IN PARTICULAR , YOU’RE SEEING IT GROW AT EVERY LEVEL, RIGHT? THE YOUTH LEVEL, THE NUMBER OF PLAYERS THAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW NOW, IT’S GROWING. UM, THE NUMBER OF REALLY GOOD CLUB TEAMS THAT YOU HAVE, AND THEN YOU LOOK AT THE ATTENDANCE AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL AND PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, SELLING OUT STADIUMS AND, UM, ALL TYPES OF THINGS ARE HAPPENING SURROUNDING OUR GAME. THE, THE VIEWERSHIP FOR THE WOMEN’S FINAL FOUR, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE NIL OPPORTUNITIES THAT OUR STUDENT ATHLETES ARE HAVING, I MEAN, THE SPORT IS BOOMING AND THE WNBA SEASONS

HAVE BEEN PHENOMENAL. YOU KNOW, SO, UM, THE BATTLE BETWEEN, UM, THE LIBERTY AND THE ACES AND, UH, THERE’S JUST SO MUCH TALENT. THE GAME HAS GROWN IN SO MANY WAYS. UM, YOU KNOW, SABRINA IS GOING TO HAVE A THREE POINT CONTEST AGAINST STEPH AT THE ALL STAR GAME. THAT’S. I CAN’T WAIT FOR THAT. YOU KNOW THAT SPEAKS TO LIKE, THE VISIBILITY OF OUR BOARD AND THE POPULARITY OF OUR SPORT. AND IT’S A GREAT GAME. AND I THINK IT CAN BE EVEN BETTER. THE VIEWERSHIP UM, YOU KNOW, WE JUST HAVE MORE TO DO. BUT YES, I

DO BELIEVE WE’RE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. NOT ONLY IS THERE THE BAY AREA TEAM, BUT I THINK THERE’S ALSO MORE EXPANSION COMING WITH THE WNBA AS WELL. >> CAN’T WAIT 2025. THAT’S WHEN THEY START. YOU CAN USE CODE WNBA FOR DISCOUN