The 15th edition of the Post Game Newsletter features former McDonald’s All American, 5 Star High School recruit, Louisville guard, and professional basketball player, Kianna Smith.
Kianna helped lead Louisville to the Final Four in 2022, was drafted 16th overall two months later by the LA Sparks, before finishing her career overseas in the Korean Women’s Basketball League.
Here are a few of the top takeaways from the pod:
1. Final Four Mindset & Career Highlights
Kianna talks about how her approach to handling pressure in big moments evolved throughout her career. When she was younger, she said she’d let it get to her more, but as she matured, she didn’t view the moments as pressure. She credits meditation and visualization for helping her perform when the lights were the brightest.
She talks about Louisville’s Elite 8 victory over Michigan to reach the Final Four in 2022 and how that was potentially a bigger career highlight than draft day for her. They lost the year before in the same game, so getting over the hump the next year was a huge moment for her.
So, I think honestly the highlight of my career was the Elite Eight game where we won to go into the Final Four. Like that celebration with my teammates, the coaches, that feeling of just like...the year before we lost in the elite eight game. So, knowing that feeling of how crushing it was to be this close to a final four and not get there. The following year having that chance and celebration with my team, it was just something I’ll remember forever.
2. In the Middle of Figuring out “What’s Next”
The PGP origin story is rooted in helping athletes navigate “what’s next” after they leave the locker room. I loved talking to Kianna because she’s right in the middle of that right now.
Her WNBA career was cut short due to injury, an experience many athletes face, so instead of going out on her own terms, the decision was mostly made for her.
She said she had no idea what she was gonna do. She tried broadcasting, started a podcast herself, explored coaching, and eventually networked her way into Nike.
She networked with 50 different Nike employees over six months before landing her role she just started as a brand marketing specialist.
If there’s one takeaway out of the whole conversation it might be that - picking a target, consistency, and following through on it.
It's funny because I mean, when you're an athlete, you really don't know like what's possible out there for you. I mean, I think that's everyone like people who go through college and they're like, unless they want to be like Dr. Lawyer or whatever, it's like, there's so many possibilities. People have so many different jobs that we just don't know what they are. And for me, like all I knew is what I've seen. So being a coach, being a broadcaster, that's all I knew around sports really. Or maybe working on like a clothing brand or like Nike or Adidas or something like that. That's like really all I knew…
3. We Would Have Been Too Expensive
This sound bite was kind of taken out of context, but Kianna and I briefly got into the NIL discussion and if she’s getting a retroactive check (her last year was when NIL became more prevalent). She said she is still waiting for the $ to hit her checking account.
The reality is and what some YouTube Short trolls were upset about is, her Final Four team may not have been together because the roster they had may have been too “expensive.”
We could tap Dan Furman for this one, but I can’t imagine Louisville Women’s Basketball is getting a significant portion of the revenue share with men’s hoops, football, having to remain competitive in the ACC.
It was a pleasure having Kianna on. Check out the Full episodes linked below:
Past Episode Feature: Ben Minden, Founder of Bear Hug Cattle Company
In the early days of the pod, I hosted a few military vets to hear about their transition out of their time serving into figuring out their career path. While a lot of the conversations over the last year + have gravitated towards athletes, I’d like to get back to sharing some of their stories at some point too.
Ben Minden is an Army Vet, having served in the 101st Airborne and 3rd Ranger Battalion. While transitioning out of the military, he founded Bear Hug Cattle Company in Montana helping veterans get jobs in the ranching industry.
Ohtani
Still trying to wrap my head around this 64-cell roadmap Ohtani used to become one of the greatest athletes in the world.
HeisMendoza
What being the Heisman frontrunner can teach you about B2B sales.
Some Upcoming PGP Episodes:
11/26 - Bela Carrasco - Former soccer player at Marquette, Assistant VP at Origin Investments, and podcast host
12/3 - Geroge Boyd - Former BMX rider and founder of “Cut The Pod,” transforming raw podcast recordings into premium video podcasts
12/10 - Vasu Kulkarni - Penn Grad, entrepreneur and founder of Krossover, investing in startups with Courtside Ventures, the leading early-stage fund focused on Sports, Lifestyle, and Gaming
12/17 - Christopher Knowles - Former college volleyball player at LIU Brooklyn, building UNJERSEYED which exists for former athletes looking to build a new life after sports / Building the #1 athlete focused financial business
Thanks for checking out the pod and for the support. Dominate the rest of the week.
Joe