[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello. Welcome to the Roundhouse podcast with Paul Sullentrop of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. We're going to introduce you to Wichita State women's basketball class of newcomers. Our guest is Jada McDonald. Jada is a 5 foot 11 forward from Pensacola State College. She averaged 14.7 points and 9.5 rebounds as a sophomore. That earned her all conference honors. She also earned honorable mention all American honors with the Pirates. Jada is from Dallas and she will wear number 11. Jada, tell us about choosing Wichita State. How did you end up here?
[00:00:48] Speaker B: If you know Coach Scales, I already knew him from high school and my best choice was just to go to a juco in. I ended up here. This is my. My best visit.
I visited two other schools, but no school was like this one. The facilities are like, very nice. You know, the people are very nice. I like all the coaching staff.
The head coach, he's very, you know, relatable to me.
So I felt like that was like the, like the way I made my choice.
[00:01:20] Speaker A: Okay. Coach Antwan Scales, one of the assistant coaches at Wichita State, is who you mentioned.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:01:26] Speaker A: When a fan comes to a game next season in Kocarina, what do you want them leaving and saying about Jada McDonald? About how she played the game?
[00:01:36] Speaker B: Very athletic, very driven.
I'm not really the shooter type, but I am very driven to the basket.
Very aggressive.
That she made all the right plays, played on defense as well.
Just like I want them to remember me as like the player. She might look cute and all prissy and stuff, but she really gets down and dirty and plays hard.
[00:02:00] Speaker A: Plays hard. That's good. That's what coach Scales would like.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:02:04] Speaker A: If you weren't playing basketball, is there another sport you would be playing?
[00:02:08] Speaker B: Most likely volleyball.
I played volleyball in middle school. I was gonna play it in high school, but the way my high school was set up, we had. We didn't have any time. So I really would probably be playing volleyball. Volleyball, because I'm still good at it to this day. I will still play with people if they want me to play. I will be probably the best player. But yeah, volleyball would probably be that.
[00:02:31] Speaker A: What made you fall in love with the sport of basketball?
[00:02:34] Speaker B: As a little kid, my mom put me in every sport there was, except probably softball.
So just basketball. I felt like it was the best thing from especially my athleticism. I felt like basketball with like, I would use it more in basketball, like volleyball. You don't really have to be that athletic to play volleyball and track. I. I don't really like the aspect of just running all the time.
So I thought basketball was the best option for me, honestly.
[00:03:05] Speaker A: What kind of music do you listen to when you're getting ready to. To play or practice?
[00:03:09] Speaker B: I really like rap music sometimes. You would. I would listen to like R B, you know, just to calm myself down. But if I'm trying to get like super rowdy, I will listen to rap music. Yeah, it really give going.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: Who's your favorite artist?
[00:03:24] Speaker B: I really like NBA. YoungBoy.
Yeah.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: Very good.
You are interested in social media content as many people are. People should be on the lookout for Get Ready with Jada videos. Is that right? Tell us about that. What can people expect?
[00:03:39] Speaker B: Yes, I have a very big personality, so I feel like me doing videos would be great.
Really just me like going about my day and like different things that I do about the, like in the day. Like me watching TV or getting ready to come here to the facilities, or me walking around on campus or anything. Me doing my homework or me going out with my roommates or my teammates, or us going to our pool or anything. Stuff like that. Just like an insight on my life. Because if you see me regularly, I'll probably be like, more like quiet. But I feel like on video I will show my. My personality more.
[00:04:18] Speaker A: What is a typical day in the life of a student athlete?
[00:04:22] Speaker B: A lot of getting up early, a lot of early mornings, trying to get yourself prepared, like having a lot of energy, trying to get yourself acclimated to like, the different things. Especially me being new here, I feel like it would be like, nice to see a newcomer, like get like acclimated with all of the different things that this campus has.
But a lot of working out, a lot of gym, a lot of weight room, a lot of stretching and recovery processes.
So I feel like that would be good for the people.
[00:04:56] Speaker A: Do you have to set multiple alarms?
[00:04:58] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:59] Speaker A: Easy for you to get up in the morning or is it hard?
[00:05:01] Speaker B: It's very hard, actually.
I said like maybe like 10 maybe because I sleep hard for the most part and I will most likely forget. Like in the morning you might like at nighttime you're like, motivated. I'm going to get up early and things like that. But in the morning it's super, super hard.
Like very hard.
[00:05:20] Speaker A: A lot of early mornings when you're an athlete, there's no doubt about that. What advice would you give to a high school athlete? You went to Skyline, right?
[00:05:28] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: Skyline High School said, jada, we want you to come back and talk to a group of our athletes about choosing a college, what would you tell them?
[00:05:37] Speaker B: I would tell them to, like, trust the process. Honestly. I mean, that's like a cliche type of thing to say, but it really is really like, you have to trust the process.
In high school, I wasn't really like the player. I am now, like, very confident and trusting my game and having coaches trust what I could do on the floor.
Even me being a freshman on varsity is still hard, you know, trying to have confidence and be able to know that you can play at the next level. Like me coming out of high school, I didn't think I would be able to play D1. That's why I went juco. But, like, my these two years at juco really helped me. Like, I really, like, developed a lot in juco and I am here now.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: Jada McDonald, newcomer to Wichita State. Thank you very much for your time.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:06:42] Speaker A: Hi, this is Rick myiuma, president of Wichita State University.
Check out the latest episode of the Forward Together podcast. Each episode I sit down with different.
[00:06:51] Speaker D: Guests from Shocker Nation to celebrate the.
[00:06:53] Speaker A: Vision and mission of Wichita State University.
[00:06:56] Speaker D: Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
[00:07:13] Speaker A: Treasure Thompson is our next guest as we introduce you to the newcomers on the Wichita State women's basketball game. Treasure is a 6 foot 2 graduate transfer forward. She is from Joliet, Illinois. She comes to Wichita State from Texas Southern where she averaged 7.6 points and 1.7 blocks. Treasure will wear number 21 for the Shockers. Treasure, who's your favorite WNBA or NBA player?
[00:07:38] Speaker D: My favorite WNBA player is definitely Candace Parker, but I do really like Elena Dulladon as well. I feel like our games correspond a lot.
[00:07:49] Speaker A: And yeah, when you watch either of those players, do you try to pick up tips, hints, hey, maybe I can incorporate this into my game.
[00:07:59] Speaker D: For sure.
I look a lot at their footwork and stuff like that. We're both really long, so I kind of try and see where I can compare my game and make it better along with theirs.
[00:08:12] Speaker A: If I'm remembering correctly, Candice Parker is from Illinois, right?
[00:08:16] Speaker D: She is.
[00:08:16] Speaker A: Her brother Anthony played at Bradley University.
Is that part of the attraction? You're both from the state of Illinois.
[00:08:23] Speaker D: I mean, it is a pretty close attraction. I feel like my uncle actually played at Bradley at one point in time in college and he went pro and played overseas. So I guess there is some correspondence there.
[00:08:35] Speaker A: Okay. What's your uncle's name?
[00:08:37] Speaker D: Jeremy Fears.
[00:08:38] Speaker A: Jeremy Fears. Okay.
[00:08:39] Speaker D: He has a son named Jeremiah Fierce that's getting drafted this year to the Utah Jazz. Fifth pick.
So, yeah, basketball runs in our family, pretty much.
[00:08:48] Speaker A: Okay, yeah. What's it like growing up in a family like that where basketball is important? How did that influence you?
[00:08:54] Speaker D: Honestly, when I first started, basketball wasn't really a thing that I really thought about. Again, like, I was more of the just tall, pretty girl. I like to take pictures all the time and stuff like that. And my family was just like, treasure, you're tall. You have to be in a sport. And they put me in basketball, and within two years, I fell in love with it.
[00:09:14] Speaker A: Okay. Jeremy Fear. So longtime Wichita State fans might remember him from playing for Bradley.
Tell us how you ended up here at Wichita State. Why did you choose the Shockers?
[00:09:25] Speaker D: Honestly, I fell in love with the coaching staff, for sure. They made me feel very welcome. I feel like I'm a very competitive player, and I think they're a competitive staff, and they really recruited competitive players as well. So I saw that. I saw what they were trying to build, especially Coach Nooner. He's very smart.
He's been in this basketball world for a long time. He has a lot of accomplishments, and I trust that he's going to get us really far this year.
[00:09:53] Speaker A: You will wear number 21. What's the backstory with wearing number 21?
[00:09:58] Speaker D: In high school, I wore number 21.
After prior wearing 24. 21 was really good for me defensively. I feel like when I was wearing 21, I just became nothing in the paint. Like everything. Just block party.
Nothing down there at all.
[00:10:17] Speaker A: Terry Nooner will like that. Have some block shots in the paint.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: Right.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: When a fan comes to Koch arena next season, they watch the Shockers play and they leave the arena. What do you hope they are saying about how Treasure Thompson played?
[00:10:31] Speaker D: She plays hard. She does it on both ends of the floor, and she's going to get it done for Shocker Nation.
[00:10:38] Speaker A: If you weren't playing basketball, is there another sport you would be playing?
[00:10:42] Speaker D: I think I would have liked to try volleyball as well as track. I mean, I have long arms, long legs. There's other sports that I could have definitely participated in, but I do like volleyball, for sure.
[00:10:52] Speaker A: So when you're not playing or practicing basketball, what do you like to do with your time?
[00:10:58] Speaker D: I like going to the movies. I like participating in things with my friends and stuff like that.
And I like beautiful views as well. I like being able to go somewhere and be at peace and watch a beautiful view.
[00:11:12] Speaker A: Okay. We have great sunsets here in Kansas. We're very proud of our sunsets. So I would hope you would get out and See that? What's your favorite movie?
[00:11:21] Speaker D: My favorite movie right now, still to this day. I know I'm 23 years old, but it's definitely Shark Tales.
Shark Tales is one of my favorite movies. For sure. Will Smith did a good job with that movie.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Who is the best opposing player you've played against? High school, college, anywhere interesting?
[00:11:40] Speaker D: I played Rekia Jackson for sure.
I played her in high school multiple times when she was at Detroit Edison.
So yeah, I feel like she was pretty good competition. I feel like we went neck and neck a few, few times and I give her kudos because she's in the league right now.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: So if your high school asks you to come back to campus, talk to our athletes and give them advice about choosing college, doing well in college. What advice would you give them?
[00:12:09] Speaker D: I would say stay true to yourself. I would say put in the work early, never give up and never let anyone diminish your confidence.
[00:12:18] Speaker A: Treasurer Thompson, one of the newcomers of Wichita State's basketball team. Treasurer, thank you for your time.
[00:12:22] Speaker D: I appreciate you. Thank you so much for having me here.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: Our next guest is Diamond Richardson. Diamond is a 5 foot 7 guard. She is from Sacramento, California. She averaged 12 points last season for Langston University and earned Sooner Athletic Conference Newcomer of the year honors. Langston went 31 3, advanced all the way to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA tournament. Diamond will wear number five. Diamond. Who's your favorite WNBA or NBA player?
[00:12:51] Speaker C: My favorite NBA player would be Allen Iverson.
[00:12:53] Speaker A: Tell us about that. What do you like about watching Allen Iverson?
[00:12:56] Speaker C: Maybe his passion for the game, his demeanor and the style of play.
[00:13:01] Speaker A: Now he's a little bit old school. How did you get into Allen Iverson?
[00:13:05] Speaker C: I think his documentary that when it was on Netflix, I watched that and made me learn more about him on and off the court and it made me respect him more.
[00:13:13] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. Quite a talented guy and an interesting story, that's for sure.
Why did you choose Wichita State?
[00:13:19] Speaker C: I chose Wichita State because I'm big on the family orientation type of vibe. And I feel like when I stepped on campus, that's what I got from Coach Nooter and all the other coaching staff and the girls as well. They were so welcoming. And also it's just a nice facility, nice place and very welcoming. So it felt like home away from home.
[00:13:39] Speaker A: You will wear number five. Tell us the story with you wearing that number.
[00:13:43] Speaker C: I started wearing number five in my college career because first it's five of us. It's five siblings in total.
And then also my brother wore number Five. So it's kind of. I wanted to match him as well.
[00:13:57] Speaker A: Very good. When a fan comes to a game at Koch arena this season, what do you want them to walk out of here saying about Diamond Richardson and how she played?
[00:14:08] Speaker C: Maybe that she's always hard working on and off the court.
She's gonna always give her 110%.
And maybe she's just a person that you can really respect.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: Do you have music that you like to listen to as you're getting prepared during warm ups?
[00:14:28] Speaker C: Yeah, I have like a routine. So like basically before each game, before each warm up, I have to listen to like at least two old school songs.
Whether it's in the 90s or 80s or like maybe get into the 2000s. But that's like my ritual. I have to listen to two old school songs really to calm my nerves. That's how I do it going into the game. So I don't want to listen to like rap or high upbeat music because then I feel like it's gonna have me going and going like, yeah, okay.
[00:14:58] Speaker A: If you weren't playing basketball, is there another sport you would be playing?
[00:15:03] Speaker C: I tried soccer. I'm not the best, but I think I just like it. Or track because I'm pretty fast.
[00:15:11] Speaker A: What made you fall in love with basketball?
[00:15:15] Speaker C: I think, I think the competitiveness.
I just always been a competitor, so I just think yes. In other sports there's like, you know, there's that side of competitiveness. But like, basketball is where I really felt like I could really get after it and really be myself. So I think that's what draw me to really love the sport.
[00:15:34] Speaker A: You are a fan of slam poetry. Recommend some slam poetry for people to check out.
[00:15:41] Speaker C: I would say a good YouTube channel to go is Slam Poetry Incorporated. I listen to a lot of poetry off there, spoken word.
Whether it's a single person or multiple people doing it, I think like, it's really good. So all my free time I just listen to poetry.
[00:15:59] Speaker A: If your high school were to invite you back to speak to a group of athletes about, hey, what's college all about? What should I look for in recruiting? What should I look for? Academically, athletically? What advice would you give some high school kids?
[00:16:13] Speaker C: I would say do your research on both sides.
Academics come first. I know some people get caught up in the sports and be like, oh, I want to play. But you know, if you don't have the grades, you can't play. So I just think finding the best fit for you, understanding who you are, and then also looking at all your resources because that's the biggest thing if you're going to be there, whether you're there for a year, two, maybe all four years, like knowing what you want out of the program, on and off the court, that's the biggest thing.
[00:16:47] Speaker A: Diamond Richardson, one of Wichita State's newcomers, thank you very much for your time.
[00:16:51] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:17:07] Speaker A: Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast courtesy of Wichita State University Strategic Communications.
We encourage you to rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
[email protected] it's over.
It is over, ladies and gentlemen. Say it slowly and savor it. Wichita State is going to the Final Four for the first time in 48 years. Unbelievable.
[00:17:37] Speaker B: What a scene, folks.
[00:17:39] Speaker A: The Shocker fans are just going crazy in the stands. Just maybe the greatest win in the history of Wichita State basketball.
