The Upside with Adam Finkelstein

Boston College Head Coach Earl Grant

Known as a top recruiter, Earl Grant recently became the 13th head coach at Boston College. Under Grant's leadership the College of Charleston was one of only 21 NCAA Division I schools to have players drafted in both the 2019 and 2020 NBA Drafts. Grant led the Cougars to a top-four finish in the CAA in each of the last five seasons, including the 2018 regular season and conference tournament championship. He also led the Cougars to their first NCAA Tourney appearance in 20 years. Now as leader of the Eagles, Grant looks to bring the passion back to Chestnut Hill as he joins host Adam Finkelstein on The Upside Podcast.

Reecee Hollans of Adidas Grassroots Basketball

She's a pioneer in the world of grassroots basketball. ReeCee (Aisha) Hollans is the first female in charge of a grassroots basketball circuit. She was born and raised in the Bay Area while winning a state championship at Berkley High School. Highly decorated out of high school she got a full ride at USC. Playing overseas in several countries led her to 'blindly' answering a Craiglist ad that got ReeCee to Nike. Now as a pioneer in the field of Grassroots basketball at Adidas, Ms. Hollans joins host Adam Finkelstein on The Upside Podcast.

Minnesota Head Coach Ben Johnson

He's had to build a brand new coach staff during a pandemic. Agreeing to a 5 year deal Ben Johnson joins his alma mater after spending 3 seasons at Xavier as an assistant coach. Johnson helped lead Xavier to consecutive top-30 recruiting classes in 2019 and 2020 and the Musketeers posted a collective record of 51-37 in three seasons with him on the bench. In his previous stint at Minnesota in 2013, Johnson helped recruit local standouts and current members of the Los Angeles Clippers organization Daniel Oturu and Amir Coffey to the Gophers. He also recruited current Gopher Gabe Kalscheur to the Maroon and Gold. Johnson was instrumental in recruiting and developing Jordan Murphy, who finished his career atop the Gopher record books in rebounds (1,307), free throws made (460), free throws attempted (698) and second in scoring (1,802 points).

'Sports Cards Nonsense' with Mike Gioseffi

The sports card trading market is absolutely blowing up right now. If you're hold a Michael Jordan rookie card in a high-grade condition, you are sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars. So what (and who) is behind the madness? Mike Gioseffi is one of the lucky ones who was able to trade in his hammer and construction career and make a go of it in the world of sports cards. His brand, 'Sports Card Nonsense', is now the latest podcast on The Ringer Network and includes an active community on his website and a variety of social media channels. Mike's been able to take his talents to help both experts and newbies alike help navigate this suddenly hot alternative asset class. Visit Sports Cards Nonsense: http://www.sportscardsnonsense.com Subscribe to their podcast: On Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2MJwcKy On iTunes: https://apple.co/305y4QL Find them on social media: Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sportscardsnonsense Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sports_cards_nonsense/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sportscardsnonsense Twitter: https://twitter.com/SCN_Gio YouTube: https://bit.ly/3rn0MbG

Nike's Rachel Baker takes Grassroots Basketball to the Next Level

Rachel Baker may be the most influential person in the world of grassroots basketball that the average college basketball fan has not heard of. She grew up the son of longtime college and professional coach Rod Baker, began interning with Nike shortly after her college graduation and ended up becoming a pioneer for women in the grassroots basketball space. Her current work ranges from working with families to coordinating EYBL events to contributing to Kevin Durant's product line. In this interview, she talks about her roots and path, obstacles she faced along the way, how her job has evolved, what she envisions for her future, and what her advice would be to the next generation of young women looking to break into this space.