Let's Talk Hoops

This week Beno & Foss sit down with Larry Hall of adidas Basketball! Larry talks about making the transition to sports marketing after a 12-year professional basketball career that took him ALL AROUND THE WORLD and I Yi Yi! His career with adidas has him working directly with the signature athletes Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard, and many more! Larry touches on the vulnerability of betting on himself, elevator pitches and humility, pairing that with the values and skills he learned from his hoop career. 00:00 - Intro 03:15 - Playing in Portland 5:35 - Purpose of Positioning 7:30 - "Once you tell me that, Ima do it again" 8:30 - Professional Playing Career 10:15 - "Bet on yourself"12:15 - Transition to post-playing career16:15 - Getting on with adidas17:15 - "Evolve from stress"20:00 - Court Connections to Networks22:00 - "Athletes are the most insecure people on the planet"26:40 - A day in the life at adidas31:45 - Translating basketball skills to the work place36:20 - Getting into sports marketing38:00 - Importance of vulnerability in networking38:40 - Toughest lesson learned from basketball Follow HOOP DREAMS BASKETBALL, Kumbeno Memory & Chris Foss Here: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/hoopdreamsbball TWITTER: https://twitter.com/hoopdreamsbball TWITTER: https://twitter.com/coachcfoss New episodes release on Wednesdays! ALL Players, Coaches, Parents & Basketball Enthusiasts.....don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & hit the notification Bell to get notified of our "DAILY UPLOADS"!

This week Beno & Foss sit down with Mfon Udoka! The Nigerian basketball legend, former WNBA forward and Depaul Hall of Famer talks about her experience joining Nigeria D'Tigress, winning back-to-back FIBA African Club championships, leading Nigeria to the 2004 Olympics and getting the country and continent's first win in women's basketball while finishing 2nd in the 2004 Olympic games in scoring and rebounding! Mfon breaks down her WNBA career, how she developed her basketball IQ, rebounding prowess and toughness on the court playing alongside her brother, Houston Rockets head coach, Ime Udoka.

This week Beno & Foss sit down with Kamaka Hepa! Kamaka is fresh off playing in NBA Summer League with the New Orleans Pelicans in Las Vegas, and he talks with us about his first NBA experience, how his game adjusts to the professional level and drops gems for young players trying to get on the court and carve out a role. The native Alaskan and 3X state champion and Gatorade Player of the Year shares his experiences growing up in Utquagvik, Alaska, moving to Portland, Oregon to finish high school and get more exposure, as well as his time at University of Texas and Hawaii. The skilled forward was Top 5 in NCAA Division 1 in 3-point efficiency for players 6'9 or taller, and has a terrific feel as passer for his size!

This week Beno & Foss sit down with current professional point guard Jazz Johnson. Jazz discusses his professional career in Italy, making his mark in college, earning a college scholarship without playing AAU, his father's influence on his development, how he's been successful as a small guard, his approach to work ethic, setting the Les Schwab Invitational scoring record, overcoming self-doubt and much more!

This week Beno & Foss sit down with professional point guard Mike Holton Jr. Holton Jr. discusses his unusual path to becoming a pro, betting on himself, going from prep school in New England to Division 2 Saint Michael's to a nearly decade long career as a pro!

This week Beno & Foss sit down with Golden State Warriors scout and former Kansas Jayhawks guard Michael Lee. Lee discusses the impact of the Portland basketball scene on his development, his difficulties and Final Four runs as a player at Kansas and how players are evaluated for the Golden State Warriors and who fits into their championship culture!

This week Beno & Foss sit down with Portland native Stephen Holt to discuss what he learned on his back-to-back state championship run with Jesuit, his AAU & recruiting process with I-5 Elite and development as a player at Saint Mary's under head coach Randy Bennett. Holt discusses his keys to success during his current pro career that's gone from the G League, Australia's NBL and to Europe over the past decade.

This week Beno & Foss sit down with Portland native Dominic Waters to discuss his journey from Grant High School and Portland State on his way to playing an 11-year professional basketball career. Waters shares his EuroLeague experiences, keys to his development as a player, his mentors and the hurdles he overcame along the way.

Kumbeno Memory (​⁠@Hoopdreamsbball) & Chris Foss (@coachcfoss) go into depth on the current college basketball recruiting landscape! If you’re a player, coach or parent, this podcast will educate you tremendously.