Why Mikayla Blakes reminds Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph of Maya Moore

Alicia Jay and Erica L. Ayala are joined by Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph to talk at length about her career, including how this year's Commodores squad has changed her as a coach, how far she thinks they can go in the NCAA Tournament and beyond. Additionally, she opens up about why Mikayla Blakes reminds her of UConn and WNBA great Maya Moore, why she chose to leave UConn and how she's forming her own legacy at Vanderbilt. (0:00) Intro (0:25) What she's looking forward to in this tournament (1:45) Where she’s at in her 6-year Vanderbilt plan (4:40) On teaching her players to be 'kind not nice' (7:10) How this team has built toward the postseason (9:10) The moment she knew this Vanderbilt team was special (11:50) How does Vanderbilt get back to the Final Four? (13:20) Impact that AD Candice Storey Lee has had on the team & Piece of advice from Geno Auriemma taking head coach job (16:20) How she bonded with Mikayla Blakes on building a legacy (19:02) Biggest growth she's seen in Mikayla (19:55) What having back-to-back SEC Freshmen of the Year means for Vanderbilt (20:55) What makes Mikayla built different, like Maya Moore (22:48) How do they retain talent in the NIL age (24:57) How UConn changed her as a player and coach (28:30) How overcoming injuries made her a better coach (31:01) What did it take for her to feel confident stepping into a head coach role? (34:35) How she’s feeling about potential matchup with UConn in the tournament (35:21) Advice coach Shea Ralph would give to player Shea Ralph (35:55) Favorite and least-favorite basketball drill (36:50) Former UConn player that she implicitly trusts with her daughter (37:50) One thing people don’t normally know about Geno Auriemma (39:45) Favorite March Madness memory