UNGUARDED

Angie retired (for the 2nd time) after last season in Spain and has since focused on building up her Mindset Coaching business , running a basketball academy for kids, earning a Somatic and Body Oriented Coaching Certificate, and writing openly and vulnerably about the new phase of her life on her blog.  She gets Unguarded about how therapy has helped her with her transition and all the heali...

Host Jori Davis is joined by co-host L’oreal Gamble and guest Isabelle Harrison to talk about her experience during the first AU (Athletes Unlimited) Hoops basketball season, where she was able to deepen her understanding of the coaching side, as well as the mental part of basketball on a not that politically oriented league where "every player got to tell their story". The phone call also goes ov...

Host Jori Davis is joined by co-host L’oreal Gamble and guest Jean-François Reymond to talk about his playing days and his transition to the player´s union,  how unions are distributed, the benefits professional basketball players can get while playing in Italy, the need of active leaders and how player´s unions could help the Britney Griner situation in Russia.  Edited by Víctor Revenga...

Host Jori Davis is joined by co-host L’oreal Gamble and guest Stephany Skrba to discuss having kids while being a professional athlete, navigating the dating scene as a single mom while playing overseas, differences between men and women in the industry, the lack of support to women and the community the kids help build. Edited by Víctor Revenga.

Host Jori Davis is joined by co-host L’oreal Gamble and guest Vernon Taylor to discuss a the changes and challenges for pro athletes making their living overseas. The trio discuss safety when going out as an athlete overseas following the recent assault of Corey Manigault in Cyprus, as well as advice for new athletes moving overseas when it comes to lifestyle and relationships, using your backgrou...

Host Jori Davis is joined by co-host L’oreal Gamble and guest Ike Udanoh to discuss a the changes and challenges for pro athletes making their living overseas. The trio talk everything from motivations in going pro overseas, the mentality needed, asking for help from those around you, standing together as an athlete community, the function of players’ unions, how social media has changed, the bene...

Host Jori Davis is joined by co-host L’oreal Gamble to introduce and discuss a brand new season of the Unguarded Podcast: Unguarded Phone Calls. The duo talk everything from the challenges of moving and playing overseas to current events, social media, and plans for the upcoming season. Unguarded is brought to you by Wevolv. Edited by Kayla Kamil. Jori Davis is a pro basketball player and founder...

NATALIE VAN DEN ADEL gets Unguarded about working with a psychologist to work on her self-esteem and learning how to love herself. She talks about finding herself unmotivated after playing non-stop for different teams, leagues, and tournaments and how working with a mental health professional allowed her to let go of her perfectionist and self-critical ways. She played one year at Colorado State b...

POKEY CHATMAN gets Unguarded about her thoughts, experiences, and feelings about the past, present, and future of women's basketball as well. The Louisiana-native talks to us about how she was able to re-center herself during her time in Russia when she was the coach of the Spartak Moscow team. She is a legend who has achieved success as a player and coach of the LSU Lady Tigers, as well as the he...

TAMARA SEDA gets Unguarded about the importance of having a positive attitude and staying focused on her goals during different transitions in her life and career. She had never traveled outside of her native Mozambique until she flew to Liberal, Kansas to attend a community college. Although she'd only played volleyball until she was 17, she blossomed into a basketball star and was able to transf...

IKE UDANOH gets Unguarded about how he was able to use jealousy, envy, and anger to further his career while admitting that it got in his way at times. The graduate of Wayne State, a DII school, started his pro career playing in Uruguay and Qatar and always felt like he could compete at a higher level while comparing himself to other players who were already doing so. In addition to those two coun...

Valeriya Berezhynska gets Unguarded about her past struggles with self-confidence and how that's motivated her to apply her l ife coach certification to help pre-teen girls with their sense of self-worth. She talks to us about growing up in Ukraine and later adjusting to life in America as a high school student. She has played professional basketball in France, Poland, Turkey, and is currently in...

Toccara Renee gets Unguarded about the importance of embracing her sexuality and standing in her truth after the death of her mother as well as healing from the trauma of sexual assault. She talks about how identifiers can be empowering and her mission to show up and support the communities she identifies with. The Southside Chicago-native graduated from Iowa State before playing pro basketball in...

Esther Wallace gets Unguarded about the importance of vulnerability in her life and career. She talks about her struggles with admitting that she was suffering from injuries such as concussions and her need to always have things in perfect order. A former overseas baller who played and coached in England, she is the founder of Playa Society , a successful clothing brand celebrating women that has...

Taylor Wurtz gets Unguarded about her Christian faith and what role it has played at different moments in her life and career. A graduate of University of Wisconsin she is currently in her 7th season playing basketball overseas where she has played in Luxemburg, Norway, and France. The Bard, Wisconsin native is currently playing in Spain where her fiancé Preston Purifoy , a fellow overseas baller,...

Peter Philipakos gets Unguarded about his struggles finding his footing after retiring from his soccer/football career, managing with his OCD and finding new creative passions to pursue. A native of Glen Cove, New York, Peter attended St. John's and American University and played professionally for nine seasons in Greece and Czechoslovakia. He currently lives in Athens.

On the 1st episode of our 3rd season Abiola Wabara gets Unguarded about how she deals with anger and racism stemming from growing up Black in Italy. Abiola played pro basketball for 10 years which included stops in Israel, Spain, Hungary, Italy and UK. She currently lives in Houston and in addition to her full-time job as a digital strategy consultant she is a successful painter and runs Globall L...

Liad Suez-Karni and Katia Levitzky  get Unguarded about the 2011 strike of the Israel women's basketball league (Jori's rookie season in Israel) which involved limiting the number of American players on the teams in an effort to protect the development of national players and how others tried to pit American players and Israeli players against each other. They also discuss how both sides can...

Sydney Wiese gets Unguarded about what she appreciates about being able to play in the WNBA and play overseas, what she likes about the overseas lifestyle, the importance of checking in with yourself and embracing the constant endings and beginnings in our lives, how the fun really begins when the tag of being a player from the W fades and her overseas teammates see her as just one of them, and ho...

Kyle Hines gets Unguarded about the why behind his work with ELPA (EuroLeague Players Association), what they're fighting for, the challenges of getting fellow athletes to participate, how overseas basketball has become better during his 12 year career and how he's happy that his dream of playing in the NBA never came true. Kyle is a 4 time EuroLeague champion (2x Olympiacos Piraeus + 2x CSKA Mosc...

Tinara Moore gets Unguarded about her struggles during her pro rookie season, how she improved drastically her second season thanks to a change in environment as well as a shift in her diet and focusing on herself, and what advice she would give her rookie self today as a 3rd year player. Tinara is a proud Michigan native who graduated from Central Michigan University. She has played pro in Spain...

Lorenzo Gallotti and Mario Scotti of Two Points Agency get Unguarded about the role of agents in a player's career, how agents and players can work best together, the limitations players and agents face within the FIBA system, how players can best handle situations that arise with their teams and leagues and how the market impacts players' salaries. Two Points, founded in February 2002 by Mario Sc...

Taneka Rubin gets Unguarded about struggling and working through imposter syndrome, not giving her at best during her NCAA years, her experiences at Europrobasket and what players should expect at such academies as well as dealing with crazy living accommodations while playing abroad.  Taneka was born in Germany, grew up in Arizona and graduated from Florida A&M after transferring from a...

Shelby Cheslek gets Unguarded about how she's built a big social media following (currently 21.9K on IG), how teammates and opponents make assumptions about who she is as a result of it, wanting tall women to feel beautiful and empowered (she's 6'5"/196cm), how she works with brands for sponsorships and how she deals with the highs and lows of being an American playing overseas. Shelby currently p...

Rashuan Willliams gets Unguarded about investing with some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment, what he learned about accumulating wealth during his time as an investment banker, the qualities that athletes possess to be great at things outside of sports as well as the internal and external barriers that prevent them from working together off the playing fields. Rashaun has invested i...