Bucket Podcast

You don't know who's listening around the campfire. Bucket Podcast | Season 1 Finale. @BucketPodcast hello@bucketpodcast.com

Some players arrive. Britt Prince chose to build. A homegrown Nebraska kid from Elkhorn North — where she led a brand new program to state championships, broke the Nebraska Class B scoring record, and won back-to-back Gatorade and MaxPreps Player of the Year honors. Then she came home to Lincoln. As a Husker, she's earned First Team All-Big Ten honors, a Nancy Lieberman Award nomination for the na...

We said if. Game 7 said yes. This bonus episode is part two of two... an inside look at the conversations happening inside a friend group right now — the texts, the takes, the things basketball keeps making them consider.  Definitely one for the hoop nerds.  Sky talks with Ryan Arel and Cy Benedict — friends who've been thinking about the 2026 NBA Western Conference Finals a little too hard. The b...

Some of the best conversations happen between brothers who've been talking hoops and life since they were kids.  This is one of those. Sky sits down with his 'brother' Cy Benedict — philosopher, writer, and author of the Substack The Real — and you're a fly on the wall. They get into Cy's recent piece about the Spurs and Thunder, why Wembanyama feels like a breath of fresh air in a league full of...

We used to experience things together. The same moment, the same breath, the same not-knowing. Somewhere along the way, we lost that. This episode is about what we've traded away in the age of streaming, highlight reels, and on-demand everything — and why sports might be the last place where time still belongs to all of us at once.

In an era defined by movement — by the next opportunity, the better offer, the open portal — Keira Hanson did something quietly radical. She stayed. A four-year standout at the University of Vermont, Keira leaves Burlington as one of the most decorated players in program history — a thousand point scorer, a three-time conference champion, an American East All-Conference First Team selection, and a...

Before the next episode drops — a pause.  The transfer portal has thrown this mini-series for a loop, and rather than just explain the delay, this felt like the right moment to say something about it. The transfer portal has changed basketball. But this episode isn't really about basketball. It's about what gets lost when the exit is always available — and what gets found when you choose to stay....

EPISODE TWO OF THE COLLEGE MARCH MINI SERIES In this episode of The Bucket Podcast , Sky sits down with Fairfield University standout Kaety L’Amoreaux, 2026 MAAC Player of the Year, to explore the moments that shape a player beyond the stat line. From a small-town upbringing in upstate New York to becoming one of the top players in the country, Kaety reflects on the path that led her to the Divisi...

EPISODE ONE OF THE COLLEGE MARCH MINI SERIES   Host Sky Stickney sits down with former Washington 4A Player of the Year Jo Lee from Glacier Peak High School, now a freshman at Le Moyne College. After a high school career defined by production, recognition, and deep postseason runs, Jo has arrived at the level so many chase — only to find himself in a new role. What follows isn’t frustration... In...

After the last two episodes reached more listeners than could have been anticipated, host Sky Stickney takes a moment to say THANK YOU, reflect on the growth, the messages arriving from around the country, and what it means to build something that resonates. This week creates space to revisit recent conversations while also looking ahead. With many previously featured athletes still competing deep...

Host Sky Stickney travels to Portland, Oregon to sit down with Central Catholic High School senior Robbie Long III. Robbie's day-to-day consists of unseen moments where habits are built, trust is formed, and leadership takes shape long before a game ever tips off. Through conversations with mentors, trainers, and those who have watched his development closely, a philosophy begins to take form — on...

On this episode, Sky Stickney sits down with Oregon girls basketball standout Taylor Donaldson of South Albany high school — a 2,167+ point scorer climbing into the top ranks in state history — to explore what true craftsmanship looks like. Off the court, Taylor is known for cookies and cake pops she makes for others. On the court, she’s built her game the same way she bakes — through repetition,...

Host Sky Stickney travels to Prineville, Oregon to sit down with 6’10” senior Bryce Lowenbach and Crook County head coach Jason Mumm. After moving up from 4A to 5A, the Cowboys are ranked number one in the state of Oregon — but inside the program, the language is different. Coach Mumm doesn’t talk about “program changers.” He talks about “program continuers.” Bryce, a skilled and analytical big ma...

Snow stacked along the sidewalks. Four-degree air. The kind of cold that settles into a city and stays there. In this special bonus episode, Sky travels to Syracuse, New York to sit down with two of the top high school basketball players in the state — Eli Prince of Westhill and Jahzar Greene of Bishop Ludden-Grimes. Same city. Same winter. Different rhythms. Eli moves with steadiness — shaped by...

What does it look like to love the game without hesitation? In this episode, Sky sits down with Kaylor Buse of West Linn High School — a player whose joy is as undeniable as her talent. From the playground to packed gyms, her game carries something deeper than skill. Along the way, Coach Brooke Cates and legendary Oregon coach Eric Viuhkola weigh in on what makes her rare — and what it takes to pr...

Sky Stickney returns to Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon — a place defined by continuity, expectation, and people who never leave. Lucas LaBounty is the returning Midwestern League Player of the Year, but this episode isn’t about accolades. It’s about what it means to grow up inside a program where the standard is already set, where work is assumed, and where responsibility gets passed...

Host Sky Stickney travels to Canby, Oregon to sit down with reigning Northwest Oregon Conference Co-Player of the Year, senior Jaxon Lawson. What begins as a straightforward interview inside Canby High School quickly becomes something more. In the quiet moments, a pattern starts to emerge — a calm confidence, an observant way of moving through pressure, and a competitive edge that doesn’t announce...