The best time of year is back!

🧠 From Scottie…

Summer is over and our favorite time of the year is right around the corner and we’re excited to ramp it up and stir the pot.

I want to tell you a quick story about my summer.

Depending on where you live, your summers could be brutal and offensive from the heat exuberating down on you while you’re outside. That’s pretty similar to how mine was. So, while I was trying to get my runs in, I would often try to schedule them after work, late enough to where I could sneak in some miles before it was too late on the streets of Atlanta but long enough to where I felt accomplished about my workout.

Well, on one of these runs, I decided to push my limits. Completely ignoring everything my internal voice was telling me and stupidly ignoring the rumblings and vibrations going on in my body.

I’m 0.7 miles from home and I feel it coming. I’m about to 💩 in my shorts.

I’m weighing my options

1. Call an uber. But I’ll have to pay a fee for 💩 on his seats

2. Stop drop and wait. I’m on the streets of Atlanta. I don’t want to be confused as a Homeless

3. Take Grandma-like steps back home

I go with Option 3. I am panicking, I am pissed, I am stressed, and I want to get home. It only takes a couple of minutes and I hear my name being called down the street. It’s my neighbor and her boyfriend.

Have you ever been in the middle of pooping your pants and you run into 2 people who you know?

I ignored the first call but had to respond when I heard my name again. I was not myself in that moment, so rather than acting like I was cracked out on coke, I decided to let them know I was in the middle of pooping my pants and needed to keep going.

I persevered, kept going, and spent the fourth quarter safely at home.

This brings me to our story for today, the story of Aaliyah Gayles. Aaliyah Gayles, a top recruit out of Las Vegas who was shot 9 times as she was days away from committing to play at top ranked USC. Similar to my story of inspiration, I hope you enjoy learning about the story of Aaliyah Gayles.

SS

TODAY’S STORY
🙏9 Bullets Later

If you haven’t heard the story about Aaliyah Gayles, this is a story that will inspire you.

Aaliyah Gayles was an All-American, top ranked recruit out of Las Vegas. Aaliyah had just finished playing at the 2022 Jordan Brand Classic and was headed back home. After returning home, her friends invited her to a house party. What was expected to be a fun night with friends and family turned into Aaliyah being shot at least 9 times. Ultimately leaving Aaliyah in a position of never being able to play the sport she loved again.

Aaliyah was only a week away from signing her Letter of Intent to play at USC. This was a childhood dream of hers that was quickly turning into a dream of the past.

After Aalyiah’s surgery, she couldn’t do anything. She could barely move her legs or arms and for awhile she was reliant on someone doing everything for her, including someone brushing her teeth for her.

Fast forwrad one year later, which would be the 2022-2023 season, and Aaliyah was able to red shirt her freshman year at USC while she was going through rehabilitation. This part stuck out to me a lot. A coach’s job is to win. That’s what they’re paid to do, that’s what helps their program, and that’s what helps bring in recruits. Not to mention, that’s how a coach keeps their job! So why would a coach keep a roster spot on someone who is not the same player they recruited and is still going through heavy rehab with 18 gun shot wounds? Shout out to USC Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb. Wether or not Aaliyah ever plays at the same level she used to, what Coach Gottlieb did by keeping her on, will without a doubt play an impactful role on how Aaliyah rehabs and how she moves forward.

It’s more than basketball and Aaliyah’s story demonstrates that.

#21 USC has a tight Top 25 match up against #7 ranked Ohio State, and I’m excited to look for Aaliyah on the bench as a new fan of hers.

You can find full story on Aalyiah Gayles with ESPN here

GAMES
💥Spotlight Games This Week

#6 South Carolina v #10 Notre Dame

• 1 PM ET on ESPN

• Monday 11/6

#7 Ohio State v #21 USC

• 2 PM EST on truTV ( 🤢)

  • Can someone just illegally screen this on TikTok for me?

• Monday 11/6

#1 LSU v #20 Colorado

• 7:30 PM EST on TNT

• Monday 11/6

#11 Tennessee v #18 Florida State

• 4 PM EST ESPN2

• Thursday 11/9

#3 Iowa v #8 Virginia Tech

• 6 PM EST ESPN2

• Thursday 11/9

NEWS
👂️This Week’s Locker Room Drama

What’s been going on in the world of women’s college basketball recently?

• South Carolina and Notre Dame are adjusting to life in Paris as they await a historical matchup (AP News)

• The most anticipated Freshmen that should be on your watchlist this season (ESPN)

• The Lady Vols tried their darndest against Team USA (JWS)

• TCU’s Sedona Price, AKA: The Girl Who Snitched on The Disparities Between The Men’s and Women’s March Madness, is Named Preseason All Big 12 Honorable Mentiono (Frogs O’War)

  • Must be nice to not touch a court in 2 years and still win a prize

• Florida State Head Coach Brooke Wyckoff, is diagnosed with Breast Cancer (Daily Mail)

MEDIA
👇️Video of The Week

LSU’s new $1.5M locker room. The Mulkey Effect

@angelreese10

new locker is FIREEEE! yall not doing it like LSU. period. @LSUwbkb