This week on Ball Up Top, Chauny caught wind of Super Secret White Guy Chat and immediately mustered the full crew for a pre-holiday podcast. It’s a full boat with Andrew, Chauny, Greer and Tyler on hand to break down a great week of Team USA basketball, the WNBA’s continuing labor fight and a close look at the NCAA Player of the Year race.

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The show opens with a quick update on the ongoing WNBA collective bargaining agreement dispute. With Caitlin Clark’s comments at Team USA camp followed up by a conciliatory tone by NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday, it feels as though there’s an opportunity for both sides to have a 2026 season after all.

Our crew then dives into Team USA camp, the changing of the guard that may be happening and some of the deeper dynamics — sometimes jokingly called The Storrs Mafia or the-UConn-Media-Industrial-Complex — that go into selection and national team discussion.

That dovetails perfectly into a conversation about the NCAA Player of the Year races in women’s college basketball. While Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd continue to lead the way, our team asks if there are enough narratives in Big East play for UConn to build a case for their players? And where do other talented players from South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards to Richmond’s Maggie Doogan fit in?

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:07 - Caitlin Clark, Adam Silver and the thawing WNBA Labor Fight…

12:01 - Unrivaled’s start and the leverage of player coalitions…

22:38 - Team USA Camp thoughts & reactions

41:20 - NCAA Player of the Year ladder

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.