𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙒𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙚 [𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴]

ɪᴠ. ꜰᴀᴅᴇ ɪɴᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜ

"𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙤 𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙙
𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨
𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚" 
-𝘔𝘢𝘻𝘻𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳

Noa adjusted the notebook on her lap, tapping her pen against the edge of the page as she looked at KK, who sat in front of the camera with a mix of excitement and nerves. The gym was quieter now, the sound of bouncing balls and squeaking sneakers fading into the background as practice had wrapped up. Michael gave Noa a nod from behind the camera, signaling they were rolling.

She leaned forward slightly. "Alright, KK. Do you think you have higher expectations on you since you're a freshman?"

KK exhaled, shifting in her seat before answering. "I wouldn't say higher expectations, but they're definitely there. People expect a lot from new players—fresh talent, you know? It's a lot of pressure, but the big girls help us out." She paused, making a face at her own words before laughing. "Wait, that sounded weird—'big girls.' Oh nah, I just cringed myself out."

Noa laughed at KK's antics. "I get what you mean. They set the standard."

KK nodded. "Exactly. They've been through it already, so they know how to help. And, like, I put a lot of pressure on myself too. I wanna prove I belong here, that I can hold my own."

Noa wrote something down, glancing up. "And what are your expectations for yourself this season?"

KK tilted her head, thinking. "I just wanna get better every day. I don't expect to be perfect, but I wanna make an impact. Whether it's scoring, defense, energy—whatever Coach needs, I wanna be that."

Noa nodded, impressed. "That's a solid mindset."

KK grinned. "You think so? Cool, I'll quote you when I win Freshman of the Year."

Noa chuckled, flipping to a new page. "I'll be waiting for my credit."

After a few more questions, Noa glanced at Michael, then back at KK. "Alright, you're good to go."

KK relaxed, stretching her arms before hopping up. "Cool. I'll just wait for Nika."

Noa watched as KK moved to the side, still buzzing with energy, while the crew prepped for the next interview.

"Hey, hey," Nika greeted, plopping down in front of the camera.

Before Michael signaled the start of the recording, Noa leaned forward. "Don't be nervous. Just be yourself."

Nika nodded. "Got it."

The red light blinked on. "Okay, introduce yourself and talk a little about your background."

Nika smiled into the camera. "My name is Nika Mühl, and I'm a guard for the UConn Huskies. I was born and raised in Croatia—it's my home, where my family is. Umm, I think I started playing basketball when I was 10 or 11. My sister and I would shoot all day, and I got really good at it, so I decided to play for a club."