UNGUARDED

Sandrine Nzeukou, founder of Playbook, joins host Jori Davis in this Unguarded Episode. Sandrine, a former professional hooper turned entrepreneur, shares her transition process to the corporate world, how she balanced school while playing overseas, and how to leverage your experiences in business.

Of African descent, Nzeukou explains her proactive involvement in the growth of the game on the continent. She highlights the talent and evolution of the sport in Africa as well as the challenges they need to overcome to keep progressing.

The former athlete emphasizes the need for transparency in the sports world as well as the importance of using playing years to build a quality resume.

Now, Sandrine is building Playbook, a media platform on the business of emerging sports economies, with a focus on Africa and the Middle East.

Produced and edited by Víctor Revenga.

Abiola Wabara goes unguarded again. As a former professional basketball player with over a decade of experience in Europe, she started preparing for her transition by getting her Master's degree while still playing.

In 2016, Abiola founded Goball Life, a small consulting firm dedicated to assisting athletes in their transition from professional sports to the next phase of their lives. She is now a Digital Industrial Manager at a consulting company. Outside the corporate world, she is the owner and artist behind Art by Abiola, an online gallery featuring her artwork.

Listen to this episode as she discusses her transition, challenges faced in the corporate world, the power of art, the financial realities of college athletics, and her relationship with the ball after retiring. Produced and edited by Víctor Revenga.

Basketball 101 CEO, ⁠Dorian Lee⁠, shares his journey to becoming one of the top skills trainers in the industry. After a solid athletic college career and a short stint playing professional tours in different countries he decided to transition into Corporate America, but his hoop dreams weren´t over, at 31, Dorian went on a European tour where he received several offers, but an eye-opening experience before heading to Europe helped him determine his calling was skills training. He transferred on-court skills into the business world and became a corporate athlete.

In this episode, Dorian highlights the importance of challenging your belief systems, reflects on past decisions and lessons learned, his transition from playing to business, living within your means, the value of training in today's game and competition, and the new generations.

Produced and edited by Víctor Revenga.

⁠Alex Acker⁠; with 16 years of professional basketball on his back, shares his transition process to being an entrepreneur. Now CEO of Amongst Elite Capital, Alex had to learn how find his identity to prosper beyond the court. He highlights his growth during his time in Europe and how athletes should educate themselves during their playing days.

Produced and edited by Víctor Revenga.

Trevor Huffman; a former 13-year overseas professional athlete, throughout his journey realized it was key to control the ego in order to be the player that would be an asset to a championship level team instead of only getting in his personal bag. Trevor first mastered himself right after saying bye to the game he loved in order to now be helping other athletes and basketball lovers master their health and fitness goals. He is the co-founder of Swish House and Founder of Huffman Basketball training.

Produced and edited by Víctor Revenga.

Hey, it's been a minute! We back tho. And we put Jori Davis on the hot seat as our special co-host Hyun Kim peppers the founder of ⁠WEVOLV⁠ about her greatest challenges, wins, disappointments, as well as the joyful and and painful lessons she's learned along the way as an athlete founder. And of course an important update on where things are with the company.

Don't forget to like, subscribe, comment...we want to hear from the community!

D'Andra Moss used her downtime during her pro basketball career to explore and learn new topics and skills that interested her which eventually lead to her current job as a product manager at LinkedIn. She got Unguarded about the importance of trying new things, how her experience as a pro athlete prepared her for rejection and success in the workforce, and tips on how athletes can use LinkedIn to frame their sports careers for a career after sports. Over her 10 year playing career she played in Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, France, Turkey, Italy, Chile, and Finland. .

Tony Easley gets Unguarded about deciding to retire as an international pro basketball player after a serious injury. He talks about how he dealt with that setback by turning it into something positive and the lessons he learned during his playing career that set him up for his current job as an assistant coach at a boarding school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Auburn, Alabama-native and Murray State-grad played 11 years in eight countries including Italy, Germany, Turkey, and Israel. 

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Josh Owens knew exactly when he'd retire when he started his pro basketball career. And he did just that after last season. Over his 10 years overseas he played in Israel, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and France. The Stanford-grad got Unguarded about designing mini-internships for himself, reflecting on inflection points in his life and career, the importance of establishing a routine post-playing career, and using social media to say goodbye.

Val returns as Unguarded's first ever return guest! The Ukrainian-born,  14-year-pro retired at the end of last season after playing pro basketball in France, Poland, Turkey, Spain, and France. She talked to us about the highs (buying your own pots and pans) and lows (lack of a steady pay check) of retirement life, how the war affected her last season, being able to explore hobbies, self-healing, forgiveness, looking back, and psychedelics. Featuring guest host, Hyun Kim.

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 healing and unlearning she's had to do since leaving the game, how she wants to help the next generation of athletes live happier and healthier lives, and not getting that final game curtain call.

The Spokane Valley, Washington-native currently resides in Gernika, Spain with her partner who still plays for the team where the two played together last season. 

You can connect with her on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Jori Davis is a pro basketball player and founder of Wevolv, a platform empowering elite athletes around the globe to manage their own careers and ways of life.

L’oreal Gamble is a former pro basketball player now taking on the challenge of motherhood abroad while also opening her own consulting firm for expats and athletes, Crossover the Net Consulting.

Ike Udanoh is a 9-year pro basketball veteran currently playing for SIG Strasbourg in Strasbourg, France. 

Jori Davis is a pro basketball player and founder of Wevolv, a platform empowering elite athletes around the globe to manage their own careers and ways of life.

L’oreal Gamble is a former pro basketball player now taking on the challenge of motherhood abroad while also opening her own consulting firm for expats and athletes, Crossover the Net Consulting.

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 before playing pro in Holland, France, Australia, and Spain. She has also played for the Dutch National Team. Episode features guest host Hyun Kim.

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 head coach in the WNBA for the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky, where she was also a GM. 

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 transfer to UTEP. Since graduation she has played pro in Spain and has also played for the Mozambique National Team. Episode features guest host Hyun Kim. 

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 countries he has played in Austria, Finland, France, Kazakhstan, Italy and is currently playing in France. The Detroit-native of Nigerian-descent is based in Milan where he lives with his wife and daughter. Catch up on his life and funny antics on YouTube and TikTok. Episode features guest host Hyun Kim. 

Valeriya Berezhynska gets Unguarded about her past struggles with self-confidence and how that's motivated her to apply her life 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 Spain. The 13 year pro is a graduate of Rice University. Episode features guest host, Hyun Kim. 

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 been worn by stars from the WNBA, NBA, USWNT and more. The Springfield, MA native played and graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson, has a Masters from England and previously worked at MIT. 

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, is also playing. 

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 Life, a service that helps athletes prepare for the workforce outside of sports.

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 help each other improve. Liad was a captain of the Israeli National Team and has played in Poland, France and Israel. Kat was born in Ukrania but is a naturalized Israeli citizen who played in Romania and Israel. They both played at Villanova University and are currently retired.

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 how her heart will go on and on. Syd is a Phoenix-native who graduated from Oregon State and is currently a member of the Los Angeles Sparks. She won a gold member as a member of the USA basketball team at the 2015 World University Games and has played pro in Australia, Israel and Spain.

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 Moscow), a 2 time EuroLeague Best Defender and was named to EuroLeague's 2010-2020 All-Decade Team. He has also played in Germany, Greece and currently plays for Olimipia Milano. The Sicklerville, NJ native is a graduate of UNC Greensboro. 

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 for two seasons and is currently playing in Hungary. Her and Jori played together during the 18-19 season for Valencia. Last year Tinara was named MVP of the Spanish league. 

Episode features the song "Life Goes On" feat. The Pocket Queen & Dmitry Gorodetsky by Nikko Ielasi

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 Scotti, represents basketball players all over the world with offices in Italy, Germany and in the US. Lorenzo represents female basketball players including our host Jori Davis and he kicks off the episode while Mario represents male basketball players and his segment kicks off at the 34:55 mark. 

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 junior college. She received a Masters from the University of East London and recently published her first book, Winners Win. Taneka has played in Portugal, Spain and is currently playing again in Portugal. 

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 plays for Fenerbahce in Istanbul and previously played in Greece, Australia and Hungary. She is a native of Pullman, Washington and graduated from Gonzaga University. Check out her performance of Adele's "Rollin' in the Deep" dedicated to us on her IG. 

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 in AirBNB, Ring, Casper, Lyft, Dropbox, Draftkings and more. The Chicago-native is a graduate of Morehouse College and currently lives in Atlanta with his wife and their son. 

Mohamed Kherazi gets Unguarded about growing up in Morocco, how he dealt with the passings of his mother and brother, immigrating to the Netherlands, finding a new passion in photography and playing against the Moroccan national team as a member of the Dutch national team. Mohamed has played his entire pro career in the Netherlands where he has won one league championship and the defensive player of the year three times. 

To kick off our new season we are proud to have our guests L'oreal and Julian Gamble (our first ever couple) get Unguarded with us about what it's like to be married to a fellow pro ballplayer, the sacrifices they've made together to have a family during their playing careers, the importance of supporting each other in every facet of their lives, what it was like to return to playing pro ball after having a child and advice for overseas athletes thinking about starting a family

L'oreal is a graduate of Fayetteville State University and has played pro basketball in Serbia, Romania, Germany and has coached at the University of Brussels. Julian is a graduate of University of Miami and has played pro basketball in France, Belgium, Germany and Italy where he currently plays for Virtus Bologina. They both hail from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Lauryn Williams is Unguarded about the challenges she's faced as a former Olympic athlete who entered the world of finance and the challenges she's faced trying to help athletes with their finances. The former Olympic sprinter and bobsleder is the first American woman to medal (2 gold and 1 silver) in both the summer and winter games. She spoke to Jori about how she channeled the discipline and focus of being an elite athlete to pursuing her studies to hurdling the worlds of real estate and now finance. During the interview Laura was not afraid to mention some financial mistakes she's made in the past and how tho she set out to help other athletes with their finances she isn't always seen in the same light as other financial advisors because of her athletic background. The Pittsburgh native currently resides in Dallas with her husband and last year published a book to help future track stars with their careers. 

This is the final episode of the very first season of Unguarded!

Chris Squires is Unguarded about his passion for fashion and his desire to help everyone, especially pro athletes, dress, look and feel better. The second Indiana University alum guest on the podcast talked to Jori Davis about his athletic journey as a pro baseball player which took him from city to city and country to country gave him insight into fashion and lifestyle. Plus he talks about how it's built into his genes as his grandmother used to make clothes in her Harlem home back in the day. The Fort Wayne, Indiana-native has had stints with the Miami Marlins organisation to Rookie Ball to Double A to Independent Ball to playing in Canada, Mexico and Europe. He is currently based in Austria where he is working on his fashion and lifestyle blog and online store, Luvet Lifestyle. 

Laura Giuliani is Unguarded about the relationship with Christian, her boyfriend, who has been by her side during some of the most important and crucial moments in her career. Most of the time we hear about the women who support male pro athletes but this time we get to hear the other side: what sacrifices were made, how they were able to help one another adjust to living in new countries and cities and doing what it takes to balance it all, including taking a part-time job together at a factory. Now that's amore.  Laura is currently the goalkeeper for Juventus and the Italian National Team. She is a native of Milan and also has played for teams in Germany, 

Acheil Tac is Unguarded about finding the motivation to tackle whatever new challenges come her way. Her journey as a refugee has been well documented. From South Sudan to Egypt to Dallas, Texas, Tac with her parents and three sisters (who are also ballin' out in Texas) always found a way to not only adjust but also to thrive. She started learning English at age 9 at ESL classes and only started playing basketball in high school and didn't know anything about athletic collegiate scholarships but still thrived at the University of North Texas. She talks about wanting to play for a South Sudan women's team in the future and helping to improve the basketball program in her homeland. She is the author of The Reality of Behind the Glamour of College Athletics and has played pro basketball in Switzerland, Czech Republic and most recently in Greece. 

Darius Willis is Unguarded about how to navigate a life in sports when dreams get deferred, multiple times. Jori and Darius both attended Indiana University at the same time (he graduated a year after her) and later on they were both playing in Switzerland at the same time. A severe knee injury sidelined Darius' chances to play pro (American) football in the US. After not getting a callback from a tryout with the NY Jets, he took on several jobs from Toys R Us to Fed Ex to pay the bills but his dream to play pro football never went away and he finally got his chance in Switzerland...until another injury made him pivot to coaching, mentoring and training future American football stars in Europe. Darius is a native of Indianapolis, is the CEO/Founder of Willis Sports Organization and is currently the head coach of the Bern Grizzlies in Switzerland. 

Landon Milbourne is Unguarded about his struggles to create change for himself and other players in the business of sport during and after his overseas pro basketball career as an athlete and later as an agent. Landon is an author and an entrepreneur who owns several businesses including those in personal care, cosmetics, trucking, real estate development, e-commerce and more. The Maryland-native graduated from the University of Maryland before playing pro in France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Puerto Rico and Israel. (Pardon the quality of the audio of the interview, it was conducted before we stepped up our equipment)

Gio Sottana is Unguarded about the important role of education in the lives of athletes and the advantages and disadvantages of Europeans going to America to play in the NCAA and staying in Europe to play pro. She also talks about the importance of athletes being seen more than just athletes but as individuals with interests and thoughts that go beyond the courts and fields of athletics. Giorgio "Gio" Sottana is the captain of the Italian National Team and has played Euroleague since 2011.  She has had success playing for three teams in Italy, one in France and currently plays for Fenerbahçe in Turkey.  Gio is also the founder of an online magazine, 4FourAM, where she interviews fellow athletes about life and the co-founder of Playground Basketball Camp. 

Elly Pavel is Unguarded about her struggles with her body image. And how playing basketball opened up a new world for her, taking her to new cities and countries which allowed her to meet diverse groups of people which helped her to not only accept herself but to also appreciate her own body. That strength lead her to support women, feminist causes and made her focus on a healthier lifestyle. Elisabeth "Elly" Pavel has played in her native Romania, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Italy and will be playing in Poland next season. She is also a member of the Romanian National Team. 

Horace Wormely is Unguarded about the importance of making connections in the global athlete network. The "Gingerbread Man" (nickname he earned in the legendary Drew League) played pro basketball for 12 years on six different continents. The Pasadena-native is currently the managing partner of Layercake Group and co-director of DSTRKT.

• 8:00 // Having a mentor gave him the confidence to re-negotiate his first overseas contract
• 10:36 // In China he learned about the business of basketball which helped set up his life after sports
• 18:00 // His network of athletes gave him access to various contracts and he used that info to help others
• 25:00 // Negotiating his own contract got him blackballed
• 33:32 // No regrets but having an agent would have resulted in a more financially prosperous career
• 41:48 // Deciding to quit playing ball
• 47:30 // How he's helping current and future athletes today

Unguarded's 1st ever episode features DeQuan Jones! Jori caught up with him soon after he returned to America during the pandemic outbreak in Italy where he was playing his first season with Pallacanestro Trieste. 

DeQuan talks to Jori about their similar overseas journeys and shared appreciation for experiencing other cultures. A recent father, he shares the challenges of balancing of being an overseas athlete, husband and father and what hopes he has for his family's future along with his wife, Allison Mathis Jones.