One and One Podcast

Jenna Giacone is the Assistant Coach and Director of Scouting & Player Development for the University of Illinois Women's Basketball Team.  Prior to that, she played basketball at the University of Dayton from 2016-2022 and was on the training camp roster for the Seattle Storm in 2022. She talks about growing up in Delmar, New York, in a very athletic family, playing basketball with her sister Gabby, who is only 15 months older than her, her great career atBethlehem Central High School, and the recruiting process that led her to choose Dayton. Jenna discusses her coach leaving before her Freshman season began, her reaction to Head Coach Shauna Green getting the job, their relationship, and the foot injury that led her to miss a lot of her Freshman season and her entire Sophomore season. She details her career highlights at Dayton which include winning the A-10, playing in the NCAA Tournament, being First Team A-10 and winning Most Improved Player, and the importance of coming back for a 6th season in 2022. Jenna also talks about how she "randomly" wrote a children's book "Gabby's Got Game", going through the details of how it started, what it is about, getting a publisher, and the great reception it's gotten. Finally, Jenna shares her experience with the Seattle Storm, knowing she wanted to be a coach from a young age, how the opportunity at Illinois came up, her roles on the staff, and looking ahead to the 2024 season.

Ka'lia Johnson played basketball at Duke University from 2011-2015, professionally in Europe for a year, has coached at a number of women's college basketball programs, and was recently named an Assistant Coach at Towson University. She talks about being an army brat as a kid before settling in the Richmond, Virginia area, and getting into basketball through her athletic family. She discusses her great high school career at Thomas Dale High School, becoming a Duke fan in middle school, and committing to her dream school as a Sophomore. Ka'lia details the transition to college and becoming great friends with the rest of her class (nicknamed EJAK). She also details her career highlights at Duke which included two Elite 8 appearances, an ACC Tournament Championship, playing with so many great players, staying ready when her number was called, recording a triple-double, and a senior night victory by 1 point over UNC. She describes her season playing professionally overseas in Switzerland and the Czech Republic, how she got into coaching, her coaching highlights so far in her career, and her new role with Towson.

Tania Davis is the Director of Player Development for the University of Iowa Women's Basketball Team. Prior to that, she was an Assistant Coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha from 2021-2023, a Graduate Assistant at Clemson University from 2019-2021, and played at the University of Iowa from 2015-2019. She talks about growing up in Flint, Michigan, getting into basketball at a young age, her great career at Goodrich High School where the team went 100-8 in her 4 years, and the recruiting process that led her to choose Iowa. Tania discusses what it was like to play for Head Coach Lisa Bluder, being able to play right away, tearing her ACLs in back-to-back seasons her Sophomore and Junior year, the hard work she put in to get back, and realizing that she wanted to be a coach while she had to watch from the sidelines. She details the great season Iowa had in 2019 where they won the Big Ten Tournament and went to the Elite 8 and what it meant to her to be a 1,000 point scorer. Then, she talks about becoming a Graduate Assistant at Clemson, her duties in that role, her time as an Assistant Coach at Omaha, her reaction to getting the call to come back to Iowa, her role as Director of Player Development, and her excitement for the 2024 season.

Taylor Wright played baseball at Brown University from 2012-2015 and pitched in the Minor Leagues from 2019-2021. He talks about what it's like having former Villanova Basketball Coach Jay Wright as his father, his involvement with the program, and playing 3 sports growing up. He discusses his great high school career at  Episcopal Academy where he played football, basketball, and baseball, his recruiting process for baseball, and why he chose Brown. Taylor then details attempting to play 2 sports at Brown, competition in Ivy League Baseball, adjusting to coming out of the bullpen to pitch, and highlights during his college career. He describes why he didn't try to play professionally right after college, what he was doing for 3 years, and what led him to finally give pro baseball a shot. Taylor speaks about his time in the Minor Leagues on the Evansville Otters and Somerset Patriots, coaching JV Basketball at Episcopal Academy in the offseason, becoming a teacher at Episcopal after the 2021 baseball season, and recently being named the Head Coach of the Varsity Basketball team.

Maddie Plank is a current player on the Davidson College Women's Basketball Team. Prior to joining Davidson in 2022, she played at Princeton University from 2019-2022.  She talks about growing up as the oldest of four in Briarcliff Manor, New York, being passionate about basketball from a young age, great high school success, and the recruiting process that led her to Princeton. Maddie discusses getting injured her Freshman year and missing the season, Covid-19 cancelling the remainder of the 2020 season, and her decision to take a gap year in 2021. She details her adventurous cross-country cycling trip with Princeton Men's Basketball player Charlie Bagin, which included going East Coast to West Coast, stopping at cool sights along the way, meeting interesting people, and becoming best friends. Maddie talks about getting back to campus in 2022, the success Princeton had in the Ivy League and their run in the NCAA Tournament. Then, she explains her difficult decision to transfer after the season, why she chose Davidson, winning the gold medal in the 2022 Maccabiah Games and her experience in Israel as a Jewish American, this past season at Davidson, and her hopes for the upcoming 2024 season.

Dylan Geissert is the Associate Head Coach for the North Dakota State University Women's Basketball Team. Prior to being named Associate Head Coach, he worked as an Assistant Coach at NDSU from 2019-2023 and a Graduate Student Manager at the University of Kansas from 2017-2019. He graduated from Emporia State University in 2016 where he was a Student Assistant Coach and Male Practice Player for the Women's Basketball Team. Dylan talks about growing up in Herington, Kansas, playing 3 sports, and having an appreciation for women's sports because his mom is a great athlete. He discusses his intention to play baseball at Emporia State before an injury made him retire from the sport, how he got involved with the women's basketball team, the dominance that Emporia State has in Division II Women's Basketball, going from a Male Practice Player to a Student Assistant Coach, working for Head Coach Jory Collins, and making the 2015 Final Four. Dylan then details the opportunity to be the Graduate Manager for Kansas, going from a D2 school to a D1 school, working in the Big 12 Conference, and what his role entailed. He explains why he chose to move to Fargo, ND, when Jory Collins got the Head Coaching job at NDSU, his time as Assistant Coach, recruiting, coaching through the pandemic, building NDSU back up, and being named Associate Head Coach this past May.

Julia Cunningham played basketball at Princeton University from 2018-2023 where she was a part of 4 Ivy League Regular Season Championships and 3 Ivy League Tournament Titles. She talks about growing up in Watchung, NJ, getting into basketball a bit late, her great career at Watchung Hills High School where she is the All-Time Leading Scorer to this day, and the recruiting process that led her to Princeton. Julia describes the transition to Division I Basketball, playing right away as a Freshman, her Head Coach Courtney Banghart leaving after her first year, and how she liked Current Head Coach Carla Berube. Then, she discusses a promising 26-1 season being cancelled due to COVID-19, her decision to take a gap year in 2021 when the Ivy League cancelled all sports, what she did that year, and her excitement to get back on the court in 2022. Julia goes over the dominance of Princeton Basketball in the Ivy League, the upset wins they had in the 2022 & 2023 NCAA Tournament, and her future plans now that she has graduated.

Stephen Perretta is the Assistant Coach for the Iona College Women's Basketball Team. Prior to that, he was an Assistant Coach for the Fairleigh Dickinson Women's Basketball Team from 2021-2023. He graduated from Villanova University in 2021 where he spent time as a Male Practice Plater for the women's program and is the son of former Villanova Women's Basketball Coach Harry Perretta. Stephen talks about growing up around the Villanova program, what it was like to have a Division 1 basketball coach as a father, his own basketball playing career, and wanting to be a coach at a young age. He describes his time as a student at Villanova, his involvement as a practice player, other jobs he did around the athletic program, and watching his father coach his last season at Villanova. Stephen discusses how he got a Graduate Assistant position for FDU, getting promoted to an Assistant Coach one year later, all of the hype around FDU Basketball during the 2023 NCAA Tournament, following Head Coach Angelika Szumilo to Iona College in the off season, and his excitement for the 2024 season.

On today's brief episode, the host, Bridget,  explains why the podcast had to go on hiatus. However, there is great news. It's coming back!

Peter Lipari wrestled at Rutgers University from 2015-2019, Rider University in 2020, and Arizona State University in 2021. He talks about growing up in Byram Township, New Jersey, how he got into wrestling, and his first two years at Lenape Valley High School where he placed in the state. Peter discusses his family's move during his Junior year, transferring to Bergen Catholic High School, a nationally ranked program, the competition in the wrestling room, his excellent final 2 years there, and how it prepared him for college. He details his recruiting process, how he always wanted to attend Rutgers, and ultimately committing there before he was granted a scholarship (that was eventually granted). Peter chats about his first few seasons at Rutgers where he redshirted and got injured, the hard work he kept putting in, and the outstanding Redshirt Junior season in 2019 where he was the starter at 141 lbs.  and was an NCAA Tournament Qualifier. Then, he discusses transferring to Rider for his Redshirt Senior season, his highlights, and how it was cut short due to COVID-19. Lastly, he talks about using his 6th year of eligibility to wrestle at Arizona State, how he liked living out there, the odd 2021 season with so many pandemic rules, getting a job as an MMA agent once he was done wrestling, recently moving back to New Jersey, and his excitement for his career ahead.