UNGUARDED

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.