January 9, 2025 

Locked On Women’s Basketball: Understanding the Kiyomi McMiller situation

Goodman: 'Obviously, you never know what's gonna happen. These things change on the daily'

On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Gigi Speer sat down with Talia Goodman, On3’s women’s basketball reporter, to discuss Kiyomi McMiller‘s absence in Rutgers’ game against JuJu Watkins and USC. The two of them analyze the news of the McMiller situation, including evaluating social media posts and breaking down what McMiller’s dad said about the situation. They finish the episode by reviewing Goodman’s top teams and making some playoff predictions.

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Speer opens the show by asking Goodman to break down what she knows about the McMiller situation. “Well, you see that she’s not on the availability report,” Goodman says. “And you’re like, why? She’s the best player, right? And then she posts an Instagram story saying … I won’t be playing … it’s my head coach’s decision. And then signs off.” After she summarize the story, Goodman acknowledges that a synopsis is just that, not a full story. “It’s been tough because obviously you don’t know the full situation.”


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Goodman, however, was able to follow up with McMiller’s dad, as she mentions to Speer later on in the show. “She is not looking to transfer right now,” Goodman says, regarding her conversation with McMiller’s dad. But, per Goodman, “obviously, you never know what’s gonna happen. Things change on the daily.”


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Later on, Speer and Goodman discuss Goodman’s top five teams of the season so far — UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame, Texas, and USC. “The top five is very hard,” Goodman admits. She names some underdogs as well — TCU, Georgia Tech, and Clemson — which deserve some recognition as the season presses on.

Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!


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