Best of The Upside Podcast in 2020
This has been a year unlike any other, but one of the silver linings at NERR has been the growth of The Upside Podcast and the ways in which we've tried to use that platform over the course of the last year.
There were 32 new episodes of The Upside published in 2020.
We had former local products and current NBA players like Georges Niang, Duncan Robinson, and Michael Carter-Williams.
We had some of the most well-known college coaches in the country like Shaka Smart, Mick Cronin, Bob Huggins, Eric Musselman, Cuonzo Martin, Jeff Capel, and Steve Wojciechowski among others.
There were some of the most well-known skill trainers in the world in Mike Procopio and Rob McClanaghan, legendary high school scout Tom Konchalski, and college basketball's most well-known sports psychologist Dr. Joe Carr.
Most important though, was the mini-series done on social injustice following the death of George Floyd. That began with Dr. Scott Brooks from the Global Sports Institute educating us on the racial issues we are facing in the country and how they impact athletes, coaches, and families. Then we spoke with Mizzou head coach Cuonzo Martin and found out why he left Cal Berkely to take a Mizzou job that was right in the center of the nation's racial conflict. Jeff Capel and Steve Wojciechowski talked about playing and coaching together at Duke and how they experienced different events from unique points of view and how their friendship grew stronger because of it. Claudell Clark and Roger Cador gave us a glimpse into baseball and the problems that exist within that sport. We got a historical lesson on "Black Wall Street" and the Tulsa Race Massacre in an episode that didn't have anything to do with basketball, but told a story that everyone should know. Finally, the Big East Coach For Action, announced the creation of their platform on a virtual episode of the podcast.