Connecticut Sun forward Chiney Ogwumike continued her vlog series with Grit Media this week, where provided some valuable insights as a women's professional basketball player. You can watch the YouTube video which is embedded above.
In this vlog, Ogwumike first talked about what advice she would give her younger self. Most of it centered around positional versatility:
You want to be as good as you can be. You want to be a deadly sniper or like a defensive player on the perimeter, in the paint. You want to be as versatile as possible. The game is adapting and it’s becoming super precise. For instance, you don’t want to be a post and they just sag off of you and they don’t guard you outside the free throw line.
So if I was 13 years old and my coach told me, "Hey, just stick with the bunnies, the inside shots," I would say, "Coach, I understand where you’re coming from, but if I’m wide open and if I’m in rhythm, I want to shoot it. I’ve been working hard in practice every day. I’ve been coming in extra and shooting, putting up 500 shots a day, which is a good number. Please Coach, if you have confidence in me, let me take that once in a while."
She also gave some advice on the integrity of the game, which included a word of caution regarding social media:
With social media, a lot of times people start feeling themselves right? And its cool. That’s the beauty of social media, but at the same time, it makes kids grow up too fast. That’s what I always tell my little sisters. Just cherish your teammates and cherish the beauty of what sports brings: teamwork, hard work, integrity, working together through adversity to try and get a win. That’s what should be celebrated, not having 100 zillion likes on Instagram for your shoes.
To watch Ogwumike's previous vlogs from Grit Media, click here to see what her thoughts are on what the WNBA Draft is like, and click here to see her talk about balancing being a woman and a basketball player.