The Open Run With Will Strickland

Episode 224 – BBall Bong Bong

On the last episode before our #PartsWellKnown Tour across Canada for The World’s Most Unique Basketball Tournament, Wall $t. summons the wonder twin powers of Los Hermanos Del Baloncesto by calling upon El Jefe Supremo of FC21 All World, Friend Of The Program and cultural renaissance man, Bobbito Garcia.

The guys do a deep dive on Bob’s latest project, a memoir called “Bobbito’s Book Of BBall Bong Bong”, and share why the growth of the only application of 1v5 basketball on the planet means so much to them and so many more.

Super Producer and #1 Dallas Mavericks fan Ryan Antonio Henry assists in talking the brave new world ahead for The Association in the post-draft aftermath of free agency, announce All Star starters and other exciting developments in The WNBA and exonerate Ace Bailey for what many feel was a failed attempt to have control over a career barely started.

News.

Views.

Truths.

References Made:
Bone Collector, Pittsburgh Pirates, Forrest Gump, The Maine Event, W.A.R.P.ed, Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, slave auctions, Meghan McPeak, Entertainers Basketball Classic, Azzi Fudd, 3d Bass, @demi_sosa, Seattle, John Carlos, k1x sneakers, Adrian Bartos, Steele Hyundai, Thor, well-seasoned, and more, all on the podcast where Basketball and Life are One: The Open Run With Will Strickland!

Do What’s Popular With The Population!

Find Will On These Rough Interweb Streets:

Twitter: @W_Strickland1

IG: @WillStrickland1

The Open Run With Will Strickland

Episode 223 – Engagement Farming

We all join things to fit in… belong.

It could be the band, chess team, the military or a book club, but we join to be a part of something greater than ourselves.

This week, a new champion will be crowned in The Association, a basketball team rooted in teamwork making the dream work.

There will also be 59 young men, looking to be chosen to fulfill their dreams of belonging to a brotherhood that lasts for life.

It won’t be a drive-by, empty calorie, foul merchant activation for those who find their validation in The Attention Economy.

It will be so much more…

It will mean much more as well.

Soul Food.

Never Fast Food.

News.

Views.

Truths.

References Made:
Seattle Supersonics, 90s nostalgia, Sophie Cunningham, The Wire, parlays, Mark William Calaway, integer, coach emeritus, Michelob Light, Cornbread Maxwell, Cigar Aficionado, RIP Ananda Lewis, Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game, H-Town, Moet Nebuchadnezzar, Sal’s Pizzeria, rapper retirement, journalism, Mebounds, RIP David Greenwood, The Attention Economy, kerfuffles, hoops nepotism, and more, all on the podcast where Basketball and Life are One: The Open Run With Will Strickland!

Don’t Get Beat Off The Dribble!

Find Will On These Rough Interweb Streets:

Twitter: @W_Strickland1

IG: @WillStrickland1

The Open Run With Will Strickland

Episode 222 – Faded Pictures

Living in the past can be tough.

Nothing ever changes.

Not accepting the natural evolution of things can be even tougher.

We’re here to ease the transition toward acceptance, revolution… or both.

Wall $t. calls on former St. Bonaventure forward, 2x Nike Battlegrounds Toronto winner and head honcho of King Nation youth basketball club Vidal Massiah to run the wings with him on everything from the NBA Finals, Canadians battling forthe crown and what it means to his program and the country to The World’s Most Unique Basketball Tournament, family, love, life, loss and the ever-changing landscape of the NCAA and NIL.

News.

Views.

Truths.

References Made:
Jeux De La Rue, Nike Battlegrounds, Zach Edey, Detroit Shock, K-Mac, treaties, Luol Deng, TMZ, Candace Parker, well-seasoned, Baby Campbell, regret, New Balance, RIP Big Apple, Independence Day, Cooper Flagg, All My Relations, Artesticulation, NBA TV Canada, Leon Rose, The Wizard Of Oz,Justin Beiber, BARS!, Pascal Siakam, and more, all on thepodcast where Basketball and Life are One: The Open Run With Will Strickland!

Do What’s Popular With The Population!

Find Will On These Rough Interweb Streets:

Twitter: @W_Strickland1

IG: @WillStrickland1

The Open Run With Will StricklandEpisode 221 – Proof Of Concept

1,307 total games played in the 2024-2025 campaign, but… will we see seven more?
The roads the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the Eastern Conference-conquering Indiana Pacers took to get here matter little at this point.
The time is now and both teams are ready to face the challenge ahead in their quest for ultimate glory, capturing the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Wall St. calls on OKC beat writer Brandon Rahbar from The Daily Thunder to talk the past, present and future on the prairie.
From SGA, MVP and Sam Presti to matchups, x-factors and the fickle mistress that is chemistry, the guys get you prepped for the NBA Finals like few others can!

News.Views.Truths.

References Made:
The Commissioner’s Cup, Hollow Da Don, sadism, The Haliban, LBI, Spencer Haywood, game plan discipline, Young Abe Lincoln, Gatewood Archer Pine Band, Allie Quigley, The Death Lineup, Honourary Canadianism, Ted Lasso, Dallas Mavericks, retirement, Delly, Montreal Nord, Satou Sabally, The Disease Of More, Robert Griffin III, The Celly, University of Kentucky, blackchurch socks, #PartsUnknownTour2025, Tim Horton’s, Teamwork Makes The Dream Work, Ellison High School, Young BOAT, and more, all on the podcast where Basketball and Life are One: The Open Run With Will Strickland!
Don’t Get Beat Off The Dribble!
Find Will On These Rough Interweb Streets: Twitter: @W_Strickland1 IG: @WillStrickland1

The Open Run With Will Strickland

Episode 220 – Belts In Motion
The end of May brings reminiscence for several things past, be it a long lost loved one, the real origin story of MemorialDay, and why one NBA conference finals series is more compelling than the other, despite an alleged lack of star power.

Wall $t. does the knowledge on this curiosity as well as dueling superagents supporting their clients and coming up Klutch, FC21CA’s 6 weeks away from touching earth in the T-Dot, Week 2 of the WNBA season, Caitlin Clark’s injury’s economic impact, Angel Reese and The Danger Of The Single Story.

News.

Views.

Truths.

References Made:
The Dorture Chamber, ultra-processed foods, Pat McAfee, tithing heavily, Liz Kittley, Rolex, Dallas Wings, Robert Lee Pettit, DMV, Nickeil Alexander Walker, racism, Phee’nds, Unrivaled, Chennedy Carter, freedom, Grenada, The United Mexican States, Tom Hagen, weight loss, The Haliban, lemonbootiness, Hamilton Ontario, and more, all on the podcast where Basketball and Life are One: The Open Run With Will Strickland!

Don’t Get Beat Off The Dribble!

Find Will On These Rough Interweb Streets:

Twitter: @W_Strickland1

IG: @WillStrickland1

The Open Run With Will Strickland

Episode 219 - Hardwood

Even though we’re about a month away from Father’s Day, the relationship between Black fathers and sons can be simple and direct… complex and complicated or a number of other variables in between.

That unique dynamic is explored, as Wall St. goes on the road to discovering Black male redemption with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Hubert Davis.

The two break down the matchups and ex-factors for each of the NBA’s final four teams as the conference finals begin, run the court on WNBA opening weekend overreactions, include our first Rookie Watch and Power 5 of season 29 and plot a 25th anniversary screening of his first cinematic offering during FC21CA’s film fest, #HoopersHoop.

News.

Views.

Truths.

References Made:
Black Ice, Rob Lowe, Big3, Diana Taurasi, Hot Docs, Magic & Bird, ‘ism, RGIII, Giants Of Africa, Jay-Z, Notre Dame, Meghan McPeak, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, Harlem Globetrotters, Ashton James, gentrification, Mirin Fader, Delta Airlines, Kevin Hart, masculinity, Arike Ogunbowale, The Middle Third, JJ Barea, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Avon RandolphBarksdale, and more, all on the podcast where Basketball andLife are One: The Open Run With Will Strickland!

Do What’s Popular With The Population!

Find Will On These Rough Interweb Streets:

Twitter: @W_Strickland1

IG: @WillStrickland1

The Open Run With Will Strickland

Episode 218 - Uptempo
What is The World’s Most Expensive Commodity?

In the NBA, it’s spent in 48 minute blocks…

Occasionally, when the game gets restless, it generally requires at least 5 more.

Of the eight teams left to battle for professional basketball’s greatest prize, some are on the verge of exhausting their supply... others replenish theirs after every win.

And while The Association’s best battle for the crown, the WNBA kicks off its 29th campaign with a momentum the league has not seen since it began, all in in the face of one of the most important labour decisions in women’s professionalsports history.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this goodness happening in This Thing Of Ours is a celebration, beginning with the launch of The World’s Most Unique Basketball Tournament, FC21CA.

It's Time!
Don’t Delay.
Move Accordingly.
Do So With Minimal Caution… because that commodity mentioned earlier in the tale…

It’s finite.

News.

Views.

Truths.

References Made:
Ms. Brandy, Birmingham Brother Rice, usage rate, Juicy Marbles, “Pierre”, gaming vs gambling, Christopher George Latore Wallace, United Nations, Sabrina Ionescu, First Take, “LaShaniquia”, OutKast, Timberlands, Sonia Cintron, intersectionality, El Jefe, Malia Obama, Athletes Unlimited, banoodles, #tackleBoxSZN, and more, all on the podcast where Basketball and Life are One: The Open Run With Will Strickland!

Don’t Get Beat Off The Dribble!

Find Will On These Rough Interweb Streets:

Twitter: @W_Strickland1

IG: @WillStrickland1

The Open Run With Will Strickland

Episode 217 – Engine Light

The Elite Eight.

30 started the journey where only one with reign supreme.

Wall $t. calls on frequent collaborator and super podcast producer Ryan Antonio Henry to get on the road to riches and NBA diamond rings, where real hoopers do real things to wrap up all first round exits, offer report cards, preview the conference semis, doing some early destination station projections for a couple of all-timers, anticipate an exciting WNBA season and show love to the winningest coach in league history!

There is no substitution for greatness… word to Tom Thibodeaux.

News.

Views.

Truths.

References Made:

Frank Sinatra, The Help Center, Skylar Diggins, nickel slots, Tommy Carcetti, WrassleMania, Chevano, WebMD, Larry Joe Bird, Gentlemen’s Sweep, Jey Uso, Intuit Dome, “Robins”, Montreal, Lil’ General shade, John Halliburton, The Gulag, Jalen Suggs, Randy Orton, and more, all on the podcast where Basketball and Life are One: The Open Run With Will Strickland!

Do What’s Popular With The Population!

Find Will On These Rough Interweb Streets:

Twitter: @W_Strickland1

IG: @WillStrickland1