Chapter 7
brIANNA 'brONX' KINCADE
"Coach! How does it feel to win your first official professional basketball game?"
Smiling brightly, I replied, "I feel awesome! My ladies came out and did their thing!"
"You made history tonight, becoming the youngest coach to win a WNBA regular season game! What would you tell those who feel as though this position isn't for you?"
Shrugging, I replied, "Talk to me at the end of the season."
An hour and a half after the game was called, and once all my players had left, I walked out of the locker room and strolled tiredly through the near-empty tunnel toward the exit. Not until I reached the exit did I allow my emotions to take over.
Fighting back tears, I reached my car and got in it before breaking down. As I cried, I snatched my phone out of my bag to see if my boyfriend, Teddy, had any reason for why he didn't show up for arguably the biggest day of my career.
Mimi: You know we had to get that W for you!!!! Congratulations, boo! Can't wait for us to celebrate!!
PJ: I'm so proud of you, boo! Congratulations! We love you!
Swiping at my tears as I laughed at my best friends' messages, I could always depend on them to put a smile on my face. There were several other messages from my family and other associates of mine. Unfortunately, the one message I sought wasn't in my phone.
Because I was under so much pressure with this being my first regular season game as a head coach, all my family made sure they were in attendance, which included my mom, dad, my brother, BJ, and my little sister, Brixie.
We were now headed to a restaurant to celebrate the win.
They refused to let me go straight home.
It was come to dinner now or get out of my bed early on Sunday for church and dinner afterward.
Knowing how I like to sleep in, I agreed to celebrate now.
As I pulled out of the parking lot, I focused on getting my mind off the negativity surrounding my relationship with my boyfriend. Teddy and I had been together for four years, and at some point, I thought things were only going up for us. Shaking Teddy from my mind, I thought about better times.
From the time I was five years old, I was taught the game of basketball.
I sat courtside watching my dad coach BJ, so enthralled by the action that I started learning to play at six years old.
My mother wanted me to be a cheerleader like she'd been, but I wanted to dribble a ball.
As I grew, my passion for basketball grew.
I went out for middle school, high school, and college basketball, dominating my position.
Alongside Naomi and PJ, we brought our college team to back-to-back championships.
In my third year of college, basketball is where things seemingly went south for me.
I loved basketball so much that I never expected not to be able to play it. Throughout my career, I'd had plenty of minor injuries — a sore ankle here, a dislocated finger there but nothing major that sidelined me. That all changed on one play. I came down wrong on my right leg, tearing my ACL.
Devastated, I cried for months. I went from being hurt to angry, then depressed within those months.
My family thought I'd gone over the deep end.
That was three years ago. My dream of one-day playing pro-ball was wiped away in an instant.
Sure, I could've done intensive therapy to rehab and get back on the court, but I was the type that wanted to play at my full potential or not play at all.
So, I'd recovered from my injury but never returned to playing.
Instead, I took a head coaching job at the local high school in my hometown.
I found it brought me joy to coach, and because I'd learned from my father, coaching came just as naturally as playing.
My leadership on the court, both playing and coaching, caught the attention of the new owner of the Pensacola Pelicans. When his team reached out to my management, I was stunned to learn he wanted to give me a shot in the pros.
At first, I'd been apprehensive, unsure of what to expect.
My best friend, Naomi, was already playing for the Pelicans and nearly jumped me when she found out about the offer.
She threatened to beat me up if I didn't consider taking the job.
My parents, BJ, and even Brixie all but threatened me to take the job as well, touting my love for the sport.
Then came PJ, my other best friend, who ended up being traded to the Pelicans to join her sister.
We were thick as thieves and had been since college.
It took a week for me to make my decision, and now here I was.
The only person who hadn't been along for the ride was the one who should've been by my side the whole way.
Teddy and I met before I went off to college.
He played for a rival high school and was the star of his team.
He'd been heavily recruited by every major college basketball program in the country.
He settled on Central Florida A the ounce that Teddy put in my head on how I wouldn't be where I was if it weren't for my father or my friends getting me the job, which was far from the truth. Fuck the fact that I knew my shit, no, that wasn’t even the case with Teddy.
Getting out of the shower, I dried off and then slipped on something comfortable.
Remembering my phone was in my purse, I went to retrieve it to put it on the charger.
As soon as I turned around to head back to my room, the locks on the front door turned.
Crossing my arms, I stood there waiting on Teddy to walk through the door and spill out lies as to why he wasn't at the game.
Instead of saying anything, he dropped his keys on the table and tried to walk by me like I wasn't standing there.
"Really, Ted?"
"What, man? I'on have time to argue. My head is pounding, and I just want to go to bed."