Jerod Ward was the #1 high school basketball player in the country in 1994. As the top recruit, he could choose to play college ball anywhere and he chose The University of Michigan. Multiple knee surgeries kept him from achieving his NBA dream but he still had a solid four year career for the Wolverines helping them beat Duke three straight years, win the National Invitational Tournament and the Big Ten Tournament. Jerod then went on to have a long career playing professional basketball worldwide. Jerod now travels across the country as a professional speaker. He has even been on stage for a Tedx Talk presenting on the topic of EATing Adversity. Even though he is retired from playing basketball, Jerod still stays close to the game he loves as he works as a college basketball analyst with networks including ESPN, FOX Sports. Jerod lives in Sarasota, Florida with his wife Tricia and daughter Violet.
In today’s episode, we discuss:- His decision to attend college and not turn pro out of high school
- What it was like being the best high school player in the nation
- The Lebron James vs. Michael Jordan debate
- Playing professional basketball for 14 years
- How we can overcome adversity we face in life
Adam Levitan is a fantasy football expert that helps thousands of casual and serious players each week. He is a DraftKings analyst. Along with Fantasy Football Millionaire Maker Winners, Peter Jennings and Al Zeidenfeld, they co-host The Daily Fantasy Football Edge pod. Levitan is also an analyst and writer for Fantasy Labs. He is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writer Association award winner. In 2015, PlayingLegal.com named Levitan as one of the Top-50 Influential People in Daily Fantasy Sports. Not only does he have a loyal following of people wanting fantasy sports advice but he also provides entertaining answers to listener questions each week on his “solo pod” fantasy edge podcast.
Keith Lipscomb has been at ESPN.com for 20 years. He is currently the Senior Editor for Fantasy Football. He has served many roles through the years, including editor, writer, on-air talent and podcast host for the ESPN Fantasy editorial team. He works closely with the Fantasy Focus Football 06010 podcast that is hosted by Matthew Berry, Field Yates, and Stephania Bell. This podcast is regularly listed among Apple’s Top-100 most downloaded podcasts. Keith has been an editor for Sports Nation and one of ESPN’s NBA researchers. He writes an article every year prior to the NCAA Tournament that outlines all the information that you need to know for completing your March Madness brackets. He was a star baseball player and communications major at Hiram (OH) College prior to going into journalism full-time.
While watching ESPN’s 30 for 30 entitled “Broke”, I heard Herm Edwards say “Every goal needs to have a plan or else it’s just a wish.” The context was regarding athletes and the way they handle money, but I thought it was a perfect quote for more than just money. 
Congratulations to