I was walking into the Mamba Academy like 2 years ago and spotted 2 crazy fun 7th and 8th grade girls looking like athletic 12th graders fosho acting zany, bubbly, a lil goofy in an adorable way, playing a hand games near the door.
E-Woods did see these 2 crazy kids giggling, videotaping a TikTok vid, some epic ish you think is going viral. They were Rylei Waugh and her bud Reni Johnson.
Why’d they stick out to me, stay in my heart eternal? They were taught to love with ALL their hearts, I gave up trying figure out preteens long ago, lol, I just thought they were dope. One buck.
This story will show 2 things. First, that Rylei’s mom Joanne Waugh, a coach for Cal Storm, is in a word the “dopest” kind of mentor you can find, Kobe esque’.
I don’t say that lightly because both have off-the-charts mad crazy inspiration to assist so many kids, not just her youngest 2025 Reigne or Joanne’s eldest daughter Mika, an awesome Bruin grad doing big things in education.
Joanne has universal love and is very close with many kids of different AAU programs.
But it’s not that Joanne just knew Kobe, them chill a bunch at the former Mamba Academy, J knows what made Mr Bryant tick: give every sec to better yourself, your kids. That’s Joanne.
So on Kobe’s birthday we remember him by featuring those that are selfless, committed, give every ounce. I wish everyone in the world had a chance to know Joanne, lean on her, she’s a rock of support. To know her is to realize she embodies K-Bryant in his vast love for the game. 100.
The 2nd thing to take away from this feature is how much of a fye player, person, and prospect Joanne’s 2nd eldest daughter is. A rising soph, Westchester’s Rylei Waugh was all city LA player and has good D1 attention on her already.
Kobe gave his all to prep his daughter GiGi to be classy, see the game and I haven’t seen any parent-kid(s) combo since like the Waugh fam bam. Even their cool supportive dad Booker, who is a parole officer, is a dope, dope person because he keeps people off the bad kind of dope.
Why is this fam so impressive? They train to be speed demons, sleek, strong, aggressive yet team orientated, and possible future takeovers on court. “Ry-dawg” as I call her, oozes potential, but they make all players on and off court better people, like her best friend Caia Elisaldez of Mater Dei, both into being fun ballers on a journey.
Every single sec you spend with this fam, it’s all joy, grind, sacrifice. It’s a whole other level of commitment like I haven’t seen since Kobe and his fam bam. Salute, salute.
If you ask anyone in our small AAU community to respond to the Waugh name, ask any OG “Who passes down true values to kids?”... real talk? They’ll tell you Elbert Kinnebrew, Sherri Pegues, Brian Crichlow, George Quintero, and I’d bet money 99% of the people you ask about Joanne Waugh will say “Great peoples” no doubt.
Example how she do? Joanne demonstrates to her players in such a strong voice, yet doesn’t yell or burn them out. I’ve seen her preach in dozens of games, I’ve watched her coach more than any one single coach I know.
Joanne always says constructive stuff to the kids like, “Love your teammate. When you’re on the bench, clap for them. If you passed them an assist, that’s just as important as a bucket. Don’t sulk, carry yourself with pride. If you’re unhappy with playing time, get yourself in the gym. Don’t ever make excuses, make it happen.”
I could write a freaking book on the stuff Joanne dishes out. She doesn’t get tired, she doesn’t BS, she just cares like few that ever paced the sidelines. J is on her way to be a teacher in LA, E-Woods been in edu for 23, so I know J will make great teacher!
Starting to get it now?
Joanne will always tell me, “Why write a story on me, Erik, I’m just ordinary.” I laugh and tell her, “Ok Ms Humble, you say ordinary but I can find dozens and dozens of extraordinary players that all say you pushed them to be great.
“Ordinary only applies to people that give ordinary effort. You give Russell Westbrook type effort, one chill convo with a kid at a time. Think Russ is ordinary?,” I ask her. I get her to smile coyly.
I’m getting through to Joanne that this story is a call to action for others to also mentor, to help others. I tell Joanne that legendary Westchester coach Ed Azzam is my guy, he gets deserved acclaim for being the long-time coaching legend for the Comets. His boys’ phenom programs are always given the top billing of fame.
I tell her “You are every bit as good a coach as the best I’ve ever seen. You don’t make your living from AAU hoop, you work in education but your passion, good sense, your fire is right there with the best of em, Joanne.”
One of the proudest accomplishments Joanne is associated with is helping ever awesome Vanessa De Jesus level up in so many ways. Yezzzir, let me provide exhibit A: Vanessa De Jesus, who has been at the Cal Storm program since 2nd grade.
Who does V- De Jesus appreciate within the organization for encouraging her dreams? That transformative person who helped her refine her skills and mentality by being a real one to her as she prepares to hoop for Duke? You guessed it, Joanne. 100
Let’s hear Vanessa speak on it, “For Rylei and Joanne, I’d say that they are both just amazing people on and off the court. I appreciate how much they care for others and also all their support they have for me. And for Rylei, she’s such a hard worker and has a tough mentality. I know she’s going to be an amazing player and that it’s only the beginning for her. I love their family.”
V-De Jesus gets us started on how special a talent Rylei is, what crazy talent she has within. I saw R-Waugh many times in junior high but come prep and working out, those poppin’ muscles, solid yet agile frame just blew me away!
Rylei is graceful, but a beast out there. I watched her dismantle Hueneme High in season. Matt Barnes of NBA face saw her and felt compelled to tell her these wise words, “You’re only a freshman Rylei? Dang, you have IQ, but use it wisely.
“You're so fast that you have to learn when to use it and change your speed. When you figure that out its over for everyone. Hey after you pass the ball go demand it back and keep leading with that energy. You have composure."
As Matt said this, he had his arm around her in a supportive way, from an OG to this young buck trying to make a name for herself as she played a great role in the JR NBA Championships. How dope is that to see a grown man care enough to see a dope girl and give her insightful advice, help her level up, challenge her to turn it all the WAY UP you could say!
The reader could say, “We want more proof E-Woods. You say she has the potential to be a high major, this speedy 5-5 guard. What else has Rylei done?”
Okay, who’s the gold standard for killa guard’s in LA? You could say that Rosary Academy’s Asia Avinger is the coldest guard SoCal bears witness to. She’s friends with Rylei but was not holding back vs. their match up.
Asia that top 50 guard with mad driving skills, lock yo face up D, force of nature performances supreme. How’d it go down this year, Rylei vs. her idol growing up. Asia told me her team tried to contain R-Waugh but she gave them a 32 ball in an exhibition for the ages.
It was a coming out party for a freshman that has arrived. The confidence gained for Rylei must be big.
Hear Asia Avinger speak on it, “Rylei has always been like a little sister to me. Every time she comes around, she’s full of great energy. We’re always joking around but when it comes to basketball, she’s always looking for ways to level up her game.
“I’m extremely grateful to be a person she looks up to and I help push her mentally and physically to help her prepare for the future. The thing about Rylei that most players struggle with is being willing to learn but she has that desire to get better each and every day.
“That’s the biggest step that’s going to separate her from being good, to potentially becoming a great player. Her mom always tells me, ‘I love what you do. I love how you play. I want you to teach Rylei the things that you know about the game.’
“Those are words of encouragement to me and hearing it from those around me just gives me another reason why I play and it’s to pass on the knowledge I’ve learned over the years to players like Rylei.
“She’s a dawg on the court and she’ll run through anyone who stands in her way. That’s what I love. She plays with a chip on her shoulder and doesn’t care who you are. Her mentality is to reach her goals no matter the circumstances and I believe she will.”
#dang, it’s like that
The inner circle that supports Rylei, her friends? Ultra, ultra dope trainer Brent Summers, my guy who is too humble let me share a story on him, someday maybe. But he deserves credit for unlocking the mind and body of Rylei.
B gives the Waugh fam and all kids the same secret sauce he gave dudes who made it into NBA all stars, frakenstein-ing them indeed. Brent speaks highly on Rylei; he has treated her as well as his own flesh and blood daughter Sydney, a shooter extraordinaire at Corona. How many trainers can you say that about?
Also deserving of credit with Rylei’s development is Olin Simplis, who has been training her to be great!
In short? Honor Kobe, his B-day, August 23, 1978.
Black Mamba left us and was gone way too soon. We all miss him so. All I can do is find peeps that echo his family vibe, love the game with all they have.
Do you have a better way of celebrating him? Let me know.
All I know is the Waugh fam is what’s up in a world that needs passion for the game after the passing of an irreplaceable figure in women’s hoops no doubt!
