Up next in 10
#UNC incoming five-star freshman wing Nyla Brooks at McDonald's All-American Game press conference
Mar 31, 2025
She appeared with Notre Dame recruit Leah Macy and Duke recruit Emilee Skinner
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0:00
tell us what it means to be named a 2025
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McDonald's All-American Emily we'll
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start down here with you and we'll go
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down the row um it means a lot um just
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because all the work that I put in with
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like my teammates and everything so it
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means a lot and I'm really grateful to
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be here um it's an honor it's a blessing
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um not too many people get this um
0:21
opportunity so it's a great opportunity
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especially for me because just putting
0:26
the hard work in and grinding since I
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was a little kid is just represents all
0:31
the homework I've been doing since I was
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a little kid so yeah I would say you
0:35
know finally being here is so surreal
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because this is such a prestigious group
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of you know young student athletes
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there's only know 48 of us in the
0:42
country so it's quite an honor um and
0:44
I'm just really blessed and grateful to
0:45
be here so being together this week has
0:49
been really fun then we're going to turn
0:50
it up and go to the ACC next year what's
0:52
it going to be like competing into each
0:54
other next
0:55
season I mean obviously we come here and
0:58
we meet each other and become friends so
1:00
hopefully these relationships just um
1:03
continue on and it'll be fun to compete
1:04
against each other cuz everyone here is
1:06
very very good at what they do so it'll
1:08
be fun to go and compete against each
1:11
other next year absolutely I agree with
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Emily um I feel like going to the ACCC
1:16
especially with um Leah and Emily
1:19
playing dup is you know our biggest
1:21
rivalry so at UNC so I'm excited for
1:23
that of course um just being out there
1:25
and competing I mean that's the best
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thing being out there just being one of
1:29
named one of the top 2025 players in the
1:31
country just being out there since now
1:34
and coming up when we get drafted to the
1:36
wa hopefully and just you know looking
1:38
back I'm just I'm just really ready like
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yeah um kind of going off what Emily
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said like experiences like this you know
1:45
Bill relationships you know that will
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continue on to the next level um you
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know we're going to see each other for
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the next four years um so camps like
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this you know you get close you get to
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know each other um and then you know
1:55
next year we get to go compete against
1:57
each other but still you know have a
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relationship off the court nobody said
2:00
who's gonna win the ACC next year though
2:02
UNC go Irish BL
2:07
Devils hey this is Gary with baller's
2:10
life I've covered all three of you
2:11
ladies extensively talk about watching
2:14
your programs compete as far as they did
2:16
in the NCA tournament and then picking
2:19
the coaching style that best suits your
2:22
game I mean Duke had a great year this
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year and just watching them play it
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makes me really excited for what I can
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build and like bring to the program in
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the pre um in the next few years so I'm
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just really excited to play for Coach
2:34
care and play with the girls and
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hopefully you know bring someone that
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will compete and bring
2:40
energy um this year I think we did
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pretty good we lost to a good a pretty
2:45
good Duke team this year um in a 2016 I
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feel like we gave it our all left it out
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there for our seniors and just just
2:52
doing our thing on the court listening
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to our coaches um I feel like our group
2:56
our senior group this year was
2:57
Unstoppable they're pretty good this
2:59
year um I feel like me coming in as a
3:00
freshman next year I want to just impact
3:03
and play for Coach mangard just doing
3:05
everything I can to just get on the
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floor just being the best teamate I can
3:08
be you know coach Ivy and her whole
3:10
coaching staff you know are you know
3:12
they care about you as a basketball
3:14
player but more importantly off the
3:15
court um you know I know at Notre Dame
3:17
that I'm going to have the best you know
3:18
four years of basketball but you know
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when I when the ball stops bouncing I
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know I'm going to be a better person you
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know as a student and in my faith which
3:26
you know was really important for me um
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they're extremely supportive people um
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you know they've shown that to me
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recently um and you know I am so
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grateful um and you know I know I'm just
3:35
in a great
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place hey um question for all three of
3:39
you guys um Emily um first going to you
3:43
just basketball in Utah um especially on
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the women's side you know speak to you
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know growing that game out there in Utah
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showing girls that you know it is
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possible going to Duke and also how was
3:54
the scouting report for you cuz I know
3:56
it's an extensive so a lot of teams
3:57
probably focused on you and then for you
4:00
um just going into DMV basketball Rising
4:03
there but you also being I'm pretty sure
4:05
the first McDonald's alamic coming from
4:07
your school how has that been and you
4:09
know how have you felt like your
4:10
development has gone from you playing
4:11
varsity U as a freshman all the way up
4:14
and then you know Leah um so many
4:16
prospects coming out of uh Notre Dame
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always top draft picks does that go into
4:21
the decision with you and then also what
4:23
do you feel like you're going to be able
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to learn from you know Notre Dame not
4:26
only from The Prestige side but for you
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to to grow your game and your ass aspect
4:30
and getting to the professional level
4:32
that I'm pretty sure you aspire to go
4:33
get
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to um you know I think you know this
4:37
year another Dame had an extremely
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talented group of girls um you know some
4:40
of them are going to you know go
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professional and continue their careers
4:43
um and so being around them and learning
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you know they've played you know for or
4:47
a couple years of college basketball so
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you know they they've been there um so
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to get their advice and to be there with
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them uh that's a great source that I've
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used um they're extremely you know
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helpful people um and you know they want
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to you know get me on the right path so
5:00
I think you know just having those
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people there for me is extremely
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important there's dolls coming out of
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the DMV area I feel like that's where
5:08
the B basketball know High School
5:09
Tournament being played WCC is one of
5:11
the toughest conferences in high school
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so it's being playing in WCC has prepar
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me to you know face adversity and just
5:18
you know get going in my development I
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feel like my coaching staff at Bishop
5:22
Aron even my Bishop Aron Administration
5:24
everybody has been behind me since I
5:25
step foot on be campus and I feel like
5:27
just being a FR McDonald's All American
5:29
there it's an honor I mean just Paving
5:31
the way for the younger kids coming
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after me I just feel like be is going to
5:35
be the place to be in the DMV area and I
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feel like you know that that's the best
5:39
school for it to be at so
5:41
yeah um I think growing the game in Utah
5:44
was very important to me and like
5:46
there's a lot of young girls that look
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up to me and us so just helping grow the
5:51
game and as best as we could and
5:52
continue to get
5:54
better hi Maddie with enjoy basketball
5:57
this question is for all of you how old
5:59
were were you when you got your first
6:00
offer and who was it
6:02
from um I I think I was 14 um I was
6:06
going I was in eighth grade um and my
6:09
first offer was Murray State in Kentucky
6:12
I was eighth grade as well my first
6:14
offer was from West Virginia I know Co
6:16
coach Shelby actually offered me I think
6:17
she's at Arizona now so I was in eighth
6:22
grade my first offer was BYU I
6:28
think so growing up watching the
6:30
McDonald's All-American games what
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McDonald's All-American did you look up
6:34
to
6:35
Emily I mean there's a lot that have
6:38
come before us and that I look up to but
6:41
I would say probably Sabrina I just love
6:43
her game and um I think she you know
6:46
just plays the game the right way and I
6:47
look up to her a
6:48
lot um I didn't really watch McDonald's
6:51
coming up but you know I I did my
6:53
research of course before coming here so
6:56
um Kevin Durant for sure like DMV area
6:59
um he's a great player one of my
7:01
favorite players to watch I watch his
7:02
film all the time just his versatile and
7:04
just being able to do anything on the
7:06
court so um I think I had a few um I
7:09
would say the biggest one was definitely
7:11
Candace Parker I would say there's some
7:13
similarities in you know her game and my
7:15
game so you know watching a person that
7:17
you know I kind of play like trying to
7:18
you know she's a big role model for me
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um so watching her you know Thrive at
7:21
the McDonald's game you know that was a
7:23
big dream for me one more question front
7:25
middle
7:30
um wanted to ask youall three is uh with
7:32
nil you know how how it's been it's
7:34
growing so much but we don't we don't
7:36
ask too many of the women about you know
7:38
what they look for in Brands and how to
7:40
ex extensively build build your Brands
7:43
up how have you guys felt like you've
7:45
built your brand and then also just
7:46
showcasing your ability at the same time
7:48
too yeah I think um you know the woman
7:52
that's come before us and play they've
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helped you know pave the way for us so
7:55
I'm really grateful to be in the
7:56
position that we are now cuz that we
7:58
have so many opportunities and I'm
8:00
excited to you know once I get to Duke I
8:02
think those opportunities will continue
8:04
and yeah I think I'm we're in great
8:06
position so absolutely I agree with
8:09
Emily just coming in and just you know
8:11
being the best us name image and
8:12
likeness just being the best us um and
8:15
just being ourselves I feel like nil is
8:17
a big opportunity that we have today in
8:19
women's basketball and this I feel like
8:21
it's growing and going into the WBA so
8:23
make the W even more popular now that
8:26
you know people are more watching it
8:27
even the the Le right now even the NCAA
8:31
right now for women everybody's watching
8:32
this so I feel like nio is perfect for
8:34
us is at a at it Peak right now and I
8:36
feel like we're going to do a great job
8:38
coming in and I'm grateful for the
8:39
people that pav the way before us yeah
8:42
just like they said the opportunity that
8:43
we've been given with nil um is
8:45
something you know that people before us
8:47
didn't get so you know just to take
8:48
advantage of it um but you know continue
8:50
to do what what we did to get us here
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you know don't let you know nil be
8:54
something that you know makes us not who
8:56
we are um and you just continue to ball
8:58
out um um and you'll be ourselves um on
9:01
the court Emily Nyla Leah
9:04
congratulations on being named 2025
9:06
McDonald's all Americans thanks for
9:08
joining us today thank you thank you
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