Shes phenomenal, said Draymond Green. She understands things from the athletes standpoint. She has a high basketball IQ.
Her Stanford education shines through. And she has a swagger about herself.
Gold-Onwude grew up in Queens, as anyone who has heard her say walk talk coffee or ball can tell. Her father is Nigerian, and her mother (coincidentally, VanDerveers freshman college roommate) is Russian-Jewish. She picked Stanford over Harvard, Vanderbilt and Maryland. She stayed five years, rehabilitating a knee injury during her second year of school but playing in the NCAA Tournament every other season.
Going to Stanford changed my life, she said.
She was a Pac-12 defensive player of the year and went to three Final Fours with the Cardinal. She was earning a masters degree in the sociology of business and at the same time acquiring a bachelors in communications. She taught a public speaking course while still a student and was focused on life after basketball.
At her last Final Four in San Antonio, while sitting in a pregame interview session, she told the media, I want to do what you do.
What stood out about Ros was how purposefully she went about her business, said broadcaster Doris Burke, a color analyst for both mens and womens basketball. Shes hungry. She wants to succeed.
Gold-Onwude met Burke at the Final Four and took her up on an offer to learn more. She flew to Atlanta to meet Burke at an NBA game, then shadowed her at the NBA Finals. Burke has served as a mentor, teaching Gold-Onwude how to prepare for games and what it means to be a professional, and helping her make connections.
Shes a natural, Burke said. She has basketball knowledge, shes telegenic, shes comfortable on the camera.
Gold-Onwude didnt want to be an end-of-the-bench player in the WNBA, so she got a job at a little start up called Tesla after college. But she also had the opportunity to do five womens basketball games for ESPN. After that first year, she decided to pursue broadcasting and leave Tesla (some of her former colleagues have gone on to become millionaires).
I chased broadcasting without much to base it on, she said.
It was a stressful time in her life, trying to land a full-time broadcasting job while juggling several part-time gigs, many for no pay. She also spent time in Africa, playing for the Nigerian basketball team, which was trying to qualify for the London Olympics. And she was dealing with health issues with her mother, who was spiraling downward before being diagnosed with early onset dementia.
I had a lot of pressure on me, she said. It puts a fire under your butt.
Gold-Onwude is grateful to be living in a digital age, where there are so many opportunities to gain experience without being employed. She wrote for websites and did webcasts. She and Stanford pal Kevin Danna produced their own womens basketball show, which was picked up by the newly formed Pac-12 network. Eventually she was hired to work games for the Pac-12 Network and later for the WNBAs New York Liberty.
A key breakthrough came with the Warriors developmental league team in Santa Cruz. During pickup basketball games at Stanford, she used to guard Kirk Lacob, who was in her graduating class. Kirks father owns the Warriors and Kirk was general manager of the D-League team. He recommended hiring Gold-Onwude as an analyst. That stint brought her to the attention of the Warriors broadcast partner, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, which was looking for a new sideline reporter.
Her personality jumps through the screen, said senior executive producer David Koppett. I thought she was going to be great, but I thought there would be a learning curve. But shes been really good right away.
High level athletes are receptive to coaching. If we give her a pointer, she incorporates it right away.
Sideline reporting can be a thankless job. The airtime comes in tiny slices and the questions asked are often vapid and general.
Its so easy to look stupid and so hard to shine, Koppett said.
But Gold-Onwude is drawing rave reviews.
Its weird that people seem so impressed that I know the game, she said. Its odd. The basketball is where Im the most comfortable.
The other part, asking a good question in the tiny amount of time allotted, has taken practice.
She really works at it, said Warriors associate head coach Alvin Gentry, who handles all the halftime interviews with Gold-Onwude. Shes not just a pretty face.
