Emotions can flare up during March Madness with the National Championship at stake. And Maryland’s second-round NCAA Tournament game against North Carolina served up exactly that as an intense courtside conversation involving Oluchi Okananwa and head coach Brenda Frese went viral, and the star had to break her silence.

An animated Brenda Frese had some words of encouragement for Okananwa after the star struggled with her free throws. But her way of telling the Maryland guard she believes in her became a point of discussion postgame.

When asked about the moment post-game, Okananwa responded maturely, saying “Coach understands I’m a competitor at heart, and I have told her this before, and I’ll keep on telling her… I love to be coached hard, and that’s what she does with me every single day… I feel like after that conversation, that’s when I went back out and did what I had to do for the team in that moment. So, I am forever appreciative of that.”

Okananwa ended with a game-high 21 points as Maryland lost to North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Brenda Frese is known for her passionate coaching style and has developed a successful program at Maryland with the women’s basketball team. In over 20 years of her coaching at Maryland, the Terrapins have won multiple conference titles and one National Championship.

More importantly, Frese develops players who head to the WNBA to build their basketball careers. So far, Frese has produced 17 WNBA stars at Maryland, including multiple-time All-Stars Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones.

And while Oluchi Okananwa is yet to declare herself for the WNBA Draft, she has grown into one of the best two-way guards in the Big Ten under Frese’s tutelage. She has one more year of college eligibility, but is already projected to be a first-round pick for the upcoming draft.

And her taking this intense moment with Brenda Frese in her stride would be a major green flag for WNBA teams scouting the college level for players who can handle criticism and intensity the right way.

Brenda Frese clarifies viral moment with Oluchi Okananwa

Coach Brenda Frese also addressed the viral moment, explaining the intent behind her passionate coaching. Talking to the press after the narrow loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels, Frese highlighted the intent behind her actions.

Frese said, “It’s always been a pulse that I’ve been able to have with individuals and players. And we do have to have those tough conversations. You can’t have them without a relationship… The elite of the elite want to be coached hard. And at that moment, I kinda had watched Oluchi struggle within this tournament, and she’s just too gifted. So, I kind of wanted to implore the kind of belief I had in her and just challenge her.”

Oluchi Okananwa had been far from her usual self in the NCAA Tournament. While she could only muster up 4 points in the landslide win over Murray State, struggles from the free-throw line put her and the Maryland Terrapins in an awkward position against North Carolina.

The incident was a wake-up call, a reminder to Oluchi of what she must do, and it spurred her to finish with 21 points to her name. And while that wasn’t enough to land the win for Maryland, Oluchi will take away a lot from the game, especially if she plans to return for another year at Maryland.

In Frese, Oluchi has a coach in Frese who isn’t shy of telling her what she needs to do and telling it exactly how it is. This tough love will hopefully go a long way in helping the guard grow into the player she wants to be.