Warriors reporter Rosalyn Gold-Onwude is rookie of the year

Warriors swingman turned the tables and interviewed CSNBA sideline reporter Rosalyn Gold-Onwude after Golden State beat the Atlanta Hawks. Warriors swingman turned the tables and interviewed CSNBA sideline reporter Rosalyn Gold-Onwude after Golden State beat the Atlanta Hawks. Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Warriors reporter Rosalyn Gold-Onwude is rookie of the year 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

Shortly after the first time Rosalyn Gold-Onwude was on television, she got a call.

“Come on in Ros,” Tara VanDerveer said. “We’re going to watch the video.”

So, just like during her days in a Stanford uniform, Gold-Onwude found herself in VanDerveer’s office breaking down the film, getting pointers from her coach. You’re talking too much here. You could use a better phrase there.

“The thing she likes to say is 'less is more,’” Gold-Onwude said. “It applies in basketball and even more in broadcasting.

“Tara taught me how to think the game. People say girls turn into their mothers. I think broadcasters turn into their coaches.”

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Having a Hall of Fame tutor isn’t a bad place to start. Gold-Onwude, 27, is the freshest new face in Bay Area media, as the sideline reporter for the Warriors. With more eyes on the Warriors than ever before, Gold-Onwude — in her first season with the team — has made a strong impression.

Andre Iguodala turned the tables on her a few weeks ago, grabbing the microphone and interviewing her. Stephen Curry dumped water on Klay Thompson’s head during a live interview, requiring composure. Leandro Barbosa told her “we gonna be championship.” Gold-Onwude’s interviews have been a part of this season. Her rapport with the players and her knowledge of the game comes shining through the screen.

“She’s phenomenal,” said Draymond Green. “She understands things from the athlete’s 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, VanDerveer’s 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 master’s degree in the sociology of business and at the same time acquiring a bachelor’s 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 men’s and women’s basketball. “She’s 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.

“She’s a natural,” Burke said. “She has basketball knowledge, she’s telegenic, she’s comfortable on the camera.”

Gold-Onwude didn’t 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 women’s 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 women’s 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 WNBA’s 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. Kirk’s 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 she’s 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.

“It’s so easy to look stupid and so hard to shine,” Koppett said.

But Gold-Onwude is drawing rave reviews.

“It’s weird that people seem so impressed that I know the game,” she said. “It’s odd. The basketball is where I’m 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. “She’s not just a pretty face.”

Then he laughed.

“Though believe me, with Fitz and Jim, we can use an upgrade in that department” Gentry said, referencing longtime team broadcasters Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett.

Often during games she’ll look at her phone and see an encouraging text.

“Nice outfit.” “You look great.” “Great question.”

VanDerveer is still coaching from afar. And Gold-Onwude is polishing her game.

Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle staff columnist. E-mail: akillion@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annkillion