meet the TEAM
mike cound
Founder and President
Mike Cound is has been representing professional basketball players around the world since 1994. As an agent for female basketball players, Mike has negotiated over 1200 contracts in the WNBA for players from more than 45 U.S. universities and 15 countries; he has negotiated more than 3500 contracts in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America.
His background includes playing basketball at Hendrix College and then in mid-level leagues and tours in Brazil, Spain and Tunisia (North Africa). He has also coached on professional club teams in North Africa; prior to that he was the youngest high school head coach in the state of Arkansas in 1988-89. A graduate of Hendrix College in 1987 with a BA in Spanish, Mike received a Masters Degree in Hispanic Studies from Auburn University in 1994. Mike was a college Spanish professor at Auburn University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for six years before becoming a sports agent full time in 1997. Mike has lived, studied and worked in Spain, Mexico, and Tunisia and traveled extensively throughout the world.
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Courtney eldridge
Creative directoe
tom cross
COACHING REPRESENTATION
Tom partnered with Mike in 2004 and has been involved with every aspect of running the agency since that time.​ He has a wide array of experiences in basketball leading up to his work as a player and coaching rep, including Detroit Shock Asst. coach under Nancy Lieberman, Greg Williams and Bill Laimbeer. He then went to coach at Memphis State University for 3 years before moving on to become Asst. GM and Asst Coach for the Houston Comets.
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Tom is now focusing his energies almost exclusively on representing coaches, both college and pro. CGG represents Dawn Staley, NCAA champion, along with several college and professional coaches around the world. Tom and wife Jae (former CGG client from Australia) reside in Houston, TX with their 4 girls.
tamara stocks
PLAYER WELLNESS/POST-CAREER
Tamara is an absolute jack of all trades! She was an All-American at Univ of Florida, played in the WNBA several years and played in over 8 foreign countries. She is fluent in Spanish, a certified pilates instructor, a model, a dancer and a sport's psychologist.
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T worked for us for several years before starting a family in Atlanta and now is the mother of 2 young boys. Tamara is a valuable resource for CGG players having difficulties with their career or personal issues, along with helping players consider post-career options and advice based on personal experience.
us partners
tasha harris
creative consulting/recruitment
Dr. Tasha Harris brings a very diverse set of experiences to player representation and management. Former college and pro basketball player, Tasha earned a PhD from Univ. of La Verne and has worked for the NCAA, Tracktown USA, and most recently as Assistant Dean of Students at Arizona State University.
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Tasha joined us last year and is a wonderful resource for the players due to her vast knowledge and experience of all things related to women's basketball.
international associates
roni lupu
israel: ron sport
Roni has been our trusted Israeli partner for almost 20 years... a bona fide member of the CGG family. Roni is President of RonSport and represents both female and male basketball players. Roni and his wife Michal and children Ilay and Ella live in Tel Aviv.
Jorgé Mendez
spain: prodep
Jorge took over ProDep, our largest and longest running European partnership in 2018 when our friend and longtime partner Nicolas San Jose Garcia lost his battle with cancer.
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Jorge has expanded the scope of the ProDep network and collectively they represent CGG in over 10 European countries and have sent over 25 players to the WNBA with CGG over the years.
lauren neaves
france: gagency
Lauren was a long time CGG player who went to France and never left! She married Remi, a French national and they have 3 kids (Tom, Layla and Benjamin) and live in Tarbes, France.
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Lauren joined GAgency for women 3 years ago and partnered with CGG in 2019 and we're happy to be back in business with Lauren Neaves!
paul lee
korea: cgg kr
Paul has worked with us since 2002, and has an extensive background in Korean media, including having worked as a sports writer and editor for The Korea Times for nearly 20 years, and a color-commentator for Time-Warner Cable's Korean language broadcast of the Los Angeles Lakers game for 3 years. Paul was born in Korea, but currently resides in the Los Angeles area. Paul and CGG together have signed among the top Korean female basketball players, including the young sensation JiSu Park, who currently plays for Las Vegas in the WNBA.
ej kang
korea: cgg kr (assistant)
E.J. has been working with us since 2002, and she is our local representative in Korea. She had worked with a Korean sports marketing agency prior to joining us, and is also very well known in Korean volleyball community, successfully having brokered many high profile deals in that side also.
allesandro schilardi
italy: evolution
Ale has been our CGG partner in Italy since 2005 when our long time partner, Luigi Gresta, went into coaching full time.
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Alessandro was a pro player at several levels in Italy for 17 years. He is the absolute epitome of honesty and integrity. Ale and his partner Gianlucca founded Evolution Management and represent CGG players exclusively in Italy and Hungary, along with representing their own male players and some top European female players, such as the 19 yr old phenom, Awak Kuier.
murat kurgdolu
turkey: prodep
Murat started handling CGG business in Turkey in 2018-19 and has been with ProDep since 2010. He was the head of marketing for Besiktas Sport Club in Turkey before becoming the Besiktas General Manager from 2005 - 2009. He joined the agent ranks in 2009 and has been growing an already great reputation for knowledge and hard work since that time.
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Turkey is one of the strongest markets for women's basketball in the world and we have one of the best partners running the show there for us in Murat.
Aleksandra Vukovic
montenegro, eastern europe: prodep
Aleks, from Montenegro, represents CGG in most all Eastern European countries and even some Central European countries, via her association with ProDep since 2016.
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Aleks played professionally all over the world, including Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Bosnia, and France. She was also on many national teams throughout the years with Yugoslavia, Serbia and then with Montenegro after 2007. She is now the Director of Operations for the Montenegro national team in addition to her work as an agent. Aleks lives in Podgorica, Montenegro.
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Career highlights include studying Apparel Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD); working as personal assistant to Oscar-nominated film director Richard Linklater; interviewing Stephon Marbury for the New York Times Magazine; attending Alfred Dunhill “Trafalgar” show in Shanghai; profiling Gabrielle Reece for Opening Ceremony Annual; publishing three books of fiction, one of which won the Prix du Marais for its French translation; and curating her first art exhibit in 2019.
Born an Iowa Hawkeye, raised a Sailor in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, aka Ski Town, USA, and having lived all over the world over the past 25 years, Courtney’s expertise span fashion, art, film and literature, not to mention a lifelong love of sport. Joining Cound Group Global in 2023, her primary goal is to help every CGG player find their own voices and amplify their storytelling—to be their most original and creative self on and off the court.
gianluca duri
spain: Evolution
Gianluca has been our CGG partner in Italy for many years together with Alessandro Schilardi.
Gianluca was a professional player for many years, starting his career with Banco di Roma, followed by other Italian teams of different levels for several years. After his basketball career, Gianluca received a law degree and starting practicing law.
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For years he was the head of a prestigious law firm specializing in civil cases and, specifically, in sports law. In 1998 he founded Evolution Sports Management, representing high-level Italian and European players, as well as working in exclusive partnership with CGG for Italy and Hungary.
Gianluca is married to Anna Maria, a former high level Italian basketball player, and they
live in Rome.