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#UNC center Jalen Washington press conference ahead of four games in Hawai'i
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everything you've been through how would
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you describe what you've been through to
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get to this point it's definitely been a
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journey um I feel like that's pretty
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much anybody's life just a lot of ups
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and downs but um it's it's all trying
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you know it's all for the for the better
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I believe jayen how if you managed these
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first three games you know kind of
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getting uh you know more extended run as
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far as playing time obviously you know
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first two years kind of you know deal
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with injury and obviously am was there
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and stuff like that how would the
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managing I guess the increased minutes
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been these first weekends just really
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going hard in practice practice supposed
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to be harder than the games uh so just
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going as hard as I can in practice
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prepare for the games you know watching
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film uh just trying to you know grow
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each day and value each day what would
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you say is the what would you say is
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something or some things that you really
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learned playing behind armanda for a
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couple of years um it's just like little
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small nuances like you know just playing
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like how to stay out of foul trouble um
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just you know playing through fatigue
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just uh being a great communicator or
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stuff like that and were there any
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things that he told you to like hey look
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when it's your time keep this in mind
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were there any like sort of like advice
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type Things N really we we never had
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like really specific talks he was always
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just kind of like just work hard stay
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ready you time will come Jaylen what
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kind of bond do you have with Seth I
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mean you guys are are in the same class
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you both had kind of different different
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paths than the traditional way I mean
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you had your injuries he didn't play
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much as freshman year then he went into
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the portal summer and now he's back and
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now you guys are both flourishing I mean
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what like has that brought you closer
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together just sort of the bum in thr
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yeah um SE I mean I've known him uh I've
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been closer to him than anybody else in
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the program we live together for a
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couple of years uh that's my guy um so
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you know we've just been been through a
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lot together and we always talk about
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stuff like that so it's it's great to be
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able to be in this position with him and
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us being able to flourish this year do
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you feel like you guys seeing each other
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succeed this year that lifts you know
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both of you up and inspires you to play
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even better for sure um we always
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encourage each other we always going to
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be in each other's corner so uh it's
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just great to you know be able to play
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here with him and uh be able to
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experience this year with him are you
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someone who reflects much and as in
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you're getting out there first three
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games you played a lot of minutes you're
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the starter you're the guy in many
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respects down low you ever sit back and
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think about the
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path from when he had the first injury
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to this point and just kind of maybe
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times had doubt you would even get to
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this point you reflect about those those
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processes yeah I mean we're like a
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little bit In the Heat of the season so
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I don't do too much reflection like that
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but um probably like in my free time of
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like down time I kind of think like hey
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this been um it's a a huge blessing to
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just be able to be here and be able to
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you know be a part of this journey um
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and and look back and how far I came and
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like how much more I got to keep going
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is this something that came naturally to
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you to be able to handle this kind of
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challenge or have you had people in your
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corner that have had to help you through
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it maybe some down some really down
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times yeah definitely I've had people um
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in my corner to help me I couldn't
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there's no way I could have got through
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this by myself it took a lot of prayer
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uh my parents or you know people of
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Faith just like me and so they always
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just even them being able to be here um
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just praying for me and uh just talking
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to me every day like even my High School
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coaches back home trainers uh my my
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siblings um everybody back home friend
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my closest friends they just been you um
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really instrumental in you know helping
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me throughout the process I can ask one
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more on that how much more fun is it to
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play 25 or 30 minutes and just play five
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and sit and watch something else I mean
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I like playing basketball so it's really
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fun that's an easy sof Jaylen with all
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this time between games a lot of
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practice a lot of film what have you
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guys learned about what it takes to
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reach that Elite level you want to reach
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and obviously have to play at to win a
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tournament like the Maui invitation uh
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it it takes a lot it takes everything
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that you got um and not to just get at
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that point but to you know sustain that
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level of intensity um and attention to
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detail coach Davis tells us every that
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every day that's how um players become
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Elite that's how teams become Elite and
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how they win so just um every day
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locking in on the details and uh just
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staying consistent with that what have
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those areas been so far that you noticed
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that yall need to you know uh just you
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know defending rebounding taking care of
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the ball I feel like those three simple
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things um can come up can be be really
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big for us in in
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games go ahead Jaylen coach Davis said
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there's more in your bag that you
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haven't shown so what's left in the bag
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you shown three-pointer mid-range been
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able to go inside what do you work on
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consistently just personally to show
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more on the court from your play um I'm
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not sure really like how to describe
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what else I got left but I feel like I
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haven't played my best basketball yet
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and um and once I I get to that Rhythm
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and um yall see me like really playing
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my best ball and that's when uh you know
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we'll start doing a whole lot better as
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well Jaylen aside from the Hoops what
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are you most looking forward to about
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seeing Hawaii I love the beach um I've
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never my first time going to the ocean
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or like being by the ocean was um our
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two years ago we went to the Outer Banks
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on a team trip so I get really excited
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about being like around water so uh just
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I've never been to Hawaii either so
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going to the water being by the beach
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stuff like that it be really exciting to
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me Jay what do you remember about last
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year's uh know battle for Atlantis where
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you have you know three games stack you
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know back to back to back like that just
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what do you kind of remember about not
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only you know the the turnaround between
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game to game but just even the
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preparation of you know watching the
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film the next day just what do you
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remember about that whole process it
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takes the same amount of effort each day
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um and like so you know whether we you
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know win or lose a game you got the you
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got the next day day so you have to you
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know reset quickly um you got to really
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take care of your body to be prepared
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for the next game and the next day how
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would you describe what it's like
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working a ball screen with with Elliott
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like a pick and roll cuz it seems he
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he's able to find you in so many
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different ways I mean it seems like you
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always have to be ready you know no
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matter what like take take us through
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what is like setting the screen and
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Diving to the to the cup yeah um so so
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Elliot is really he's a really quick guy
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so you know we want to just make sure
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that we're able to you know get him
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going downhill he's really fast uh he's
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really unselfish too so you know we talk
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um throughout practice and throughout
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the games as well and just like what we
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see what he sees from the defense and
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what I see from my guy doing and then
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how we going to play these ball screens
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so he's he's a really calculated guy and
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he's easy to play with as well has he
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ever been like like like you're talking
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about when you guys were talking during
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the game they like all right look next
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time get ready for it this way yeah he
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let you know he'll never put you in a
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bad position or anything he's letting
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you know he's like this is what they
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doing this is what I see so this is how
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you should play this ball screen whether
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you got to slip or something or like get
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out quickly hit the guy flip the ball
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screen something like that he's always
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he's really vocal when it comes to you
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know how we play ball screens how much
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vocal how much more vocal now is he than
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he was last year oh he's a he's a lot
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more vocal as well uh I feel like he's
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definitely found his uh his role and his
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fit you know he's uh he's got he's got a
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Swagger um and that's that's going to be
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h for it so you know just him playing
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with confidence every game it great it's
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great to see his grow from last
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year jayen obviously got the emotion
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from you the other night but what was it
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like for you to be up in the air and see
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Elliot right there oh that was cool I
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saw him out the corner of my eye U so
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that's awesome he's always everybody's
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biggest hype man so that's amazing he's
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a great teammate have you seen the
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Butters from that from that yeah yeah I
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have yeah they're nice so pick and roll
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or pick and pop uh whichever gets the
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bucket
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talking about the beach did you when you
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guys went to the Bahamas last year did
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you like try to head out to the beach
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yeah yeah um me and Seth we went I think
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his parents were there some of some of
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the other guys parents were there um
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beach was beautiful it was
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amazing jayen last one go ahead coach
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Davis in the preseason and early part of
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this season he said this is a quieter
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team than it was last year U has Elliott
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being more vocal sort of made up for the
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some of the more vocal guys from last
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year like Armando Cormac you know
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leaving yeah for sure him being the
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point guard being the star point guard
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um you know you got you got to assume a
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role of leadership so he's definitely
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done that he's doing a great
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job thanks J
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appreciate thanks for coming
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