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#UNC coach Hubert Davis after the Heels' victory over Kansas
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pretty simple thing movement offensively
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in the second half going inside just
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kind of doing what you guys generally
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work on that they weren't doing in the
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first half.
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Yeah, in the first half, you know, from
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an offensive standpoint, I think it was
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two things. One, we were turning the
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ball over. We had 10 turnovers and I
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think they had 17 points off those
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turnovers. So, it was almost like pick
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sixes uh for us. And then our offense,
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we were, you know, one of the things
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that we talk about is 0.5 mentality.
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When you catch the ball, you either
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shoot it, you pass it, or drive it. uh
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ball movement, player movement, change
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sides of the floor. That's not what we
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were doing in the first half. A lot of
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standing, a lot of holding, a lot of
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dribbling. Um and um against a team like
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Kansas with their length and their
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athleticism, they were switching
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everything whether it was on the ball or
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off the ball, it just it just wasn't
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good offense for us. And so in the
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second half was the exact opposite. We
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always change sides of the floor. We had
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great, you know, ball and player
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movement that allowed us to find lanes
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to be able to attack the basket and um
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in the second half we we were pretty
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good.
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Along those along those lines, maybe not
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X and O related, but like what does it
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maybe tell you about this group or what
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does it give you an idea about this
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group to be able to pull themselves out
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of some of those struggles from the
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first half and turn it completely around
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in the second half?
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No. Yeah. I mean, you know, one of the
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things that we talk about a lot is, you
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know, you know, the really the only
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thing that you have control over is how
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you react and how you respond. And
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that's one of the things I was really
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proud of them is, you know, the things
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that we talked about at halftime, they
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immediately
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like put it into action at the beginning
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of the second half. We said, "Look, if
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we would just take care of the
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basketball on the defensive end, just
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box out and rebound, we could be back in
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this game within 3 minutes." they call a
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timeout. It was like 17 on the clock. It
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was like a tie score and it was like,
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"Guys, we're right there. Let's just
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continue to do that." So, for a new
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team, a new group to respond that way
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and it wasn't just one, it was the whole
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team, that was really, really
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encouraging. I'm um very proud of them.
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You made a point in that it was 23 years
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since
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Carolina had beaten Kansas and they
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thought it was a motivating factor for
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her. Can you talk about that dynamic
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a motivating factor for whom?
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For Carolina that that for the players
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knowing that it been 23 years since they
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beat Kansas, they wanted to change.
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Some of them are not even 23 years old.
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They weren't even
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They talked about that. They talked
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about
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Yeah. I don't um I really I and I told
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them this after the game. I didn't tell
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them before the game, but it was really
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the number one thing for me is I wanted
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this new team, this new group, um to
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have evidence of what it's like to play
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in a game like this in the Smith Center
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and to come up big. I just wanted them
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to have a taste of what it's like to be
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here. And um
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that's the thing I you know
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I won't remember the score but I'll
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remember them jumping around in the
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locker room. I'll remember um the smiles
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on their faces and u
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um
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I mean since I've been alive I mean we
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lost to Kansas in the 1991 final four my
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junior year. my first year as an
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assistant. We lost to Kansas, second
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round of the NCAA tournament. Obviously,
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we lost to them in the national
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championship game four years ago and
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lost to them last year. So, it's nice to
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against a story program, an unbelievable
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coaching team to be able to come out on
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the other side.
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Hearing that rod,
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um I wanted I'm curious what you thought
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about what Seth gave you, not just
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pushing tempo, but Bill Self said that
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he thought he was terrific in really
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chasing after Peterson and making it
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work for his shots.
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Yeah, we did. You know, we changed
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something up defensively, something that
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um we normally um haven't done. You
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know, a lot of times we do switching on
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the ball and off the ball. And in this
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game, um, a lot of times, uh, we stayed
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with our guy. Um, yeah, we played to
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traditional ball screen coverage with
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our five, but one through four, it was
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it was your guy. And it that was
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intentional because we just wanted, you
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know, our, you know, all of our guys are
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really good defenders, but it's nice
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having Seth, Jiren, um, Jonathan, guys
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like that just send a number of
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different physical good defenders
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against Peterson just to, you know, try
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to make it hard for him. And I thought
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Seth did a really good job of that.
4:43
Rod Denver.
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Cubert, how do you describe the response
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you saw from Kai in the second half?
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Particularly that start right out of the
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gate.
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Oh, he was on point. I mean, it just,
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you know, in the second half it was
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like, you know, I'm, you know, I told
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you I'm a positionless coach, but like
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he was like, this is our team. He got
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everybody in the right spots. Give me
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the ball. I'll make decisions whether
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it's for myself. Looked very confident
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in the second half, and that's what we
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need from him. And um it was nice to see
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him settle in and uh play the way that
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he did in the second half. You know, we
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don't come away with the win without
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Kenne and him stepping up in the second
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half. I was he was really good.
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Murf then know coach. Is there something
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about Caleb that
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Yeah, he's really good.
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Connect with the fans that too, but that
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seems to connect with the fans in a way.
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I mean, he's played less than two games
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and you know, the whole crowd is
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cheering his every move out there. Is
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there something that he's been able to
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do to connect with those guys in a way
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that's different than just being a great
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basketball?
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No, he does. He connects with people.
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Um,
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you know, when he steps on the court,
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obviously you can see his game, but when
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he steps in the room, you can feel his
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personality. Um, his personality lights
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up a room soon as you get into it. um
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that that goes back to, you know, like
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obviously he's gifted basketball-wise,
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but um he's such a genuine like nice
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person. I mean, he was handing out like
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telling people to come to the game at
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the pit. And this afternoon, we had a
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white out because Caleb went on social
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media and says, "I want a white out."
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It's the first white out I've ever had
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in 14 years here. And we had a freshman
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just say, "We're having a white out." in
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the whole 22,000 showed up in white. You
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know, I'm just like, okay. And he I
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really believe this. If he ran for
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student body president, he would win.
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And he's only been here three months.
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I love that. Brian
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Hubert, we know Caleb's game on the
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court, you just talked about it, but
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seeing him dive across the floor, look
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at the fans, get them going too, like
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not I feel like not most freshman at his
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age would be willing to do that. Um, how
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important is it for him to be able to
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give that kind of effort on loose balls
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and different things like that on top of
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everything else he provides?
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Yeah, I mean, you know, him diving on
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loose balls and just his energy and
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effort, enthusiasm. Um, you know, one of
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the things that we talk about, we just
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need one and everybody will follow suit
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and him diving on the floor and and
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showing emotion. And I I tell the guys
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like if you have to play with emotion if
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you're doing something that you love at
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a place that you love with people that
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you love, how can you not scream? How
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could you not have something come out of
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you? And uh the fans feed off of that
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and it resonates with them because uh it
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shows somebody that uh not only cares
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about his game but cares about this
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program and this university.
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All right, last four. Brian and Shelby
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and Brendan and Michael. last four.
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Avery, can you talk a little bit about
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the three-point shooting difference from
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the first half to second half? I think
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it was 20% in the first half and 42% in
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the second half. It looked like maybe
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you guys were getting more open looks in
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the second half.
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We were No, I think that's a great
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point. I mean that, you know, I I do I
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think there's a difference. There's a
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good threes and bad threes. And the
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threes that we were taking in the first
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half were absent of ball movement and
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changing sides of the floor. You know,
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like I always say, like if we dominate
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points in the paint, we put max pressure
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on the rim. Those are going to generate
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the wide openen threes. That was the
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case in the second half. First half was
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one-on-one up against the shot clock,
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didn't move the ball, and and the second
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half was much different. And when you
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have that type of ball movement and
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you're wide open from three, those are
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the shots that usually go in.
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Shelby, coach, I mean, you talked about
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just how happy you were for other
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players to experience a game like this.
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I know that, you know, in your first
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year here as head coach, you would kind
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of pose the idea to the clip there
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about, hey, I want to do a, you know,
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home and home with Kansas. Just tell me
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about what this moment's, I guess, meant
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to you as a coach to be able to
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experience such a historic match up the
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team play like they did. Yeah, I just,
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you know, I, you know, having an
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opportunity for us to go there and for
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the first time Kansas coming here on
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campus, um, that's history and I think
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that's, um, something that, um, I want
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our players to always experience and be
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a part of. And, um, I mean, there's
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nothing absent of Carolina. We always
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try to play the best competition and be
9:13
able to compete. But, you know, the
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connection of UNCC and and and Kansas is
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not just I just went through my
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connection, but you know, Coach Coach
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Smith's coach, you know, I mean,
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everywhere, you know, u coach Williams,
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and uh it was so many I I wasn't able to
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see it, but I heard about this. I think
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it's pretty cool that um so many former
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Kansas players were coming up to coach
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Williams, you know, because he's meant
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so much obviously here, but he's a huge
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part of Kansas basketball as well. And
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so, um to see him get that love on both
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sides, I just really happy for him.
9:55
Brendan and Michael,
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yeah, if you were to follow up on that,
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I mean, a couple of players said that it
10:00
sounded coach Williams had shared some
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things with you in the leadup to the
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matchup that you then passed along to
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them. like he came and said something to
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you after the game. I mean, as much as
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you're sort of willing to share, what
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did that tell you going into the game
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and then what it maybe meant to him and
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to you guys afterwards?
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Yeah, I mean, after practice yesterday,
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I went to go see uh Coach Williams. He,
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you know, um he's big time. He's got one
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of the houses in Pinehurst and so I I
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made
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I made the drive right after practice.
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spent hour and a half with him and um um
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he wasn't you know cuz he had knee
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surgery so he was he wasn't able to uh
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be at our exhibition games and our games
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and you know coach wants to be at
10:38
everything and so um I said after
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practice I'm I'm just going to go down
10:42
and see him. So it was great being able
10:44
just to spend time with him. Um he had a
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list of preparation for the game. He
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went through every guy on the team.
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How's Henry doing? how's how's Caleb
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doing? And he went through and I did I
10:57
shared it with the team and I said,
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"Guys,
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I know coach enjoys, you know,
11:05
retirement and spending time with his
11:06
grandchildren,
11:08
but you could just see
11:15
if he could just have one more time to
11:17
be in that locker room." And I told him,
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I said, "It was really um I thought
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about it all last night because
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I have a chance to be in that locker
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room." And then I talked to the guys
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because we always as coaches, we always
11:38
tell them, "We wish we could put on the
11:39
uniform and run out of that tunnel." And
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I told the guys, "But I guess what? You
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can't." And I went through everybody. I
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said, "What you going to do with it?"
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And Henry said something at the end that
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I can't repeat and I said, "Okay, let's
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go."
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So, it was good.
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Last one. Michael
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Hbert, speaking of Henry, he leads you
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guys in minutes. Felt like he hardly
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came out in the second half.
12:00
Would you take him out?
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Kind of had a, you know, herky jerky
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start with the turnovers in the first
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half, but felt like he really settled
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in. Was really steady for you guys in
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the second half particularly. What was
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making him so effective tonight? Um
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yeah, he's, you know, he's really
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gifted. Um didn't turn the ball over in
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the second half. He was really good
12:20
protecting the basket in the paint. Um
12:23
rebounding the basketball. Um I I think
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what is he? Um well, he had four
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rebounds. I think he only had one in the
12:31
first half. So, um but he can pass, he
12:34
can shoot, he can finish around the
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basket. I don't even know how he did
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that
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reverse dunk. I don't I liked it cuz it
12:41
went in, but I I don't know how he did
12:43
that. but he just knows how to play and
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um he settled us in, you know, along
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with Kenne and um I I felt like
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everybody the whole group settled down
12:53
and played better in the second half.
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Jiren, Luca, everybody and um it was a
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it was a complete team effort.
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Thank you, coach.
13:00
All right. Thank you so
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