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#UNC coach Hubert Davis press conference ahead of Monday's opener against Elon
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the team locked in where you wanted to
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be after going through the fall practice
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I mean you covered all the bases and got
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the team where you want to be going into
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your first game going into the first
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game I like the direction that we're
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going um you know there's a lot to
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improve on a lot to continue to work on
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but um I like our Improvement I like our
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focus our attention to detail and um our
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preparation um in regards to our first
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game against a really good Elon team
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concerns about concerns lingering
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concerns um not concerns but just facts
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that we've we've got to rebound the
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basketball you know it's
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just it's always been important to me
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I've got it from coach Williams it's the
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number one determining factor of outcome
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of a game
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and we're going to have to rebound the
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basketball we're going to have to defend
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and we're going to have to take care of
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the basketball and those are three boxes
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that have to be check
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every day when you got a deep team like
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you you go into a game with kind of a
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set idea how you're going to substitute
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or does it does it evolve during the
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game um I I I think it's a combination
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of both I I think you know going into
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the game you have
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rotations especially in the first half
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that you definitely want to see but you
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know the game is the game and that
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dictates in terms of rotations and
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styles and strategies and so um there is
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a level of preparation in regards to the
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game and of who's playing what type of
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lineups that I like to see out there but
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also let the game dictate itself what is
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your uh level of are you pleased with
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the speed how fast they're playing you
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said you want to be the fastest team in
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the country the way they're attacking
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the basket I think 63 of your 133 shots
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are right at The Rim in the two
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exhibition games is that kind of what
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you want to see moving forward I do I
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you know I I do like the pace but the
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the number one thing that I tell the
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guys is where we get our pace is from
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the defensive end it's getting stops and
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rebounds that's what allows us to get
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out into the break and uh be efficient
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in transitioning from defense to offense
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and so I tie it always back to defense
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and rebounding that if we defend and
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rebound that's where we can start um
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getting out uh in transition our pitch
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ahe heads have been really good I feel
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like you know five guys are sprinting
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offense and we're trying to get what we
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want a layup or a dunk or a de post
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catch or get fouled get to the free
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throw line or a quick and open three by
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our best three-point Shooters and
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regardless of the opponent how valuable
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is it that you could show them directly
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the other day at about the eight or nine
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minute Mark when he picked it up on
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defense picked it up on the glass you
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saw while they us your baskets it is I I
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think that's great um to be
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able you know one of the things that I I
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tell them that you know I like rarely
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will I use stats but I will use stats to
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confirm what I already know so it was
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great to be able to make that point to
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them that a change was made with 9
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minutes and 12 seconds to go in the
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first half because we got after a
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defensively he started rebounding the
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basketball and then that allow us to get
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out in transition so to be able to talk
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about it and then show them actual
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examples of that working out in our
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favor for our benefit I think it's
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really huge uh for this team youber I
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was talking to Seth the other day and I
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made the joke that it's a shame these
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numbers don't count after the two
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exhibition games that he's had they do
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count for his season total yeah yeah um
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you know and he but he he said to me um
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I'm too good of a player to hold myself
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back this
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season what do you think has instilled
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that has him believing that and has him
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in this space that he appears to be in
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going into this
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season well it's to me it's the natural
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progression of you know getting more
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comfortable getting more confident
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more mature in terms
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of you know your game and and that's I
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mean I was I was a better player my
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sophomore year than I was my sophomore
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year and a better player my junior year
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to my sophomore year because of the
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experience and the growth um not only on
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the court but also off the court and so
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um I think it's two things one it's a
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natural progression of growth and then
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number two is his hard work over this
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summer he's put in the work to put
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himself in a position to be playing the
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way he is right now Hubert what are your
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thoughts on uh coach Bennett retiring um
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at Virginia couple weeks ago yeah I just
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um I hadn't had a chance to speak with
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him um we played against each other in
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the NBA so we've known each other a long
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time can't think of a a better Coach and
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a better person um to be around to be an
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example of
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um really really really really miss him
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because I think not only is he good for
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college of basketball he's great for
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college of basketball the way that he um
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he coaches but he
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coaches to make obviously his players a
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better basketball player but to prepare
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them for life it's it's bigger than
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basketball for him and I just have
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tremendous respect for him and his
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family and um I wish that he didn't
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retire um
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and he'll be missed here when you
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talking about defense and rebounding and
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really pushing that or emphasizing that
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message you think your guys are wired to
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sort of embrace that the way you want
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like some guys naturally are the types
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that are really U competitive and really
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want to go after it defensively others
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may not instinctively right you have to
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coach it out of them I mean do you have
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a sense for what this group could be in
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that regard yeah I think I think it's a
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combination of both I mean I don't think
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last year's team fully bought into the
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importance of Defending and rebounding
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until the Oklahoma game I I felt like
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that's where they got it and that's
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where we took off um my hope is that it
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doesn't take to the 10th game of the
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season that um that we can we can fully
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commit to those two things and how
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important it is for the success of this
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team um but but it's something that I
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talk about every day and I'm going to
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talk about it every day for the
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remainder of the Season we talk a lot
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about year-to-year Improvement for
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players we talk a lot about Elliot's
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Improvement across the board it looks
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like the game has slowed down even more
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for him with the way he's maneuvering
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screens I mean have you noticed that
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what have you noticed with how he's
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facility yeah again yeah I agree with
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you I think it's a great question again
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you know it's you
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know the difference between myself
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obviously not at the level of Elliott
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but my sophomore year to my junior year
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you
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um being familiar being comfortable
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you're right the game is slowed down for
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him on both ends of the floor he's been
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fantastic defensively his leadership off
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the court his example his hard work over
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the summer but what he sees out there
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offensively it slowed down for him you
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know I felt like last year at times the
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defense would dictate what he did on the
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offensive end and that's not the case
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anymore he dictates it doesn't matter
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how the defense plays us or plays him um
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he knows knows where he wants to go he
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knows where the ball needs to go and he
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feels very confident and comfortable
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being able to do it when it comes to K
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Tyson through those first couple
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exhibition games what have you observed
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from him as far as his I guess the
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process of him getting acclimated you
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know within the offense and within the
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team and also just the I guess his
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process of you know kind of getting more
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comfortable out there on the court with
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yeah I mean you know Kate is a a
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basketball player you know he's you know
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6'8 and he can really shoot the
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basketball which um that really helps
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our team but he's an excellent
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rebounder um he's really uh been great
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in terms of trying to get a second
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chance opportunities but even if he
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doesn't get the offensive rebound he's
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really good at like keeping the ball
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alive and tipping it out and so his
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ability to run the floor he can handle
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the basketball so he can score off the
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bounds um he feels comfortable being
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able to post up so I see you know like
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you know his not his role but his
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ability on the offense been just to
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continue to grow every game and he's
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feeling more comfortable out there on
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the floor but he's he's been everything
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that we have wanted him to be and even
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more do you feel he's kind of you know
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figured out that balance of you know
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when to you know kind of get his shots
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and when not to it seems like at times
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you know maybe he does you know maybe
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pass up a three things like that you
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think he's kind of figuring that balance
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out well I think it's you know when
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you're always you know changing teams it
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there's always a transition and you're
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trying to you know get comfortable and I
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think at sometimes you know you you're
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coming in as a new player and you see
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established players like Seth and RJ and
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Jay wash excuse me and you want to fit
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in and I I've told all the 10 new
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players like I don't need you to try to
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fit in the the team will fit in around
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you like we're not asking you to be a
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role player we're not asking you to play
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a role we're asking you to be the best
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player that you could become so whatever
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you have in your bag bring it out and
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the team will adjust to you and so
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that's by been been my communication to
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Kade and and everyone else Heber with
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with Elliot have did you guys work with
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anything mechanically on his jump shot
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during the summer it to my eyes it
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looked maybe a little smoother in motion
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than it had points last year yeah I mean
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you know one of the things
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um from his jump shot last year just
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working on his balance you know I I you
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know that's the foundation point of
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shooting is just having good having a
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good bit and he really worked hard on
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that being balanced on his shot um his
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follow through was really good but I
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think it's something that he looked at
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this summer and and really wanted um to
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make it even better but he's also spent
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a ton of time in the gym I mean I I
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can't remember a time being on the court
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and Elliot not being there or any of our
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workouts are practices him not getting
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extra shots before or after practice we
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have practice at 3:30 today we have team
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pitcher at three he'll be out there soon
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as after a team pitcher he starts
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shooting shots he's out there with Coach
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Paige every day and then after practice
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he is shooting so um there is a reason
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that he's feel more comfortable from the
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perimeter because he's putting in a Time
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given the Magnificent season that R.J
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had last year and he's so experienced uh
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his fifth season has your message to him
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just individually been any different
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going into this season
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compared to last year as he was having
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such a such a great year is there any
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are you telling him any any different
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type of stuff going into this year the
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only thing differently that I told him
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this year compared to last year was that
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him and I think I've said this to you
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guys well for him being a fifth year
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senior first team All-American he could
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really take a position apart from the
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team because of his of his success here
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and I felt like you know for him would
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have be huge for our team team was I if
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he would be a connector with the 10 new
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guys reaching out to and becoming you
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know developing relationships with the
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Ws The Freshman um the
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transfers and he has done that he has
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been our connector his relationships
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with all the new players has really
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bound our team together to bring us
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really great chemistry and it's because
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of him last year we had Armond Cormac
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Harrison pack
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this year it's RJ and so it it's more of
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a load for him but I felt like to bring
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our team together I felt like RJ had to
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be the one had to be the connector and
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he's done a really good job of that but
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that's the only difference in my
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communication with him this year
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compared to last time for two more quick
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ones just to follow up real quick and
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that's that's off the court stuff that's
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off the court stuff but that helps on
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the court sure you know and that helps
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Kate feel more comfortable or vin or our
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walk ons or Ian and Drake JB because wow
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here's
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just first team all- americ who had a
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historic year and he's taking me out to
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lunch he's taking me out to breakfast
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he's talking to me during practice he's
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my teammate and I feel involved and I
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think that just goes a long way in how
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we play on the court but it's also goes
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a long way in the locker room there AR a
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lot of teams that have a guy with jwt's
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experience that would come off the bench
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assuming who comes off the bench and
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he's talked about that what kind of
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values at having an old guy like him who
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experienced some of the interesting
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things he has in his career and fully
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Embraces coming in and doing some of the
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lunch pil stuff that he says he enjoys
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doing yeah he is I mean he's obviously
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has a lot of experience and I think
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experience goes a long way
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especially um during this time you need
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guys that have been there before been
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through different situations to allow
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them to be uh put in situations where
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they can be successful you know I you
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know you talk about you know the growth
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of Seth and Elliott and talking about RJ
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and Cade one of the guys that hasn't
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been talked about is is is Jay wit I
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mean he's he's been really good in
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practice I mean he's been an
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encourager um the way that he is Led um
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in the locker room on the court but just
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what he's doing on the court we don't
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have we don't have a 69 outside of him
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athletic versatile Defender that can run
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the floor that can shoot threes that can
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attack the basket at his length in
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athleticism and uh when he's playing at
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a high level he's a game changer for us
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and he knows that and I think being here
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in his second year he feels more
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comfortable and again I just I think
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it's just a natural growth of being here
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for a second year understanding me being
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around me for two years as opposed to
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one year and um he looks more
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comfortable and more confident this year
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than he was anytime last year and that
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puts a huge smile on my face coach thank
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you very much
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