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#UNC coach Hubert Davis press conference ahead of playing four games in Hawai'i
Nov 18, 2024
#UNC coach Hubert Davis press conference ahead of playing four games in Hawai'i
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schedule has offered you guys a lot of
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time for film and practice what have
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been your main takeaways from all of
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that and and what you've learned about
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the elite level required when you go to
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Hawaii and and play there and then play
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in the Maui initation um probably the
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first thing that I've talked about is uh
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consistency in terms of discipline and
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details you know it's
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um we have shown signs of playing great
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defense and being efficient on the
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offensive end and it's it's it's about
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starting there and staying at that level
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and you just have to do it and so
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building habits consistency playing at
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that Elite level uh defensively
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rebounding taking care of the basketball
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and dominating points in the paintting
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so those are things that we talk about
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daily and those are things not just in
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regards to this upcoming week or week
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and a half but for the whole year that's
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just going to be important for us just
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tightening the screws on the distance
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and details and diving into that by the
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way um I forgot to tell you Jaylen
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Washington is the player that will come
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in after Hubert if you want to ask J
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wash is
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coming
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screaming oh yeah he did a chest
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too nice why did you think it was uh
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valuable to play an additional game in
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Hawaii um at the University of Hawaii
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before uh playing in
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Maui well I mean the schedule's already
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set so um but it's an opportunity to
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compete it's an opportunity to play and
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um getting on that time zone I think is
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important for us and um when I was
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assistant for coach Williams prior
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to uh the Maui Invitational we always
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played either on the west coast whether
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it's in California or the last time I
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think it was 2017 we were in Honolulu so
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this is something that's been done
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before I believe you said you don't
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really like tournaments where you play
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three successive
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days will you be playing in those after
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this season I haven't said that I I
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don't like it I I've never said that I
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don't like it um it's an honor and a
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privilege to play in in mile
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Invitational it's uh it's a tournament
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not only have I uh coached in as an
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assistant coach but it's also a
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tournament that I played in as a player
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and I have tremendous memories from that
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and so again and it it really is a
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blessing and an honor to be a part of
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such a prestigious uh tournament that
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has a lot of history especially in
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regards to our program and we're really
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excited about the opportunity so you in
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the future you plan to play more of
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these tournaments with three success I
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don't that's a great question my head is
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not thinking there in terms of what
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we're going to do in the future you know
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my mind is is really on the preparation
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for Hawaii
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um but I'm open to anything youber
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what's what's the balance that you try
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to strike when you get to do cool things
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like this as a team like going to Hawaii
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being out there for a week obviously I
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remember being in the Bahamas last year
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and the guys were going on like the
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water slides and stuff and the casino
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was you know Roy was in there uh like
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what is the balance you try to strike
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where you have these high level
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opponents well he has more time in his
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hands so it's true there's some other
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guys in there too but it's fine uh where
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you have these high level opponents but
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you also have like a cool experience to
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sort of take part in no it is um I
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think also playing in in tournaments
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like this it gives our kids an
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opportunity to be able to experience
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something that one they may never be
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able to experience again and two they
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never even thought that they would be
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able to experience so to to go to
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Honolulu and go to Maui that's something
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that our guys have never thought about
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and dreamed about so giving them
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opportunities and being able for them to
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experience things that they've never
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experienced before is something that
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really brings joy to my heart and
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obviously we're out there um to compete
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and to win and to become a better
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basketball team but there's also time
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there to spend time together as a team
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um um enjoy time together um on the road
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and uh be able to experience uh
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different places and I just think it's a
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lot of fun the things that I remember
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for for the rest of my life I remember
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my time in Maui um my sophomore year and
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waking up at 6:00 in the morning so
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coach Guth took us on this bike ride we
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had to go to the top of the
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mountain and then we rode the bike all
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the way down when we started it was
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pitch dark by the time that we got down
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to the bottom it was you know bright and
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it was hilarious I sounds dangerous
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about it at 54 yeah it
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does but at 20 I was like yeah this is
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pretty
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cool I don't know I don't know why we
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did that I don't know why we had to wake
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up at 5: in the morning to go ride bikes
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but so coach Smith wasn't there coach
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Smith wasn't there it was coach Guth
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coach gthd always did the excursions
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things yeah that was that your first
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trip to your sophomore first time you'd
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ever been uhhuh yeah what was the whole
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experience like whole experience was uh
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the
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um the first game we were down nine with
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a minute to go against James Madison and
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King Rice hit a leaner floater Bank to
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win it then we beat Villanova in the uh
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semi-finals and then we played Missouri
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in the championship game and I was 0 for
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10 and we lost what a why kind of what
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you expected from probably your ideal of
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why before you there yeah it was I mean
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I yeah it really was I mean it's
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beautiful the people are terrific and to
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be able to see water in the beach as
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clear as that was was was a really um
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cool experience you guys outrebounded
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Kansas in their building and you doubled
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up American the other night are you
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pleased with the direction you guys are
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headed on the
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glass yes um I you know I I've been
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straight forward and direct that we got
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to be a great rebounding team you know
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and we want to dominate the boards on
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both things not just defensive
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rebounding percentage but also on the
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offensive glass as well yes that was
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good that we outrebounded uh Kansas we
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outrebounded a bigger team in in Elon
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and then we were able to dominate the
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boards against American um that's huge
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Force I've been straightforward and
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direct that you know the number one
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determining factor in outcome of game is
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rebounding the basketball and so for us
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to rebound that way in the direction
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that we're going is something that we
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stress and talk about every day and how
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important it is for the success of this
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team Drake had 11 the other night he
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looks like a guy that's gon to be a high
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volume rebounder the way he plays what
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is it about him that kind of lead you to
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believe that he's going to be one of
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those kind of guys to well I mean
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fundamentally he's sound so he's always
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boxing out and you know he has the
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athleticism and the length to be able to
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go get it and also the drive to be able
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to do it I think he can be one of the
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best if not the best rebounding guard
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ever in Carolina history once he
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consistently goes to the offensive glass
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I think he can be a a great offensive
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rebounder and so um 11 rebounds is
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something that wasn't surprising to me
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that he got against American and is
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something that we need for him moving
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forward do you have a update on Ian
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Jackson James Brown they practiced
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yesterday practiced yesterday you kind
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of anticipate they'll be good to go um
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for Hawaii yeah I anticipate them but
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they they did they practiced fully
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yesterday gber with the setup in Maui
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being like it is with three games in
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three days do you sort of treat this
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like you would with you know an ACC
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tournament run or an NCAA tournament run
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as far as just practice and Logistics
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and scouting things like that yeah I
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mean it's a a little bit different than
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the NCAA tournament in regards to you
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know it's two and then you get another
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week if you are fortunate enough to
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advance um
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um but you know it's basketball we're
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playing three games in three days
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against great competition and um one of
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the things that I like about this team
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is the versatility in the depth
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especially playing three games in three
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days and so um I'm hopeful that that'll
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help us be fresh um whomever we play and
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so um but the approach is to take it one
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game at a time uh obviously our mind is
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fully um on Hawaii and um after we play
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them then we'll focus on the next
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game is there a common threat or reason
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for close starts that you've seen for at
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least three games this season yeah
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um no I
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uh I think they've been slow both ways I
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think it's been slow a little bit in
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terms of the the Rhythm offensively but
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I would say against Kansas we got off to
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a pretty good start at the beginning of
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the game and then it was after maybe
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like the 10-minute Mark and that's when
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things we we struggle defensively
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getting stops and we would turn the ball
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over on the offensive end so I wouldn't
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say it was all three games again it goes
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back to just um the consistency that
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we're looking for playing at a high
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level on both ends of the floor and
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being able to get there and to be able
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to stay there for a full 40 minutes this
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year I know you were you know I about OT
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the other day but it seems that you know
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through three games he's kind of taken
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you know more of a command I guess of of
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the offense if you will as far as you
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know kind of burning the show things
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like that uh I guess to what extent have
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you seen that I know he's a more
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comfortable player at this point but how
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have you seen him kind of you know
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taking control in that way and just kind
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of getting everybody involved and things
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like that yeah you know well first of
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all I I'm not the type of coach of you
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know he's the one that controls the
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offense he's the one that gets everybody
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involved I I've said a number of times
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the more playmakers that we have on the
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floor that's good news for us and so we
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have a number of Playmakers RJ Seth
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Elliott uh Drake uh a number of guys
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that have the ability to make plays and
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so that's really benefit icial for us
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but the play of Elliott um I'm just
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really happy and and proud of I was
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saying to my wife the other day you know
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that's one of the best parts about this
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job is to seeing guys grow and continue
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like not just grow off the court but
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also their growth on the court and just
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to be able to see the difference and
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level of confidence and awareness out
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there on the floor of Elliott um is
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really fun to see and it's fun to be a
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part of and um I'm just really proud of
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them for all the all the good things
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that Drake does he's so versatile is
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offense something that you talk to him
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about because it looks like sometimes he
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might pass up a shot or defer just being
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unselfish and keeping the ball moving
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like is that I mean he's obviously very
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good defensively and all these other
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things like do you talk to him about
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offense do you try to maybe encourage
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that from him I I my conversations with
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all the players in regards to offenses
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whatever in your bag I want you to be
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able to use it I want you to be able to
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use your gifts and talents out there on
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the floor I don't I I don't recruit I
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don't play I don't coach role players uh
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we all we obviously we talk about what
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are good shots what are bad shots what
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are efficient shots um those are things
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that are important to us to get a good
11:48
shot at every possession but I want
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guys to be fast and free on the
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offensive end and whatever is in your
11:57
bag I want you to be able to use it so
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if you can shoot shoot it if you can
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drive drive it if you can shoot a hook
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shot from half court and make 50% of
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those then do it
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um the the question comes is that in
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your bag is that something that I've
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seen you practice and practice or
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practice before and after practice but
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um Drake has uh um the freedom to be
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able um to do whatever he wants on the
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offensive end because of two things one
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of his skill level but number two of um
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his ability to take really good shots we
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get jayen here in a few minutes uh when
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you think back to his path at this point
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what you had to do with with the with
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the knee injuries and everything else
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and showing the patience he did to get
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to get to where he is now is there a
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Meer of Satisfaction Just seeing him out
12:47
there playing 25 30 minutes and seeing
12:50
his game Blossom and gaining that next
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level of confidence in order to be able
12:54
to play that many minutes here yeah he's
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gone through a lot I mean all the way
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back to high school missing his senior
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year I couldn't
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imagine um having to miss your senior
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year and then his freshman year wasn't
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really cleared until halfway through uh
13:09
uh his freshman year and I remember the
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first time we put him on the floor was
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um in December and so being able to
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watch him now uh be out there on the
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floor for long periods uh um defend
13:23
rebound run the floor the really it's
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the best I was joking about it but but
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to see that emotion out of him that was
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an emotion that came from yes he made
13:35
the basket but also look what I've gone
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through and that's something that I've
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said
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before and maybe I'm taking this one too
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far forward
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but those are the tears that guys have
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at senior night it's not because
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everything went great I made every shot
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I never turned the ball over I got every
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rebound it's also the perseverance
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through difficult and tough times that
14:07
have allowed you to get there and that
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reaction that he had in the game against
14:13
American I think it was more than just
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making a basket I thought it was him
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being out there on the floor and all
14:18
that he has persevered and gone through
14:21
is he a guy
14:22
that needed to have conversations at
14:24
time dealing with this because that
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first year he didn't really play he was
14:28
thrown into the going there against the
14:30
Virginia and Louisville but otherwise
14:31
didn't play much and then last year had
14:33
to show a lot of patience or he just
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wired in a way where he h it well you
14:37
guys saw him haing well so he didn't
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really need any extra U Love or or
14:42
encouragement or whatever no we spend I
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mean I spent a ton of time with the
14:46
players and and relationships with them
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and talking with them and um I think J
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wash has always been about the process
14:55
and understood that it's going to take
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time and that's that's something
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especially now in college that you know
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it's
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harder for guys to be able to do and um
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he really took advantage of that time
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that he was out he took advantage of uh
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practicing against Armando every day and
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being able to watch him and how he
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prepared how he played how he practiced
15:23
and he's getting that opportunity now
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and I always tell the guys you know you
15:28
you are going to get an opportunity I
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can't tell you when where how and the
15:32
manner which you're going to get it but
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when you get it are you going to be
15:34
ready that's the question and JW Watch
15:38
has been ready time for one more before
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we go to jayen is the JW Watch that you
15:42
see every day that we saw on Friday the
15:44
one that you see every day in practice
15:45
and what do you think are next steps for
15:47
him to in order to consistently perform
15:49
at this high level yeah he's always
15:51
laughing he's always joking around and
15:53
we joke around uh with each other and um
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I also push them too
15:59
um
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because as well as he's playing he has
16:04
more in the
16:06
tank and I want him to reach his full
16:09
potential here and he's an unbelievable
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kid uh to be around him every day and to
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be able to coach him but to have a
16:17
relationship with him is something that
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I value um
16:21
tremendously we go get him thank you
16:23
coach
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