#UNC coach Hubert Davis press conference ahead of Tuesday's game at Kentucky
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So, if you were just going back, you've
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had a couple days obviously to digest
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Michigan State. When you watch the
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takeback, were there any other takeaways
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that stood out to you as compared to the
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immediate aftermath?
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Yeah, you know, just uh from an
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offensive standpoint, just um and and
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stuff that we talked about heading into
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the game and and just moving forward,
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just our execution has to be better. I
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mean, obviously, we took care of the
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basketball. We only had eight turnovers,
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but just the execution part uh in
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regards to, you know, setting silent
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legal screens, um getting to the
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offensive glass, um those little things
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that make big things happen and and
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then, you know, from a defensive
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standpoint, you know, just boxing out.
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Um, you know, we I've been
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straightforward about how important
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rebounding is and you know, Michigan
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State um got an offensive rebound off
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their misses 41% of the time and so shot
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51%. They got 46 points in the paint and
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so um those are things that are that
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aren't good and um for us to be
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successful those are things that we have
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to do well and we have to do well
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consistently. I guess just like
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following up on that um because
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obviously again rebounding is something
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that you um emphasize. I saw you
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specifically in the Michigan State game
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like like we you know all have to crash,
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we all have to rebound. Um how much of
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that is just really simple like kind of
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keeping in the back of your mind then
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versus maybe with like switches and kind
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of the rotational things that can go on
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there if that makes sense.
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Yeah. No, it makes sense. I mean, it's
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just, you know, we don't think about
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breathing and, you know, when we're
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hungry and going to get something to
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eat, like it it shouldn't be something
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that we have to write down on the things
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to-do list to box out. It should just be
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instinctive. We've
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I don't know how many practices we've
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had. I I know we talk about it every day
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and on and on off days. So, um it's just
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something that um um consistently as a
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group we've got to do a better job of do
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a better job of making contact first,
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doing a better job of uh maybe not
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leaking out in transition
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and securing the ball first before we we
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get off to the offensive end. Hubert,
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when you first got here as an assistant,
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Carolina, Kentucky had sort of a
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semianual home and home where you guys
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were playing in Chapel Hill and then in
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Lexington, but this is the first time
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you guys will have played on a campus
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site since 20 the 20145 season.
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Yes.
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Is that sort of a series that you would
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like to see brought back that home and
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home arrangement that you had with them?
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Yeah, I mean it's obviously it's um you
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know
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just like you know the last couple years
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playing Kansas home and home you know
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you have two historic programs and to be
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able to play each other on each other's
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campuses is is really special and you
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mentioned the last time 2014 that we
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played in Lexington but it was a home
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and home series. Um, I think at that
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time us in Kentucky weren't involved in
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a Champions Classic and so it feels like
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we match up against them every year
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whether it's on a neutral site but you
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know obviously playing them there and
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and when they come to Chapel Hill is
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something special and something that um
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I like and and our players like to
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compete against. What did you learn
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about the physical play inside you saw
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Thursday that you may be able to apply
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against a guy like Marino on Tuesday
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night?
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Well, it's just it, you know, it is what
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it is in regards to, you know, winning
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the battle in the trenches. You know,
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I've talked to the guys at great length,
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you know, you know, making a reference
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in regards to football. You know, you
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can have the best quarterback, the
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receivers, the running backs, but all
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that is it's it's all done in the
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trenches. it's it's done on the
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offensive defensive line. And so for
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basketball, you know, from an offensive
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standpoint, it's taking care of the
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basketball. It's uh dominating points in
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the paint. It's uh defensively, it's
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boxing out, it's protecting the paint.
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Those are all the things when the ball
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goes up in the air and it goes on the
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ground, it can't be 50/50 loose balls.
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It's got to be all UNCC. Hubert, uh, the
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other day after the Michigan State game,
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we talked to Tom Mizo first and he was
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talking about, uh, you know, Caleb
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Wilson and how they wanted, you know,
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send extra attention to him, always
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keeping eyes on him, things like that.
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Caleb was talking about the adjustments
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of having that extra defensive attention
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on him. I guess for him, what has been,
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how have you kind of seen him adjust to,
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I guess, the extra double teams and the
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clogged paints and everything like that
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as well?
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Yeah, I mean, it's definitely has
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changed throughout um, each game. you
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know, uh, the first time that he was,
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uh, doubled was against St. Bonaventure
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and then obviously Michigan State was
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loaded towards him when he was trying to
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attack the basket. He was still able to
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get there pretty much as well. And so,
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um, Caleb adjusting in that and
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understanding uh, the opportunities for
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him to score, but also to get two on the
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ball and be able to facilitate and hit
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open teammates. And the great thing
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about Caleb is, yeah, he can score, but
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he's also a gifted passer and a willing
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passer as well. So that that that that's
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good for us.
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Do you think he's forcing more shots
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here the last couple games?
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No, I don't think so. I I Caleb is uh
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he's a competitor. He wants to win. He
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wants his team to be successful and um
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on both ends of the floor. He'll do
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whatever he needs to do to put us in a
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position to be successful. Um um that
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word is nowhere near Caleb in any form
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or fashion. Hubert, what impresses you
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most about Kentucky, this particular
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Kentucky team?
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Yeah, I mean, you know, they they can
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they can they can really shoot. I mean,
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they just, you know, they've got guys
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that deep range uh um can really shoot
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the basketball and but but these guys
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can also put the ball on the floor. They
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can penetrate and get to the basket. Uh
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very versatile on the offensive end. Um
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they're basketball players. They they
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can pass, they can penetrate, they can
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shoot. Defensively, they've got the
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versatility to switch a number of
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different uh rotations and then they
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have, you know, u bigs that can block
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and alter shots. And so, it'll be a
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challenge for us, but we're excited
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about the challenge tomorrow night.
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I guess going back to the overview, um I
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think it was a little over eight minutes
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that you guys went without with the
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exception of Caleb. Anybody else?
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First half, second half
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um in the second half of the Michigan
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State game. Sorry. Yeah.
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Um, and then I think last like four or
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15 were held scoreless from the field. I
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know after the game you talked about
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kind of some of the struggles against
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like Michigan State set defense, maybe
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not switching sides with the ball, but
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like now that you've had time to go over
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the film, what I guess stood out about
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that last stretch in Michigan?
6:58
Yeah, I would, you know, I I would I
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would even broaden that to to just
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certain stretches in both halves and
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it's not just a Michigan State game. I
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would say uh the Radford game, the Navy
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game, you know, there there are
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stretches in the first half where I felt
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like we had a seven-point lead and then
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it went on a 130 run. Same thing uh you
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know, you mentioned with 8 minutes ago,
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a little bit under 8 minutes ago was a
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three-point game. They went on a 218 run
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to end the game. And so like what is
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contributing to that? And so that goes
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back to both ends. It's not just from an
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offensive standpoint, obviously taking
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care of the basketball, taking good
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shots, executing, getting to the
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offensive glass, but it's also
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defensively. It's uh protecting the
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paint. It's it's, you know, it's boxing
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out. And so those are the things that we
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have to grow and do a better job of is
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consistently not having those three to
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four minute stretches in either half
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that either um take away a lead that we
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have or puts us in a hole where we can't
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get back.
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Hang on. Coach has a hard stop at 215.
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So make sure you got to get it in. Get
8:11
it in. So Bren,
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I was just going to say Huber's been a
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couple of weeks since had the injury. I
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know he's still in the process of
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recovering now. Do you have any sense of
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a better idea of when you might be able
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to get it back or get back in practice
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or sort of where he is in the recovery?
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Yeah, I don't have a definitive um you
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know answer, you know, in regards to
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when he's going to come back, but it's
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progressing fast and and and really
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well. Um he's shooting, he's dribbling,
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um he's conditioning, and so um it's in
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a really good spot, and I'm looking
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forward to when he can get back out
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there on the floor.
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How do you think your team's responding
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to the early season loss? maybe both
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emotionally and even in practice and is
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it kind of an advantage to go into
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another big game right after this um
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this early in the season kind of shake
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it off?
8:56
Well, I
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I mean irregardless, you know, all of us
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don't want to lose. And so, you know,
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one of the things that I always talk to
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him about is how you react and how you
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respond. And so, we've had a couple good
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days of practice. We've got one more
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today in preparation for Kentucky.
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either, you know, whether we were
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playing Kentucky or whomever, you know,
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you always want to get back out on the
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court, you want to compete. Um, but, um,
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how can we learn not just from I I think
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you can learn just as much from a win
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than you can from a loss. And so for us
9:28
just to continue to grow and get better
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on both ends of the floor, more
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consistent. I think that's the most
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important thing. And at the end of the
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day, the results will take care of
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itself.
9:37
Hubert, how do you approach the the two
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foul situations in the first half? Is it
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situational? Is it
9:43
up and down? Up and down. It's on a
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daily basis. Sometimes I'm like, "No,
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let's keep him in there." Then he gets
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the third foul and then that's not a
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good decision. And sometimes
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I take him out and, you know, it's a
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good no, that's a bad decision. And it's
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really a, you know, a trust and a feel
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um situational
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um for the for the game that we're in,
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the like the score, um um how the team
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is playing while somebody is on the
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bench, all those type of factors or
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things that are running through my head.
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Um, but it is important because,
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you know, you don't want Caleb and and
10:27
Henry getting into foul trouble. It's
10:29
just you wanted them out there on the
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floor. And so, you're trying to uh find
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ways to keep him out there on the floor,
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but not put you in a situation where he
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has his third foul headed into the
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second half.
10:41
Where are you on the backup side right
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now? Zaden was the first guy off the
10:45
bench for every game until Michigan
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State and then Brown came off the bench
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first. Um what's the dynamic there? Are
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there other options for the backup time?
10:54
Yeah, I mean there's nothing to read
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into who I called off the bench first u
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irregardless if it was Zaden or JB.
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There's times where Caleb has played the
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five. Um so um one of the things that I
11:08
think is really good for us is the
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versatility that we have. We can put a
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number of different lineups up there and
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we have the size and athleticism to be
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able to do that.
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I wanted to ask about Kayen. Obviously,
11:20
he's had some games where maybe he's
11:22
knocking down the long shot and that,
11:24
you know, kind of gets him going
11:25
offensively, other games, you know, not
11:27
quite as there for him. Is it a matter
11:28
of, you know, the looks he's getting or
11:30
is it just one of those things where
11:32
kind of a player just needs to kind of
11:33
shoot himself in the kind of figure out?
11:35
Yeah, one of the things that I've, you
11:37
know, I expect and I've talked with him
11:38
about is not just his shooting. You
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know, I Kenne is so beneficial to us on
11:44
both ends of the floor, but from an
11:45
offensive standpoint, you know, he's our
11:47
guy in terms of a distributor. He's our
11:49
best and, you know, in transition
11:51
pitching the ball ahead. I love when he
11:54
gets into the lane, draws two, plays off
11:56
two feet, and is able to find, you know,
11:58
teammates and, um, those are the things
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and get us organized so that we can
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execute. So, those are things. It's not
12:05
just the shot. And one of the things
12:07
that I have encouraged them about and I
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gave them an example for myself is you
12:13
know when I played I one of the things
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the only stat that I ever looked at was
12:17
I never wanted to shoot over 50% of my
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shots from three. I just wanted to get a
12:22
layup a floater get to the free throw
12:24
line. I don't care how good a shooter
12:26
you are. I think it's just that's very
12:28
difficult just to stay from three-point
12:31
range. And so Ken has ability to be able
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to score in a number of different areas
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inside the ark. And so just encourage
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him um to use those things in his bag
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and and not just stay out there from
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three-point range.
12:43
Last one real quick.
12:44
Yeah. I'm curious going back to what
12:46
Jeremiah said. Um ISO shared after the
12:48
game just pulled up the quote, but the
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idea that it might take to the middle of
12:52
December to see what some teams really
12:53
have just with all the transfers.
12:55
Obviously you guys have a not a lot of
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new guys. Um, are you do you feel like
12:59
you're still kind of figuring out some
13:00
some things about the team? And if so,
13:01
what do you still feel?
13:03
Yeah, I mean, I think you're always
13:04
trying to figure out the team, you know,
13:06
throughout the entire year, but I I I
13:08
think for us, maybe even a little bit
13:11
more, you know, um, you know, Luca um,
13:15
didn't play in the first exhibition
13:16
games and so that was a team. then he
13:20
was eligible
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whether it's December or today um you
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know we're just always trying to get
13:42
better trying to grow and I just want
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each one of these players to play at
13:47
their best.
13:47
Coach, thank you. Thanks.
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