Memphis coach Penny Hardaway and players Tyrese Hunter and Colby Rogers after Tigers upset UConn
Nov 25, 2024
#Memphis #UConn #Maui
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uh then turn to players uh questions
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please make sure you have a mic uh in
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your hand with player questions and then
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the players will take off and we'll STI
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uh coach Hardway will stay around for
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questions um this uh transcript of the
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press conference will be available after
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uh so coach please start with your
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thoughts on today's game yeah what an
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unbelievable opportunity to be able to
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play the back toback national champions
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and then also win the game uh so big for
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our city for our school and for these
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young men who work so hard we're riding
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them really tough because we have to get
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it right right now we don't have the
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time to wait until conference starts
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because we have to do all our heavy
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lifted early and I put a ton of pressure
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on them to be better than really where
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they should be right now because they're
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still getting acclimated and trying to
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know each other and uh just an
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unbelievable feeling right now to be
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sitting up here doing the hard work that
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we put in is paying off and these guys
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are getting the reward so I'm thankful
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for that thank God for that opportunity
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all right please raise your hand
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questions for uh teres and
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Kobe um
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Tyrese uh just
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describe your feeling when you
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were kind of on fire out there in that
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stretch where you just felt like you
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couldn't miss um I mean it felt good um
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I played these guys last year um in New
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York and I know the type of intensity
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that they were going to bring for the
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game so I know what to expect um but
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just being in that stretch um and being
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in the Flor feel good KOB you hit a
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three in overtime that tied the game and
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then I think you finished with eight or
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nine points in that in overtime I
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mean
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just you describe
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uh how clutch how clutch that was for
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you yeah they I think it was a three
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possession um so personally I think that
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they give me a chance to shoot a three
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I'll take it um I just you know attacked
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was aggressive shot the three and then
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just being I mean obviously PJ fou out
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so this Nick man up that's why you know
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our team is so dangerous because we're
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so talented and so deep um you know once
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PJ went out I got to step up be more
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aggressive Reese is already on fire um
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you know and then may shots in late and
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we got the
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win yeah for either player on what's
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your thoughts when solo ball hits that
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three-pointer I mean you guys have been
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up what 12 I think with four minutes
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seemed like you guys
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for in control of the game and he hits
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that what's sort of your what goes
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through your mind and what do you say in
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that huddle how do you regroup after
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that um I could say cuz it was on me um
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I turned my head um that's something
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that we always say me playing Sho you
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can't turn your head from him but um I
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just told them like we got to go win a
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game now you can't you know hold on to
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the plays next play mentality so you got
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to keep it moving and try to
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win get him man
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this is for Tyrese Tyrese what did it
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feel like to play a game like this you
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know high school gym you you teams
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waiting to play Colorado Michigan State
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there in the wings there and obviously a
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very intense environment there was the
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scuffle in the in the in the overtime uh
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as a player in the middle of all of that
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with such big emotional swings can you
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describe what it felt like to uh to be
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involved in that for 45 minutes oh I
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mean it's it's intense but um when it
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come down to it you got to make sure
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your head is on straight um
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don't lose track of you know what's
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going on like with the emotions the
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scramble that the guys have but you got
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to you know make sure your guys together
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so you continue to try to win the
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game any other questions for the
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players this is for both of you guys um
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this is kind of a
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statement when uh what is that
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statement um just trying to identify who
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we are um I think we work so hard that
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you know we getting an opportunity to
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showcase that um whether we don't care
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anybody on the outside saying we trust
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with the group of guys we got the
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coaching staff the support staff our
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players um just you know establishing
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who we are um you know we just got to
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keep
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working feed was he said I think
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internally kind like uh we're capable to
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play with anybody um and we didn't we
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just try to block out theide noise coach
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har going have practice all the time we
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going to have to take it nobody's going
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to give anything to us so we came in
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with that mentality um and we executed
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it today so um I mean the statement just
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you know kind of felt like that already
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it's just a matter of just you know
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showing to the
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world two more questions for the players
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I care hi guys for both of you guys uh
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did you guys discuss the the situation
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coming in here with what happened on
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August 8th 2023 the fire here and then
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the turn not being here last year did
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you guys discuss that and before coming
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here as a team and if so how cool was it
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to kind of give the area a game like
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that
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today yeah um I mean it was unfortunate
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what happened with the fire and
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everything last year um so we wasn't
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able to have the tournament last year
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but um I think for us we just extremely
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grateful to be here this year um to be
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invited here and play Eon the first game
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uh we looked at it like this is you know
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opportunity in a lifetime this is by
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guys play basketball while we be in the
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gym while we wake up early late hours to
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have games like this and to showcase our
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talents so um just extremely we're
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extremely grateful for this opportunity
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um so
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yeah for both you guys as well J in
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makes all six of his free throws in the
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last 40 seconds of the game what does
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that sort of say about his composure and
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tyres speaking to your point about guys
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keeping the head L yeah I mean we trust
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PJ I know as soon as they got the uh
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Tech we sent PJ right to the line um we
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know he's capable of um we confident him
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to shoot him
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so all right first last question for for
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the guys yeah question for Tyrese kind
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of a two-part question but obviously
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with your knee issue going on you
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haven't practiced much at all according
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to Penny in the past two weeks what does
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it take to be out of that Rhythm not
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practice and then to do what you did
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tonight or today on this stage um and
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how's that KNE doing that's the second
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part of the question um just you know
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working with um training staff um I get
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um the drill and stuff you know get out
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there break a sweat um get shots up and
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stuff so not like I'm you know totally
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just sitting on the side leg kicked up
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or something like that but you know I'm
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still getting work in Mak sure I'm
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standy
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so all right kobby Tyrese thanks for
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being here guys are excused any
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questions for uh
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coach biggest one of your
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career yeah with the magnets with what's
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going on here at the Invitational I can
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say yes I mean
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that's back to back national champ iions
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undefeated first round of the Maui
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tournament when we first got picked to
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play him I was like okay okay starting
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off with a bang and um you know I just
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got our team prepared I used it as
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motivation did you had some big on to
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beat Houston when they were number one
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Tennessee uh at Tennessee yeah a few
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years ago uh so how does it feel I mean
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like I'm I'm actually I'm not I'm not
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taking any of this for granted because I
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know how hard it is to win and
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especially be a team like that but I'm
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so excited for our University in the
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city more so than anything because we
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need more positivity we need more of
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this to the city entire City's happy
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right now and that makes me happy so
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that's the magnitude that it has had on
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this
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win coach I mean in the um yesterday you
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talked about you knew your team was
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going to come in and play hard um you
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were very disruptive with Yukon and they
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couldn't get into what were you doing to
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really make it very difficult for them
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offensively to get into their stuff yeah
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they're a well oil machine just watching
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them man they're just like clockwork
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because the times that we did allow them
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to get into their stuff they made those
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shots they're really efficient and
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they're really sharp and what we had to
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do was take the ball out of the point
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guard's hands not let them get that
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Rhythm as much as we could and then
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they're so smart we knew they were going
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to adjust again and they did and then
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they got a rhythm where they got in
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there got comfortable and then we
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switched up defenses like three or four
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more times and try to get them
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uncomfortable again and it worked so you
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can't give him a steady diet because
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they're too
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smart Penny what was your Vantage Point
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what did you see on that scuffle with
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about 40 seconds left and again we have
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some players but what does that sort of
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say about their composure and how they
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handled the end of overtime there uh
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yeah it was
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um you know what happens all the time
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and uh you know Dane reacted to Musa
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being pushed down if that's what you're
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talking about I was a little upset with
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DNE because we had a technical right
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there because Musha got Musa got pushed
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down by Johnson because he filed out but
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I'm never going to be a guy that doesn't
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allow a teammate to take up for his
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teammates so double foul their ball
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let's go get a stop and let's get back
9:05
in it but I just saw that the team
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unified more at that moment versus you
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know being a part because he couldn't
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stay where he was not cared but he cared
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enough to come to Mo's defense and I
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like that as
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well Co coach uh oh right here uh
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knowing that all that L has been through
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to be able to come out on the first game
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back here after the fire and and deliver
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a game like that first of all did you
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have a message for your team before
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coming here along any of the lines of
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you know what's gone on here and then to
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be able to to deliver that game today
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for the uh fans just all around uh how
9:44
cool was that yeah we were actually L
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strong today to be very honest I mean
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that just bleeds right into you know
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what we talked about before we came over
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here um went through the horrible
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wildfires and it was devast but they
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they grew together they they they they
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bonded and I said we need to use that
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type of strength for ourselves going
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into this fabulous tournament and to be
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able to give them this game today the
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very first game at
10:11
9:30 it's amazing to jump start this
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thing off and so thankful so blessed to
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be here to get the invitation to come
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and um I love everything about Mau man
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I'm glad that it's recovering
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now you know coach um one of the things
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that you kind was able to do is you know
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kind of extend the pressure on you start
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to trap a little bit you know as you
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start to turn to uh you know page to get
10:33
ready what kind of adjustments do you
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want to make as team start to extend
10:38
pressure on you TR of travel a little
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bit what do you want to see your team do
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yeah I just want our guards to be able
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to handle you know the fundamentals of
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the game when it comes to that you can't
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get into a trap space you got to get out
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of trap spaces got to use your ball
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fakes to shift the defense and then get
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through in advance the ball up the floor
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we do that but in heat of battle against
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number two team in the country nervous
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energy hit so we learn from that so the
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best experience is going through it you
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know that's the best teacher is the
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experience so for us the next time
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somebody does that we'll be more
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prepared and ready in real time cuz it's
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easy to do five and
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up last question Penny I know you always
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point to the city and the university and
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and the players but for yourself is
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there a sense a little bit of
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vindication after some of the criticism
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you faced last season and this offseason
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to now get this type of statement
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victory for the program not really man I
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I just know that everybody has their
11:33
opinion about what's going on and some
11:35
of it was warranted you know I can't run
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away from what's going on I know that
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it's a it's a job that needs to we want
11:41
to win in the city we want to win and
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I'm no different from anyone else uh so
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when I get that
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criticism um sometimes when it gets
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personal it hurts because I'm trying to
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fight for the city in the team but I
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understand everyone has a job to do and
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they have their
11:55
opinion thanks coach thank you
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