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A sad RJ Davis talks in the dressing room after his #UNC career ended Friday.
Mar 21, 2025
A sad RJ Davis talks in the dressing room after his #UNC career ended Friday.
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career coming to an end here today.
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Um I mean
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just the way we battled to the end. Um
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it wasn't a great first half that we
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started off with but to pull it all the
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way through all the way to the second
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half and you know be right there
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uh just speaks on just
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the whole time of this this whole
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season. Um it's been like a roller
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coaster year, but we persevered, we were
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resilient, and um we didn't go down
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without a fight. And I mean, that's just
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my first initial thoughts. What was your
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message to you guys in the locker room
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after?
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Kind of what I just said, just
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obviously the year we how the year
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started and
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um wasn't the great start
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but you know it was difficult it was a
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diff difficult journey difficult path
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that we as a team that we face adversity
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and um we overcame it and we was able to
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each and every day when we get knocked
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down we get right back up
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and that's all he could ask from a team
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and I think that's what you know he just
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emphasized on after the game RJ for when
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you had the and one there to cut it to
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Did you get the sense that the building
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was on your side? Momentum was on your
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side. I mean, was was there a point
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there where you thought, "This is it.
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We're going. We're going to get it."
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Yeah, I feel like momentum was on our
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side. It was a two-point game and uh we
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just needed one more stop and I feel
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like, you know, the crowd got into it
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just from, you know, being down 18 and a
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half and then pulling all the way
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through to a two-point game with a
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minute left in the game. So, um the
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crowd was into it. It was good energy.
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Um so, you know, I felt like it and I
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looked up at the clock. I'm like, "All
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right, this is our time to win." It
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looked like their activity on defense
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was giving you guys trouble in the first
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half and on the other side it looked
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like you guys were getting caught in
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some switches. What What was it that
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that took place that led to the big
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deficit? Um just kind of like early
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turnovers and then um you know their
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ability to switch one through five.
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Um it wasn't nothing that we never faced
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um from the past a month and a half ago,
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but I think we were a little bit too
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stagnant, but at the same time, like it
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was really just the defensive end that
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was uh causing us problems. We couldn't
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really get um any defensive rebounds. Um
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we didn't take pride in the first half
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in our our matchup. So that allowed them
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to go on the run. I think the second
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half we did a good job of picking up
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um you know on the defensive boards and
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um getting stops. I just felt like it
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was a a back and forth game where um I
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think they were scoring more points than
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we were and we weren't getting stopped.
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You hit your first three. I think it was
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in transition and I don't think you hit
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him hit one the rest of the night. Was
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your shot kind of flat tonight? Did it
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feel a little bit flat? Yeah, I think
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just um my release point. A lot of them
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ended up came up coming up short. Um so
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yeah. Did the second half against Duke
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and Charlotte give you guys confidence
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at halftime that you could come back and
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make a game of it? Yeah, I mean we said
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that in the halftime coming into
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halftime like we've been these positions
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before. We beat down um a lot more
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points than we were today. So um our
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expectation going into the second half
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was to respond the way we did and I
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think we did a good job doing that. We
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just came up short. RJ, you know, I know
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it's still fresh, but when you think
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back about your time here at Carolina,
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you know, what are you going to remember
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most?
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We had a couple
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really everything. Like my time here
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was the best time of my life. the the
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five years I spent here. I mean, I
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wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Just
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from the coaching staff
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to, you know, the athletic trainer to
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the strength coach, you know, Doug and
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Jonas, um, the managers, you know, the
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different teammates I played with, uh,
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Shane, our equipment manager,
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um, just everyone in that building. I
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just learned
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like hoops.
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I mean, I could go down the line just
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everyone in some way have impacted my
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life for the five years I've been here.
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And I couldn't be more appreciative of
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of the time I spent here. It's it's been
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one hell of a ride, one hell of a
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career. And uh I mean, just looking back
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on there's a lot of great memories that
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I've um that I have cherished and that
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I'm very thankful for. just, you know,
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the relationships I've built, the
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friendships I've built, the running
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through that tunnel, going to practice,
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going to the football games, the
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tailgating, the bus rides here to
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different games, you know, the hotels,
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like just like locker conversations,
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just everything I'm just going to miss
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cuz it
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was family that I built, brotherhood
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that I built here. Um, I'll remember
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that forever. Ask you to look into the
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future. How how do you think it's going
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to feel? your mind when you take that
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jersey off for the last time. It's going
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to hurt
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just know this jersey won't be I won't
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be putting this jersey on um anymore.
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So,
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it's definitely going to be like a
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new chapter in my life. Uh adjustment
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get into like you know summers I won't
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be here so um there's no more school for
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me. So, it's just a lot of it's an
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adjustment period for me and you know
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just obviously spending like you know
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half a decade here in my five years and
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um me just growing as a freshman into a
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young man like uh it's going to be
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different and um that's just some
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something I'm going to get used to. A
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few of us asked you a couple weeks ago,
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it was the last presser you had at home
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before Duke, but just about your career
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and the numbers and Armando who spoke a
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lot about the numbers. You haven't
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really done that, but now since it's
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over, can you process kind of where you
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stand and where where your name is
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historically here and not just here, but
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the ACC?
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[Music]
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I mean, I never really talked about it
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because I like to stay um in the present
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moment and um I'm a humble kid. So, I
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mean, I'm just thankful to go out there
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and play basketball. So, and just
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obviously just the achievements and
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rewards that come with it. So, but uh I
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mean just looking back on my career and
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the the records I broke and
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just you know just everything I
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accomplished that I didn't even think I
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was going to accomplish. Um through a
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lot of adversity. It's crazy to me. Um
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my name's going to be up there with a
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lot of great players that put on this
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jersey, but then also that played in the
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ACC. So, um that's something that I'll
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just remember and uh look back on, you
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know, when I get older and just be
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grateful and just be thankful for, you
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know, the ups and downs I went through,
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the adversity I went through. Um just
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becoming the person and the player that
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I am today.
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RJ, back to in your opinion, what do you
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think needs to be improved on or
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corrected or changed to get this program
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back to like a final four level? You've
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played in a final four, you played in a
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national championship game. Like what do
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you think needs to to maybe change over
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this off season? I mean, it's
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just changes needed everywhere around
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the world. It's a lot it's harder now
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because you got a lot of, you know,
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transfer portal and NIO things going on
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in this new era. Um, but I think to get,
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you know, back to that space, it's just
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first and foremost, you got to recognize
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that's hard. Like, it's not easy to get
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there. Um, and a group has to buy in.
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And, uh, this group bought in, we just
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came up short. And I think the change is
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going to have to just move in the right
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direction. is going to be needed like it
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starts in the summer. I think that's the
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the first and foremost and just
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obviously just building team chemistry
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and connectivity um goes a long way. Um
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and
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uh one thing that I think this group um
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and for further teams that could take
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from is is dealing with adversity and
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how to overcome it. Um when you get hit,
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you know how you're going to respond.
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And I think that's what one thing that
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could be considered a change is dealing
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with adversity. Um persevering through
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it all.
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