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#UNC incoming five-star freshman wing Nyla Brooks at McDonald's All-American Game press conference
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Mar 31, 2025
She appeared with Notre Dame recruit Leah Macy and Duke recruit Emilee Skinner
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tell us what it means to be named a 2025
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McDonald's All-American Emily we'll
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start down here with you and we'll go
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down the row um it means a lot um just
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because all the work that I put in with
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like my teammates and everything so it
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means a lot and I'm really grateful to
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be here um it's an honor it's a blessing
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um not too many people get this um
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opportunity so it's a great opportunity
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especially for me because just putting
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the hard work in and grinding since I
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was a little kid is just represents all
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the homework I've been doing since I was
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a little kid so yeah I would say you
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know finally being here is so surreal
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because this is such a prestigious group
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of you know young student athletes
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there's only know 48 of us in the
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country so it's quite an honor um and
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I'm just really blessed and grateful to
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be here so being together this week has
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been really fun then we're going to turn
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it up and go to the ACC next year what's
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it going to be like competing into each
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other next
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season I mean obviously we come here and
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we meet each other and become friends so
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hopefully these relationships just um
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continue on and it'll be fun to compete
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against each other cuz everyone here is
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very very good at what they do so it'll
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be fun to go and compete against each
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other next year absolutely I agree with
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Emily um I feel like going to the ACCC
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especially with um Leah and Emily
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playing dup is you know our biggest
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rivalry so at UNC so I'm excited for
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that of course um just being out there
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and competing I mean that's the best
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thing being out there just being one of
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named one of the top 2025 players in the
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country just being out there since now
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and coming up when we get drafted to the
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wa hopefully and just you know looking
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back I'm just I'm just really ready like
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yeah um kind of going off what Emily
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said like experiences like this you know
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Bill relationships you know that will
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continue on to the next level um you
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know we're going to see each other for
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the next four years um so camps like
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this you know you get close you get to
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know each other um and then you know
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next year we get to go compete against
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each other but still you know have a
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relationship off the court nobody said
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who's gonna win the ACC next year though
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UNC go Irish BL
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Devils hey this is Gary with baller's
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life I've covered all three of you
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ladies extensively talk about watching
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your programs compete as far as they did
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in the NCA tournament and then picking
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the coaching style that best suits your
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game I mean Duke had a great year this
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year and just watching them play it
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makes me really excited for what I can
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build and like bring to the program in
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the pre um in the next few years so I'm
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just really excited to play for Coach
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care and play with the girls and
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hopefully you know bring someone that
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will compete and bring
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energy um this year I think we did
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pretty good we lost to a good a pretty
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good Duke team this year um in a 2016 I
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feel like we gave it our all left it out
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there for our seniors and just just
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doing our thing on the court listening
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to our coaches um I feel like our group
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our senior group this year was
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Unstoppable they're pretty good this
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year um I feel like me coming in as a
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freshman next year I want to just impact
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and play for Coach mangard just doing
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everything I can to just get on the
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floor just being the best teamate I can
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be you know coach Ivy and her whole
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coaching staff you know are you know
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they care about you as a basketball
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player but more importantly off the
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court um you know I know at Notre Dame
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that I'm going to have the best you know
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four years of basketball but you know
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when I when the ball stops bouncing I
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know I'm going to be a better person you
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know as a student and in my faith which
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you know was really important for me um
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they're extremely supportive people um
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you know they've shown that to me
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recently um and you know I am so
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grateful um and you know I know I'm just
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in a great
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place hey um question for all three of
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you guys um Emily um first going to you
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just basketball in Utah um especially on
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the women's side you know speak to you
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know growing that game out there in Utah
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showing girls that you know it is
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possible going to Duke and also how was
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the scouting report for you cuz I know
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it's an extensive so a lot of teams
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probably focused on you and then for you
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um just going into DMV basketball Rising
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there but you also being I'm pretty sure
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the first McDonald's alamic coming from
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your school how has that been and you
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know how have you felt like your
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development has gone from you playing
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varsity U as a freshman all the way up
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and then you know Leah um so many
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prospects coming out of uh Notre Dame
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always top draft picks does that go into
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the decision with you and then also what
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do you feel like you're going to be able
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to learn from you know Notre Dame not
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only from The Prestige side but for you
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to to grow your game and your ass aspect
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and getting to the professional level
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that I'm pretty sure you aspire to go
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get
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to um you know I think you know this
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year another Dame had an extremely
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talented group of girls um you know some
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of them are going to you know go
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professional and continue their careers
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um and so being around them and learning
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you know they've played you know for or
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a couple years of college basketball so
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you know they they've been there um so
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to get their advice and to be there with
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them uh that's a great source that I've
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used um they're extremely you know
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helpful people um and you know they want
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to you know get me on the right path so
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I think you know just having those
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people there for me is extremely
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important there's dolls coming out of
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the DMV area I feel like that's where
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the B basketball know High School
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Tournament being played WCC is one of
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the toughest conferences in high school
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so it's being playing in WCC has prepar
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me to you know face adversity and just
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you know get going in my development I
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feel like my coaching staff at Bishop
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Aron even my Bishop Aron Administration
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everybody has been behind me since I
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step foot on be campus and I feel like
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just being a FR McDonald's All American
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there it's an honor I mean just Paving
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the way for the younger kids coming
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after me I just feel like be is going to
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be the place to be in the DMV area and I
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feel like you know that that's the best
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school for it to be at so
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yeah um I think growing the game in Utah
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was very important to me and like
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there's a lot of young girls that look
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up to me and us so just helping grow the
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game and as best as we could and
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continue to get
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better hi Maddie with enjoy basketball
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this question is for all of you how old
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were were you when you got your first
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offer and who was it
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from um I I think I was 14 um I was
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going I was in eighth grade um and my
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first offer was Murray State in Kentucky
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I was eighth grade as well my first
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offer was from West Virginia I know Co
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coach Shelby actually offered me I think
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she's at Arizona now so I was in eighth
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grade my first offer was BYU I
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think so growing up watching the
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McDonald's All-American games what
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McDonald's All-American did you look up
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to
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Emily I mean there's a lot that have
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come before us and that I look up to but
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I would say probably Sabrina I just love
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her game and um I think she you know
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just plays the game the right way and I
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look up to her a
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lot um I didn't really watch McDonald's
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coming up but you know I I did my
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research of course before coming here so
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um Kevin Durant for sure like DMV area
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um he's a great player one of my
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favorite players to watch I watch his
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film all the time just his versatile and
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just being able to do anything on the
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court so um I think I had a few um I
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would say the biggest one was definitely
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Candace Parker I would say there's some
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similarities in you know her game and my
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game so you know watching a person that
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you know I kind of play like trying to
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you know she's a big role model for me
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um so watching her you know Thrive at
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the McDonald's game you know that was a
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big dream for me one more question front
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middle
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um wanted to ask youall three is uh with
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nil you know how how it's been it's
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growing so much but we don't we don't
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ask too many of the women about you know
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what they look for in Brands and how to
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ex extensively build build your Brands
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up how have you guys felt like you've
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built your brand and then also just
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showcasing your ability at the same time
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too yeah I think um you know the woman
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that's come before us and play they've
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helped you know pave the way for us so
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I'm really grateful to be in the
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position that we are now cuz that we
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have so many opportunities and I'm
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excited to you know once I get to Duke I
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think those opportunities will continue
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and yeah I think I'm we're in great
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position so absolutely I agree with
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Emily just coming in and just you know
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being the best us name image and
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likeness just being the best us um and
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just being ourselves I feel like nil is
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a big opportunity that we have today in
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women's basketball and this I feel like
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it's growing and going into the WBA so
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make the W even more popular now that
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you know people are more watching it
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even the the Le right now even the NCAA
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right now for women everybody's watching
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this so I feel like nio is perfect for
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us is at a at it Peak right now and I
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feel like we're going to do a great job
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coming in and I'm grateful for the
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people that pav the way before us yeah
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just like they said the opportunity that
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we've been given with nil um is
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something you know that people before us
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didn't get so you know just to take
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advantage of it um but you know continue
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to do what what we did to get us here
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you know don't let you know nil be
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something that you know makes us not who
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we are um and you just continue to ball
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out um um and you'll be ourselves um on
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the court Emily Nyla Leah
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congratulations on being named 2025
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McDonald's all Americans thanks for
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joining us today thank you thank you
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