Up next in 10
Caleb Love, along with Tommy Lloyd, Tobe Awaka and Anthony Dell'Orso in Arizona press conference
Mar 24, 2025
#UNC
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stage here once again we will have an
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opening statement from coach Lloyd we'll
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take questions for the players first and
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we'll let them go and then take
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questions for Coach but coach Lloyd
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whenever you're ready um well obviously
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it was a great game and um you know tons
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of respect for Oregon and Coach Alman um
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you know it's actually you know uh if
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you could take the outcome uh the
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negative part of the outcome away from
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either team it's fun competing against
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them and uh that was fun tonight I mean
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we had a lot of fun and I'm giving
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credit to a lot of these guys here I
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mean we've really been talking about
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just you know kind of developing um I
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don't want to say unemotional but a real
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steady approach z00 score you know uh so
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what now what type mentality and um
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these guys I mean executed to Perfection
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today to go down 14 or whatever we did
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early and then not panic and just
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realize how much time was left in the
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game and just to literally take a lead
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by halftime I mean that that says
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something about this group so uh just
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tremendously proud of these guys and uh
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you know all three of them individually
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mean tobbe you know he's a beast a
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double double in the first half you know
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Henry's in foul trouble and those two
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have become quite a Duo and and so so
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tobbe had to carry a heavy load you know
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Deli h a big three had a nice little
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Shake uh was that a dunk Deli on that
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Baseline driver not we going to give you
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a dunk on that one it was pretty close
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pretty close Okay that those free throws
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were huge you step into a game where you
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know you haven't been playing much down
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the stretch and do that and and then
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Caleb was Sensational you know Caleb and
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you know we've had a lot of
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conversations ations and and Caleb has
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so much potential and and he so good
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already um what's cool is how much
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better he can get and in his approach
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today just staying steady and and
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staying unemotional I think there was a
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couple ball handling errors I probably
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would have taken back but uh but uh but
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but I'm picky but uh but I was just
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really proud of of how he came out and
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played in that moment um you know just
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it just says so much to me about his
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development as a player and a person and
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uh you know I mean he he he was
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obviously the best player on the floor
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today and then and he was able to kind
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of carry us to Victory so you know thank
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thanks to se love for that all right
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let's start with questions for the
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players
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please Lindsay schel the athletic Caleb
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how satisfying was that game overall For
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You especially CU maybe a few years ago
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you would not have been that steady and
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I also want to know were any of you
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panicking when you were down 15 and if
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not why not I'm super satisfying uh just
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knowing that this group what we went
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through the adversity you know it's
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built us for these moments and you know
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us going down early um we never panicked
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we never you know uh altered any you
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know thing and um I just think we were
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so poised throughout that whole game and
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you know nobody was worried about
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anything but you know finishing out the
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game and winning the game and so um I
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give credit to you know my teammates our
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coaches um you know they had a great
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game plan coming into the game and you
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know it was shaky early but you know
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that's what these games are about um you
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know you you going to face adversity but
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how do you bounce back and like coach
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said we got a you know so what now what
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you know mentality and you know that's
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that's what came out
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tonight um Deli talk talk about you
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didn't grow up uh playing or looking
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forward to March Madness talk about
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playing in this atmosphere what this has
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done and how this experience has been
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for
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you yeah I mean this experience has been
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great obviously the wins help um but
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yeah growing up didn't really know much
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about it didn't know much about college
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in uh General but you know as I kind of
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got older and and started my freshman
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year and stuff I realize how big of a
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deal it was you know you go throughout a
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long season you play two games every
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week just to get to this moment so I
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mean it's been great the energy from the
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crowds there I mean we got a great fan
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base that's with us so you know it feels
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like we're at a home game pretty much
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every time so I mean this experience has
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been great there's no no one else I'd
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rather do it with apart from these these
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guys but I mean it's so great to get
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that win and get to the Sweet 16
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Chris Tabet with the Associated Press
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this is going to be what game 10 with
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Duke did you expect this sort of long
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history with Duke do you look forward to
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this matchup does Duke playing against
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Duke Define your career in any way uh
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just wonder how big a matchup this is
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for you I mean it's a big matchup
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because it's the next game um it's the
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only game that matters uh obviously you
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know we got our mind was focused on
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Oregon and you know we got it done and
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now you know we going to get in the film
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room and um um you know lock in on Duke
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and you know what they do obviously
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they're a great team they're well
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coached um and we'll you know we'll be
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ready for them when you know the time
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comes Max gross Spirit 1053 uh Caleb
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coach Lloyd referred to your steadiness
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uh I'm curious how does your faith help
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you stay even keeled in big moments like
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this game and all season long as well I
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mean it plays a big part um you know my
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I I give credit to my mom um for you
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know instilling that in me early as a
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child and you know just trusting in God
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and you know keeping my faith in him
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that's what keeps me you know uh steady
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and poised um in every situation knowing
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that you know what whatever outcome it
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is you know he's going to have me um
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covered and so um I give all my credit
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to God and you know um you know my
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relationship with him has grown over
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these uh course of my college career um
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and you know I I'll be honest and say
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it's been up and down but you know um I
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say this past year i' I've really grown
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with you know my faith in
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him he Tommy uh mzv with the Cascades
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sports.net I wonder if you just talk
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about what kind of a leader Caleb is and
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then Anthony if you could answer that
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question as well yeah I mean you know C
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Caleb's uh really grown into his
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leadership role you know um you know I
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think that you know he was as a young
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player the spotlight was on him in such
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a way that you know the highest of highs
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and the lowest of lows and you know I
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think for a long portion of his career
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Caleb kind of had to just take care of
5:56
himself you know which is I totally get
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I totally understand but um but you know
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this year I've really seen him kind of
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like grow into that leader role and be
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more mature about it he's unbelievable
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with his teammates I mean you know uh I
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get asked a lot what it's like to coach
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Caleb and I tell him it's really simple
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I've never had one bad experience never
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had one bad experience I've never had
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one you know talk back never had one bad
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body language with me never had anything
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like that so I mean he's been a great
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gentleman for me to coach um you know
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and and I don't know if people you know
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they people that have this perception of
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him otherwise just don't know him
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so you know I'm I'm really proud of the
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leader he's become and you know and I
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told Caleb like coming into this
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tournament you know even this tournament
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is not going to Define his career make
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his life better I me he's been through
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so much already he's so ready for the
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next step I think you know when this
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this college thing ends for him you know
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I'll be sad because I'm going to lose a
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great player but I'm also going to be
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happy for him and I think he's going to
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have a sense of relief and he's going to
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kind of uh a burden is going to be
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lifted from him in his life and he's
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going to be able to move forward in his
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next phase of his life and his
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basketball career um and and and I don't
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see any way he's going to be denied from
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reaching his
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Dreams yeah obviously coming in you know
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you hear all these preconceived notions
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about you know UNCC and Caleb and kind
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of all that all whole deal but for me I
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never you know judged him never had any
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thoughts of my own until I you know I
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want to meet him myself and get the real
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deal and I think people don't have that
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because they're not able to get the
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chance to meet him and get to really
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know him so I mean on the court
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throughout this year I mean we've been
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super connected just in the fact that
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you you know we play similar position we
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we're getting cross matched and doing
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different reps and we'll work out every
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day together you know every morning like
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I'm probably the closest with him like
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he's unbelievable leader whether it's
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voice or it's just actions or whether
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it's like him leading the way or as
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simple as him being in a Timeout and and
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being telling everyone to calm down and
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relax because we got this like like you
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said in that 14 or 15 Point deficit how
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are we so poised we're poised because
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guys like Caleb that have the stage like
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that are able to stay calm makes
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everyone else calm so that's a credit to
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Caleb that's to how he's kind of been
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you know brought up and stuff like that
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but if you want to describe him as a
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leader that's how I would describe him
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he he steadies the for everyone hey
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guys how about some questions for tobay
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I mean you guys have this dude I'm
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telling you he's a badass and and and I
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love him to death you've never met a a
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bigger gentleman in your life I mean
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he's a 4.0 student I mean I think right
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no for sure yeah it's close close but me
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does everything in his life anything's
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associated with his name is done with
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quality and class and and and you might
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not know that by the way he plays
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because he's rugged and he kicks ass out
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there but this this is one of the best
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human beings I've ever met so I think
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you guys need to get to know him a
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little
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[Music]
8:44
bit Tommy you pressure me into asking a
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two-part question now for for for Tobe
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what did you feel like you guys did
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really well sort of keep Nate Biddle
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kind of under control and from not
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getting as many uh touches in the in the
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paint maybe as as he has previously and
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then for Caleb you were the only one
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here last year that played Oregon when
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it was a pack 12 game did that feel like
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almost like you guys were in Vegas at
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the at the Pack 12 tournament playing
9:08
with sort of the atmosphere and
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everything uh I mean just a credit to
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the coaching staff uh they did a great
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job in terms of scout uh knowing you
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know what he likes to do uh I think on
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our part me and Henry did a good job of
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sort of chesting him up making this
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catches difficult um you know PK earlier
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today did a great job of just sort of
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giving me the rundown of what he likes
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to do in the post what you know what
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he's good to move is what his counter is
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and things like that so you know we we
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had a great preparation you know during
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Su around and um I think all that really
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helped you know in game and in PK shim
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Kowski the old Z polish hammer and he's
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he's a stud um so no but Hey listen Nate
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biddle's a great player we we you know
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we couldn't keep him off his left
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shoulder I mean we tried we we tried but
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he just is he's got a way of getting to
9:55
it and he kind of has an awkwardness to
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that hook shot but man it's so effective
9:59
so so um you just just start tip our hat
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to him and his player development's uh
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you know really been cool to watch uh
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let's Let The Players uh go and take a
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couple more questions for coach and then
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we'll wrap it up all right guys get out
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of
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here Lindsay schel the athletic uh Tommy
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I don't think you're much of a screamer
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anyway but I wondered when you guys were
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down 15 and you're in the Huddle are you
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thinking like I need to yell at them to
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wake them up or just being no I mean no
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no I don't I don't think so I mean I
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obviously you know you kind of blank out
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in some of those moments but uh I I just
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think we wanted to St steady I knew
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there was so much time in the game and
10:48
so many possessions you just you just
10:50
didn't want to dig a deeper hole and and
10:52
I felt like if we cut it to you know
10:54
nine then seven I mean you've been I've
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been in so many of those games where
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I've been on the other end of them you
10:59
almost feel like it's inevitable that a
11:00
good team's going to come back on you so
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I wanted them to feel that and and I
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wanted our guys just to hang with it I
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just think we we kind of you know we we
11:07
tried some things with the game plan
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maybe a little bit too much you know too
11:10
much scheme early but um but I think it
11:13
was the right plan and when our guys
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kind of got settled into executing it I
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I think it was pretty effective so and
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maybe you saw that after kind of that
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you know those first two media timeouts
11:23
we kind of settled into executing our
11:24
plan and we really didn't make any
11:26
adjustments from you know the the plan a
11:28
that we had coming into the game so you
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know Jack Murphy and and TJ Benson and
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rim did a great job you know um you know
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you know kind of giving our guys a a
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winning plan
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tonight coach uh Chris toet from the
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Associated Press uh for those of us who
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don't regularly watch Caleb those threes
11:47
at the end seem pretty nonchalant uh the
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dunk was
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amazing uh do you do you get that from
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him is he a closer for you or or is that
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something he's develop for sure he's our
11:58
closer but he's not our only one you
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know I mean I I'm a big believer and
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obviously you want to have a guy that's
12:02
comfortable with the ball in his hands
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and not afraid in those moments but I've
12:05
also just thought the best way to close
12:07
games is make the right basketball play
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and you know speaking of closing I you
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know I guess we had a three-on-one fast
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break where two guys went for the
12:14
alleyoop and it didn't go in and like
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and uh and you know my good friend Steve
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KT text me I'm like what was the hell
12:21
was up up with that
12:23
three-on-one and I said yeah yeah you
12:25
know I know coach and he was like um he
12:28
was like well just just you feel better
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uh Draymond would have did the same
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thing and and Steph would have pulled up
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and shot a three so um you know I mean
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I've always felt like you know at
12:38
Arizona you know my four years we've
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kind of lived on the edge of excitement
12:42
and uh you know maybe there's times I
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wish we had a little bit more
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conservative approach to things but I
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also think that letter it rip mentality
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is kind of who we are and and you know
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and I think it's provided way more
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positive and way more benefits than
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negatives for us so uh yeah uh just
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just really really proud of the guys
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tonight I mean just uh that was awesome
13:03
and I'm so happy we get a you know we we
13:05
we get a stay together and and keep
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competing last question here uh Jason
13:10
Shear W had Authority I know he had the
13:12
the late turnover but generally speaking
13:14
tonight throughout the season Jaden
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Bradley has been kind of a a calming
13:17
presence uh just can you talk about his
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leadership and his ability to kind of
13:21
maintain composure yeah I mean I mean
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Jaden's been awesome I mean he had 12
13:25
tonight you know 12 and you know just
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steady four assists and uh three steals
13:29
I mean he just he impacts winning and he
13:32
has a real maturity to him and the
13:33
steadiness and you know what do he have
13:35
like 19 or 20 last game I mean like he's
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he's just really grown into a great
13:39
player so uh you know he he has a you
13:42
know he really is calm you know he
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really is calm uh you know I even had a
13:46
ref come up to me last game say hey I'm
13:48
having problems with uh zero I'm like
13:50
what like him like I'm not a used to
13:52
guys saying that because he's usually so
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calm and and really doesn't interact
13:56
with the officials so uh um you know J
13:59
Jen's the consant point guard and um and
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you know he he's he he's he's a a great
14:04
point guard we're lucky to have him and
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uh you know I'm really proud of how he's
14:08
developing a player and how he competes
14:10
and you know for him to kind of kind of
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be you know kind of the silent leader of
14:14
our team all right thank you very much
14:16
coach thank you guys