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Auburn F Sebastian Williams-Adams - Oklahoma Preview · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

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  All right, we got Sebastian Williams
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  Adams. So with that, we'll just open it
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  up to questions. Start with Fergie's
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  talked about y'all got to play
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  desperately like you did the other
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  night. Yes. Against against against
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  Oklahoma, you know, is that kind of the
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  message you guys among you guys in the
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  locker room?
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  >> I mean, most definitely. Um I think we
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  know we're at our best when we're
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  playing desperate. Um and to be honest,
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  SEC is not somewhere where you can just
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  show up every day and just expect to win
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  the game even if you are favored. So,
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  um, I mean, that has kind of been our
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  mindset and we've kind of established
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  that for the rest of the season. We're
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  playing desperate. We're playing, uh,
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  for our tournament hopes, which we know
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  we have to. So, that's been our our main
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  focus.
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  >> I know SP talked about you kept the
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  energy in practice even during that
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  losing streak. didn't lose your
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  confidence, but just how how nice was it
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  to kind of feel a victory again and and
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  maybe have that weight lifted off your
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  shoulders of a of a losing streak that
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  lasted a couple weeks?
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  >> Yeah, I know. Um I mean it was
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  definitely relieving um just because you
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  know it it's hard to keep having this
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  energy, keep having um the same
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  mentality um you know keep bringing uh
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  joy to practice um just because you know
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  you are going through rough starts of
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  your season. you are getting so close.
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  Um Oh, my fault for not supposed to use
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  that C word, but um we're getting uh
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  right there. And you know, um it's not
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  happening, but
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  um you know, I say finally getting that
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  win just it kind of um took a little it
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  kind of lightened our shoulders a little
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  bit, but you know, we're still hungry.
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  We're still desperate. We still know um
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  we got to play our way our way into the
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  tournament, and that's kind of our main
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  goal, right? I mean, that's our only
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  goal right now.
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  >> It felt like defensively against
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  Kentucky, you guys were communicating
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  better. Did you Did you feel kind of
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  there was a difference, especially
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  compared to the state game?
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  >> Um, yeah, most definitely. Um, I think
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  obviously we had watched the state game
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  um individually and as a team has saw
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  multiple times where um not even just
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  Josh Hubard, but even some of the other
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  guards, our guards would get nailed on
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  screens and the bigs weren't at the
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  level high enough. And even if we were,
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  we weren't communicating with the
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  guards. So the guards felt like they
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  still had to pursue. Um and then that
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  caused having two on the ball, wide open
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  person, um and just numerous defensive
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  lapses. So going to Kentucky, especially
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  knowing our defense, uh was going to
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  require a lot of switching. Um we knew
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  we had to communicate better. And
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  obviously that was a main focal point
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  that um those two practices following
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  Mississippi State. Uh I mean, everybody
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  was just kind of just talking talking. I
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  mean, even if we were wrong, we were
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  like, "At least we know what you're
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  trying to do, so now we know the
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  intentions and everybody else can read
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  and react based off of you."
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  >> Jeff,
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  >> what's the challenge that comes with
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  playing a Saturday night game and then
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  playing on Tuesday on the road, travel
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  day, kind of a condensed preparation?
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  >> Um, I mean, you know, you're still
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  obviously you're trying to recover from
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  the Saturday game. Um, especially
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  because it was a bit of a later game. um
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  you know, you're trying to recover, but
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  you're also trying to make sure you get
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  the scout in because your Tuesday
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  important is just as important as your
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  Saturday night opponent was. Um so just
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  kind of balancing that and then of
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  course you know we'll travel out today
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  after practice. Um, you know, it's just
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  a lot of, um, you know, you got to
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  really be focused on making sure your
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  body's right, making sure, um, if you
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  are aching, you're getting in with Clark
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  after practice on Sunday or before
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  practice on Sunday just to kind of try
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  to um, get right in our I mean, our
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  support staff is amazing. So, Clark,
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  Christ, Emily. Um, just to name the top
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  three on top of my head, but they make
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  sure we are getting enough nutrients to
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  make sure uh like we had a lift
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  yesterday, but our lift was all recovery
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  based. Um, and then Clark obviously
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  being there when we need him. Um, at
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  least uh for, you know, if you hot tub,
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  cold tub, norm, things like that. That's
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  kind of just the main focus, getting
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  your bodies right. And then obviously
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  our coaches will come prepared with the
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  scout. um like we'll have film before
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  every practice like we always do and you
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  know we'll go about um practicing
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  preparing for Oklahoma.
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  >> The Kentucky game feel weird for y'all
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  the misses y'all had at the rim you know
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  especially compared to what y usually do
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  and how do you how do you kind of kind
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  of move on from that because that was
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  that was a key part of the game?
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  >> Yeah. Um I mean obviously it definitely
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  did feel weird. Um you know some of the
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  makes we all expect to make um weren't
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  falling. Um but knowing uh all those
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  half court makes or half court misses.
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  Um usually our half court makes we kind
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  of you got to still have confidence in
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  yourself and that you're going to make
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  it and our team um definitely still
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  does. Um, but you know, we all talked
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  about a lot of our open like I mean kind
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  of just wide open like transition
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  um plays where the ball got knocked out
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  of our hands when OA strim me like we
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  all agreed those were unacceptable. Um
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  and you know that if we are serious
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  about making the tournament that that
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  cannot happen again um and then some
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  cases we did get lucky. um because
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  we didn't convert on those layups, but
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  you know, we'll definitely make sure to
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  uh say we're obviously locked back in,
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  but you know, felt really focused on
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  finishing around the rim, taking our
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  time. Um a lot some of it was just more
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  we rushed it. We we let their
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  physicality bother us a little bit, but
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  you know, I was but we just got to be
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  better at that. I mean, that's answer to
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  be fully honest.
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  SP was in here earlier talking about how
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  when Elijah is aggressive on offense,
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  how much that changes for y'all. What do
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  you see out of him? Obviously has the
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  big play to win it. But, you know, that
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  game as a whole from him.
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> Look different on the offensive.
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  >> Yeah. No, Ephere um Ephere is definitely
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  when he plays that aggressive motor,
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  that motor we saw against Kentucky, I
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  mean, he is genuinely one of the most I
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  would say most terrifying people to play
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  against. um just because I was seeing
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  that in the summer a lot of the times um
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  he would catch that ball and I mean he's
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  a freak athlete so every time he goes up
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  in the air I mean I really don't think
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  anybody's going to jump with him and if
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  they do I think it's going to be a foul
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  just cuz Elijah has the ability to put
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  people on posters as we've seen. Um but
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  no Elijah when he plays that that
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  confident pace I mean it's really really
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  amazing to see. Um really inspiring to
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  see. I think it gets everybody going
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  just because um you know kind of gives a
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  spark gives a spark off the bench. Um
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  and I say Elijah just makes a lot of
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  winning plays so you know it contributes
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  to winning.