Latest / Bleacher Report / Mystics Rookie Kiki Iriafen Reacts to Her Highlights with Candace Parker _ Film Study, Ep. 3

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Mystics Rookie Kiki Iriafen Reacts to Her Highlights with Candace Parker _ Film Study, Ep. 3 · Bleacher Report

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  Speaker 1: Drafted number four overall to the Washington Mystics. She played
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  Speaker 1: at Stanford, she finished her career at USC. She's got
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  Speaker 1: so many degrees, smart, intelligent, unbelievable basketball player.
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  Speaker 2: Kiki.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome to the film study. Thank you so much for
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  Speaker 1: joining me today.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for having me.
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  Speaker 2: Well.
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  Speaker 1: First up, listen, I gotta I gotta hear about your
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  Speaker 1: first couple weeks.
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  Speaker 2: Obviously we saw you.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, you looked absolutely gorgeous at the WNBA draft.
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  Speaker 1: I hope it was everything that you ever dreamed of,
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  Speaker 1: because man, you definitely looked amazing. I think you ended
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  Speaker 1: up with an amazing team and you know organization so
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  Speaker 1: thus far up until that point, can you just catch
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  Speaker 1: us up on your life so far?
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  Speaker 4: Yes, my life has been kind of all over the place.
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  Speaker 4: I'm trying to catch up on everything, moving to a
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  Speaker 4: new city, still finishing up school, and kind of just
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  Speaker 4: coming with terms of reality that I'm a professional basketball
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  Speaker 4: player now. So it's been a lot of mixed emotions,
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  Speaker 4: but I feel super grateful to be here. I've loved
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  Speaker 4: DC so far, and I just can't wait for us
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  Speaker 4: to get into season now.
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  Speaker 1: Have been super impressed, obviously with your college resume, and
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  Speaker 1: I look for you to be and to have an
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  Speaker 1: immediate impact in the WNBA. For someone that has not
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  Speaker 1: seen you play, or someone that asks what parts of
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  Speaker 1: your game are going to translate the best to the WNBA,
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  Speaker 1: what would you tell them?
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  Speaker 4: I would say my rebounding number one. I feel like
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  Speaker 4: I'm just relentless on the boards and kind of in
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  Speaker 4: my all overall game, I'm just relentless and I compete,
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  Speaker 4: So I'd say number one is my rebounding. That's something
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  Speaker 4: that I can always rely on whether shots are falling
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  Speaker 4: or they're not falling.
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  Speaker 3: And then my motor.
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  Speaker 4: I feel like I've kind of showed it a little
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  Speaker 4: bit in our two preseason games, but I can run
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  Speaker 4: the floor, i can seal really well, and I'm just
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  Speaker 4: looking to continue to add to my bag, continuing to
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  Speaker 4: work on my defense, bring out the three point shot
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  Speaker 4: this year. But my coaches so far have been great
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  Speaker 4: and just giving me a lot of confidence to kind
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  Speaker 4: of showcase all that I can do and not be
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  Speaker 4: stuck in a box.
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  Speaker 1: And your mentality, that's the thing that I think grows
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  Speaker 1: the most from freshmen to senior year and then starting
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  Speaker 1: out kind of over again. You're a freshman a little
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  Speaker 1: bit again, you know. I mean, gosh, you're still taking
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  Speaker 1: college classes and you're professional like, meaning you're still finishing
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  Speaker 1: up in college, which is unbelievable. And we're not going
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  Speaker 1: to keep you super long because I know you have
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  Speaker 1: a final, but yeah, what can you say about your mentality,
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  Speaker 1: how it changed over college and what are you trying
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  Speaker 1: to do this time around that can help with that
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  Speaker 1: element of the game.
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  Speaker 3: Wow, that's It's a great question.
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  Speaker 4: I think for me, I've struggled with confidence throughout college,
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  Speaker 4: and every single year I feel like I've gotten more
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  Speaker 4: confident just kind of going through adversity and making my
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  Speaker 4: way through it. But I feel like I've just been
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  Speaker 4: tried and tested all throughout college. I've had two great coaches,
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  Speaker 4: been in two great programs, and they've taught me so
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  Speaker 4: much to help me feel prepared. Like training camp has
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  Speaker 4: been hard, but I feel super prepared just by being
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  Speaker 4: at Stanford and being at USC. So I think for me,
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  Speaker 4: just coming in here and being a sponge, not trying
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  Speaker 4: to be bigger than myself and understanding that there's so
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  Speaker 4: much that I can learn. I haven't made it yet,
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  Speaker 4: but just being grateful to be in this spot, but
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  Speaker 4: understanding that if I have these goals and aspirations of
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  Speaker 4: being one of the greatest in the league one day,
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  Speaker 4: like I have to be humble and understand that there's
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  Speaker 4: still so much work for me to do, so kind
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  Speaker 4: of just being a sponge and taking it in from
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  Speaker 4: all of my bets and the woman that I'll be
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  Speaker 4: playing against the season as well.
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  Speaker 1: Can I add one thing that I wish someone would
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  Speaker 1: have told me when I got into the league. And
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  Speaker 1: you're going to go through the emotional ups and downs,
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  Speaker 1: there is going to be a lull in the season
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  Speaker 1: where you question your preparation, you question what you're doing, Like,
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  Speaker 1: stay with it, because I think sometimes we take ourselves
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  Speaker 1: out of the game by mentally telling ourselves like I'm
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  Speaker 1: in a shooting slump or I'm whatever, Like, really be
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  Speaker 1: honest with yourself of what you're telling you and is
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  Speaker 1: it construct is it something that you can fix?
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  Speaker 2: Is it something within your control?
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  Speaker 1: And if it's not, then the quicker you let it go,
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  Speaker 1: the quicker you can get to the next place in
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  Speaker 1: your game, which I think is going to be the
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  Speaker 1: sky is the limit. I remember meeting you when you
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  Speaker 1: were goodness, like you hadn't even started. I don't think
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  Speaker 1: at Stanford when I met you at a workout and
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  Speaker 1: just watching your size, your ability, your length, your athleticism,
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  Speaker 1: your feel for the ball. So your future is extremely bright.
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  Speaker 1: Don't get in your own way of your future being bright.
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  Speaker 1: So we're going to start with this pick and role play,
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  Speaker 1: which has been a part of the game that I
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  Speaker 1: think you have developed year to year. Obviously playing in
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  Speaker 1: a different type of offense in Lindsay Gottlieb at USC,
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  Speaker 1: I think your role changed throughout the year a little bit.
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  Speaker 2: You're still a go to player.
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  Speaker 1: But I think you know obviously is the shooting got
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  Speaker 1: better or as you know, you guys were sometimes not
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  Speaker 1: shooting so well from beyond the arc. It showed different
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  Speaker 1: parts of your game you're able to do. So right here,
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  Speaker 1: we saw a lot of this, and this I want
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  Speaker 1: to stop because you talk about a motor okay, but
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  Speaker 1: there's very few post players that will run out and
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  Speaker 1: cause the defense to collapse that you're not going to
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  Speaker 1: benefit from. And I saw you do that all the time,
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  Speaker 1: and I feel like that's a sacrifice that is something
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  Speaker 1: that needs to be celebrated. So you run out, you
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  Speaker 1: draw two and then right here, I absolutely love this.
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  Speaker 1: You're going to do this over and over and I'm
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  Speaker 1: sure in your Washington Mystics offense, this is what you're doing.
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  Speaker 1: The handback screen, there's contact and then it's direct to
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  Speaker 1: the basket.
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  Speaker 2: I want to run that back. So can you take
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  Speaker 2: me through, Avery?
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  Speaker 3: That was a good pass.
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  Speaker 2: That was a nice pass.
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  Speaker 1: See you being a great teammate already. So you're the
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  Speaker 1: first post down and you come back up to set
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  Speaker 1: the upscreen, So take me through this play right here?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I felt like Avery could have had the advantage,
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  Speaker 4: like the defense wasn't set up. I actually wanted her
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  Speaker 4: to just dribble off of me and not even hand
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  Speaker 4: it off. But she's someone that likes to touch pass a.
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  Speaker 3: Little bit more.
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  Speaker 4: And then I think the key for me last season
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  Speaker 4: was being a better screener, so making sure I'm hitting bodies,
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  Speaker 4: and I feel like that's how we're able to create
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  Speaker 4: a two on one opportunity. And you know that post
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  Speaker 4: player kind of has to decide am I going to
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  Speaker 4: stop the ball? Am I going to take the roller?
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  Speaker 4: So it was honestly, how can I get a reopen?
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  Speaker 4: And then it turned into I was open at the end.
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  Speaker 1: One hundred percent and then your head straight to the basket.
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  Speaker 1: I think that's the biggest thing too. And you're calling
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  Speaker 1: for the A one. Of course, you know, get finished
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  Speaker 1: through contact.
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  Speaker 2: I like that.
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  Speaker 1: But right here on this play your screen, you look
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  Speaker 1: at this right here, this right here, that's contact and
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  Speaker 1: then you getting out of it. So the pocket pass
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  Speaker 1: is something that over and over and over and over
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  Speaker 1: again you're going to hear in the WBA. Like you
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  Speaker 1: think about Asia Wilson, think about de Erica Handy, you
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  Speaker 1: think about other post players. Is Brianna Stewart cheeps pop
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  Speaker 1: it a little bit more, but Brianna Stewart, Elena Deladon,
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  Speaker 1: who played for the Mystics for years and years, That's
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  Speaker 1: how they made their entire career, how they made their bread,
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  Speaker 1: was just the pocket pass. You look at somebody like
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  Speaker 1: a Jokic in the NBA, that's how he makes his living.
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  Speaker 1: Is that pocket pass. And so when you are able
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  Speaker 1: to set screens like that and roll with your athleticism,
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  Speaker 1: good luck, defense, good luck, and then we're gonna roll
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  Speaker 1: the next one, which is what I love that right shoulder.
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  Speaker 2: So here this is kind of delayed again.
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  Speaker 1: I want to talk about this because again, you're the
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  Speaker 1: first post down. Is that your intent every single time
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  Speaker 1: down the court is to be one of the first
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  Speaker 1: post players down.
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  Speaker 4: Yes, I actually like if I'm playing with another big
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  Speaker 4: I try to have them take it out so that
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  Speaker 4: I could run the floor. I think a lot of
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  Speaker 4: the times I get mismatches in transition, so it's just
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  Speaker 4: about me connecting with my guards and making sure that
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  Speaker 4: they see me in transition. But I think in the
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  Speaker 4: low block ceiling, being the first post down, like, I'm
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  Speaker 4: really good at that.
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  Speaker 3: So as much as I can, I'm running.
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  Speaker 4: And I think that started with Tara because my freshman
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  Speaker 4: year she was like, you better run that floor if
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  Speaker 4: you want to play.
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  Speaker 2: Well, that's a good motivation.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, So coach Tara, thanks for motivating and turning her
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  Speaker 1: into the beast that she is.
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  Speaker 2: Right here, we're gonna play your patient.
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  Speaker 1: Do not undervalue how long it took to for you
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  Speaker 1: to get to this point from freshman to senior year,
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  Speaker 1: because if you look back at clips from your freshman year,
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure you did.
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  Speaker 2: Not have this patience. Am I wrong at all?
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  Speaker 3: At all?
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  Speaker 2: At all?
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  Speaker 1: And so I think sometimes when we're transitioning to another stage,
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  Speaker 1: we like to speed up and we're rushing and we're
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  Speaker 1: trying to Sometimes you take your patients and you survey
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  Speaker 1: and you make the defense guess wrong.
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  Speaker 2: Right.
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  Speaker 1: So on this play right here, you could have went
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  Speaker 1: right away and guess what, You'd have probably had two
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  Speaker 1: or three defenders ready.
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  Speaker 2: Here.
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  Speaker 1: You take your patience, you point, you tell your your
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  Speaker 1: teammate to give you space, and then you get to
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  Speaker 1: that nice, beautiful I was like Dirk, like right there,
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  Speaker 1: fado way jump shot with that right leg up. So
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  Speaker 1: when did you develop this? First of all, let's talk
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  Speaker 1: about your pace. When did you develop that?
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  Speaker 2: What year was it?
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  Speaker 4: I think pace is something that I'm still working on.
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  Speaker 4: It's getting better every single year. I'm slowing it down,
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  Speaker 4: but there's still times where I see myself a little
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  Speaker 4: bit rushed when I have my defender beat, but I'm
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  Speaker 4: kind of speeding myself up. But it's because I'm just
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  Speaker 4: so excited, like I already play fast. So I think
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  Speaker 4: for me, it's still growing in my pace and understanding
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  Speaker 4: that not. Something that my coaches here have kind of
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  Speaker 4: told me is like slow is pro, and they're like,
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  Speaker 4: you'll start to understand that the more that you play
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  Speaker 4: at this level. So I think I'm still working on
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  Speaker 4: my pace, but definitely has gotten better. And I would
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  Speaker 4: say my junior year at Stanford it was when I
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  Speaker 4: kind of let the game come to me and I
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  Speaker 4: didn't really force anything, and that's when I was able
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  Speaker 4: to get into things like this because I kind of
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  Speaker 4: let the play develop. I wasn't like, I have the ball,
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  Speaker 4: now I have to score. So I would say like
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  Speaker 4: my junior years when I really had an epiphany in
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  Speaker 4: terms of basketball, having a better IQ and kind of
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  Speaker 4: just reading the defense as opposed to just having my
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  Speaker 4: mind made up on stuff.
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  Speaker 1: Well, in adding to that, I tell Keiki every day,
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  Speaker 1: I'm thankful that you're on my team because I don't
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  Speaker 1: want to guard you for a real game.
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  Speaker 2: She's such a beast.
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  Speaker 1: That's what your teammate Cameron Brinks said about you in
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. Well, guess what fast forward, She's gonna
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  Speaker 1: have to guard you at some point now as you're
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  Speaker 1: playing for the Mystics and she's playing for the Sparks.
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  Speaker 1: But to her point, I think that pace, that IQ,
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  Speaker 1: all of that are elements of why you're going to
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  Speaker 1: be so tough to guard at the next level because
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  Speaker 1: you said.
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  Speaker 2: Slow is pro or pace is pro. I don't know
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  Speaker 2: what you said.
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  Speaker 1: You dropped the bar, but you said, tell me what
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  Speaker 1: you said, because I must steal it.
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  Speaker 3: Slow ast pro coach My coach, Barbara Turner.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so slow as pro, and I think as a result,
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  Speaker 1: you're able to get to the spot on the court,
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  Speaker 1: which is what every post player dreams of being able
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  Speaker 1: to get to that kind of like mid post area.
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  Speaker 4: I have a question for you, actually, when is it
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  Speaker 4: like a time where you're like, no, you actually want
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  Speaker 4: to race the defense and attack versus like let me
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  Speaker 4: slow it down. Or is it just you read the defense,
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  Speaker 4: Like when do you know when it's like I gotta
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  Speaker 4: go versus slowing it down.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I think it's a mix up, right, So you
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  Speaker 1: start off not rushing with your first touch, That's what
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  Speaker 1: I always did. Okay, you make sure you get to
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  Speaker 1: your spot, you get comfortable, things like that, and then
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  Speaker 1: you can bait them.
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  Speaker 2: They're you know, they're at your mercy.
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  Speaker 1: So then when you're slow, they kind of react to everything,
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  Speaker 1: so you're able to give them a.
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  Speaker 2: Shimmy and go the other way.
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  Speaker 1: But I really feel like it's about making the defense
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  Speaker 1: guess wrong.
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  Speaker 2: So if you're high side.
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  Speaker 1: And you want me to go baseline, I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: take you where I don't want to go to go
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  Speaker 1: where I want to. And so I think it's really
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  Speaker 1: playing game with yourself. Like if you look at me
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  Speaker 1: in my career, these are the spots that I had
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  Speaker 1: to learn to get to. So on the court, I
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  Speaker 1: could get to these spots so many different ways. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: like you said, it could be just like a rim
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  Speaker 1: run and you're out. It could be a pocket pass
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  Speaker 1: where a lot of the pocket passes come, which in
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  Speaker 1: your offense in college you ran a lot of pocket
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  Speaker 1: pass right there. Or it can just straight up be
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  Speaker 1: like you did on the last play, where I give
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  Speaker 1: up ground to then be able to get to my spot.
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  Speaker 1: So like by giving up ground, maybe I run shallow
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  Speaker 1: and I'm able to step off and then I know
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  Speaker 1: how to get to my spot.
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  Speaker 2: So I think you'll.
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  Speaker 1: Learn every time everything is different. They might guard you
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  Speaker 1: with a big that's slower, then you know you got
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  Speaker 1: to go fast. They might guard you with an underside
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  Speaker 1: post player that is quicker than you, well maybe not
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: quicker than you, but like quicker, and you might now
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  Speaker 1: want to settle in. So I think it's also your
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: matchup in knowing like who you're playing against. If you're
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  Speaker 1: playing against another rookie, you might want to give them
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  Speaker 1: a pump fate because they're gonna jump and be you know,
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  Speaker 1: and not be disciplined on the defensive end. Exciley, there
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  Speaker 1: you go. I think it's also like you know, studying
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  Speaker 1: your film and making sure that you know just as
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  Speaker 1: much as you know how you're gonna guard somebody, how
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  Speaker 1: they're gonna guard you, all right, that may range. That's
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  Speaker 1: where I think USC is where you really kind of
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  Speaker 1: showed your versatility as a post player. Here you go
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  Speaker 1: away from the action a little screen and then this
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  Speaker 1: is your ISO and everybody knows, but good luck stopping it.
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  Speaker 1: That you like touching that ball with your left hand.
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  Speaker 1: You love that left side of the floor on the
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  Speaker 1: court right here and so right here when you're catching,
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  Speaker 1: you're catching. I know this might be a subtlety that
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  Speaker 1: you don't even realize you do as a player, But
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  Speaker 1: the hardest thing for a defender to guard is that
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  Speaker 1: right pivot when you're right handed, Like that is so hard,
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  Speaker 1: and I don't even think you.
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  Speaker 2: Understand what you're doing.
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  Speaker 1: On this play because a lot of times your pivot
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  Speaker 1: foot is usually your left foot if you're right handed,
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  Speaker 1: So to be able to switch up your pivot foot
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  Speaker 1: like this, it puts the defense at a complete disadvantage
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  Speaker 1: on this play and it allows you to get to
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  Speaker 1: your spot. Quicker, is this something that you worked on
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  Speaker 1: in the off season a lot, because it seemed like
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  Speaker 1: this was a lot smoother this year.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: I think my junior year was when I first started
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  Speaker 4: doing it kind of inconsistently, but I was like, Okay,
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  Speaker 4: I'm capable, And then this past summer getting ready for
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  Speaker 4: my senior year, I was like, this is something that
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  Speaker 4: I want to showcase as I continue to stretch the floor,
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  Speaker 4: and at times I think I settled a little bit
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  Speaker 4: too much for the jumper, Like I love a mitterand jumper,
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  Speaker 4: but it's something that I'm really comfortable with, especially going
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  Speaker 4: with my left hand, which is kind of weird because
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  Speaker 4: I wouldn't say I feel comfortable like if you were
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  Speaker 4: to put me in like a dribbling drill.
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  Speaker 3: I feel comfortable with.
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  Speaker 4: My right hand, but like when I watch film and
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  Speaker 4: people always tell it's like always on the left side,
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  Speaker 4: but just making sure that I wasn't in the low block.
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  Speaker 3: Making sure I could stuch the floor.
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  Speaker 4: A little bit more was like a point of emphasis
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  Speaker 4: for me going into my senior year.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you're definitely able to take advantage of this iso,
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: and you know, being able to have the ability to
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: play in space at the next level is definitely going
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: to benefit your game.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: No secret. This is the offensive veil.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: So you know, I love hard, but some of my
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: my love heart is points of growth, as my daughter
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: and I call it, areas of growth. So right here,
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: I think that you did this a lot when you
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: were younger, where you decided where you wanted to go
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: and how you were going to get there. I think
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: your evolution has come that you've decided where you want
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: to go, but you didn't determine how you're going to
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: get there. So you react of how you're supposed to
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: get there. Your skill set reacts. Right here, there's a handoff,
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: and you want to go this way. You get the rebound. Great,
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: you decide that you're gonna get the ball back to
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: Juju no matter what. Okay, and so you get the
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: movie's screed. So here's the thing what I would love
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: to see you do, especially if they're going to guard
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: it this way. When you're playing in this area instead
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: of dribbling at Juju, which is up the floor, I
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: guarantee there would be a reaction if you dribbled in
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: a little bit more off the sideline, do you know
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: what I mean?
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: And then you're able to already use the space.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: To provide it because I think that sometimes when the
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: ball gets stuck on one side of the floor, the
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: defense is able to load up and things like that.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: So on this.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: Instance, I understand, Juju is Juju and you want to
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: get the ball to her, But I think it's you know,
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: understanding what the defense is doing and in taking that.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: I just love this.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: I just have to I have to show this reaction
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: right here, This reaction right here, right.
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: Here is my favorite part. Right there. She knew it.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: She knew this was gonna be on film the next day.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: You didn't know it was gonna be on film.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: Study but this is a film, No, But there there
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: weren't many areas, so we had to we had to
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: nitpick on that one, all right. So we got the
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: next one, which is demonstrating your outstanding motor. So right
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: here on this one, you're running early you're ceiling up
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: the lane. You are decisive, you are physical, you are
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: finishing with the offhand. Take me through this possession right here,
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna just run the tape. Hold on, let me
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: rewind it back this right here, up ahead, pause it.
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: I already had my player beat yep, so I was like,
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: I'm gonna get this ball by any means necessary. It
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: was also senior night, so I feel like I already
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: came into the game with a ton of energy and
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: was like, I'm just gonna have fun tonight, which I
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: think is when I play my best is when I'm
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: playing with joy. But in this particular play, I had
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: already beat my player, I beat one of my other
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: teammates players, So I was like, if I'm not getting
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: this ball, I've at least collapsed the defense, so somebody
• 18:21
  Speaker 4: else is going to get the ball.
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: So it was just like, let me get to that spot.
• 18:24
  Speaker 4: If I have two feet in the paint, then it's
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: pretty much up to me to make a move. But
• 18:27
  Speaker 4: if I was a little bit off the block, then
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: I feel like that's when the patient comes in, like
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: let me see how they're playing me. Let me see
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: if the teammate cuts but if I'm two feet in
• 18:35
  Speaker 4: the paint, I feel like it's up for grabs for
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: me to go to work.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: Got that right right here, go to work. Then this
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: right here, seal, How could she not throw you the ball?
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Look at that big seal, big numbers. And what I
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: love is you already know what you're gonna do. There
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: is space. You're not waiting. You understand, you already have
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: the disadvantage you're creating closing the gas because guess what.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: As defenders, we want space because we want to be
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: able to contest, especially when you get in a position
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: like this without failing, but you taking up and eating
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: that space as an offensive player puts a lot of
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: pressure on the defense. And then again you get into
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: that left turn around right there with the offhand.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: I love that. Call that a little crab drubble. Yep,
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: high five right there, yep.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: Okay, And then we're gonna pull up to the scene
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: with our last clip right here, this pull up.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: I see what you did there?
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: Oh you know see?
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, see I'm not as old as I as I am.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: Right here the pocket pass again, You're gonna see this
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: a lot. I'm sure you're running this in training camp
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: right now, pocket pass, your other post player rolls. Guess
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: what you're gonna come across and rise. If i'm nitpicking,
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: you gotta be a little earlier. Maybe maybe coach gollib
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: told you not to be, but maybe just be a
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: little bit earlier on this rise so that you're catching
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: the ball right now. Okay, so you're coming up. It's
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: a three player switch, which makes them be a little
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: bit late because it is a three player switch. So
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: by three player switch, I mean number four, who is
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: guarding the post player is then going to help and
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: then her buddy post player is going to take the
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: other rolling post out of the pocket, and then number
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: four is going to pop up and take you.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: So you know that they're going to be late to
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: the scene. And guess what.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: You pull up to the scene and you're ready to
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: take and make that shot. So what at the next
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: level do you think is going to change about that?
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: I think one getting there faster because people are big.
• 20:45
  Speaker 4: People are as an athletic or if not more than
• 20:48
  Speaker 4: I am. So I think it's being intentional, not overthinking.
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: But like I have to have a high basketball i Q.
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: I can't just rely on my athleticism anymore. But I
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: feel like one, that's a shot that I'll continue to take,
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: continue to shoot. But I think there's also needs to
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: be counters because, as I said, people are long. So
• 21:05
  Speaker 4: like guarding a BG, which I had to do a
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: few days again, I'm like wow, like she's tall, she's big,
• 21:11
  Speaker 4: but maybe doing a shot, fake blowing by but not
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: being just so in love with that move, understanding that
• 21:17
  Speaker 4: if they take it away, how can I still get
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: to what I need to without being stuck in that spot.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: No, I like that, And I think the only thing
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: that I would add would be that shot is going
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: to be a three just because of the space within WNBA,
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: So that shot instead of rising there, you're going to
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: see a lot of the rise come from behind the
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: three point art. And so my biggest thing for you
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: is be confident in that you gotta take it.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: You got to take it to make it. That's my thing.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: And as much as you can seek out catch and
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: shoot looks, because that's gonna be that's gonna make things
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: easier for your whole game. So as much as you
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: can get in the gym and work on that catch
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: and shoot and being able to knock that down really
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: opens up so many other parts and elements of your game. Okay,
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: so obviously we understand that you have a final so
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: we're not going to keep you forever, but we do
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: have a surprise for you from somebody pretty cool.
• 22:14
  Speaker 5: So much I could say about Kiki's college career, I
• 22:17
  Speaker 5: would say the number one way in which she evolved
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: is that she went from playing a role at Stanford
• 22:24
  Speaker 5: to becoming a star, and then stepping into a high powered,
• 22:30
  Speaker 5: high pressure star role with us with big expectations. I
• 22:33
  Speaker 5: think that she expanded her game in a lot of ways,
• 22:36
  Speaker 5: making plays away from the basket, off the balance. Her
• 22:39
  Speaker 5: jumper is automatic, stretching it out to three a bit.
• 22:42
  Speaker 5: Then I would say offensive rebounding translates at every level.
• 22:45
  Speaker 5: All the time she led the Pac twelve on offensive boards,
• 22:48
  Speaker 5: she led the Big ten in offensive boards. I wouldn't
• 22:51
  Speaker 5: be surprised if she ends up leading the w in
• 22:53
  Speaker 5: that category at some point. The other thing that I
• 22:56
  Speaker 5: think makes her extremely pro ready is her joy, her motor,
• 22:59
  Speaker 5: her mind. She can learn quickly and learn quickly while
• 23:04
  Speaker 5: still being you know, like I said, an explosive athlete
• 23:07
  Speaker 5: who can just second jump quickly, run the floor quickly,
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: we are so proud of her.
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: Kiki.
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: Congratulations on beginning your rookie season with the Mystics. I've
• 23:17
  Speaker 5: already been tuned into every preseason game and can't wait
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: to watch as the regular season kicks off. Fight On
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: and Go Mystics always.
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: That was so sweet.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: Thank you guys, no problem listen.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: Leading up to your debut in the WNBA, I wish
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: you all the best. I think that the advice I
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: would give you is game one is no more important
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: than Game twenty seven and game thirty three. So obviously
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: you're gonna have nerves, You're gonna have the butterflies.
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: That's all good.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: That means that you know you want it and you're
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: passionate about it. But my biggest thing for you is
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: just enjoy the moment. You got to have that next
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: place mentality, whether it's the next play coming off a
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: bad player, the next play coming off a good play.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: So I'm looking for you. I'm going to challenge you though.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: I'm going to challenge you. I want you to be
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: top five in double doubles in the WNBA this year.
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: I want that for me too. I'd love that challenge.
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: I love it all right.
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: Who are you most looking forward to facing in the WNBA.
• 24:31
  Speaker 4: I'm looking forward to facing everybody, but on the real
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: I am excited to play against Asia, someone that I've
• 24:39
  Speaker 4: looked up to since I really started playing basketball. And
• 24:43
  Speaker 4: then i'd also say fee like I feel like I
• 24:45
  Speaker 4: can see aspects of myself in both of those players,
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: and they're two of the best in the world. So
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: I think just playing against the best only makes you better,
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: So I'm excited for the challenge in that.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Well, it's super exciting to watch you, obviously, transition from
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: college to the WNBA. I wish you all the best.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: You're playing an amazing impactful position. I'm not biased at all,
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: but you're playing an impactful position at the four. Understand
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: that you hold the keys in your hands on the
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: offensive end and the defensive end because you're in so
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: many actions. But I look forward to watching you play.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: And thanks for sitting down with me at film study.
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: Thank you for having me, And this was a lot
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: of fun.