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Auburn HC Steven Pearl - Arkansas Win · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

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  You know, once again, want to thank our
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  fans. Um, you know, another unbelievable
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  environment, another sellout. Um, you
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  know, our guys talked about in the
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  huddle after shoot today. You know, I
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  kind of let them talk because they hear
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  me talk enough. Um, and I said, you
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  know, what do you guys got? And, you
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  know, Keshan Hall and KO said, you know,
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  we got to do this for our fans because,
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  you know, they continue to show up even
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  though we've had a couple of rough tough
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  results on the road. you know, they
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  continue to just support our team and uh
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  you know, they just they recognize that
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  and they appreciate that and you know,
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  they came out and gave you know, our our
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  fan base their best effort and
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  obviously, you know, a phenomenal
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  result. Um, you know, I thought our guys
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  did a really good job of just executing
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  the game plan and some of the things
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  that we really talked about being
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  important and, you know, a couple of
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  those things would be, you know,
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  transition defense was going to be
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  really important. Uh, they averaged 25
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  points in transition a game and they
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  only had 13 tonight. So, we were able to
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  almost cut that in half, which is such a
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  significant thing to do against such a
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  great offensive team. We limited our
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  live ball turnovers. You know, we had
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  two sloppy ones in the first half, but
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  to only have 10 turnovers and 20
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  assists, you know, 2 to1 assist turnover
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  ratio against that team is really good.
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  Um, but I thought our defense just
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  really answered the bell in this game.
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  That was probably the best we've
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  collectively played defensively against
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  a really good team. you know, we've done
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  it against some lower competition, but
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  to do it against a team, you know, with
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  the firepower that Arkansas has, I
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  thought our guys did a great job in
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  communicating their switching um and
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  making some adjustments in their ball
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  screens. And uh, you know, they were
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  excited about, you know, obviously
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  playing a really good team. You know,
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  they got a couple guys that are going to
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  get their name called in June in the NBA
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  draft. And, you know, our guys got up
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  for that. The challenge now is, you
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  know, we got to do that every night
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  because you've seen what it looks like
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  when you don't do it. You know, you uh
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  lose to Georgia in overtime and you lose
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  to&m at home. Um, so, you know, we just
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  got to continue to build off of that.
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  Um, but I thought, you know, after
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  Tuesday night, you know, um, lesser
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  teams would have kind of continued to
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  harp on that and let that affect their
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  performance and get too low. Well, we
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  got to do the same thing after tonight.
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  Like, we beat a top 15 team. Um, we
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  can't let that get us too high now.
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  Like, we, you know, we we felt like we
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  we should win the game playing them at
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  home. Um, you know, obviously have a ton
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  of respect for those guys. like they do
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  such a good job and Kyle's done a great
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  job with this group and they're going to
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  win a lot of games this year. Um, but we
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  can't let that one result, you know,
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  make us feel like we've done something
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  because, you know, we're still one and
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  two in conference and we still got some
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  ground we got to make up. So, just got
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  to stay locked in and just continue to
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  work to get better. But, you know, I'm
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  proud of the guys because, you know,
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  since the Queens game, we've had a lot
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  of really good practices and um, you
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  know, it it showed tonight. So, um,
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  excited about the result, happy with the
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  result. Um, so yeah, take any questions.
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  >> 20 assists for you all only 10 10 turns.
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  Talked a lot about the assist to
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  turnover ratio. Just the ball movement.
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  Was that like the best you've seen this
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  season? What was what was the key to to
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  making that happen?
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  >> Yeah, I mean against a really good team,
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  probably probably one of the better ones
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  we've done offensively. Um, you know,
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  Tahad, but when you're when your two
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  best players have 12 assists, that that
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  makes a difference. you know, they're
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  such they are willing passers, you know,
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  and but they're very capable passers and
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  Tahad did a really good job, you know,
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  after, you know, he recognized that they
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  were putting two on the ball and trying
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  to get it out of his hands. Um, he
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  didn't just receive the trap, he
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  attacked the trap and then our guys did
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  a better job in the first half of being
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  receivers. Then once we were able to get
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  off the ball, we were able to attack
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  them because we had them kind of spread
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  out. And we, you know, this team is a
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  team that's got guys that can really get
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  downhill and get to the rim. You look at
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  Sebastian, Tahad, KO, Kei, Elijah, all
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  guys that can get past their men
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  one-on-one. So, once he was able to get
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  off it, a lot of really good things
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  happened and um did a good job of, you
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  know, knocking down open shots. You
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  know, we we we attacked the paint, you
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  know, outsc scored them 48 to 28 in the
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  paint. So, we did a good job of just
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  attacking the rim, playing off two feet,
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  using shot fakes. You know, they only
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  had three block shots and that's a
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  really good shot blocking team. So, they
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  we just did a good job of just executing
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  the game plan. you know, we we were
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  aggressive in transition and but then
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  when we didn't have anything in
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  transition, we talked about wanting to
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  pull it out and run offense because, you
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  know, um you know, we can't have any
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  middle offense against Arkansas and we
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  were trying to keep this game below 73
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  possessions. I don't know what it ended
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  up being. Um but, you know, that's you
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  know, obviously something that we
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  focused on and you know, it was
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  productive.
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  >> Stephen, I asked you on Tuesday after
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  Tahad didn't start for the second game
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  in a row what you were looking for. you
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  had to handle stuff off the floor. He
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  was back in the starting lineup tonight.
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  What is it that that made the difference
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  from then and now? And also Kaden not
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  not having any events.
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  >> Yeah, I mean, you know, it's it's more
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  about, you know, for us like guys got we
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  we we have an issue with guys being on
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  time and you know, I've told the guys
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  after before the Queens game like after
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  Purdue, sorry. So that would before the
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  Queens game. If you're late to
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  something, you're not going to start. If
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  you're or if you're come off the bench
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  and you're late to something, you're
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  going to miss a rotation. So that it's
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  as simple as that. And that's, you know,
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  kind of where, you know, we as a program
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  have got to continue to get better and,
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  you know, we got to be a little more
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  responsible and, um, you know, that was,
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  you know, the result of, you know, that
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  tonight. So, um, but, you know, on the
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  flip side, like really, really happy for
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  Blake. You know, Blake is a guy that in
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  practice is one of our best players.
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  And, you know, um, people, you know, on
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  Twitter can go crazy when he gets in the
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  games, but like if you come to practice,
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  and some of you do, you you watch how he
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  is in practice. He's our best defender.
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  Ask Ferg, like he sees it. Ask Hope,
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  they they see it. Like he makes shots
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  and it pisses me off because like, you
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  know, we we'll like play great defense
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  for an entire possession and then Blake
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  will hit like a step back three. I'm
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  like, dude, why don't you do this in the
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  game like he he and he can drive by his
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  man and you saw tonight what he's
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  capable of. So, you know, in 10 minutes
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  he's plus eight, but you know, he had
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  that bad stretch at the end. So, he was
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  plus 12 going into the last minute of
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  the game. So, you know, he did a great
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  job of getting us into our offense. He
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  didn't turn the ball over. He got a
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  steal. You know, he fouls more than I
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  did when I was in college, which is hard
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  to do. Um, but I love his
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  aggressiveness. He does all the right
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  things and I'm I'm happy for him.
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  >> Nathan,
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  >> Stephen, I know you have been pleased
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  with how you guys rebounded the ball.
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  How much of a difference did that make?
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  And I think you guys are plus 30 now in
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  three SEC games. How much of a
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  difference has that made?
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  >> Yeah, I mean it obviously it just gives
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  you an opportunity to win the game. They
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  they had um 33 missed shots and they
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  only got eight of them back. So that's,
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  you know, for a team that we we thought
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  was a really good offensive rebounding
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  team, that's that's significant and
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  that's, you know, important and it's,
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  you know, something that, you know, we
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  just got to continue to do because we're
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  not very we're not huge on the inside,
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  but um we we're a really good offensive
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  rebounding team. Um and if we put bodies
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  on bodies and we're able to check out,
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  you know, we can be a pretty good
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  rebounding team. Now, um we've play like
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  we're about to play some really good
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  rebounding teams moving forward. You
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  know, Missouri's huge and they crashed
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  the offensive glass like crazy, so it's
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  going to require some more step up
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  moving forward. But so far through the
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  first three results, very pleased with
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  our rebounding.
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  >> Stephen, coach K said this is a big time
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  win for you and he wants you to do well
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  because he also has a son coach and a
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  little bit extra meaningful to be your
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  first win against a guy his caliber
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  coach.
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  >> Yeah, I mean, well, first off, like
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  coach Ian Borders had the scout um and
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  coach Cory Williams had the scout. So,
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  you know, they did a phenomenal job in
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  our preparation. You know, Ian
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  specifically is a a Louisville boy and,
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  you know, he obviously has watched, you
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  know, Patino and Cal specifically for a
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  very long time. And he had the St.
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  John's. He and Cory had the St. John's
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  and the Arkansas scouts. So, you know,
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  obviously happy for that for for Ian
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  specifically because this was a really
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  important game for him because he's
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  always just had such an admiration for
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  for Cal and everything that he's done.
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  Um, you know, for me personally, like
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  obviously I'm it's more about the
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  program for me. Like this team has
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  beaten three Hall of Fame coaches, you
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  know, this year with with Coach Alman,
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  Coach Patino, and now Coach Cal. Um, you
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  know, just have always had so much
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  respect for for the job that he's done.
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  He doesn't get enough credit for how
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  good of a coach he is X's and O's wise.
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  Everybody talks about how he has such
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  great players. Like, there's a lot of
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  teams that have great players and they
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  run shitty offense. Like, he he does a
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  good job of putting his guys in position
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  to be successful. That's why they've
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  been so good. And I I really like his
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  group this year. You know, he's got
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  eight really good players and it just
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  wasn't their night tonight. You know, I
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  thought our our switching bothered him.
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  And you know, um you know, Brad's is is
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  such he's going to be a great coach one
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  day as well. So, he's learning from he
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  he's similar to me like just learning
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  from you know, such a unbelievable coach
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  and learning from one of the best. So,
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  um yeah, I mean it's it's a it's we we
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  just need we had to get that win. you
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  know, it didn't matter who it was
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  against. You know, we had to win that
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  one because, you know, you can't dig
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  yourself into 0 and3 hole in this
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  conference and, you know, expect to
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  have, you know, any real success. So,
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  really important win and, uh, obviously
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  against a top 15 opponent, uh, and a
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  really good Arkansas team.
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  >> We'll take two more.
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  >> Ke was the first Auburn player to have
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  30 back toback 30-point games in 32
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  years. Missed a shot tonight. Just kind
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  of what,
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  >> you know, what was the what was the key
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  to him to be so successful against this
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  defense? I know he can score anybody,
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  but this was this felt a little bit
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  different.
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  >> Uh, I mean, he I don't know. He's been
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  doing this all year, so he doesn't get
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  recognized or talked about enough. Um,
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  like his offense has been his offense
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  all year. Obviously, you know, making
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  four out of five threes, you know, um,
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  impacts that a little bit. I'm more
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  pleased with his defense. like he he had
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  two block shots tonight and I'm going to
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  watch the film, but like every time
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  there was penetration and he rotated
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  over, he did such a good job of walling
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  up and just getting vertical and not
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  slapping down. That's something that
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  he's really struggled with cuz he always
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  rotates, he gets there, and then he
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  slaps down and draws a silly foul.
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  tonight. You know, he had three fouls,
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  but like, you know, he had two block
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  shots and I thought he had a lot of
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  really good collisions at the rim where
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  we made them miss tough contested twos.
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  And um, you know, that's that's that's
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  just, you know, what he's wanted to do.
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  He wants to come here to become a better
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  defender. And I think he's starting to
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  do that. So, you know, offensively,
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  that's just who he is. And um, you know,
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  the the way Arkansas guarded allowed us
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  played more a little more space. We
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  spread him out a little bit and we were
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  able to attack one-on-one closeouts and
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  play off two feet. And you know, he's
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  just he's such a talented scorer and he
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  can just do it in a number of different
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  ways.
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  >> Last one.
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  >> Elijah Freeman finished the game plus
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  26. How much growth have you seen from
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  him since he got on campus really? But
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  specifically within the past couple
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  games since he started coming off the
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  bench.
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  >> Yeah, I mean I think you know in his
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  last five I think he's averaging like 14
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  or so coming off the bench. And you know
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  tonight, three assists, no turnovers. I
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  don't love all the east west dribbling
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  he did tonight. Like he's such an
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  explosive player. I would like for them
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  to go north and south more as opposed to
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  side to side. Um because better team,
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  you know, sorry, really good teams are
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  going to strip and rip that. And it
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  looked like a million times they were
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  going to come get steals. But um he's so
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  talented and he I thought he was really
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  good defensively tonight. Um had six
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  rebounds. You know, he just does a
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  little bit of everything. And for for
• 10:54
  for me Taylor like you know you're right
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  like the growth and the improvement that
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  he's shown and but like for me the
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  unselfishness that he's shown like he he
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  recognized that you know Sebastian would
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  probably be better in that starting
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  lineup and he came into my office and
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  you know volunteered to come off the
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  bench and it's it's helped him play
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  better and it's helped us give a spark
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  off the bench. So, you know, um he's
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  just a guy that's just going to continue
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  to, you know, be so effective in games
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  and, you know, um when he's out there
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  doing the things that he's really good
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  at, plus 26 just kind of proves that
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  right there. So, you know, he played
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  more like the minutes that we want him
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  to play, we need him to be in that 25 to
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  28 range, um in order for us to have,
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  you know, a chance to to be the best
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  version of ourselves. So, really proud
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  of Elijah. I need him to, you know, do
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  it on the road against another really
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  good team on Wednesday.
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  >> Thanks, coach.
• 11:40
  >> Thanks, guys.