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Speaker 1: Here we go. This is going to be their last time,

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the last time. Hello, Joseph dal can you hear me?

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Speaker 2: Yes?

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Speaker 1: Where are you?

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Speaker 2: Well? First of all, you this is the price you

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pay if you want live. I know we're live in

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the Alamodome. I know there's a bunch of people here.

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Speaker 1: Yes, do they know who you are?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, but they're probably like that guy looks seeks like

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he's curious on the phone, and who's the idiot on

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the other side of it?

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Speaker 3: That's exactly right. But you know you're the only LEGITI

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media member there. So that's why I had to get

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you on the show.

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Speaker 2: You know this, right, I appreciate that, buddy.

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Speaker 3: All right, So before we lose you again, give us

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the vibe. What are they doing right now? You're inside

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for the open practice?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's a Shelvin joke that they're not

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going to go out there and run plays and stuff.

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But you know they're doing shooting drill, they're doing layups

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that he's gathering them at mid court right now giving

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them some instruction. But you know this is a I mean,

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you've just like a it's a glorified practice and it's

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there's probably about I don't know, seven to eight thousand

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people in here, maybe a little bit more, and you

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know they're just going through the you know, they put

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on a little bit of a show, they'll talk, do

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some interviews with some of the national shows, and it's

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it's pretty wild. I mean, it's a great scene because

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if you remember back in twenty twenty one when they

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made it to the final four, right, these people that

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were sitting in here, they were all cutouts. They were

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paper cutouts, cardboards because you couldn't have any fans in

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the arena. So we've actually got live people in here.

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There's a lot of them, and they're just kind of

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going through some of the basic drills.

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Speaker 3: How much do you think of them being in Indianapolis

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last week in a dome setting with you know how

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strange domes can be, can be a benefit to them

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this weekend?

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Speaker 1: Or are we going to make too much out of that?

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Speaker 2: You know, they were asked that a little while ago.

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We had breakouts with the players and you know, they

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were the only regional that had their their games and

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a setting like this. So if if any advantage is

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probably a small one, and it's not one that they're

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going to lean on because you know, you adjust to

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it pretty quickly, or at least you try to. But

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I don't think that stuff. You know, there's other issues

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and other things to look at, especially with this Duke

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roster and the fact that they got three freshmen, but

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they are three projected lottery pick guys.

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Speaker 3: They rim protect, they rebound, they shoot well, they blow

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out their opponents. Is there anything that you think the

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Cougars can take advantage of against a Duke basketball team

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that has been really top three this entire season.

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Speaker 2: I mean, yeah, it's fascinating because you look at it

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and I know it's billed as Duke's number one offense

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against Houston's number one defense, but Duke plays really good

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defense too. They do all the intangibles just as well.

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I think where if Houston gets a lot of teams

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is with their physical plight. You don't replicate that. You

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don't see that a lot, so it's hard to go

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into a game where you haven't played them and and

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have that. I think also the experience factor. You've got

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a lot of guys that have been in these big moments.

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If you're too, do you worry about guys? You know,

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Cooper Flag and a continent pal and a common maloop

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that that haven't played in the final four. What you know,

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because if it happens early, that takes them a wall

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to get going. You saw what happened in the Tennessee game.

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If you jump out to a big lead and gives

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you a lot of momentum. But I don't think there's

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a lot of things that you from you pick. These

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are two really good teams, and I think the winner

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of this one goes on to win the national championship.

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Speaker 3: Joseph Tort take up more minutes with us from the

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Houston Chronicle line from the Animal Dome. What's LJ Crior

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jump shot is going to show up in this game

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tomorrow night?

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Speaker 1: And you think, well, you better.

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Speaker 2: Hope it's the one that played against Gonzaga and scored

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thirty points of the one that earlier this year against Alabiate.

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I'm a sport arety. Uh. You know, he's he's gonna

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do things for you regardless of whether he scores. Now,

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granted with, you're gonna need all hands, all dick, You're

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gonna need your firepower. And that's something Houston Springs that

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they haven't had the element of the three point shooting

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with prior sharp and and really Milos Uzan. But uh

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LJ has sort of battled through things. Uh the last

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few games. Uh finished with seventeen against Tennessee, but it

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was a hard seventeen and of course he really uh

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you know, didn't have much on the board against Produced.

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So yeah, they're gonna need this guy to step up.

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And he's got a lot at stake. You know, he

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knows what's in front of him. He's been there, he's

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won a national championship and oh, by the way, if

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he wins another one, he'd be the first player in

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this three to win it at two different schools.

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Speaker 3: Last question for you, who spends most of the night

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guarding Cooper flag?

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Speaker 2: You know, I think Jay One Roberts is gonna get

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that assignment at least the start. I think at some point.

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The way that their front court is because maloop is

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not an easy one of means a lot of lobs,

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a lot of around the basket. You're gonna have Tugler,

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Francis and Roberts equally involved. And then that game plan

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and that's where it's gonna be dicey, because you can't

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you gotta be aggressive you gotta be physical, but you

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gotta be disciplined. You can't have that first half against

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Tennessee where Roberts out of the bench. Uh, it's gonna

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be all hands and all three of them. You know,

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I wouldn't even surprised if they even put Federick Blatt

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in there a little bit, if you get a big

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man to get some minutes where you're not having to

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exert the other three and put them in some foul situations.

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Speaker 3: Very very very last question, do the Cougars to win

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the game have to keep Duke under say seventy two points?

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Speaker 1: Can can Can the Cougars win a game where they have.

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Speaker 3: To be in a perimeter showdown with the Blue Devils

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or does the Blue Devils prevent provide much more offensive

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punch than the Cougars.

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Speaker 1: Do you know that.

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Speaker 2: That's gonna be interesting because they are a reality teams

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and teams like Arizona, maybe byu To kind of brought

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them down where you think in eighty eight points or

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something like that, and they're able to play their type

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of games. I think, ultimately, I think this is a

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game in the sixties. Pick I pick Houston's sixty seven

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sixty two sixty three somewhere around there. I just think

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it's another one of those games where Houston's defense rises

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to the occasion, and you know we're gonna test the

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defense wins championships. But I think for now, with about

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a week to prepare, Kelvin's got something up his sleeve,

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and I think you see Houston's defense be the deciding

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factor in this one.

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Speaker 3: Joseph, the interview went beautifully after the fifth time, my friend,

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I will see you Monday in San Antonio.

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Speaker 1: That's how I encourage I am about this well.

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Speaker 2: Be sure to print those those shirts for it that

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says always a fifth times of charm on the Maxima Show.

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Speaker 3: Mm hmm, that felt personal. Thank you friend. We'll talk

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to you later, all right, lads, see it