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Speaker 1: On this edition of Orlando Magic Pod Squad, we catch

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Speaker 1: up with Magic big Man Goga Batasee as we introduce

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Speaker 1: him to the Orlando Magic fan base. A little backstory

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Speaker 1: of where he came from, a little insight into his

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Speaker 1: country of Georgia, How proud he is of his Georgian roots,

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Speaker 1: what got him into his love of basketball, eventually coming

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Speaker 1: over to the United States, getting drafted by the Pacers,

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Speaker 1: and now this incredible opportunity that he has with the

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Speaker 1: Orlando Magic. And remember, Orlando Magic Pod Squad is brought

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Speaker 1: to you by the Florida Department of Transportation. Reminds you

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Speaker 1: that fans don't let fans drive drunk. If you've been drinking,

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Speaker 1: don't get behind the wheel. Instead, find a sober driver

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Speaker 1: or catch a ride service. Remember, drive sober or get

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Speaker 1: pulled over, Have a great night and drive safe. So

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Speaker 1: much to get into, including my favorite story, the Green Goblets.

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Speaker 1: On this edition of Magic Pod Squad with gogabatase.

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Speaker 2: Does his spawns of Wogno Orlando Magic. This is cole

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Speaker 2: Anthy Missus Jennings Suggs. This is Paula Man Carroll the

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Speaker 2: Orlando Magic and you're listening to the pod Squad.

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Speaker 1: And welcome everyone to the latest installment of Orlando Magic

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Speaker 1: Pod Squad. Dante Marcatelli, Jake Chapman, George Galate and we're

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Speaker 1: joined by Magic Big Man Go Go Bitase kind of

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Speaker 1: enough to join us, the eighteenth overall pick in twenty

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Speaker 1: nineteen in his second year with the Orlando Magic and

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Speaker 1: go guy. I bet you don't know what to do

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Speaker 1: with yourself with three days off here without a game.

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Speaker 1: This has been finally you had a little bit of

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Speaker 1: a break in the schedule. How have you been enjoying

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Speaker 1: the last few days.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been an unusual you know, you get three

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Speaker 2: days between games, like it feel it's kind of kind

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Speaker 2: of odd, kind of weird. But at the same time

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Speaker 2: we get to, you know, relax a little bit. You know,

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Speaker 2: this season only so long and so heavy scheduled that

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Speaker 2: you don't really get so much rest. So we got

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Speaker 2: the rest yesterday today we had the great, great practice,

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Speaker 2: you know, man. Yeah, usually just also take some time

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Speaker 2: off talk with family friends back home. The timing is off,

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Speaker 2: so yeah, trying to spend as much time as I

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Speaker 2: can with them during during the days off. So it's

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Speaker 2: pretty good then, I guess we're gonna have fresh bodies,

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Speaker 2: people who's kind of bag banged up. So the time

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Speaker 2: is the extra two three days is really gonna help us.

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Speaker 1: Have you seen a schedule like this since you been?

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Speaker 1: I know it's I know its your fifth season in

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Speaker 1: the NBA, but if you do, you remember seeing as

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Speaker 1: crazy and as much travel and long trips like we've

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Speaker 1: had to start this year.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's so crazy that sometimes I don't even know

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Speaker 2: where we're going, Like I just like, how good?

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Speaker 1: Just meet here?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? Up on the play Ben, I'm asking like, oh,

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Speaker 2: where we're going, and all of a sudden they hit

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Speaker 2: us with the oh, it's a five hour flight. In

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Speaker 2: four hour flight? Oh man? But uh, I mean we

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Speaker 2: are blessed. It's basketball, you know, this is here. We've

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Speaker 2: been doing this, all of us since we're kids. So

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Speaker 2: the most more it is like also like you have

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Speaker 2: bad games and the next one is like day after

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Speaker 2: or the next day, and then you get to go

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Speaker 2: back at it and refresh your mind, mindset, You refresh

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Speaker 2: your mind and it's hard, but we're we're pretty blessed

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Speaker 2: to have this opportunity. How we travel as well, like

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Speaker 2: it's easier so we can't really complain.

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Speaker 3: Go go what's what's the time difference between here.

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Speaker 2: At home right now is nine hours?

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Speaker 3: They're nine hours?

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Speaker 2: So that so does so? Does it?

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Speaker 3: Is it hard to catch up with family or or

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Speaker 3: or you just have to budget your time accordingly to

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Speaker 3: make sure, you know, you know, when you can catch

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Speaker 3: whoever you're trying to get hold of.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, man, it's hard. It's it's really hard because obviously

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Speaker 2: in my family, like they have things to do as well,

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Speaker 2: so like it's kind of hard for both of us

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Speaker 2: or all of us at the same time to be

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Speaker 2: you know, free and have time. But they really make

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Speaker 2: it easy for me. Know, sometimes they stay up late

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Speaker 2: just just to talk, just just talk with me, and uh,

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Speaker 2: either sometimes I call them late or they call me

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Speaker 2: early before practice. It's hard, but uh, it's been it's

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Speaker 2: been five years. Kind of adjusting, well, we all adjusted

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Speaker 2: to that. And also not a lot happening, you know,

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Speaker 2: like I can't talk to them every single day. Now

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Speaker 2: a lot happening. They see play. They know I'm healthy,

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Speaker 2: that's all that matters. So uh yeah, man, kind of

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Speaker 2: got used to this.

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Speaker 3: How do they catch your game? How do they catch

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Speaker 3: your games? Is it take deway do they do. They

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Speaker 3: get lead pass and try to watch you live. I

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Speaker 3: mean they probably can't watch you live worked, yeah, and

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Speaker 3: now all.

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Speaker 2: The games because it's so late it's hell out there.

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Speaker 2: But in the morning, you know, like when we finish games,

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Speaker 2: it's kind of it's kind of early in the morning there.

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Speaker 2: So they wake up early see that either how how

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Speaker 2: we did, how the team did, how I did that.

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Speaker 2: I'm healthy and that's pretty much. It's so many games

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Speaker 2: that I can discuss all the games in my family,

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Speaker 2: you know, so either they wake up early or stay

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Speaker 2: once in a while to watch the game, but they're

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Speaker 2: not watching all the games. I don't want them to

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Speaker 2: watch all the games. They got to get their splitper Yeah.

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Speaker 2: You spend most of your off season back on.

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Speaker 1: Uh.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the last couple of seasons. Uh, it's a bit rough,

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Speaker 2: you know, with national team as well, a lot going on.

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Speaker 2: For my first two years, I was trying to be

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Speaker 2: over here. I was in the Indie most of the time,

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Speaker 2: you know, as your rookie kind of getting adjusting into

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Speaker 2: the league, you need more time to be out here.

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Speaker 2: But right now that I've you know, I'm matured, I've

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Speaker 2: grown most of the time I'm trying to stay home.

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Speaker 2: You know, I got all my friends, all the people

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Speaker 2: out there. I mean there's stuff to do as well,

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Speaker 2: help my family with some things, you know, and also

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Speaker 2: me being around them just they really miss it. I

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Speaker 2: miss being around family just like not doing anything, just

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Speaker 2: being out there. So that's the most refreshing thing I

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Speaker 2: can do. So usually I'm out there most of the summer.

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Speaker 4: I had a whole bunch of questions about Georgia, but

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Speaker 4: I don't think we have time to get through all

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Speaker 4: of them. But I'll just ask you, what do you

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Speaker 4: miss most, non family, not non non personal things.

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Speaker 1: Is it?

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Speaker 2: Is it a food? Is it a type of ditsh?

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Speaker 2: What do you miss most from back home? It used

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Speaker 2: to be food first couple of years, but now just

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Speaker 2: the aura, like being around the people, like even going outside,

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Speaker 2: see like hearing the Georgian language, you know, all around,

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Speaker 2: hearing my language, just seeing the streets that I grew

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Speaker 2: up in, seeing the buildings, you know, seeing the things changing,

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Speaker 2: and just exploring because it's like you in one year,

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Speaker 2: a lot can change and they're growing back and you're

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Speaker 2: not seeing all of it. Like and the Georgia is

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Speaker 2: like really really beautiful, like a lot of mountains, a

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Speaker 2: lot of a lot of good places to visit. It's

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Speaker 2: a small country, but it's just so heavy loaded with

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Speaker 2: like beautiful places. So, uh, just just being in my country.

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Speaker 2: I really love my country. So just being out there,

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Speaker 2: the feeling that I get, the everything feels amazing, just

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Speaker 2: even like with waking up with my you know, my

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Speaker 2: mom being there, my on TV in there, and just

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Speaker 2: even like gain in the morning coffee is just amazing, man,

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Speaker 2: And uh yeah, that's that's those kind of moments that

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Speaker 2: I love.

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Speaker 1: That he's used the word or a George. He's not

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Speaker 1: from this country and he's got a better grasp of

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Speaker 1: the language than you do.

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Speaker 3: Is that, there's no doubt about that.

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Speaker 1: It's amazing. What else can you tell us about about Georgia?

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Speaker 1: And you know your now you start playing basketball, right,

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Speaker 1: I imagine you probably didn't grow up watching a ton

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Speaker 1: of NBA basketball, right, but uh, what what made you

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Speaker 1: kind of want to go down that path? Did you

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Speaker 1: play soccer? Did you play other sports? Tell us how

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Speaker 1: you kind of started with basketball.

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Speaker 2: The first thing to ask me about Georgia, I always

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Speaker 2: bring it up, like I'll be like, do you like wine?

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Speaker 2: And they'd be like, oh, of course, I'll be like, yeah,

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Speaker 2: we and invented the wine. We're the first country to

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Speaker 2: make wine.

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Speaker 1: And I love Georgia, that's why I know it.

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Speaker 2: But we're the first country. They just found the roots

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Speaker 2: of the oldest grape grape in Georgia, so we're we

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Speaker 2: invented the wine. So I bring that up.

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Speaker 1: Everybody has sold, so I am sold.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so is that is everybody else? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right. Well you got beautiful places. You got mound.

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Speaker 1: You said, you're on the water. A lot of it's

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Speaker 1: on the water, and there's so much history there. It

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Speaker 1: looks like Goga.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really old country as well, like huge history

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Speaker 2: and you can't see like just so much. So much

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Speaker 2: is now it's they're mixing with the you know, new things.

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Speaker 2: They're adding new things obviously, and it's just it's just amazing.

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Speaker 2: Every every teammate that they're telling me, oh, we come

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Speaker 2: to Georgia, I'm like, yes, please, like just come. So

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Speaker 2: I feel like I have like a hundred people coming

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Speaker 2: to Georgia this summer. It's gotta be busy one but.

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Speaker 1: Now it's one hundred and three because we're covering.

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Speaker 2: Yes, you're always welcome. We're uh really huge you with

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Speaker 2: our hospitality, like people really you know, love the tourists

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Speaker 2: and the people from other countries, and if you come,

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Speaker 2: you're gonna really enjoy it. So very yell. You asked

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Speaker 2: another question right, well.

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Speaker 1: In basketball. So now you've got this beautiful country and

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Speaker 1: I'm sure you know, I don't know how big it

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Speaker 1: is sports and basketball in your country, but what kind

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Speaker 1: of got you into that?

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Speaker 2: First of all, my dad used to play if First

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Speaker 2: he started the wrestling ensemble. It's called the type of

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Speaker 2: wrestling he was wrestling. Then he was a professional basketball player.

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Speaker 2: And also my mom is really not really tall, but

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Speaker 2: like tall for a lady, and my dad was six

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Speaker 2: six six sixty seven, so I was tall from the beginning.

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Speaker 2: I was a huge kid. So at first I started

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Speaker 2: They put me into basketball like obviously it's your kid,

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Speaker 2: you already understand it. The coach was really rough on us.

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Speaker 2: I did really enjoy it, you know, was on and off.

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Speaker 2: Then I was playing bomb soccer for a little bit.

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Speaker 2: They told me you're too tall, you can't do that.

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Speaker 2: And at the end I stopped playing for a year,

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Speaker 2: like some issues. You know. It was rough, and I

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Speaker 2: remember my coach or coach came in my in my

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Speaker 2: classroom because I was trying to hide from it, like

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Speaker 2: and he was like, you have to come back this

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Speaker 2: and that. So I came back slowly fell in love

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Speaker 2: with basketball. And also all my friends in the Wash

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Speaker 2: that I really have and the friends with now, like

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Speaker 2: we played in the same team, so they made it easy.

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Speaker 2: We was a classmates as well, so they made it easy.

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Speaker 2: And also my mom when I say this, but it

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Speaker 2: was the rough times and home like in t pill c. Georgia.

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Speaker 2: Not as rough as it was before, but it was rough.

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Speaker 2: So like that basketball being the in the sports was

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Speaker 2: was was better for me than I doing other things.

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Speaker 2: So sure they really I guess that was a great

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Speaker 2: decision for me and my family. And uh uh shout

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Speaker 2: out to my you know, my parents. You know, they

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Speaker 2: really like pushed me. My mom and my dad really

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Speaker 2: pushed me to play, and uh it really supported me.

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Speaker 2: It was rough at times, but you know, building the

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Speaker 2: struggle so didn't come along. Great, that's great. How long

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Speaker 2: ago go?

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Speaker 3: Now it was when you came over when you got

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Speaker 3: drafted and you got drafted by Indiana. Had you been

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Speaker 3: to the States before? Was that your first time in

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Speaker 3: the States.

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Speaker 2: First time that I got here was m b p

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Speaker 2: A top hundred km uh, I don't remember where it was.

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Speaker 2: Where it was, Yeah, that was the first time. And

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Speaker 2: then I came back for pre draft that I did

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Speaker 2: in New York, so that was pretty much first but

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Speaker 2: first time that I was here m b p A.

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Speaker 2: I did get to see whole lot. So the pre

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Speaker 2: draft was actually the first time that I really get

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Speaker 2: to see the culture and the kind of life everything.

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Speaker 3: I like to ask a lot of the guys that

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Speaker 3: aren't from America, you know that we've had on the

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Speaker 3: podcast or we've had just come through the halls here,

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Speaker 3: that's got to be hard for an eighteen nineteen year

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Speaker 3: old kid to I mean, you're not just leaving home,

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Speaker 3: You're leaving your country. You're leaving everything behind to come

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Speaker 3: under this stream of yours. I mean, how hard was that,

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Speaker 3: you know, first year or even the second year. I mean,

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Speaker 3: when did you finally start to just settle into to

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Speaker 3: being an NBA player and being away from home. That's

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Speaker 3: got to be hard.

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Speaker 2: It is hard for people who hasn't done before. So

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Speaker 2: who hasn't done it before, who hasn't been too that

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Speaker 2: struggled before. But I left my country. I was fifteen

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Speaker 2: turning sixteen. I went to play the in Serbia and

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Speaker 2: I left my family, my friends, everybody. When I was fifteen,

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Speaker 2: and it was like it's not like you get three

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Speaker 2: or four months off during summer. It was all worth

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Speaker 2: to practice is a day, every single day game and

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Speaker 2: I was getting like a week off a year, like

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Speaker 2: a week or ten days off, yeah, to get go

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Speaker 2: back home and see my family. And when you like

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Speaker 2: it was three or four days during the New Year's

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Speaker 2: and it was like a week or like ten days

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Speaker 2: in some goodness. Yeah, so when you go during New Year,

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Speaker 2: it's like three four days. You fly there, you jet legged,

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Speaker 2: you're retired that day, you're losing that day, and you're

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Speaker 2: there for two days. You have to see all the people,

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Speaker 2: uh back go to it. I was. I was so

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Speaker 2: used to it, and I knew I like I had

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Speaker 2: to do this. There was like no doubt in my

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Speaker 2: mind that oh now I can like not do this

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Speaker 2: or I was just I had so much people behind

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Speaker 2: the you know, behind my back, like so much people

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Speaker 2: I had to take care of so much you know people.

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Speaker 2: Was I didn't believe I was that good, but like

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Speaker 2: people always believed in me, always told me, like you

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Speaker 2: were able to do it, like uh and all that.

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Speaker 2: So there was no never really a doubt even when

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Speaker 2: I got to Servius rough like fifteen year old kid

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Speaker 2: in different country, like you don't know, nobody struggling. So yeah, man,

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Speaker 2: I mean, but also my family just I knew I

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Speaker 2: had to do it and they never doubted me.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, you know, I think of that. That's when

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Speaker 1: you met Dayon Milijovich, right, and I think about you

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Speaker 1: mentioned the other day that he kind of helped raise you,

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Speaker 1: and it makes sense you're fifteen, sixteen years old when

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Speaker 1: you go over there and you meet it had to

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Speaker 1: a bend like a father to you. And again we're

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Speaker 1: all so sorry for the loss of day On. I

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Speaker 1: know that that hits home for you, but just kind

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Speaker 1: of tell us about that relationship.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, my first day I got here today, On was

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Speaker 2: not my coach because he was with the first team,

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Speaker 2: like the main team. Obviously I was fifteen, I was

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Speaker 2: not playing for him. But from the jump, like I

295
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Speaker 2: used to go and like work out once a month

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Speaker 2: with the older guys with the main team and like

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Speaker 2: he would just he would be like really like paying

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Speaker 2: attention and like I think like he was seeing like

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Speaker 2: what I am right now, like way before and once

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Speaker 2: I got to the first first team, let's let's call

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Speaker 2: it that way, and I got to work with day on.

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Speaker 2: It was every single day we was working on I

303
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Speaker 2: don't know, just basic hook shots, basic basic things for

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Speaker 2: like hours hours like staying after practices. Obviously we we

305
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Speaker 2: hated it because we had two breaks and then we

306
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Speaker 2: was doing extra work. He was like we was living

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Speaker 2: in there, so you know that was amazing. Also, like

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Speaker 2: he was just being around him then he would he

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Speaker 2: had such a positive energy like it was. It was amazing,

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Speaker 2: like always smiling like anybody you see, like always smiling

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Speaker 2: and always had that smile on him like Bride's face,

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Speaker 2: just bringing that amazing energy. Even now, like it's just

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Speaker 2: hard man, hard to believe believe that, you know, it's gone.

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Speaker 2: Like I feel like good people live lives us early,

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Speaker 2: like God take taking them with them. You know, he

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Speaker 2: wants good people for for him. So yeah, just he

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Speaker 2: was amazing shaped not only me, but so many other

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Speaker 2: players into the players we are today and helped so

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Speaker 2: many families, you know, how UH changed lives like let's

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Speaker 2: let's call it the so many people's lives, not just

321
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Speaker 2: with basketball, just overall, like how he approached the game,

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Speaker 2: how he approached the life. A lot of us learned

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Speaker 2: a lot from day on. And he's he's gonna be

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Speaker 2: missed for sure.

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Speaker 1: Well, I know he's proud of you and the job

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Speaker 1: that you've done and the player you player in person

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Speaker 1: you've become, so so kudos to you.

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Speaker 2: Appreciate appreciate you, man.

329
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Speaker 4: But there had to be moments along along that that

330
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Speaker 4: path before you even arrive at the NBA, where you

331
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Speaker 4: go and I'm too young for this, I'm this is

332
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Speaker 4: this is this is so much work to be asked

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Speaker 4: of a teenager. And I would imagine those voices, those

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Speaker 4: positive voices in your ear are the ones that kind

335
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Speaker 4: of pulled it through to the other side. But take

336
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Speaker 4: us through that where there are times where he said,

337
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Speaker 4: this is too difficult.

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Speaker 2: Oh man, probably first time I left my country. I

339
00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:20,080
Speaker 2: never wanted to leave my country because I thought I

340
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Speaker 2: would never be I thought I didn't have enough like

341
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Speaker 2: for there was always a dream to get to the NBA,

342
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Speaker 2: but it was never like real, real dream, Like I

343
00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:33,720
Speaker 2: never thought it was real, and uh just see the

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Speaker 2: family situation as well, Like I had to do something,

345
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Speaker 2: you know, I help my family. I was even before

346
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Speaker 2: I started playing basketball, I was trying to like work

347
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Speaker 2: little jobs like sell watermelon, sell grapes, like trying trying

348
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Speaker 2: to do little things to help my family. And then

349
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Speaker 2: he was like, okay, I'm getting paid, or as sort

350
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Speaker 2: as I got to Serbia, I was already getting paid

351
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Speaker 2: because I was basically professional already, like just playing professionally.

352
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Speaker 2: So even that I wasn't getting paid a lot, but

353
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:06,040
Speaker 2: even that, like was helping my family and people so much,

354
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Speaker 2: and I love to take care of the people around me.

355
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Speaker 2: So there was like, okay, I can play basketball. Like

356
00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:16,640
Speaker 2: it's hard, obviously, you gotta work every single day extremely hard,

357
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Speaker 2: be away from your family. But I was like, at

358
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Speaker 2: the end of the day, it's gonna pay off. And

359
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Speaker 2: even if if if I don't make it to the NBA,

360
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Speaker 2: I'm taking care of the people. I'm helping my family

361
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Speaker 2: and then and I'm living a healthy lifestyle. Uh So

362
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Speaker 2: I think also being alone and just thinking and listening

363
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Speaker 2: to my mom, talking to my mom, talking with my family,

364
00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:43,480
Speaker 2: and just I think like I was pointing out and

365
00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:46,200
Speaker 2: thinking about the right stuff. I had the right mindset.

366
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Speaker 2: It's hard, but it's gonna get better at the end.

367
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Speaker 2: So I just stayed positive because also when I got

368
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,000
Speaker 2: to service, I wasn't playing at all like your struggle,

369
00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:57,920
Speaker 2: like really struggle. I had to fight, fight, fight for

370
00:18:57,960 --> 00:18:58,520
Speaker 2: my minutes.

371
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Speaker 1: Uh.

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Speaker 2: But I think then made me much stronger.

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Speaker 3: When did you realize, Yoga, that it was was really

374
00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,959
Speaker 3: a possibility to come to the NBA? What? What? What age?

375
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Speaker 1: Like?

376
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Speaker 3: Where were you?

377
00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:09,160
Speaker 2: What?

378
00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,600
Speaker 3: Click? Did somebody? Did somebody say something to you that

379
00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,360
Speaker 3: actually turned the corner for you? When when did that

380
00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:20,080
Speaker 3: moment really turn from a dream into well, hell, this

381
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:21,760
Speaker 3: is going to happen for me, like that I'm going

382
00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,000
Speaker 3: to get drafted in the first round. This is happening.

383
00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:25,359
Speaker 3: When did that happen?

384
00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:26,280
Speaker 1: Oh?

385
00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:31,040
Speaker 2: Man? I'd like to call myself a humble guy, so

386
00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:37,240
Speaker 2: you can brag here it's the same. Yeah, I call

387
00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:42,280
Speaker 2: myself a humble guy. And so sometimes even now, like

388
00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:46,439
Speaker 2: I don't realize I'm in the NBA. Sometimes, Okay, I

389
00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,639
Speaker 2: remember the other day I was driving the car. Was

390
00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:51,680
Speaker 2: it the day or I don't know, maybe a year ago.

391
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:57,080
Speaker 2: I'm driving the car. Yeah, times I don't have feelings.

392
00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:01,000
Speaker 2: And I'm driving the car and I'm wearing this polo

393
00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,440
Speaker 2: and has an NBA logo on it, and I looked

394
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:05,879
Speaker 2: through the mirrors the logo, I'm like, okay, I'm in

395
00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,760
Speaker 2: the NBA, Like I feel its great. Yes to this day,

396
00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:14,560
Speaker 2: I don't. I just go like boop, uh do my best.

397
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,200
Speaker 2: But when was it tard about? I don't really remember.

398
00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:22,480
Speaker 2: Even when I got drafted, I was so like like

399
00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,520
Speaker 2: I couldn't even get emotional, like I couldn't hear it,

400
00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:29,920
Speaker 2: like because thinking about those days, obviously you're thinking about it.

401
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,280
Speaker 2: And he was like, am I gonna make it? Like

402
00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:34,520
Speaker 2: like it's so far away, it's so far away. You

403
00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:38,040
Speaker 2: feel like it's so far away that like you don't

404
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,399
Speaker 2: believe it's real. So even when I got drafted, like

405
00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,439
Speaker 2: I couldn't believe it, Like even I got to the

406
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:44,959
Speaker 2: team and just it was so hard for me to

407
00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,200
Speaker 2: believe because not so many players make it and from

408
00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:50,679
Speaker 2: my country, it's been only eight people in the in

409
00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,240
Speaker 2: the history of Georgian and basketball, so to be one

410
00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:58,560
Speaker 2: of that is just always hard to really like digest

411
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:02,119
Speaker 2: and like really lock into that that goga like that

412
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,760
Speaker 2: has been like I don't know. Somebody said four thousand,

413
00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,200
Speaker 2: five hundred NBA players ever that has yes the play

414
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,200
Speaker 2: and it's like, out of all these people, you make

415
00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:16,760
Speaker 2: it there. It's just it's amazing. But sometimes I feel like, yeah,

416
00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,560
Speaker 2: it's just a dream soul. Yeah, we how we had

417
00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:22,200
Speaker 2: multiple Georgians on this team.

418
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:23,440
Speaker 1: That's right, That's right.

419
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:30,280
Speaker 3: We had a little right, yeah, Jake, Jake was going

420
00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:32,760
Speaker 3: to ask you, how far was your house from Wendell's.

421
00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:37,240
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's in Tula. We've had Tulo Wendell.

422
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:43,679
Speaker 3: Oh, we had nursing was on our team, man, and

423
00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,720
Speaker 3: we got to drive get dragged there. Yes here his

424
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,359
Speaker 3: first year. But we we know Zaz really well and

425
00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:50,720
Speaker 3: that n Here's you.

426
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,639
Speaker 2: That's actually amazing. Yeah that when I think about it,

427
00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:59,639
Speaker 2: that's amazing. There started to use there's eight players that

428
00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:02,560
Speaker 2: has ever been drafted and yes, us had played for

429
00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:06,280
Speaker 2: this team and uh it always uh brings joy to

430
00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,520
Speaker 2: your heart, like and yeah, I don't know. It was

431
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:11,600
Speaker 2: just Orlando loves Georgia and people like it.

432
00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:13,919
Speaker 1: I guess that's what it is. Well, I get I

433
00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,240
Speaker 1: think Stepanya was the first one, right, he was a pro,

434
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,040
Speaker 1: and then Zaza was the first, right, the first that

435
00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:20,000
Speaker 1: came to Orlando.

436
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:20,880
Speaker 2: Did you did.

437
00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,720
Speaker 1: You You must have been a fan of Zaza, I

438
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:24,480
Speaker 1: mean you might, that must have been he must have

439
00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:25,520
Speaker 1: been huge back home.

440
00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:29,040
Speaker 2: Yeah, but when he got drafted out obviously.

441
00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,879
Speaker 1: Really for sure, sure I wasn't here maybe planned yea,

442
00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,439
Speaker 1: and thank you for that, that's right.

443
00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:37,760
Speaker 2: It makes us feel old best, right.

444
00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:41,359
Speaker 1: But but you know, but as you get older, you

445
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:43,640
Speaker 1: know he's here playing. It must have made it seem

446
00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:45,639
Speaker 1: a little bit possible that maybe you could make it.

447
00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:51,879
Speaker 2: Yeah. I never really watched the NBA maybe a games,

448
00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:55,840
Speaker 2: but it was always national team. It was for us.

449
00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:58,960
Speaker 2: It was first national team that he was anything else.

450
00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:02,879
Speaker 2: So am just so many guys that I grew up

451
00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,680
Speaker 2: watching Ozza and all the other guys. That's that's that's why,

452
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,679
Speaker 2: I mean, makes you fall in love with the basketball.

453
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,240
Speaker 2: Those you know, big names is as I was, ours lead,

454
00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,960
Speaker 2: one of the biggest so and then he won two

455
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:21,800
Speaker 2: rings with the Warrior, makes you know, the most accomplished

456
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,400
Speaker 2: you know, uh player in the history of basketball. So

457
00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,960
Speaker 2: it was amazing, and uh, it was always like I

458
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,840
Speaker 2: think that's a little spark that it's like, Okay, he

459
00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:37,680
Speaker 2: was just like you, same country, same possibilities more or less.

460
00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:39,640
Speaker 2: And then he made it out there, so you can't

461
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:41,439
Speaker 2: make it out there as well. So there was always

462
00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:46,840
Speaker 2: a little spark in all the Georgian basketball players' lives.

463
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:48,600
Speaker 2: For sure. That's great.

464
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,879
Speaker 1: And now you get I gotta think nobody appreciates the

465
00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:54,280
Speaker 1: opportunity that they get more than you. Right, So now

466
00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:57,520
Speaker 1: the opportunity this year you come to Orlando. Uh, you know,

467
00:23:57,640 --> 00:23:59,120
Speaker 1: at the end of last year, you kind of don't

468
00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:00,880
Speaker 1: know where your careers to take it, but you get

469
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:02,960
Speaker 1: an opportunity here in Orlando. You play a little bit,

470
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,200
Speaker 1: and then this year you start thirty one games, you're

471
00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,680
Speaker 1: having a career year. Everybody gets hurt and you're one

472
00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:11,400
Speaker 1: of the guys go get it, keeps this whole thing afloat.

473
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,879
Speaker 1: This whole season could have gone completely south with all

474
00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:17,520
Speaker 1: the injuries, right, Wendel and for you lose Frans for

475
00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:19,560
Speaker 1: eight games, but you're one of the guys that steps

476
00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,280
Speaker 1: in it keeps this thing going, right. How much pride

477
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:23,760
Speaker 1: do you take in that? And how great has this

478
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:24,879
Speaker 1: opportunity been for it?

479
00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:28,320
Speaker 2: How of the all of the sit down keeping this

480
00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,160
Speaker 2: keeping this low. But I'm helping a little bit, for sure.

481
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,280
Speaker 2: But uh yeah, last year. I think with four years

482
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,520
Speaker 2: with the three and a half years with Pacers and

483
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,840
Speaker 2: you know, oh COVID the year, everything is just just happening.

484
00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:47,639
Speaker 2: With some things happening in my career. Just I just

485
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:51,879
Speaker 2: realized that all you have to really ask the God

486
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,800
Speaker 2: is being healthy, your your loved ones being healthy, your

487
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,720
Speaker 2: family being healthy, because if you're not healthy, like none

488
00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:00,920
Speaker 2: of this metals, if you've gone I have double double,

489
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,199
Speaker 2: or if you're gonna not for it, or none of

490
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,480
Speaker 2: this is gonna matter if you're not healthy. So, uh,

491
00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:10,040
Speaker 2: just all it was for me, everybody was like, oh,

492
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:11,920
Speaker 2: you're gonna kill next year, like if you get the chance,

493
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,359
Speaker 2: you're gonna I'm like, oh, just I want to be healthy.

494
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,159
Speaker 2: That's all I want to do, and my family to

495
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,720
Speaker 2: be healthy. And now you know, I signed with the

496
00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,600
Speaker 2: Orlando doing this summer. I know that I'm gonna be here.

497
00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:27,159
Speaker 2: And it was for me. It was never like, Okay,

498
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,760
Speaker 2: you're gonna play first to whatever, like you're gonna start.

499
00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:34,439
Speaker 2: Obviously we know the rotations, we know what's gonna be like.

500
00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:38,040
Speaker 2: But uh, you know, I knew that I had to

501
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,560
Speaker 2: stay ready. That's what I learned during the four years

502
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,600
Speaker 2: last four years that I had. You have to stay

503
00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:46,400
Speaker 2: ready because guys get hurt. Uh. It's bad that obviously,

504
00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:48,720
Speaker 2: but guys get hurt. You've gotta step in and be

505
00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:53,359
Speaker 2: ready for uh, for anything, Like you gotta be ready

506
00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:56,520
Speaker 2: to play forty eight if it's necessary. So for me

507
00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:00,080
Speaker 2: to see this trust. Also, obviously I played great, but

508
00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,240
Speaker 2: the trust you get from your teammates, it's like nobody

509
00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:07,520
Speaker 2: was really like surprised. It wasn't like, oh, googa, like

510
00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:10,240
Speaker 2: you were playing out your dawn mind. You know, like

511
00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,560
Speaker 2: I don't play like that obviously, but nobody was like surprised.

512
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:16,840
Speaker 2: Everybody knew I could do what I could bring to

513
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:18,880
Speaker 2: the table. I feel like that's why I'm here, and

514
00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:22,560
Speaker 2: you know, bringing the toughness, you know, just making right places,

515
00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:26,040
Speaker 2: not doing too much, not making too many mistakes. I

516
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,760
Speaker 2: think that's why we needed and for us to do

517
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,560
Speaker 2: great nine game wins streak, you know, everybody talk about

518
00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:35,520
Speaker 2: us being part of that is amazing. And also we

519
00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:39,800
Speaker 2: got long season. I don't know how many thirty eight

520
00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,840
Speaker 2: thirty nine games left. It's so much it can't change.

521
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:46,600
Speaker 2: And just gotta stay ready. I'm blessed and I'm healthy.

522
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:50,600
Speaker 2: I'm blessed, amazing teammates, amazing coaches that it's not just

523
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:54,760
Speaker 2: talk like they're really amazing, Like they make life easier

524
00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:59,199
Speaker 2: and help you through this long, long season and to

525
00:26:59,359 --> 00:27:03,119
Speaker 2: get through through it. So just all on my teammates,

526
00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:05,640
Speaker 2: this team, this team is gonna be in my heart

527
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:06,720
Speaker 2: forever for sure.

528
00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:10,639
Speaker 1: That's awesome. Your fifth in offensive rebounding percentage, third and

529
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,240
Speaker 1: defensive rating. I mean, you've you've one of the league

530
00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:15,680
Speaker 1: leaders in different categories. But the last thing I gotta

531
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:17,200
Speaker 1: ask you googa and then we'll let you go. And

532
00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:20,399
Speaker 1: we really appreciate the time. We're excited about where this

533
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:22,679
Speaker 1: is gonna go. I think you've made a lot of

534
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:24,919
Speaker 1: friends and a lot of fans here in Central Florida.

535
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,400
Speaker 1: There are a lot of Batase fans that love when

536
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:29,879
Speaker 1: you get on the floor. But I think one of

537
00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:33,119
Speaker 1: my favorite stories is the Green Goblin story. Tell everything, right,

538
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,000
Speaker 1: you gotta tell you gotta tell everybody the Green Goblin story.

539
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:38,760
Speaker 1: That's one of my favorite mm hmm.

540
00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:43,560
Speaker 2: How it started, right, So it was training camp. Obviously

541
00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:47,080
Speaker 2: it's a lot of guys and this is usually three

542
00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:51,080
Speaker 2: or four teams. It's like, uh, this first unit, second unit.

543
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,560
Speaker 2: So they're wearing black jersey, black union firms. Uh. And

544
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:58,800
Speaker 2: the second second lineup is wearing white. And then we

545
00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:02,199
Speaker 2: had the we had the green green little overshirts that

546
00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,399
Speaker 2: we was wearing. It was me, Anthony Black, Caleb, Huston.

547
00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:09,760
Speaker 1: Tuma, and Jeff was a jet.

548
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:17,159
Speaker 2: Jeff well the Green Goblins, but he's always been for life. Yeah,

549
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:20,440
Speaker 2: yeah for sure. And then we was wearing green jerseys

550
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:23,400
Speaker 2: and he was. Uh. We was like playing really good

551
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,800
Speaker 2: to the like together, you know, like okay, bidding black

552
00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:31,280
Speaker 2: team being white team. Uh not always we was bidding

553
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:31,960
Speaker 2: there once. Yeah.

554
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:33,919
Speaker 1: Well some of those made us nervous. We were watching

555
00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,920
Speaker 1: training camp and we said, oh, this is this team

556
00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:39,280
Speaker 1: shouldn't be winning like this. But it was impressive. It

557
00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:39,880
Speaker 1: was impressible.

558
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:42,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, we was hustling and then we was bringing the

559
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:44,520
Speaker 2: energy and I was like, okay, let me call this

560
00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:48,200
Speaker 2: group like something. I gotta like, I gotta bring something

561
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:50,520
Speaker 2: up so to bring the joy to it, like to

562
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,800
Speaker 2: be fun people to talk about it. And then green

563
00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:57,840
Speaker 2: albums and then we we kind of we we came

564
00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:00,320
Speaker 2: saying this till this day, like a big was in

565
00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,920
Speaker 2: the unit and then we make fun of him. We'd

566
00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,040
Speaker 2: be like oh you're not a green Goblin. I was

567
00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:07,640
Speaker 2: starting and they were like, oh, you're not agreeing goblin

568
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,040
Speaker 2: no more. Now you're starting, like you forgot about It's like, yeah,

569
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,760
Speaker 2: but that's a little thing. And now Haylor played great

570
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,400
Speaker 2: or I play a good ad and everybody's like, hey,

571
00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,280
Speaker 2: a green Goblins. So I think that's amazing. You know,

572
00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:22,400
Speaker 2: it brings a little more fun to the season. So

573
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,640
Speaker 2: we've been doing amazing. People should look look at our numbers,

574
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,120
Speaker 2: like to get there. Yes, I said it. I don't

575
00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,520
Speaker 2: think anybody's been in this, so you know, and.

576
00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,600
Speaker 1: They had three Green Goblins starting six games in a row. Okay,

577
00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:37,680
Speaker 1: this has been a This has been a blast. We

578
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:40,040
Speaker 1: really appreciate it. Good luck rest of the way. It's

579
00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:41,720
Speaker 1: been fun to this point. We can't wait to see

580
00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:43,600
Speaker 1: what the second half of the season looks like. Best

581
00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:43,920
Speaker 1: of luck.

582
00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:46,760
Speaker 2: Sure, first, thanks for having me guys all, I appreciate it.

583
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,760
Speaker 1: I'll do it. For this addition of Magic Pod Squad

584
00:29:48,800 --> 00:30:04,000
Speaker 1: with Goga Bitazi as