WEBVTT - Coat Check | An Interview With Dakota Mathias

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<v Speaker 1>This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network

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<v Speaker 1>search seventy Sixers podcast wherever you get your podshot. Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>into Coach Check, the official podcast of the Delaware Blue Coats,

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<v Speaker 1>the NBA G League affiliate of the Philadelphia seventy Sixers.

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<v Speaker 1>Coach Check is presented by land Rover Wilmington. Stop by

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<v Speaker 1>their location at forty three ten Kirkwood Highway in Wilmington, Delaware,

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<v Speaker 1>or visit land Rover Wilmington dot com for more information.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Matt Murphy. Let's get right to it. The guest

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<v Speaker 1>on this episode seventy six Ers two way contract player

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<v Speaker 1>Dakota Matthias. Really fun to chat with Dakota on Coach

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<v Speaker 1>Check for the first time. It's a pretty concise conversation

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<v Speaker 1>that I think covers a lot of ground with the

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<v Speaker 1>seventy sixers rookie. And it's before the season, or it

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<v Speaker 1>was recorded before the season. And since then, he's had

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<v Speaker 1>two really impressive outings for the Sixers towards the end

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<v Speaker 1>of games. He's played in a few more games than that,

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<v Speaker 1>but he has two eight point scoring games. He played

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<v Speaker 1>seven minutes against Cleveland at the end of December and

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<v Speaker 1>scored eight points, and most recently as the week of

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<v Speaker 1>this recording right now, he scored eight points in four

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<v Speaker 1>minutes on January fourth against the Hornets. So he's getting

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<v Speaker 1>buckets in limited minutes when he gets in at the

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<v Speaker 1>NBA level and it's his first NBA action of his

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<v Speaker 1>professional career, having previously spent time in the G League.

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<v Speaker 1>We talked about everything from the half court gym connected

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<v Speaker 1>to his childhood home in Ohio, his college career at Purdue,

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<v Speaker 1>the importance of the NBA G League for his career,

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<v Speaker 1>and a little bit more. On top of that. New

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<v Speaker 1>episodes of Coach Check every other Tuesday on the seventy

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<v Speaker 1>six Ers Podcast Network Tuesdays now For the Coach Check podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>be sure to subscribe to the seventy six Ers Podcast Network,

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<v Speaker 1>and as always, thanks for listening. Let's hear from seventy

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<v Speaker 1>six ers two way contract player Dakota Matthias. I heard

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<v Speaker 1>about this basketball court in Elidah, Ohio. I read about

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<v Speaker 1>five years old you were when your family had a

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<v Speaker 1>gym added to the home. What's the story with that

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<v Speaker 1>and how did that help shape your path? Yeah? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so I was fortunate enough I had two older brothers

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<v Speaker 1>we all love basketball, So my parents decided to build

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<v Speaker 1>us a little half court gym kneck into our house.

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<v Speaker 1>So ever since I can remember, you know, I was

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<v Speaker 1>out there running around playing, and as I got older,

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<v Speaker 1>I think the big benefit for me was playing against

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<v Speaker 1>my brothers. You know, they would have friends come over,

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<v Speaker 1>so I was always playing against older, you know, stronger

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<v Speaker 1>quicker players, um, and that that helped me so much.

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<v Speaker 1>So I can't thank my parents enough for you know,

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<v Speaker 1>building that at such a young age and spending countless

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<v Speaker 1>hours out there working on your craft. I'm gonna quickly

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<v Speaker 1>ask you to channel your inner radio broadcaster and paint

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<v Speaker 1>the picture a little bit. What did it look like?

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<v Speaker 1>What did the court look like? Colors set up all that. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so my high school was orange and black. So we had,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, little pads underneath the basket. They were orange

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<v Speaker 1>and black. The trim around it was all painted orange

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<v Speaker 1>as well, and we had different flags and um, you

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<v Speaker 1>know things like that of the high school. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>we had a ten foot goal obviously, then on the

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<v Speaker 1>side we had a little six or seven foot goal

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<v Speaker 1>that I would use when I was younger. So it

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<v Speaker 1>was it was really cool and it had like a

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<v Speaker 1>little you know, V shape all the way to the

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<v Speaker 1>top high ceiling, so it was it was really cool.

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<v Speaker 1>And a little weight room right right before you walk

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<v Speaker 1>in the gym, so we had the whole set up there.

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<v Speaker 1>It seems very legit, as does your high school career

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<v Speaker 1>in general. So before we go to college, what was

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<v Speaker 1>the high school basketball atmosphere like in your hometown? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I know it's it's it's top notch. You know Indiana, Ohio, Um,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they're known for their high school basketball. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>and especially where I grew up Northwest Ohio, UM, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>everybody we had you know, four or five thousand you

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<v Speaker 1>know seat gyms and they were filled every Friday and

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday night. Um. You know, the community just love their

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<v Speaker 1>high school sports and especially basketball. So I was very

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<v Speaker 1>fortunate to grow up in that area. And then you

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<v Speaker 1>go to Purdue Perdue University and I can rattle off

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<v Speaker 1>the two numbers where you finish your career as the

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<v Speaker 1>all time leader at the time and games played one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and forty one and three pointers made two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and fifty. I know Carson Edwards took over that second

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<v Speaker 1>one from you after the fact, but how would you

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<v Speaker 1>describe your path through college over the four years, the adversity,

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<v Speaker 1>the high points, just the journey in general. Yeah, knows,

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<v Speaker 1>it was a great journey. You know, I wouldn't trade

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<v Speaker 1>anything for it. Um. Obviously there were some ups and downs,

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<v Speaker 1>especially at the beginning. Everybody's a guy, you know in

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<v Speaker 1>high school. You know, when you get to college, you

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<v Speaker 1>want it to be like that, but it is not

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<v Speaker 1>always like that. UM. So I you know, I had

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<v Speaker 1>some struggles early on my freshman you know, early in

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<v Speaker 1>my sophomore year, just adjusting to it all. But um,

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<v Speaker 1>we had a great coaching staff. Coach Painter is one

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<v Speaker 1>of the best in the business, and you know, he

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<v Speaker 1>teaches you so much. UM. You know, I can't thank

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<v Speaker 1>him enough for giving me the opportunity. And UM, like

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<v Speaker 1>I said, once I got into my Salt late and

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<v Speaker 1>sophomore year, and then you know, the next two years,

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<v Speaker 1>my junior and senior year, UM really got in a groove.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, we had a four seniors, um, our

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<v Speaker 1>senior class. We all came in together and UM, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we had a great, great chemistry, won a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>games together. So it was it was a great experience.

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<v Speaker 1>We're about to get into the pro side of things

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<v Speaker 1>in a second. And here in Philadelphia, a lot's been

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<v Speaker 1>made about seventy six Ers guard Seth Curry playing for

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<v Speaker 1>his father in law, Doc Rivers. When you were at Purdue,

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<v Speaker 1>you're now father in law Greg Gary was part of

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<v Speaker 1>the coaching staff there. What was that dynamic like for you? Yeah, no,

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<v Speaker 1>it was, it was It was interesting. Um, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>he actually was one that recruited me as well. But

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we're both you know, we're all about basketball.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it's a business for us, and um, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we take it very seriously. So there was never any

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<v Speaker 1>you know, anything you know, weird or awkward about it. So, um,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, it's been fun. It's been great. Now good stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>And in terms of your the start of your pro career,

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<v Speaker 1>last year, you ranked second in the G League the

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<v Speaker 1>NBA G League with one hundred and forty seven threes

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<v Speaker 1>as a member of the Texas Legends, who are the

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<v Speaker 1>Dallas Mavericks G League affiliate. How important has the G

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<v Speaker 1>League been for your development? Oh, it was It's everything.

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<v Speaker 1>My goal has always been obviously to play in the NBA,

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<v Speaker 1>and um, you know, my first year actually went overseas

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we played in Spain, UM, and the whole

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<v Speaker 1>time I was kind of over there. You know, I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to be here. You know, I wanted to be

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<v Speaker 1>the NBA. And you know, you if you hear the

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<v Speaker 1>stigma about the G League, you know a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>negative things, but um, I can't I don't have enough

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<v Speaker 1>positive things to say about it. You know, especially the

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<v Speaker 1>place I was at. UM, they treat you great. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>the G League was was great. You know, we had

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<v Speaker 1>we actually had a great fan base. Um, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it was it was just a great experience overall. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>I got to you know, showcase my skills in my game,

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<v Speaker 1>and um, I wouldn't trade that for anything. It was.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a great experience. And you know, I love

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<v Speaker 1>playing in the Guy League and I think it really

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<v Speaker 1>helped me propel me to where I'm at now. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>where you're at now is the seventy six ers, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>the Philadelphia seventy six ers organization. What excites you about

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<v Speaker 1>joining the seventy six ers organization? Yeah, you know, just

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<v Speaker 1>the chemistry and the culture and the history around this place.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean you walk in and you know you're seeing

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<v Speaker 1>so many legged statues of legends out here. You're seeing

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<v Speaker 1>the championship banner um, you know, surrounded by all stars

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<v Speaker 1>and you know Hall of Fame coaches. So I'm just

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<v Speaker 1>the history and all the you know, the intelligence of

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<v Speaker 1>basketball throughout this last couple of years and decades here

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<v Speaker 1>in the NBA. It's it's it's great to be a

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<v Speaker 1>part of quick message from our friends at Nemours. Nomour's

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<v Speaker 1>Sports Medicine believes that highly personalized one on one physical

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<v Speaker 1>therapy for young athletes is paramount to a speedy and

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<v Speaker 1>complete recovery. Learn more at Nemours dot org slash pt

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<v Speaker 1>More to come, But first, Christiana Care. As doctors, nurses,

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<v Speaker 1>and air givers, and as neighbors and friends, Christianna Care

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<v Speaker 1>is a partner in everyone's journey to greater health and

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<v Speaker 1>well being. Why do they do it? For the love

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<v Speaker 1>of health? Visit Christianacare dot org. So how I usually

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<v Speaker 1>wind these down is just with a couple random questions

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<v Speaker 1>at the buzzer. I've got three of them for you.

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<v Speaker 1>The first one has to do with travel, and we'll

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<v Speaker 1>tie it into the G League. When you were in

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<v Speaker 1>the G League, what was your favorite road city to

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<v Speaker 1>visit and why oh, favorite roads city. It's see gonna

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<v Speaker 1>be a weird way. Mine was probably Fort Wayne, just

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<v Speaker 1>because it was really close to home and I got

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<v Speaker 1>to see about forty or fifty you know, close family

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<v Speaker 1>and friends, so that I'm gonna have to say that

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<v Speaker 1>one the mad Ants. Yeah, yeah, good team name too.

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<v Speaker 1>How about your favorite hobby when you're away from the game.

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<v Speaker 1>I've heard tennis, I've heard cards. What do you like

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<v Speaker 1>to do in your free time? Yeah, you know, nothing

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<v Speaker 1>too crazy. You like to just hang out with friends,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, watch movies, and you know, we like to like, say,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of a lot of card games. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>Yuker is a big Midwest game that we like to

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<v Speaker 1>play as well. I've read that you said if you

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<v Speaker 1>were a basketball coach, every shot would be a three.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that still your philosophy? Wow? Yeah, definitely definitely. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>three is worth more than two. That's always been you know,

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<v Speaker 1>good math right there, So we'll take that. But yeah, definitely,

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<v Speaker 1>I like to shoot a lot of threes, and I think,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the NBA is kind of trending that way

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<v Speaker 1>as well, with the analytics of it. Also, Yeah, that's

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<v Speaker 1>a good statement. Shooter shoot. Thanks Dakota, thank you,