Complete transcripts of the press conference below.
DURHAM – Duke University formally announced
Jon Scheyer as the next head coach of the men's basketball program in a press conference at historic Cameron Indoor Stadium Friday morning. Scheyer will take the reins of the iconic program in April 2022, following the retirement of
Mike Krzyzewski.
Scheyer, 33, will be the 20th head coach in Duke men's basketball history and would be the youngest men's basketball head coach of a power conference institution at 35 years of age when the 2022-23 season commences. One of the most respected assistant coaches in college basketball, Scheyer has spent eight years on Krzyzewski's staff and was promoted to associate head coach in 2018.
Duke University President
Vincent E. Price, Vice President and Director of Athletics
Kevin White and incoming Vice President and Director of Athletics
Nina King all spoke about Scheyer, with each noting there was no person more prepared to be Duke's next men's basketball head coach.
"I am thrilled to welcome
Jon Scheyer as the next head coach of men's basketball at Duke University," said Price. "Jon is not just committed to Duke's passion for excellence in athletics and academics, he has lived it. He has been a student-athlete, a team captain, a national championship player and coach, and for the last three years as the associate head coach to the greatest mentor in the game. There is no one better prepared or more committed to carry on Coach K's legacy, and to drive the continued eminence of our basketball program and our university than
Jon Scheyer."
White reiterated Price's statement about Scheyer being an outstanding leader and the perfect choice to lead the team into the next chapter.
"To be sure, this is indeed an exciting moment in the history of Duke Athletics, quite frankly in the history of Duke University," said White. "
Jon Scheyer represents, in my opinion and in everyone here's opinion, best in class relative to the next generation. Simply put, an outstanding contemporary leader within college coaching."
King echoed both Price and White, mentioning the dedication Scheyer displayed throughout both his playing and coaching career leading up to this opportunity.
"Simply put,
Jon Scheyer is Duke," said King. "As you know, he came to Duke in 2006 and enjoyed an outstanding career as a student-athlete. His blood, sweat and tears are in these hardwoods. As a player and now an associate head coach, Jon has been learning from and been mentored by the very best in Coach
Mike Krzyzewski. He is a teacher and mentor in his own right – passionate about the student-athlete experience, both on and off the floor. Jon knows what it takes to achieve excellence – he's a national champion."
Scheyer played four seasons for head coach
Mike Krzyzewski, leading Duke to a four-year record of 105-29 and ultimately its fourth NCAA title in 2010. A two-year team captain, Scheyer played 144 career games and started 108 as a guard for the Blue Devils. He finished his career averaging 14.4 points and 3.1 assists per game for his career.
"Coach [Krzyzewski] talked yesterday about the power of belief and I won't take a moment for granted the belief that you've put in me," said Scheyer. "I am incredibly grateful and so thankful for this opportunity. This has been an indescribable 48 hours for me. It's been surreal. The amount of messages, texts, calls…it's a pretty cool moment. But all the messages – friends, family and former players…some I haven't heard from in a while. It's terrific and it's a reminder that I'm not up here alone today."
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VINCENT PRICES' OPENING REMARKS
"Good Morning. I am thrilled to welcome
Jon Scheyer as the next head coach of men's basketball at Duke University. Coach K talked yesterday about the importance of success and succession, so when it came time to make that decision for Duke Basketball, Kevin and Nina went through a thorough, thoughtful, and rigorous process that you will hear more about in just a minute. And I could not be more enthusiastic about the outcome. Jon is not just committed to Duke's passion for excellence in athletics and academics, he has lived it. Jon has been a part of the Duke University and Duke basketball family for 15 years. He has been a student-athlete, a team captain, a national championship player and coach, and for the last three years the associate head coach to the greatest mentor in the game. There is no one better prepared or more committed to carry on Coach K's legacy, and to drive the continued eminence of our basketball program and our university than
Jon Scheyer. Jon, his wife Marcelle, daughter Noa, and son Jett have grown up as Blue Devils. Jon represents the next generation of leadership in Duke Athletics and I know our students, faculty, staff and alumni and the millions of Duke basketball fans worldwide, cannot wait to be a part of this. You know we have been spending a lot of time in Cameron these past few weeks for ceremonies and announcements. And I trust that the next time we are all together here in Cameron, there will be face paint and not facemasks and we will be jumping up and down together, and not six feet apart for Coach K's spectacular last season and the start of a new era of excellence under our head coach
Jon Scheyer."
KEVIN WHITE'S OPENING REMARKS
"It feels like Groundhog Day and with our coaches and our staff, we've kind of used that expression liberally here over the last year with COVID every Friday when we met for an hour, but it's just so great to be here this morning. Once again, not unlike yesterday, my objective is to be intentionally scripted and very brief. To be sure, this is indeed an exciting moment in the history of Duke Athletics, quite frankly in the history of Duke University.
Jon Scheyer represents, in my opinion and in everyone here's opinion, best in class relative to the next generation. Simply put, an outstanding contemporary leader within college coaching. Pointedly, Jon, along with
Nina King's recent appointment as VP AD, places Duke University at the cutting edge of the next generation movement. I mean, we are really well-positioned moving forward. In terms of process, let me be clear and utterly transparent. Although I'm on the exit ramp and have been so proud to serve here for the last 13 years, President Price asked me to help facilitate the process along with my esteemed successor,
Nina King. Of course, beginning with my Duke interview back in 2008, there has been no shortage of inquiries, questions relative to Duke's men's basketball leadership succession, for
Mike Krzyzewski's departure would be dramatic if not absolutely impossible to replace. Throughout the last decade, I've been in earnest securing valuable insight from former players, Duke players, university senior administrators, if not keenly interested trustees, along the way, not withstanding an occasional taxi driver or bartender as well. Justifiably so, of course, I engaged in ongoing conversation with our tremendous, iconic coach,
Mike Krzyzewski, for his perspective has been invaluable and perhaps absolutely priceless. To that end, I might characterize all of these ongoing conversations as what I call pre-procurement activity, for we have long been studying the marketplace and placing a real premium on Duke family members first and foremost. As for the search process, you should know, that we have had nine head coaching searches during my tenure here at Duke. Each search was chaired by the respective sport administrator, and in this case, this one was ably served by
Jon Jackson, who's the men's basketball sport administrator, and he did a brilliant job. Interestingly enough, relative to those nine appointments, I thought you might find this interesting, three came from the inside of the department, from the existing staff. For good reason, we are extremely proud for having a very high-quality bench to go to. Again, one third of the appointments we've made have come from internal candidates that were on the existing staff and we are very proud of that. Staying true to the past practices once again, a search committee was assembled, again Jon was the chair, wherein they worked very closely with CSA, Collegiate Sports Associates. For those of you that know our business, that would be Todd Turner and company, and they have facilitated all nine of our head coach searches to date. Again, from the time that Mike and Mickie firmed up their retirement plan, this process took roughly 10 days, and we're proud of that as well. At the end of the day,
Jon Scheyer literally won the job. Jon, you won the job, and we're just so darn proud of that. During Jon's three interviews, he depicted, once again, a contemporary leader who enjoyed a great grasp of all things, analytics, transfer portal, NIL, not withstanding Jon has an unparalleled sense of both the current and futuristic highly competitive recruiting game and or all the strategies. Lastly, unequivocally, Jon has a phenomenal relationship with the players, some of which are here and some former players as well. For within this ever-evolving landscape, it's never been more important, if not absolutely critical, to have those kinds of relationships in place. Given all that, Jon and Marcelle, as well as the entire Scheyer family who are here proudly and should be, I'm just so darn proud Jon, as I've said to you three or four times, the fact that you won the job, and you did it intellectually, emotionally, and passionately. I'm just really proud. Of course, from now until April 2022, Jon will continue to serve as Coach Krzyzewski's very, very strong associate head coach, I would argue, maybe the best associate head coach in the country, before embarking on this next chapter as the 20th head men's basketball coach in Duke history. Again, congratulations to Jon."
NINA KING OPENING REMARKS
"I am thrilled to be here along with President Price and
Kevin White to introduce Jon as our next Duke men's basketball head coach. Simply put,
Jon Scheyer is Duke. As you know, he came to Duke in 2006 and enjoyed an outstanding career as a student-athlete. His blood, sweat and tears are in these hardwoods. As a player and now an associate head coach, Jon has been learning from and been mentored by the very best in Coach
Mike Krzyzewski. He is a teacher and mentor in his own right – passionate about the student-athlete experience, both on and off the floor. Jon knows what it takes to achieve excellence – he's a national champion. Smart, competitive and driven leader with a great vision for the future of Duke men's basketball. There's no doubt that he will continue to build upon Coach Krzyzewski's legacy, while carrying us into the future. Jon and I have already had a great start together, and I look forward to our partnership, continuing to grow as colleagues, teammates and friends. April 2022, when Jon steps into his new role, will undoubtedly be an incredibly exciting moment for Duke Athletics. In the meantime, as I mentioned yesterday, this upcoming year is one to be celebrated and relished as Duke men's basketball once again pursues excellence under Coach
Mike Krzyzewski. Once again, thank you Coach. Heartfelt congratulations to Jon, Marcelle, Noa and Jett, wherever they are. With that, it is my pleasure to introduce you all to the 20th men's basketball head coach at Duke University,
Jon Scheyer.
JON SCHEYER OPENING REMARKS
"So I don't want to break any tradition yet, do I need to spell my last name? This is incredibly exciting. President Price, Kevin, Nina – thank you so much for this incredible opportunity. Coach [Krzyzewski] talked yesterday about the power of belief and I won't take a moment for granted the belief that you've put in me. I am incredibly grateful and so thankful for this opportunity. This has been an indescribable 48 hours for me – it's been surreal. The amount of messages, texts, calls…it's a pretty cool moment. But all the messages – friends, family and former players…some I haven't heard from in a while… – it's terrific and it's a reminder that I'm not up here alone today. I'm incredibly thankful for all the people along that way that have supported and helped me on my journey to get to this point. Coach, I am so thankful to you and Mickie. When I was 16 years old, you came to my high school and laid out a vision for me, and it went beyond just playing basketball here. You told me that I was meant to do something special. I don't know if this is what you had in mind when you said that, but if you did, you're really damn good – really damn good.
I have enjoyed every second that I've been here as a player and as a coach playing for you. Your family has treated me like family, and I love you all. This is going to be an incredible year and by the way, I would be remissed if I didn't congratulate you both on your 52nd wedding anniversary so congrats to you guys.
But you did put your belief in me, in those guys over there as well – even when we lost four in a row my freshman year, twice by the way. You mentioned those dark moments you had yesterday at times, and I think you were referring to my freshman year – I feel responsible for that. Not many coaches would tell their team that they're going to win a national championship in the midst of a four-game losing streak and you did that. You spoke, we listened, we believed in you immediately and we did amazing things together – obviously winning a national championship is a part of that. We've always said that making the decision to come to Duke is a lifetime decision and I learned that firsthand when I graduated from Duke. We won the national championship my senior year – shoutout to my former teammates back there in Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek and
Nolan Smith. Obviously, Gerald Henderson as well. That's my guy right there, I didn't see you back there.
We won the national championship and that summer I was playing for the Miami Heat in summer league. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade probably don't know this, but I was planning on being their teammate that fall. In the second game of summer league, I had an injury to my eye and instead of being teammates with Lebron, I was looking at life a little differently. Doctors were telling me that I may never play basketball again because of the permanent vision loss I had in my right eye. I remember calling Coach and Coach called Terry Kim who was on a flight the next day immediately to come to Chicago to make sure I got the best care I could possibly have. If that's not an example of Duke being a lifetime decision, I don't know what is and it's set me on a path that has led me to this point today. I was able to get into coaching at an incredibly early age and the experience I've had is unlike any other I could've possibly dreamed of. That's what I wish for all players going forward and one of the best gifts that you've given all of us Coach, is each other. I've been overwhelmed with the love and emotion of our former players and our Brotherhood these past couple days. I didn't even know these guys were coming last night. I know the things that I'm saying about Coach, I can speak on behalf on all our former players. We have incredible pride in this program – in the blood, sweat and tears, that Nina mentioned, that we've all put into this. I do want to acknowledge two special members of the Brotherhood –
Chris Carrawell and
Nolan Smith. Not only were both of them incredible players here, but I've been lucky to know them as great friends and incredible coaches. I know all three of us cannot wait to make this last year for Coach an incredible one. I appreciate you both big time.
As I look back on what I'm most proud of in my career, it's the fact that I never missed a game or a practice as a player. I would've never missed a game as a coach if it weren't for my wife deciding she was going to go into labor early on January 29, 2018. By the way, I made it to the first half of the Notre Dame game and Noah decided that it was time. That's a half of a game and another moment was a few years ago when we were playing at Syracuse. Some of you may remember this, we were going to the game and I felt the pain in my stomach. A few hours later, I woke up in a hospital in Syracuse and I had my appendix taken out.
But I say all of that, because I do not expect this to be easy...I don't expect this to be easy. I don't expect to be given anything – we do not expect to be given anything. But I'm always going to show up – to do whatever it takes to succeed at the highest level here and with the standard that's been set at Duke. It's a privilege and an honor to do that. I realize how important of a time it is for our program and the University and I relish this opportunity. We're going to be relentless in our pursuit of championships and in representing this incredible University on and off the court. I am so lucky to be able to call Duke University my home and I promise you I am going to cherish this every day.
As excited as I am about the future, my focus is on this upcoming season and making it the most special we possibly can. We have an amazing group of players, some who are here today somewhere. They are here somewhere, I don't know where they are. There you guys are. We can give it up for them too. I feel like they were dressed up a little bit more for coach yesterday. I think they realize he controls the playing time still, but I appreciate you guys being here.
Before I move on. I just want to thank my family. My wife, Marcelle, we have been on an incredible journey together and I can't wait for this next chapter of our lives. All of you, thanks for mentioning my son, Jett, and my daughter, Noa. Wherever they are. I am not sure they know what is going on right now, but I hopefully at some point it hits them. My parents, Laury and Jim [Scheyer], Brooke
and Ryan [Scheyer Jones], Jenn and Danny [Resnick]. I love you all. Thank you for the incredible support, the sacrifice over the years.
I just wanted to say. As important as anything in this – our players come first. I am so proud of these guys back here. I am proud of all of the players that have come through here in my last eight years. The relationships, the moments. I think of … Coach has talked about this and it is true. You mention
Joey Baker or Wendell Moore and immediately moments pop in my head. A lot of you can probably guess what moments do, but it is also the moments off the court. I am looking forward to the future, but my main purpose and goal right now is to be the best assistant coach I possibly can and to have an amazing year this year. So, thank you all for being here. I am excited and I hope you can tell how passionate I am about Duke and about this place. I look forward to answering any questions. Thank you."
JON SCHEYER Q&A SESSION WITH MEDIA
On what it will be like to have head coach Mike Krzyzewski's presence around the program as an ambassador:
"It's no secret the amazing success that coach has had here. Following him is incredible because of the foundation that's been laid. I know there are going to be expectations that come with that. I think I knew that beforehand, and I especially knew that after Jay Bilas said it's the hardest job in the history of sports, so I appreciate Jay saying that. One of the best [pieces of] advice that Coach has ever given me – I remember the exact moment. We were out to dinner. It was a long day of recruiting after Peach Jam, and we were just talking about life, about everything. He shared some advice that he was given when he was young, and that was just to follow my instincts fully. That's what I'm going to do – I'm going to follow my instincts. I'm secure in who I am. Coach K is one of one. He's one of a kind, and I would be unsuccessful if I tried to be him. Nobody can be Coach K. Now with that said, I'm not stupid. If there is something that I can go to him and talk to him about, I have the best resource in the history of college basketball that I could ever have. I'm going to go to him. Our relationship stands on its own. So, I feel excited about it. I think it's an incredible advantage. I think it's an amazing thing for the university to have him here, and I'm frankly not worried about that at all."
On what the most important things are that he will learn over the next year before taking over as head coach:
"I plan on taking advantage of the amazing opportunity that these 10 months present. It's a unique situation. I think the thing that it does is it gives clarity, and clarity is helpful. Sometimes when something is unknown, your mind starts to wonder, whether you're a player, fans, staff, university – whatever it may be. Not only is there clarity for our team, I think for everyone, we can focus on the task at hand, which is to win the whole damn thing this year and to have the best season we possibly can. As far as looking to the future, clearly recruiting is as important of a thing as it is with our current team, and making sure they understand what the next step for them would entail. I plan on having lots of conversations with everyone here, understanding how they view things. I don't think I have all the answers. I feel confident in my vision, but I also am going to look to others to help in that regard."
On how he first learned of the decision to name him the program's next head coach:
"This is no offense to anybody that I've ever been on the phone with, but when I got a call and I saw
Nina King's name pop up, it was the best phone call I've ever received in my life. Well, I didn't know that at the time, but after Nina said she wanted to have another Zoom call at the beginning, I didn't feel very good, but then it was the best news I could've ever received. After talking with President Price right after, I was speechless. I didn't really have the words for you, President Price, but it was because of what a surreal moment it was. I think you go back to the first time you pick up a ball, to the first time I was recruited to play here, to all the moments with those guys back there [former teammates] – the ups and the downs, the blood, sweat and tears, and then it comes to that moment. I'll never forget that in my life."
On a photo taken of him and head coach Mike Krzyzewski when Scheyer was in high school:
"It was in Las Vegas, and it was at the Jordan Fantasy Camp. Coach has K Academy now, and my dad was able to go three times. Every year my dad wanted to be coached by Coach K. That is what he wanted to do. Before the draft, he'd always go up to coach and say, 'Coach, I'm in really good shape, I'm feeling good this year.' For whatever reason, after the draft every year, coach would tell him, 'I had you the next pick. You were taken right before me.' That picture was taken one of those times. I think when my Dad was upset he didn't get drafted by coach, I was able to snap that with him."
On if he envisioned becoming a coach from a young age:
"I always wanted to be a coach. I remember when I was about 10 years old, I would have these notebooks and I would draw fake rosters, schedules and statistics of college teams, of every team. I always had a love for college basketball, as well as professionally, but always college. My aspiration was to have a long NBA career and then get into college coaching. Sometimes, life works out differently than you think. I mentioned that moment before where I think it definitely sped up the process of this happening. In retrospect, I learned very quickly that was the best thing that could've ever happened to me. To be in this position now is beyond a blessing. Coaching is an incredible passion of mine – it's always been. Getting to experience someone else's success other than your own – when you're a player, you're solely focused on yourself. I was proud of the professional career I had for three years. I played in a bunch of different places, but to be in the moment and all of a sudden, at Boston College,
Joey Baker has three back-to-back shots, or we're playing at North Carolina and
Wendell Moore Jr., as a freshman, has a game-winning shot. To be a part of them with that moment is incredibly rewarding and exciting."
On managing the balance of recruiting as the future head coach while remaining the associate head coach this season:
"It's going to be a great challenge, but I think it's a great opportunity. Nolan [Smith], Chris [Carrawell] and myself, we're going to be out on the road a lot. Duke is an incredible place with a lot to offer. It's the best of both worlds. You can't get a world-class institution with a basketball program like this anywhere. It's the best. The thing is with Coach – Coach is still here. Coach isn't going anywhere. We're looking forward to – one, we haven't been out. We haven't been able to see anybody in person, so we're looking forward to doing that. But two, we're going to navigate it as it comes. It's a unique situation. I think we can really take advantage of it. There's obviously some great kids out there who are really interested, and it's our job to find the right ones and get them here and meet in person. That's always been really important to us, is developing the relationship. That can't get lost. It still is about relationships, developing trust and the belief not only that we have in players, but that they have in us."
On in-game adjustments from head coach Mike Krzyzewski that stand out to him:
"I think the thing that you can't just pick up from watching coach on TV or from afar is his feel that he has in huddles. I can point to many different times. I'll just take one example – the 2014-15 season when we're playing North Carolina at home, and we're down by seven with a minute-and-a-half to go. He pulled in all of our players and he said, 'We're going to win this game.' He can only speak for himself – I don't think he would say that if he didn't believe it. He doesn't say that every time we're down seven, but something told him in that moment that we're going to win this game if we do X, Y and Z. He laid it out, players believed and we ended up tying the game. Tyus Jones had seven points right at the end of regulation and we won in overtime. That's an example of just the feel. I'll give you one X's and O's, which is probably one of the more hectic situations we've been a part of since I've been here. It was when Cam Reddish hit a game-winning three down at Florida State, which I'm sure some of you remember that game. It was a crazy sequence where we called timeout, Coach drew up about three different plays because there was stoppage to check the clock, Leonard Hamilton called a timeout, there might've been one more and on the third and final play, he said, 'Here's what's going to happen.' Literally, what he said was going to happen – Cam is going to come around, find him, they're going to go right to RJ [Barrett], and Cam ended up with a wide open three. Obviously, you have to make the shot still, but those are the special moments that have been fun to watch."
On how important it is to take over as a head coach having familiarity with Nina King, Nolan Smith and Chris Carrawell:
"I think it's an amazing opportunity with Nina and myself. We've had many conversations – the fact of the timing of this, with [her being announced as Director of Athletics] a little over two weeks ago, and now the timing of me being hired – to grow together. Coach, from day one – literally the first year I came back – said the two most important relationships are with your athletic director and with your president. I've seen the way coach interacts, and that relationship with Nina, the relationship with President Price, is incredibly important to me. I plan on doing everything I can to make sure I follow their lead, I follow their direction and our program is going to represent what they want it to be. As far as Nolan goes – I'm going to throw
Chris Carrawell in there as well – although Nolan and I had the amazing experience of playing together for three years. We have been through a lot together. I think you all know what an amazing personality he has, and to go through this with both Chris and Nolan gives me a great deal of confidence. We are on the same wavelength. We've had conversations – one, how we can be as supportive as possible this year, how we can focus on the task at hand, but two, build for the future and play off one another, just like we did on the court. We're going to continue to do that. It's going to be something where we have to figure it out as we go along, because this is unprecedented. This hasn't happened before, but there are not two other guys I'd rather do it with than Chris and Nolan. I also want to say the staff that we have, our entire staff, is incredible. The infrastructure that we have in place – we are in an amazing position to move forward. I can't wait to work with each and every one of you as we move forward."
On what he'd like his legacy to be:
"Well, I haven't even gotten that far. I've tried to in these last 48 hours take it all in and be in the moment. I plan on doing that every step of the way this year. As far as my legacy goes, I haven't gotten that far. I would like to think that everyone who knows me well knows I show up every day. You can depend on me every single day. I think as far as my basketball knowledge and my coaching instincts, I think it will take time for everyone to get a great understanding of that. I show up every day and I'm going to take that as it comes."
On conventional wisdom saying you can't follow a coach of Coach K's pedigree:
"I know my history. I've been told many times in the last 48 hours by the way that you're not supposed to be the guy that follows the guy. You're supposed to be the guy that follows the guy that follows the guy. With that said, I am not afraid of it. This is an incredibly unique situation. Coach did mention it yesterday. This is one of one in terms of a succession in how this is going to work. I think it's built for success. The thing I'm not going to allow or pay attention to is what other people consider success. As long as I'm on the same page as my president, my athletic director, our team, our staff, our coaching staff, that's what's important to me. I'm anxious for the opportunity to show what we can do of course, but I'm not going to pay attention to the outside noise, the expectations. I understand that comes with this job. I'm not running from it. I'm not hiding from it, but I realize that's a part of it."
On maintaining continuity amidst changing landscape of college basketball:
"We've been fortunate to have to adapt throughout the time that I've been here and obviously this is a time where it's changing more than ever. I think it's changing for the better. It's a great time for our players. I think Duke and I think our program is in the best position to move forward in this new landscape with NIL with the competing leagues like you had mentioned – the professional leagues. It's great to have those options for kids. It's great. The right kids will still want to come to Duke and I feel confident in that. Nolan [Smith], Chris [Carrawell] and I have talked about it. We've talked about it with Coach – building a team where we have a balance with stability with older players, that's been a great recipe for us. As well as really talented players who may go on to do amazing things sooner. So, the balance is what we're looking for. Duke is in an amazing position. I feel we're in an amazing position to move forward successfully."
On recruiting strategy as a first-time head coach and benefit of having former Duke players making up the staff in same regard:
"Well Chris [Carawell], Nolan [Smith] and myself, as former players we're incredibly protective over who comes into our program. We've walked it, we've been here, we've been here from multiple perspectives so I think it brings a level of credibility. We know the pressure. We know the expectations and in some ways that can even go up. But I think it's an amazing opportunity and like I said, Coach [K] is still here as well so you get the best of both worlds. The thing I know I don't have the luxury to show or to prove is here is who I am as a head coach here. Although I think it boils down to trust and belief – I think all relationships do at some point. I know people that have put their belief in Coach before he was able to prove what he can do so I look forward to earning that trust and I know Nolan and Chris do as well."
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