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will ole miss make a run at Mike White?

Under the heading of JUS-DAMN!!!

Gak, the 6-foot-11, 235-pound fourth-year junior from Australia, suffered the injury during Tuesday's live scrimmage. An MRI that night revealed the damage and, in turn, put a dent in the Gators' front-court depth by removing a player who'd battled back from a knee injury that cost him the entire 2018-19 season and put himself in position to contribute in '19-20.

So sorry for this young man,,,, but at least Mike White still has 4 Bigs available.

https://floridagators.com/news/2019...ut-indefinitely-with-dislocated-shoulder.aspx

#31 PF/C Kerry Blackshear Jr. 6-10 250 - Orlando, FL - VaT Grad-Xfer, All ACC


#29 C/PF Gorjok Gak 6-11 235 rsJr - Bradenton, FL


#70 PF/C Dontay Bassett 6-9 237 rsJr - Oldsmar, FL


#9 PF/C Omar Payne 6-10 225 Fr EE **** - Montverde, FL - (38/50)


#48 C Jason Jitoboh 6-11 270 Fr *** - (255/300)
 
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Mike White's 2020 Class: (rivals)
PF Osayi Osifo 6-8 215 -- JuCo from Cocoa, FL (solid student/athlete)
Offers: UF -- UGly-Mizz--Georgetown, Xaiver -- 7-1 wingspan
https://n.rivals.com/news/florida-adds-juco-standout-osayi-osifo

#17 SF Samson Ruzhentsev 6-6 182 **** 75/100 - Chattanooga, TN
Offers: UF -- AU-UGly-Ms-Tn-VU--GaT, ILL, KSt, TCU, VaT, (12)

#16 SG Niels Lane 6-5 210 **** 63/100 - Freehold, NJ
Offers: UF --Cal, UConn, GaT, Prov, Seton Hall, VaT, Xav, Mia, Tx, (18)
 
We are also in the running for 6-9 PJ Hall from Dorman HS. in Spartanburg, SC. Kid is a beast who can stretch the floor too. His sister plays volleyball for the Gators as well.
 
And please, Dontay, no more jacking up three's.

COME ON MAN.... :cool:

Dontay's only shot 15 3's and he's actually made 4 of them, (.267). some times the clock runs down and you've got the ball with no other real option but to shoot it. -- Otherwise, he's shooting .465 from the floor. If he takes one 3-shot every other game I'm good with that.
 
COME ON MAN.... :cool:

Dontay's only shot 15 3's and he's actually made 4 of them, (.267). some times the clock runs down and you've got the ball with no other real option but to shoot it. -- Otherwise, he's shooting .465 from the floor. If he takes one 3-shot every other game I'm good with that.
I will say he has a very good short to mid range jump shot. I hope he comes close to being what Egbunu was for us.
 
I will say he has a very good short to mid range jump shot. I hope he comes close to being what Egbunu was for us.

Dontay is a PF, not a 6-11 255 center, so he'll never be an Egbunu kind of guy.
Mike has C Jitoboh 6-11 270 and PF/C Payne to fill that slot behind Blackshear.

Dontay is more of a Kevarrius Hayes type of player. He can sub in at center some, but you really don't want him playing there unless you are forced to it, and in this case, I just don't see it happening.
 
Dontay is a PF, not a 6-11 255 center, so he'll never be an Egbunu kind of guy.
Mike has C Jitoboh 6-11 270 and PF/C Payne to fill that slot behind Blackshear.

Dontay is more of a Kevarrius Hayes type of player. He can sub in at center some, but you really don't want him playing there unless you are forced to it, and in this case, I just don't see it happening.
Only reason I said that about Bassett is he's looks bigger physically than Hayes. Not sure if I'm looking at his profile from some years back but some have Bassett listed at less than 220. He looks closer to 240lbs IMO.
As much as I'm excited about this years hoops team with the arrival or Blachshear and Omar Payne, I'm in no rush for football season to end.
 
His UF Bio lists Dontay at 6-9 236, so he is a little bit thicker than Hays was.
DB has continued to work hard and has progressed every year and he's a good young man too. He will certainly be in the rotation at PF, and I expect him to do well in that role.

The Bio's have not been updated recently, so we might have to wait for the season to begin before they update all of them,,, if then.

The reason I say that is Mike said recently that Jitoboh has lost around 30 pounds since he arrived last summer, but his bio still lists him at 6-11 300.

I'm a multi-tasker, so I can enjoy and follow football and basketball simultaneously... ;) :D
I'm an All Sports kind of guy when it comes to the Gators.
 
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Keeping it fresh.... ;)

PG Andrew Nembhard 6-5 193 So - Plays for Canada Natl Team
PF-C Kerry Blackshear II 6-10 241 Grad-Sr from VaT
Both named to the All SEC 2nd Team.
Soph Nembhard was also named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List
Fr SF Scottie Lewis named to the Julius Erving Award Watch List

==========

The 2019-20 FNG's, what they will be bringing to the team:

#57 PG Quez Glover 5-11 175 (410) -- Plays both ends of the Alley-oop :eek:
Averaged 21.1 pts, 3.6 asts, 2.8 rebs and 1.4 stls - Tn 3A Tourney MVP

#2 CG Tre Mann 6-4 172 (21/60) Micky-D AA
Averaged 23.6 pts, 4.9 rebs, 3.1 asts and 2.1 stls

#1 SF-CG Scottie Lewis 6-5 185 (7/50) Micky-D AA
Averaged 17.5 pts, 6.3 rebs, 3.6 asts, 2.7 stls and 1.5 blks

#11 C-PF Omar Payne 6-10 223 (46/50) - Monteverde
Run-Block-Dunk Specialist with a 7'-5" Wingspan
In a State Playoff game, he had a 10 pts & 10 blks double-double.

#53 C Jason Jitoboh 6-11 270 (304)
Averaged 10.1 pts and 5.6 rebs (Nike circuit) - Tn HS Def PoY

https://247sports.com/Article/Gak-injury-means-young-bigs-have-to-step-up-136780595

Old Guy, but FNG for UF...
PF/C Kerry Blackshear Jr 6-10 241 - Grad-Sr from VaT (121/250)
2018-19 Averaged 14.9 pts, 7.5 rbs -- 2nd team All ACC

Plus 2 other xfer-ins that have to sit out per NCAA rules.
PG Tyree Appleby 6-1 163 Jr - Soph All Horizon League
Scored 20+ pts 14 times, 1 triple-double, tallying 19 pts, 11 rebs and 11 asts

SF/PF Anthony Duruji 6-7 213 Jr - Was a C-USA Fr of Year
Averaged 12.2 pts, 6.2 rbs, 1.2 blks -- Had 2 20+ pts gms and 3 double-doubles.
 
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Florida men's basketball graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. was named to the 2020 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday.

Blackshear joined the Gators as the top graduate transfer in the nation. Prior to moving to Gainesville, Blackshear had a successful career at Virginia Tech, amassing 1,152 points and 616 rebounds. Last season, Blackshear averaged 14.9 points and 7.5 rebounds as well as recorded 9 double-doubles and 7 games with 20 or more points.

https://floridagators.com/news/2019...aar-award-watch-list.aspx?path=basketball-men

==========

He was already named to the preseason All SEC 1st Team as a center.

https://floridagators.com/news/2019...bed-to-finish-second.aspx?path=basketball-men
 
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SF/CG Scottie Lewis -- There has been some speculation that he leaves for the NBA after just his Fr season at UF. While I believe that may be possible, I doubt it, and here's why.
He has said that he wants to make an impact on the world, not just play B-Ball.
If that is true, then getting his degree from UF should be his 1st step in that process.
If all he's interested in is the $$$ and playing B-Ball, then leaving would be the priority.

As with many things, we'll see,,,, eventually. o_O
 
The CLAIM is that Mike White is no BillyD.-- the doubters
As good as he is, he may or may not be,,, that's yet to be seen imo. -- iG
However.....

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators are ranked No. 6 in the preseason Associated Press Basketball Poll that was released on Monday. That's the highest preseason ranking for the Gators on the poll ever, tying the No. 6 ranking to start the 2001-2002 season. o_O

“We've got a ton of work to do,”
White told the Florida media at the team’s media day late last month. “I don't blame whoever is out there saying we've got a chance to be pretty good or so and so ranking has this in the preseason,"

https://247sports.com/college/flori...-6-in-preseason-AP-Basketball-Poll-137335974/


2. UK
6. UF
22. LSU
24. AU


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SF/CG Scottie Lewis -- There has been some speculation that he leaves for the NBA after just his Fr season at UF. While I believe that may be possible, I doubt it, and here's why.
He has said that he wants to make an impact on the world, not just play B-Ball.
If that is true, then getting his degree from UF should be his 1st step in that process.
If all he's interested in is the $$$ and playing B-Ball, then leaving would be the priority.

As with many things, we'll see,,,, eventually. o_O

Right, it's a lot easier to change the world with a UF degree, which he could get anyway, than with $50m in the bank playing your way toward $200m.

Lebron James created a college fund to send up to 2,300 kids to college (they have to graduate and meet minimum academic standards), at a potential cost of $105 million. Where did he get his degree?
 
A little turd floating up on top of reality, with no clue or vision for the depths. :rolleyes:

Stay in the shallow end of the pool, cause you're obviously not equipped for the deep end... :cool:
 
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Exhibition game in the O'Dome on Tuesday night. And now it begins... o_O

A big part of why I'm hopeful for the coming B-Ball season is this little bit of trivia.
"Florida defensive efficiency ---- 16th Nationally — 2nd in the SEC
— during Coach Mike White's first 4 seasons." :eek:

The wonder for me is this; how fast can those 5 FNG's that will be playing this season come up to the Gator-Mike standard of defense? The offense will be there, but the defense is a work in progress right now. "Defensive accountability," White said. "It's the biggest adjustment for those guys." Lewis-Mann-Payne-Glover-Jitoboh --- All ACC Blackshear G-Sr is new to UF, but not to high level ball.

C Gorjok Gak - out indefinitely with a dislocated shoulder.
PF Bassett and PG Glover should be back game ready from minor dings soon.
 
Here's another big part of why I'm hopeful for the coming B-Ball season.

"We've got really good guys,"
White said. "I think we've got some strong personalities and that's a good thing. You want guys to use their personalities and have fun, to enjoy their college experience, enjoy one another. Off the court, these guys are really close, especially for this early on and with so many new guys. It's actually been pretty surprising." :cool:

"I feel like at this point, right now, we are much closer than we were last year," SG Locke said. "Last year, we were real separated at this time, but right now I feel like guys are coming together, talking to each other a lot, asking questions when you need to ask questions. Guys are being coachable." (this year is addition by subtraction) ;)

C Gorjok Gak (dislocated shoulder), out indefinitely, hopefully back by start of SEC
PF Dontay Bassett (knee bruise) likely out Tues,likely back by next week
PG Ques Glover (broken finger) - probable

Bigs for now: C/PF Blackshear G-Sr - PF/C Payne Fr - C Jitohoh Fr

https://floridagators.com/news/2019/10/29/mens-basketball-curtain-goes-up-on-new-look-gators.aspx


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Quick Partial Stats: #6 UF 89 - 71 Lynn D-2

PG Nembhard 17 Pts, 6 Asts, 3 Rbs

CG Mann 13 Pts, 2 Asts

SF/PF Johnson 12 pts, 6 Rbs, 4 Asts, 0 TO's
SF/CG Lewis 5 Pts, 5 Rbs, 3 Blks, 1 Stl

PF/C Blackshear 16 Pts, 10 Rbs, - double-double & hit 2 3's.

PF/C Payne 9 Pts, 7 Rbs, 4 Blks

Exhibition game, so feeling out the roster and everyone played, so the team stats are skewed a bit.
FG % - .517
3FG % - .483
FT % - .577 -- Weak Point...
RB - 42
TO - 17
Stl - 9

The verdict: OK on offense, not great on defense.
As I've said recently, the D's still a work in progress with so many FNG;s.
==========

On the 2021 B-Ball recruiting front: 'It's Miller Time.'
#15 PF Mason Miller 6-9 190 ****- 62/100 - Germantown, TN
Mike is an Ast Coach at Memphis, so getting him might not be easy.

Miller is planning to take an official to Florida. Both of his parents were athletes at Florida, and he says he is excited to make that visit. “It will be fun,” said Miller of his planned visit to Florida. “My parents both went there, and just to see where they went and be a part of that will be a lot of fun.”
 
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The 5 FNG's on defense:
"When a shot goes up, everyone knows, you've got to contest the shot and you've got to block out and you've got to go pursue the basketball," White said. "We didn't do that at a very high level. It's something we've said 500 times a day. And then we show it on film and we don't do it. And we make them do it again until they do it."

Not surprising. Our sophomores and KJ (Blackshear) were way more sharp (on Def) than the freshmen."

Truthfully the #6 Gators have the talent and depth to finish the year deserving of that kind of ranking -- but it isn't necessarily reflective of where the Gators are at right now. Both the starting line-up and the primary rotations will likely not settle out for a while. They begin with a tough OoC to work things out and settle in, before Jan. and the SEC schedule begins...

Early wins or losses are not as important as where you end up in March,,, so patients fellow Gators, while enjoying the process, because this is going to be worth the wait....

==========

For some player evaluation after the exhibition game, go here:
https://247sports.com/LongFormArtic...sive-in-UF-exhibition-win-137722200#1307230_1


IG observations:

SF's Johnson and Lewis are both so physically and mentally talented that they could play any of the 1-2-3-4 positions on the team at need. (on a team full of stars, Johnson continues to be my favorite Gator to watch play)

Nembhard-Locke-Mann-Glover are all 4 CG's, and could probably slide out and also play the 3 if needed. Glover is only 5-11 but like the other 3, he can still play either end of the Alley-Oop...

Blackshear-Payne are true high quality PF/C combination players. Their main difference is the Sr/Fr experience levels. Both are double/double (Pts/Rbs) machines just waiting to happen. Bassett continues to progress as a true PF, and he's a rock-solid team guy.

Gak and Jitoboh are both talented centers, but Gak needs to get/stay healthy, and Jit needs to continue to improve the physical conditioning that he's made such a good start on.

The others on the team still contribute to the progress that's being made, and each will continue to advance and have their chance for playing time eventually.
SG Klatsky rsSo PWO - xfers CG Applebe Jr & SF Duruji Jr

Championship teams have to include everybody, not just the HC and the 5 starters....


506
 
The Basketball season begins tonight (Tues) in the O'Dome vs N.FL.

Sophomore's Andrew Nembhard, Noah Locke and Keyontae Johnson make up the nucleus of a 2019-20 Florida team that is dominated by talented newcomers, yet will lean heavily on a trio who started a combined 82 games as freshmen last season.

If this years incoming freshmen perform anywhere near the level of last years 3 freshmen did, then it's going to be a GREAT season for Gator fans.

PG Nembhard 6-5 193 - Started all 36 games, 196 Asts.] - SEC All Freshman Team.
As the true Fr PG starter, he averaged 8.0 Pts and 5.4 Asts per game.
4th on the UF season Ast's list, and 2nd in UF history for Fr season Asts.
He spent much of the off season training and playing with Canada's National Team.

SG Locke - His 81 made 3-pointers setting a new UF Fr record.
His 6 games with 5 or more made 3's also set a new UF Fr record.
UF’s 2nd-leading scorer as a Fr (behind 5-star Sr SG K.Allen) with 9.4 Pts/Gm and ranked 5th in the SEC with 2.3 3-pointers per game.
~ Allen and Locke, who made seven 3's, set a new UF record by combining for 15 3's, more than a pair of Gators had ever hit in a game. The previous record was 13, set by E.Walker & K.Boynton.
He was also the primary 'press defender' with his 6'-8" wingspan. A groin injury slowed him in the late part of the season or he'd have shattered more records.-

PF/SF/CG Johnson - He showed tremendous growth throughout the course of his freshman season, moving into the starting lineup for the final 20 games of the season. He had 12 double-figure scoring games, 6 double-figure rebounding games and 6 games with multiple 3-pointers made.
He averaged 8.1 pts and 6.4 rebs, while appearing in all 36 games with 20 starts.
Finding his groove late in the season, he averaged a double/double 13.7 pts and 10.0 rebs in the SEC Tournament.
He became UF's 3rd Fr to post a double-double in an NCAA Tourney game, joining Mike Miller and Bradley Beal.
While only starting in 20 games but using his 41.5" Vert, his 229 rebs rank 5th for a UF freshman in program history,

NOTE: Andrew Nembhard, Noah Locke, and Keyontae Johnson were the 1st freshman trio to start at Florida since 1999 when LaDarius Halton, Udonis Haslen and Mike Miller started together.

https://floridagators.com/news/2019...ophs-set-baseline-for-19-20-expectations.aspx


573
 
Just imagine if Keyontae Johnson were 6'8" and not 6'5"
Then again, he most likely wouldn't have been back for this season.
 
6-5 + 41.5 Vert = 9'-9" ---- And that's just to the top of his head, not his reach. :D

More than one on this years team actually want a UF degree.
Some (the smarter one's at least) are actually 'student-athletes' instead of just B-Ball players. :cool:
 
The 3 new signees will join a pair of transfers sitting out this season to make a deep class for 2020.

CG Niels Lane 6-5 210 **** - Freehold, N.J.

SF Samson Ruzhentsev 6-8 | 210 **** -Moscow, Russia / Hamilton Heights, TN

PF Osayi Osifo 6-8 210 ***- Dallas, Texas | E-FSU JuCo (a steal imo)

"We're really excited about all three of these guys," White said. "They're all really talented players, and a common thread they share is that they play with a high level of energy, they're competitive and they want to win more than anything else. On top of that, they bring a high level of character, and we've enjoyed getting to know each of them through the recruiting process."

The two 2019-20 Xfers that are currently sitting out the 2019-20 season:

Tyree Appleby 6-1 163 Jr - All Horizon Team - Jacksonville, Ark. (Cleveland-So)
14.3 Pts/Gm, 4.7 Ast, 39% at Arc - With a Triple-Double 19 pts-11 rbs-11 asts.

SF Anthony Duruji 6-7 213 Jr - C-USA All Fr Team - Germantown, MD - (La-Tech)
As a Soph, averaged 12.2 pts/gm and 6.2 rebs, with 1.2 blks.

https://floridagators.com/news/2019/11/14/mens-basketball-adds-three-for-2020.aspx


681
 
This year is a very important year for the Gator basketball program. He has brought together a lot of high quality talent and although they are young, that's the trend for elite programs. The best freshmen come to big programs and are stars right away. Can Coach White mold this deep group of players into the Top 10 team everybody expects? They played poorly the first two games, so we'll see how it goes. With the signees yesterday and the 2 players sitting out this year, next year's team will have excellent potential as well. It's time for big time results, over and above what he's achieved up to this time.
 
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Well we are locked in a 30-30 tie at the half with Towson. We can't shoot. We have sucked in all 3 games this season, so that's enough data to say that is going to be a season trend. Will have to rely on defense.
 
Blackshear, Nembhard and Mann had terrible 1st halfs. Blackshear settled for and bricked 4 3's. Towson is blocking us off the boards and we've given them too many wide open shots. Bailed them out with fouls at the end of the shot clock 3-4 times. Towson have NEVER beaten a Top 25 team in their history (0-31). Let's hope that doesn't happen tonight.
 
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Not looking good right not. Under 8 and we are clinging to a 1 point lead. Towson has the mo. Mann and Nembhard have not been good at all tonight. If the Gators drop this one you have to seriously put Mike White on the hot seat.
 
Free throw shooting is killing them the 2nd half. And K. Johnson just made 2 bad plays in a row. Under 4 time out and Gators are up by 1.
 
Important win, but they'll need to play better to win at UConn Sunday. Lewis had a very good game. I saw improvement from the FSU game and I believe Towson is going to win a lot of games this year.
 
Gators don’t look very well coached on offense

Run up and down, shoot 3’s and play defense.... that’s about it.

they can out athlete a lot of teams but they’ll be sitting ducks vs elite squads.
 
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Gators don’t look very well coached on offense

Run up and down, shoot 3’s and play defense.... that’s about it.

they can out athlete a lot of teams but they’ll be sitting ducks vs elite squads.
Agree with this. We have athletes, but we have no offensive rhythm. I wonder why we don't press more. I feel like we should be pressing, going tempo, and scoring off turnovers. Half court is not our thing.
 
Agree with this. We have athletes, but we have no offensive rhythm. I wonder why we don't press more. I feel like we should be pressing, going tempo, and scoring off turnovers. Half court is not our thing.
Very few fast break points or easy buckets of any kind. Have to really work for every shot.
 
Very few fast break points or easy buckets of any kind. Have to really work for every shot.

I think White has transitioned to a more half court offense and play defense mindset. He’s mentioned it a few times in the past two years that he wants to run the shot clock, which I thought might have been a reaction to just not a lot of skill on the roster, but it seems to have really taken hold.
 
One Grad-xfer Sr
2 injured out upperclassmen (Gak-Bassett)
Playing 3 So's and 5 Fr against another Top SoS.
It's a work in progress that everyone should have known would take a little time. o_O
I have seen some game to game progress already, and it will continue across the season. Another 20+ wins season and another (4th) Dance is the goal imo.
==========

How well did Mike coach up last years highly rated Top 100 freshmen? o_O

PG Nembhard - #6 all time for season Asts, #2 in Fr season Asts.
SG Locke - Set UF record for Fr made 3's.
PF/SF Johnson - Teams #1 in Rb's, double-doubles in SEC Tourney & Dance.

With 4 consecutive 20+ win seasons and 3 consecutive NCAA's with zero 1 & Done I'd say that those that still worry or whine about his coaching are not paying attention to his already demonstrated job performance. :rolleyes:

MWC - C-o-Y
C-USA - C-o-Y
In his 2nd year at UF he took the team to an Elite-8 27-9 season.
SEC - C-o-Y
And after his 4th season at UF he just brought in the #6 rated recruiting class in the Nation that included 3 Top 50's with 2 Micky-D AA's, and 2 more that won TN state HS championships.

So unless your name is Thomas, you prolly should stop doubting... ;)
==========

They have played well overall to start this season.
They are not taking a bunch of bad shots.
Their defense has held teams to 59-63-60 (Ave 60.7 pts/gm).
The coaching and game planning has been pretty good so far.
The problem has been, as anyone can see, their made shots %.
Like when the bats go cold in baseball, the shooters will eventually warm up.

Team Shooting Percentages -- FG .379 - 3's .237
- FT .726

When the shooting warms up, they will begin winning games by 20+ points.
Until then, patients is required by all concerned.... :cool:


Next up is U-Conn on Sunday at 3 PM from Charleston, SC on ESPN-2



762
 
The low shooting percentages are a concern, but some of that is due to very few transition/easy buckets. Almost everything is a grind and challenged shot. When they do get open looks, they've been missing more than they should and that should improve. Another concern is 34 assists to 34 turnovers, which is not a winning ratio. Lots of lazy passes. With the offense running through Blackshear, he has to play better. Even though he has 3 double-doubles, he settled for 4 3's last night and is 1-7 from downtown so far and has missed several easy shots at the rim. He is a good free throw shooter and has 18 of his 43 points from the foul line. I agree that there is a ton of talent on this team and they'll get better as the season progresses. Although I've been disappointed in their quality of play the 1st 3 games, I'm still excited for the season.
 
Let's just hope it's a case of them needing some more minutes together. We will play our toughest comp on Sunday.
 
This has to be the worst shooting Gator team I can ever remember. 1 for 10 from three so far. We are shooting 23% from three this year, and barely 40% from the field. Crazy. 20 points in the first half. Ugly.
 
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