Aaron sits down with Sean Durugordon, guard from Harlem, New York, for Old Dominion Men's Basketball, to talk about his path to ODU, his game, his teammates and a lot more.

Hi, I'm Vytautas Zygas, and you're watching

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Monarchist Basketball Show.

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Mike: The following presentation

is brought to you by The Pride of

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ODU, the official NIL collective

of Old Dominion Athletics.

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Be a Monarchist.

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Join The Pride.

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. Aaron: Monarch Nation, welcome back

to the Monarchist Basketball Show.

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Sean, thanks for joining us, man.

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Sean Durugordon: Thank you for having me.

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Aaron: Alright, so on behalf

of all Old Dominion fans,

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welcome to ODU and to Norfolk.

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Alright, so before transferring

to ODU, you started your career at

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Austin Peay and Siena, where your

production took leaps each year.

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Last season, you had major

impact, averaging 18 points.

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seven boards and well over

83 percent from the line.

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How did those experiences

prepare you for success at O.

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D.

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U.

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And help lead this team?

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Sean Durugordon: Yeah.

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Um, you know, definitely last

season, you know, I definitely

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came into myself a little bit more.

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You know, I wasn't illegible till a

little bit later on in the season.

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But, um, you know, when I was , I

came in and I was ready to go.

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Um, and I'm just going to bring kind

of some of the same intensity and the

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physicality and the scoring ability that

I have to this year's, uh, Moody's team.

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Aaron: All right.

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So

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your play style, like how you

played at Siena coming into Old

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Dominion here with, with coach Jones

to talk about that a little bit.

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Sean Durugordon: Yeah.

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Um, you know, what coach Jones, when

he was recruited me here, he kind

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of painted me a vision of how he

wanted ODU men's basketball to look.

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And, you know, with it being a new

staff and a new team, I felt like it

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was really best case for me to kind

of just come in and kind of, you know,

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believe in what Coach Jones wanted to do.

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And, um, yeah, I mean,

I'm looking forward.

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I'm looking forward to it.

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Aaron: All right.

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So obviously you had a ton of

different opportunities when you

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decided that you were going to.

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To move on from

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Siena.

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Why Old Dominion?

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Sean Durugordon: Yeah.

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Um, really just my relationship with

the, with the coaching staff here.

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Um, you know, we was talking for

a while, came on my visit here.

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You know, I really liked the campus.

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I really got a family type of atmosphere

from, um, from everybody here.

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And, um, you know, I also

have family out here too.

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So it really all kind of just

worked out in its own way.

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Aaron: Okay.

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So you mentioned family.

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We hear that a lot.

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Was there a.

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You know, particular person on the team

with a staff or someone that just that

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made you feel that way when you came to

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visit?

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Sean Durugordon: Um, I would say it

was more of a collective type of feel.

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You know, when I went out with lunch and

dinner with the staff, I just kind of

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felt it all from everybody there, you

know, that they wanted me to be here

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and that it was gonna look out for me.

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Aaron: All right.

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So this team, a lot of new faces

this season, including you as well.

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Sean Durugordon: Absolutely.

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Aaron: Apart from Hoops, what

is one thing that Old Dominion

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fans should know about you?

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Sean Durugordon: Apart from Hoops,

um, I would definitely say that

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I'm a pretty good gamer, uh,

specifically with Call of Duty.

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Um, and that I also like to

draw sometimes when I'm bored.

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Aaron: Okay, so let's

revisit both of those.

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The first one is Call of Duty.

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Do you play against your teammates, and

if so, who's, who's the best on the team?

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Sean Durugordon: Um, I haven't gotten the

chance to play against them yet because

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we kind of play different, um, game modes.

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But, um, you know, with the new

Call of Duty coming out, well,

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it just came out like last week.

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So I think we're all,

um, getting that game.

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So I'll definitely start to play

with them a little bit more.

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Aaron: Okay.

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You know, multiplayer kind of guy

or just the campaign kind of guy?

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Sean Durugordon: Yeah, I'm

definitely a multiplayer type of guy.

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Aaron: Probably goes into the

whole competitive nature of,

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of everything you like to do.

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Right.

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Sean Durugordon: Yeah.

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Aaron: Okay.

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All right.

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What's the one thing that ODU fans

should know most about this year's squad?

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Sean Durugordon: This year's squad?

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I would say that, um, you know, we

might be a younger team, um, but

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I think we have a lot of talent.

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I think we have one of the most

talented teams in the, uh, Sun Belt.

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And I definitely think we're going

to bring an edge and we're going to

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surprise a lot of people just with our

physicality and really just the scale.

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I feel like this team is just

really skilled and talented.

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Aaron: All right.

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So last year you were asked to do a lot.

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on an individual level.

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Um, what's the biggest difference

you've noticed playing for this staff

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versus a staff at your previous stops?

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Sean Durugordon: I would say this,

this staff here is kind of more like

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they're help like they're helping

me kind of So I've always been a

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score type of guy, you know, just

always trying to score the ball.

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And, you know, this staff here has

just been trying to get me to do other

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things that can, you know, impact the

game than just scoring because a lot

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of people know I can score the ball.

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So this staff here has kind of just

been trying to get me to impact the

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game in a multitude of ways to help my

team win, you know, in case I have a

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game where I'm not scoring too much.

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So.

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I'd say that's the biggest difference.

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Aaron: All right.

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So over the years, we found

out some really interesting

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things about guys on the team.

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Tell us something about one of

your teammates, like a hobby or.

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Hidden talent that most

ODU fans wouldn't know.

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Sean Durugordon: Good question.

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Um, I would say, I would say, um,

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I would say a hidden talent, somebody

on my team, I wouldn't, I mean, I

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wouldn't know if this is necessarily

a, um, like a talent, but I would say

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that, uh, Imo, you know, he gets pretty

passionate about, uh, video games.

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Um, you know, he's always arguing in

like the locker room with everybody, you

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know, when he wins and stuff like that.

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So.

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I mean, I guess that is a talent, but he's

probably just one of the most passionate

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guys I've seen regarding video games.

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Aaron: All right.

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Yeah.

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We've learned interesting

things about Imo over the years.

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One, one about his, uh, sense for fashion.

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The other of, I don't know if you've

had a chance to room with him, but, but

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his, uh, wicked snoring, apparently.

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Yeah.

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So if you room with them on

the road, get the sleep first.

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All right.

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A couple, a couple of fun questions here.

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What's your favorite pregame meal?

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Sean Durugordon: Favorite

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pregame meal?

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I would say probably like chicken rice,

you know, I try to not eat too much

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before a game, but I'll probably keep

it at like chicken rice and vegetables.

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Aaron: Is there a favorite restaurant

that you found here in the 757 yet?

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Sean Durugordon: Uh, I would

definitely say my go to spot here

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is probably American's Best Wings.

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Yeah, I'm definitely a wing guy, so.

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Aaron: Yeah, we are too.

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Alright, so, Two part music question.

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Who's your favorite artist or band?

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And then the second one is

what song are you listening to?

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Like right before you go on the

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court.

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Sean Durugordon: My favorite

artist right now, I would say

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is little TJ from New York.

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Um, pregame song.

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I would probably say it's PSA by Kay

Flock, also an artist from New York.

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Aaron: All right.

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What's your favorite basketball movie?

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Or if you don't really have one, just

a movie that people should check out.

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Sean Durugordon: I'd say my

favorite basketball movie is

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definitely Love N' Basketball.

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Uh, yeah, that's always been

my, you know, favorite, probably

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top five movies in general.

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Aaron: Okay.

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You know, one of the people in

that movie is in this building?

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Sean Durugordon: I do not know.

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Aaron: Yeah.

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Coach Delisha Milton

Jones is in that movie.

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Sean Durugordon: Oh, wow.

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Aaron: And she was on the sparks.

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You have to go back and check it out.

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Sean Durugordon: Yeah, most definitely.

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Why did I know that?

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Aaron: All right.

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So, uh, Mike and I've had the,

uh, the luxury of being able

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to watch you play some witness

your ability to score rebound.

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If you had to pick your favorite

basketball move, what would it

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be?

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Sean Durugordon: Favorite basketball move?

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I would probably say.

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Spin move, spin move, like into a layup.

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Um, that's always kind of been

my go to move since I could

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remember, but definitely that if

I'm trying to score in the paint.

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Okay, so if Monarch nation hasn't

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Aaron: had a chance to watch you

play yet, is there an NBA player

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that you would kind of compare

your game to, to give them an idea?

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Sean Durugordon: I would say, I

would say a mix of Kawhi Leonard

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and DeMar DeRozan, for sure.

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Aaron: That's a pretty good mix.

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Yeah.

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All right, two part question.

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What's your top personal and team goal

for this season and what's it going

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to take for you guys to get there?

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Sean Durugordon: I would say

starting with team goal, you know,

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definitely to win the Sun Belt.

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Um, I felt like that would be, you know,

just a great way for us as a team and

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coach Jones to start, you know, his

tenure here at Old Dominion, but, um.

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Yeah, definitely win the Sun

Belt, make the tournament.

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And I believe that, you know, we're

going to get there by, you know,

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just staying together as a team.

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You know, there's going to be games

where maybe things are not going our way,

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but just dealing with that adversity,

um, and just sticking together.

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Because like I said, we have the

talent and the skill to do it.

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So it's going to come down to that.

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And, um, personal goal of mine,

I would definitely say to, um, to

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definitely, you know, put myself in

position to make an all tournament team.

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after the season, if

not player of the year.

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Um, yeah, I mean, my goal after this

season is obviously to, uh, you know,

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look at my professional opportunities.

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But

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Aaron: all right, so let's

let's expand upon that.

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Obviously, basketball number

one goal, long career play.

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But when the ball stops bouncing, you

have any aspirations post basketball?

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Sean Durugordon: Yeah, I mean, yeah,

like I was just talking with my family

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about this the other day, but I would

see myself getting into business,

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um, somewhere in the tech world.

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Um, I've always been a tech

guy since I was younger.

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So after basketball, I think I would

want to get back into that and just

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explore different careers around in tech.

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Aaron: The great goal.

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Yeah.

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I'm, I'm sure you'll make it there.

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What's your message

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for Monarch Nation?

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Sean Durugordon: A message for

Monarch Nation is, you know,

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it's going to be a great year.

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And, um, I encourage everybody to come

out to every home game and support us.

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Cause we're going to surprise

a lot of people this year.

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Aaron: All right, Sean,

thanks for joining the show.

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Go Monarchs.

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Sean Durugordon: Thank

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you, sir.

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Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha