Cameron Christie COMMITS!

@GopherHole Staff can we delete this trash? It's literally in every thread on this board right now.
I just added him to my ignore list after he posted same garbage in Carrington injury thread. What a tool. Ignore list up to 3 now joining barn burner and Spaulding.
 



Christie is fully committed. Article in the Strib:
Four-star recruit Cameron Christie has been following the ups and downs of the Gophers men's basketball program. And he remains committed to joining Ben Johnson's team next season.

The 6-6 guard from Rolling Meadows finished his senior season as one of the top players in Illinois. Christie is now the lone recruit in the Gophers' 2023 class after five-star center Dennis Evans was released from his letter of intent last month.

Christie hasn't let a lengthy losing streak with his future team or Evans' decision make him feel any different about the Gophers, who faced Nebraska on Wednesday to start the Big Ten tournament.

"I never second-guessed my choice on whether I still should be going there or not," Christie said. "I trust the program. I trust Coach Johnson and the plan he has in place. So, I never wavered."

Admittedly, Christie said, it was tough to hear about Evans because "I was looking forward to getting to know him better and play with him in the future, but you can't dwell on it."

Christie averaged 25 points, five rebounds and four assists, shot 88% on free throws and set a school record with 101 three-pointers this season. Rolling Meadows finished 27-7 and undefeated in its conference.

The Gophers aren't afraid of playing freshmen. Christie was encouraged by the development of the four freshmen this season, especially big man Pharrel Payne. And he was excited to see Johnson's team pull out its first Big Ten home win last week against Rutgers, which snapped a 12-game losing streak.

"They play really hard," Christie said. "That's one of the things I like about this team is they never back down and always battle. Prime example of that was the Rutgers game. They were down 10 with [64 seconds left] and they never stopped playing. There's definitely been lots of improvement as the season has gone on."

After the regular-season ending loss vs. Wisconsin, Johnson said he didn't expect second-leading scorer Jamison Battle and starting guard Ta'Lon Cooper to be back next season. The opportunity for extended minutes at point guard has Christie preparing to help lead the offense as a freshman.

"Point guards are usually one of the leaders of the team," Christie said. "I'm going to have a lot of teammates next year that can knock down shots and can make plays. So I know I can trust them and get them the ball. It takes a high IQ to play at that position. It's a really fast-paced game. You have to be able to make quick decisions and quick reads. It will be a lot of fun to tackle it next year and do my best."


 

Christie is fully committed. Article in the Strib:
Four-star recruit Cameron Christie has been following the ups and downs of the Gophers men's basketball program. And he remains committed to joining Ben Johnson's team next season.

The 6-6 guard from Rolling Meadows finished his senior season as one of the top players in Illinois. Christie is now the lone recruit in the Gophers' 2023 class after five-star center Dennis Evans was released from his letter of intent last month.

Christie hasn't let a lengthy losing streak with his future team or Evans' decision make him feel any different about the Gophers, who faced Nebraska on Wednesday to start the Big Ten tournament.

"I never second-guessed my choice on whether I still should be going there or not," Christie said. "I trust the program. I trust Coach Johnson and the plan he has in place. So, I never wavered."

Admittedly, Christie said, it was tough to hear about Evans because "I was looking forward to getting to know him better and play with him in the future, but you can't dwell on it."

Christie averaged 25 points, five rebounds and four assists, shot 88% on free throws and set a school record with 101 three-pointers this season. Rolling Meadows finished 27-7 and undefeated in its conference.

The Gophers aren't afraid of playing freshmen. Christie was encouraged by the development of the four freshmen this season, especially big man Pharrel Payne. And he was excited to see Johnson's team pull out its first Big Ten home win last week against Rutgers, which snapped a 12-game losing streak.

"They play really hard," Christie said. "That's one of the things I like about this team is they never back down and always battle. Prime example of that was the Rutgers game. They were down 10 with [64 seconds left] and they never stopped playing. There's definitely been lots of improvement as the season has gone on."

After the regular-season ending loss vs. Wisconsin, Johnson said he didn't expect second-leading scorer Jamison Battle and starting guard Ta'Lon Cooper to be back next season. The opportunity for extended minutes at point guard has Christie preparing to help lead the offense as a freshman.

"Point guards are usually one of the leaders of the team," Christie said. "I'm going to have a lot of teammates next year that can knock down shots and can make plays. So I know I can trust them and get them the ball. It takes a high IQ to play at that position. It's a really fast-paced game. You have to be able to make quick decisions and quick reads. It will be a lot of fun to tackle it next year and do my best."


The minutes should be there and if Christie is legit and we add a couple competent guards, the team should be pretty fun to watch next year.

Payne has moments where he looks dominant and proper roster construction could really unleash that version of Payne.
 




Time for a little positivity around here:

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (CBS) – The Rolling Meadows boy's basketball team is having another very good season and it's another member of the Christie family helping to lead the Mustangs' charge.

CBS 2's Matt Zahn caught up with senior guard Cameron Christie who's following his older brother's footsteps while making his own mark along the way.

Christie is enjoying the ride in his senior season at Rolling Meadows High School.

"Yes, it's been a ton of fun," he said. "Halfway through it, I've really enjoyed every single moment of it. I'm looking forward to the second half as well."

That will likely include many more highlight-making plays from the Minnesota commit, who's one of the
top players in the state.
"He's just really good," said head coach Kevin Katovich. "He can score at three levels. He can shoot from outside. He's got a mid-range game. He can go to the basket."


Senior center Mark Nikolich-Wilson added, "He makes the right play. He makes tough shots. It's a real privilege to have someone that good on our team."


While Christie is the clear star of the team, he certainly doesn't act like it. That was especially true during the recruiting process that he went through without much fanfare.

"Our whole family tells us to be humble," Christie said. "There's no need to post every single offer. There's just no need to do that. Just keep it to yourself."


Humility isn't the only thing Cameron got from his family. The basketball genes are pretty good as well.

His brother Max was a star at Rolling Meadows before going to Michigan State and then getting drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers this year.

And both of his parents played college basketball, his dad at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, and his mom at Northwestern.

"It was very helpful to have parents who have gone through the whole process before," Christie said. "They were able to teach us a lot of things, especially my dad. He was the one who always taught us how to shoot, always did all those workouts with us when we were younger."

Is it nice to have those genes too?

"Yes, it's been very helpful to have a tall mom," he said.

Christie said he's learned a lot from his older brother Max as well.


"To always have the confidence in yourself," he said. "He went through that little wall in Michigan State. He learned from that. He learned how to battle through adversity. I've been trying to implement that myself, always stay confident no matter what's going on."

Max has even gotten a couple of starts with the Lakers as a rookie second round draft pick.

"It's a lot of fun to be able to turn on national TV and see him out there with the Lakers, playing with LeBron (James and Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook) and all those superstars," Christie said. "With a few injuries, he was able to take the opportunity and make the most of it."

Having the Christie brothers do a lot of good stuff at Rolling Meadows has made this a pretty fun stretch of coaching for Katovich.

"It's been something that, unless you're going through it, you don't appreciate how special it is to have two generational players, and they got to play together for two years as well," Katovich said. "Max is in the NBA. I think Cameron is headed to the NBA too. They've done more for our school than we've done for them."

But, are there any more Christies coming through Rolling Meadows?

"Unfortunately not," Katovich said. "I've talked to (parents) Max (Sr.) and Katrina to see if there's someone they've surprising me with later, but no, this is the last."


As Christie said, all that's left is to enjoy the rest of the ride.

Katovich said Christie's shot may even come a little easier than his older brother's, but both of them work so hard to overcome any inconsistencies in their game.
 

Time for a little positivity around here:

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (CBS) – The Rolling Meadows boy's basketball team is having another very good season and it's another member of the Christie family helping to lead the Mustangs' charge.

CBS 2's Matt Zahn caught up with senior guard Cameron Christie who's following his older brother's footsteps while making his own mark along the way.

Christie is enjoying the ride in his senior season at Rolling Meadows High School.

"Yes, it's been a ton of fun," he said. "Halfway through it, I've really enjoyed every single moment of it. I'm looking forward to the second half as well."

That will likely include many more highlight-making plays from the Minnesota commit, who's one of the
top players in the state.
"He's just really good," said head coach Kevin Katovich. "He can score at three levels. He can shoot from outside. He's got a mid-range game. He can go to the basket."


Senior center Mark Nikolich-Wilson added, "He makes the right play. He makes tough shots. It's a real privilege to have someone that good on our team."

While Christie is the clear star of the team, he certainly doesn't act like it. That was especially true during the recruiting process that he went through without much fanfare.

"Our whole family tells us to be humble," Christie said. "There's no need to post every single offer. There's just no need to do that. Just keep it to yourself."


Humility isn't the only thing Cameron got from his family. The basketball genes are pretty good as well.

His brother Max was a star at Rolling Meadows before going to Michigan State and then getting drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers this year.

And both of his parents played college basketball, his dad at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, and his mom at Northwestern.

"It was very helpful to have parents who have gone through the whole process before," Christie said. "They were able to teach us a lot of things, especially my dad. He was the one who always taught us how to shoot, always did all those workouts with us when we were younger."

Is it nice to have those genes too?

"Yes, it's been very helpful to have a tall mom," he said.

Christie said he's learned a lot from his older brother Max as well.


"To always have the confidence in yourself," he said. "He went through that little wall in Michigan State. He learned from that. He learned how to battle through adversity. I've been trying to implement that myself, always stay confident no matter what's going on."

Max has even gotten a couple of starts with the Lakers as a rookie second round draft pick.

"It's a lot of fun to be able to turn on national TV and see him out there with the Lakers, playing with LeBron (James and Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook) and all those superstars," Christie said. "With a few injuries, he was able to take the opportunity and make the most of it."

Having the Christie brothers do a lot of good stuff at Rolling Meadows has made this a pretty fun stretch of coaching for Katovich.

"It's been something that, unless you're going through it, you don't appreciate how special it is to have two generational players, and they got to play together for two years as well," Katovich said. "Max is in the NBA. I think Cameron is headed to the NBA too. They've done more for our school than we've done for them."

But, are there any more Christies coming through Rolling Meadows?

"Unfortunately not," Katovich said. "I've talked to (parents) Max (Sr.) and Katrina to see if there's someone they've surprising me with later, but no, this is the last."


As Christie said, all that's left is to enjoy the rest of the ride.

Katovich said Christie's shot may even come a little easier than his older brother's, but both of them work so hard to overcome any inconsistencies in their game.
Sounds promising although I was hoping he could score at 4 levels.
 




hope he's as good as advertised. definitely have some excitement about him.
 

The minutes should be there and if Christie is legit and we add a couple competent guards, the team should be pretty fun to watch next year.

Payne has moments where he looks dominant and proper roster construction could really unleash that version of Payne.
Good plan!

Should've done that the last two years!

What was he thinking??
 

Time for a little positivity around here:

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (CBS) – The Rolling Meadows boy's basketball team is having another very good season and it's another member of the Christie family helping to lead the Mustangs' charge.

CBS 2's Matt Zahn caught up with senior guard Cameron Christie who's following his older brother's footsteps while making his own mark along the way.

Christie is enjoying the ride in his senior season at Rolling Meadows High School.

"Yes, it's been a ton of fun," he said. "Halfway through it, I've really enjoyed every single moment of it. I'm looking forward to the second half as well."

That will likely include many more highlight-making plays from the Minnesota commit, who's one of the
top players in the state.
"He's just really good," said head coach Kevin Katovich. "He can score at three levels. He can shoot from outside. He's got a mid-range game. He can go to the basket."


Senior center Mark Nikolich-Wilson added, "He makes the right play. He makes tough shots. It's a real privilege to have someone that good on our team."

While Christie is the clear star of the team, he certainly doesn't act like it. That was especially true during the recruiting process that he went through without much fanfare.

"Our whole family tells us to be humble," Christie said. "There's no need to post every single offer. There's just no need to do that. Just keep it to yourself."


Humility isn't the only thing Cameron got from his family. The basketball genes are pretty good as well.

His brother Max was a star at Rolling Meadows before going to Michigan State and then getting drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers this year.

And both of his parents played college basketball, his dad at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, and his mom at Northwestern.

"It was very helpful to have parents who have gone through the whole process before," Christie said. "They were able to teach us a lot of things, especially my dad. He was the one who always taught us how to shoot, always did all those workouts with us when we were younger."

Is it nice to have those genes too?

"Yes, it's been very helpful to have a tall mom," he said.

Christie said he's learned a lot from his older brother Max as well.


"To always have the confidence in yourself," he said. "He went through that little wall in Michigan State. He learned from that. He learned how to battle through adversity. I've been trying to implement that myself, always stay confident no matter what's going on."

Max has even gotten a couple of starts with the Lakers as a rookie second round draft pick.

"It's a lot of fun to be able to turn on national TV and see him out there with the Lakers, playing with LeBron (James and Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook) and all those superstars," Christie said. "With a few injuries, he was able to take the opportunity and make the most of it."

Having the Christie brothers do a lot of good stuff at Rolling Meadows has made this a pretty fun stretch of coaching for Katovich.

"It's been something that, unless you're going through it, you don't appreciate how special it is to have two generational players, and they got to play together for two years as well," Katovich said. "Max is in the NBA. I think Cameron is headed to the NBA too. They've done more for our school than we've done for them."

But, are there any more Christies coming through Rolling Meadows?

"Unfortunately not," Katovich said. "I've talked to (parents) Max (Sr.) and Katrina to see if there's someone they've surprising me with later, but no, this is the last."


As Christie said, all that's left is to enjoy the rest of the ride.

Katovich said Christie's shot may even come a little easier than his older brother's, but both of them work so hard to overcome any inconsistencies in their game.
Refreshing to see the comment about not feeling the need to post about every offer. Speaks to a humble kid who isn't as obsessed with the "look at me" culture of social media and what not.

Excited to see what kind of player he turns out to be but seems like we might have a good one coming in.
 



Refreshing to see the comment about not feeling the need to post about every offer. Speaks to a humble kid who isn't as obsessed with the "look at me" culture of social media and what not.

Excited to see what kind of player he turns out to be but seems like we might have a good one coming in.
I do think this kid is going to be quite the player. A really nice commit for Ben.

Just need to find a way to make it happen this year as a team and this thing could actually build.
 

Good plan!

Should've done that the last two years!

What was he thinking??
I have no idea why we didn't add more guards last year. I hope he just missed on them. The worst case scenario is that he thought Battle and Ihnen could be our starting wings last year and then Ihnen was hurt. That would show he just categorically doesn't understand basketball.

I'd rather just miss on a couple recruits than have a coach who thought Battle and Ihnen should be playing wing.
 

I have no idea why we didn't add more guards last year. I hope he just missed on them. The worst case scenario is that he thought Battle and Ihnen could be our starting wings last year and then Ihnen was hurt. That would show he just categorically doesn't understand basketball.

I'd rather just miss on a couple recruits than have a coach who thought Battle and Ihnen should be playing wing.
The problem with Battle is he can't guard anyone. He is a perimeter player offensively, but he can't guard a guy who plays big and he can't guard quick. You need to have players who can guard mulltiple positions and Battle simply can't. You can't play three out two in offensively with Battle playing inside, and if you go four out one in he needs to guard a big against many teams.

People only want to talk about where guys should be offensively, but what they can do defensively drives what you can do at the other end. Playing Payne and Garcia together gives a coach a lot more flexibility because you can guard defensively and you can flex what you are doing offensively.

All that said, I wish the team could keep Battle and play him in a role that fits him better. However, sense is Battle doesn't want to accept that here.
 
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The problem with Battle is he can't guard anyone. He is a perimeter player offensively, but he can't guard a guy who plays big and he can't guard quick. You need to have players who can guard mulltiple positions and Battle simply can't. You can't play three out two in offensively with Battle playing inside, and if you go four out one in he needs to guard a big against many teams.

People only what to talk about where guys should be offensively, but what they can do defensively drives what you can do at the other end. Playing Payne and Garcia together gives a coach a lot more flexibility because you can guard defensively and you can flex what you are doing offensively.
Yup, it only worked out when the PF he couldn't guard couldn't keep up with him so he got more open shots. So he was a liability on defense but made up for it on offense.

This year he couldn't guard quicker 3's, but also couldn't get his shot off as easily against them.

I am not optimistic about next year but I will be curious to see if Ben can construct a roster that is more complementary in their roles/fit. I have said it several times before but I couldn't believe we shut down recruiting of guards after Cooper/Samuels. I said last spring it was evidence Ben had confidence that either or both Henley/Carrington were B10 ready to start at guard. And...boy was one of us wrong.
 

The problem with Battle is he can't guard anyone. He is a perimeter player offensively, but he can't guard a guy who plays big and he can't guard quick. You need to have players who can guard mulltiple positions and Battle simply can't. You can't play three out two in offensively with Battle playing inside, and if you go four out one in he needs to guard a big against many teams.

People only what to talk about where guys should be offensively, but what they can do defensively drives what you can do at the other end. Playing Payne and Garcia together gives a coach a lot more flexibility because you can guard defensively and you can flex what you are doing offensively.

All that said, I wish the team could keep Battle and play him in a role that fits him better. However, Battle sense is he doesn't want to accept that here.
I heard Ben address a group last year and he pretty much said what you just did: "You are who you can guard."
That was a problem with Battle. I would not be at all surprised if Ben and Battle mutually agreed that this was a good time for Battle to move on. There was a fit problem here and to be successful Battle's minutes would have had to be more selective.
 

The problem with Battle is he can't guard anyone. He is a perimeter player offensively, but he can't guard a guy who plays big and he can't guard quick. You need to have players who can guard mulltiple positions and Battle simply can't. You can't play three out two in offensively with Battle playing inside, and if you go four out one in he needs to guard a big against many teams.

People only what to talk about where guys should be offensively, but what they can do defensively drives what you can do at the other end. Playing Payne and Garcia together gives a coach a lot more flexibility because you can guard defensively and you can flex what you are doing offensively.
Unfortunately, any lineup we ran out last year was going to force people to play out of position. The roster construction was abysmal. So I guess I don't really blame him for rolling Battle out at the 3 a bit, but I blame him for needing to.

I would never have broken up Payne and Garcia, the Battle situation is completely separate. There were definitely enough minutes for Payne, Garcia, Battle, and JOJ to split minutes at the 4/5 between them.

As to guarding multiple positions, I don't really think that's Battle's problem. In all honesty, he was just a below average to average defender at either position. Battle was a PLUS player at PF, because he often created more mismatches (PFs having to guard him) than mismatches created by his porous defense. Those mismatches to disappeared when Battle played SF. This doesn't even take into consideration how playing 4s (Battle and JOJ) at the wing all season completely gummed up the works for the rest of our offense.

That said, I don't think we have a single player on the roster right now who can guard multiple positions. I guess Carrington could guard some PGs and some wings, Ihnen can guard 4s and 5s.

I realize Battle isn't a perfect player and I realize he isn't a great fit with the better players (Garcia and Payne).
 


Since this is a Christy thread, I'll comment on that. Ben SHOULD be able to sell the portal on Christie ( a top player from IL/brother in NBA) and Garcia/Payne (arguably one of the top projected top 4/5 combo's in the BIG next season). A strong, proven PG and a SF could walk in and join Christie at the 2 (or Carrington), Garcia at the 4, Payne at the 5 and not be a bad setup. Depth with Betts, Fox, Ihnen, JOJ. In addition to that PG and SF Ben should go for guard depth. I'm hoping. Good luck Ben. Go earn that 2 mil. Get us some guards. Not worried about someone spelling Payne for 10-15 mn/gm. You can do that with Garcia, Fox, Ihnen.
 

I have no idea why we didn't add more guards last year. I hope he just missed on them. The worst case scenario is that he thought Battle and Ihnen could be our starting wings last year and then Ihnen was hurt. That would show he just categorically doesn't understand basketball.

I'd rather just miss on a couple recruits than have a coach who thought Battle and Ihnen should be playing wing.
You’re for sure correct on the last part. Let us indeed hope.

I guess what I’m getting at is, if not even from just himself than for sure through Thorson and the other assistants (I hope!), he knew that very well. And wanted and tried to get those guards here.

And failed … because, why would they want to come here?

And now, that’s only worse with how bad things have gone. Why would good guards come here?


Maybe this is completely wrong though. Maybe they thought they had the guards they needed.
 

Since this is a Christy thread, I'll comment on that. Ben SHOULD be able to sell the portal on Christie ( a top player from IL/brother in NBA) and Garcia/Payne (arguably one of the top projected top 4/5 combo's in the BIG next season). A strong, proven PG and a SF could walk in and join Christie at the 2 (or Carrington), Garcia at the 4, Payne at the 5 and not be a bad setup. Depth with Betts, Fox, Ihnen, JOJ. In addition to that PG and SF Ben should go for guard depth. I'm hoping. Good luck Ben. Go earn that 2 mil. Get us some guards. Not worried about someone spelling Payne for 10-15 mn/gm. You can do that with Garcia, Fox, Ihnen.
Yes! He has more to sell than people think. People know what a player Max Christie was and that Cam may project that same way. Cam needs some muscle on him but he has the look of a scorer who can really fill it up and has been doing so in a tough high school league. Unlike previous years- Ben has a few "must" position needs. It's much easier to sell that than go out and get a whole lineup.

Can he do it? I don't know...but he needs to!
 

Battle is a stretch four who is a limited defender Doesn’t mean you can’t play him major minutes within a team concept defensively. Not many players don’t have weaker parts to their game.
Correct. The problem was that there was no experienced speed at the other two guard positions to help him. Garcia is an ok defender, Henley was good on the ball but could get lost in help situations as did Carrington. Put it all together and Battle's lack of quickness hurt the team...and sometimes, he was just plain gassed from exerting himself on offense for 38 minutes
 

You’re for sure correct on the last part. Let us indeed hope.

I guess what I’m getting at is, if not even from just himself than for sure through Thorson and the other assistants (I hope!), he knew that very well. And wanted and tried to get those guards here.

And failed … because, why would they want to come here?

And now, that’s only worse with how bad things have gone. Why would good guards come here?

Maybe this is completely wrong though. Maybe they thought they had the guards they needed.
We can sell playing time and a good front court. But you're right, it's a tough sell.

That said, we are in desperation mode (we were last year) for guards. Even if the guards end up being Luke Loewe/EJ Stephens type, we need guards.
 

Yes! He has more to sell than people think. People know what a player Max Christie was and that Cam may project that same way. Cam needs some muscle on him but he has the look of a scorer who can really fill it up and has been doing so in a tough high school league. Unlike previous years- Ben has a few "must" position needs. It's much easier to sell that than go out and get a whole lineup.

Can he do it? I don't know...but he needs to!
Max Christie wasn't a very good college basketball player. He shot almost identical to what Battle shot last year (38% FG - 31% 3PT). Tons of potential but wasn't very good.
 

Since this is a Christy thread, I'll comment on that. Ben SHOULD be able to sell the portal on Christie ( a top player from IL/brother in NBA) and Garcia/Payne (arguably one of the top projected top 4/5 combo's in the BIG next season). A strong, proven PG and a SF could walk in and join Christie at the 2 (or Carrington), Garcia at the 4, Payne at the 5 and not be a bad setup. Depth with Betts, Fox, Ihnen, JOJ. In addition to that PG and SF Ben should go for guard depth. I'm hoping. Good luck Ben. Go earn that 2 mil. Get us some guards. Not worried about someone spelling Payne for 10-15 mn/gm. You can do that with Garcia, Fox, Ihnen.
Careful....that kind of hope and optimism is not received well around here.... :)

Will be interesting to see what if any impact Christie can have as a true freshman. Hopefully he can come in and help the back court right away.
 

Careful....that kind of hope and optimism is not received well around here.... :)

Will be interesting to see what if any impact Christie can have as a true freshman. Hopefully he can come in and help the back court right away.
From what i can tell, he's a much better all around better player than either Henley or Carrington were as high school seniors...
 

From what i can tell, he's a much better all around better player than either Henley or Carrington were as high school seniors...
Even if he isn't ready to start as a true freshman....if he could come off the bench, play some strong D and hit some 3s he would be a huge help.
 

I heard Ben address a group last year and he pretty much said what you just did: "You are who you can guard."
That was a problem with Battle. I would not be at all surprised if Ben and Battle mutually agreed that this was a good time for Battle to move on. There was a fit problem here and to be successful Battle's minutes would have had to be more selective.
which makes it even more puzzling to me how he had Ihnen suppositively penciled in as a 2
 




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