
Remembering Every 2016 NBA Draft First-Round Pick as a Recruit
Before they were shaking Adam Silver's hand and getting ready to sign multi-million dollar contracts, the latest crop of NBA first-round draft picks were once just promising young high school prospects.
Sure, most of them were very highly rated as prep recruits, but that was against weak competition and without knowing how they'd do at the college level. Or whether those skills that warranted such prep ratings would continue to develop to the point they were deemed worthy of a high draft selection.
We're taking a trip down memory lane to when each of the 22 first-rounders who played college ball in the U.S. were still trying to figure out where they'd end up. To help with the journey, we've scrounged up pictures from when they were either high school seniors or college freshmen, from as far back as 2012 (for drafted seniors) but as recently as 2015 for the many one-and-done players who went in the first round.
NOTE: Players are listed alphabetically, not based on their draft order.
Wade Baldwin IV, Vanderbilt
1 of 22
Recruiting class: 2014
High school: St. Joseph's (New Jersey)
Ranking: 131st
Wade Baldwin was considered the fourth-best player of a five-man Vanderbilt class that also included guards Matthew Fisher-Davis, Riley LaChance and Shelton Mitchell and forward Jeff Roberson. Four of those players were among the Commodores' top six scorers this past season, while Mitchell transferred to Clemson after his freshman year.
The fourth-best player in New Jersey in 2014, behind a trio of centers that included high school teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, Baldwin was a 3-star prospect who chose Vandy over Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Virginia Tech. His commitment, which came in September 2013, was credited to assistant Yanni Hufnagel, who went on to join Cuonzo Martin's staff at California before being fired this spring for sexual harassment and misconduct.
Despite committing to the Commodores, Baldwin still visited Virginia Tech a week later. That visit apparently didn't sway him enough to back off his pledge, as he signed with Vandy in November 2013 and went on to average 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists in two seasons in Nashville.
Baldwin won't be moving far, as he was taken 17th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Malik Beasley, Florida State
2 of 22
Recruiting class: 2015
High school: St. Francis (Georgia)
Ranking: 38th
The less-heralded of Florida State's impressive freshman backcourt duo this past season, Malik Beasley ended up outplaying Dwayne Bacon during his one year in college and parlayed that effort into being a first-round pick. The Seminoles probably thought they'd have him for more than one season when he committed last September.
Bacon and Beasley pledged to the 'Noles on the same day, with first Beasley and then Bacon making the most of their official visit to Tallahassee. At the time, Andrew Melnick of Fansided.com wrote that FSU might have "had the best recruiting day in the history of their program."
Beasley chose FSU over Connecticut, Oregon, UCLA, VCU and Wake Forest. The second-ranked player in Georgia (behind fellow 2016 first-round pick Jaylen Brown) had more than 30 scholarship offers, including from Georgia, where he visited the weekend before choosing FSU.
Beasley averaged 15.6 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 38.7 percent from three-point range.
DeAndre Bembry, Saint Joseph's
3 of 22
Recruiting class: 2013
High school: St. Patrick (New Jersey)
Ranking: 224th
DeAndre Bembry wasn't the only member of Saint Joseph's freshman class in 2013-14, but he was the only one worthy of being recognized by 247Sports. And while his overall ranking wouldn't stand out at most power-conference schools, for the Hawks he was their highest-rated prospect since C.J. Aiken was 88th in the 2010 class.
Aiken ended up leaving after his junior year, 2012-13, and currently plays in Poland. His departure opened the door for Bembry to start as a freshman, when he averaged 12.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He upped those numbers to 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his junior year, his second straight season averaging at least 17 points and seven boards.
Saint Joseph's won out for Bembry over Temple, where he made an official visit, as well as offers from the likes of Auburn, Seton Hall and Virginia Tech.
Jaylen Brown, California
4 of 22
Recruiting class: 2015
High school: Wheeler (Georgia)
Ranking: 4th
Jaylen Brown drew headlines this spring by not hiring an agent and handling all of the predraft workouts and interviews on his own. Those who followed his recruitment a year earlier weren't surprised, since Brown had already shown he preferred to do things differently.
Brown didn't pick California as his school until May 1, one of the last 5-star players to make their decision. A week before the spring signing period began he still had eight finalists, which he revealed in a video produced in conjunction with Bleacher Report. After being seen balling in the jersey of every one candidate, the video ended with Brown saying "you'll find out soon enough."
Even his choice of the Golden Bears was unusual, considering the other options were either in-state schools (Georgia, Georgia Tech) or big-name basketball programs (Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, UCLA).
Brown's arrival at California, along with freshman forward Ivan Rabb, had the Bears tabbed as a trendy Final Four pick and a team that should compete with Arizona and Oregon for the Pac-12 title. The Bears won 23 games, their most since 2011-12, but were bounced in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
As expected, Brown turned pro after one season and ended up going third overall to the Boston Celtics. Despite being considered a lock to be one-and-done, though, Brown stayed silent until declaring for the NBA draft just before the deadline.
Marquese Chriss, Washington
5 of 22
Recruiting class: 2015
High school: Elk Creek (California)
Ranking: 60th
One of two first-round picks from a Washington team that finished 9-9 in the Pac-12 and missed the NCAA tournament, Marquese Chriss was an example of the massive amount of talent the Huskies had in 2015-16 but which they couldn't parlay into better results. He was one of eight players the Huskies signed in that class, with only Dejounte Murray rated higher.
Chriss committed to Washington in January 2014, roughly 22 months before he'd make his collegiate debut by fouling out in 18 minutes in a loss to Texas in China. According to Percy Allen of the Seattle Times, getting an early pledge from Chriss—the second of the eight 2015 signees to come on board—was part of a "slight shift in recruiting strategy" that put more emphasis on early commitments instead of trying to grab players late in the cycle.
With offers from Arizona State, Boise State, Connecticut, Gonzaga, San Diego State, USC and Vanderbilt, part of Chriss' choice to go to Washington was based on following high school friend Brandon Lewis, who is set to be a redshirt sophomore on the Huskies' football team this fall.
Chriss shot 53 percent while averaging 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks as a freshman but played less than 25 minutes per game due to constant foul trouble. He was disqualified from 15 of the Huskies' 34 games, but thankfully with the Phoenix Suns he'll get six fouls before having to sit for good.
Kris Dunn, Providence
6 of 22
Recruiting class: 2012
High school: New London (Connecticut)
Ranking: 16th
Even before putting on the Providence uniform for the first time, Kris Dunn was already being compared to God. God Shammgod, that is.
At the time of his commitment in August 2011, ESPN's Dave Telep wrote that Dunn was "arguably the biggest addition to the program since 1995, when the Friars signed God Shammgod." Shammgod was a key part of the Friars team that made the Elite Eight in 1997, so being mentioned in the same sentence was a big deal for Dunn.
It came down to Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville or Providence for Dunn, but according to Telep the well-established relationship between the player and Friars coach Ed Cooley was the deciding factor. Cooley was heading into his first season at the school after spending five years at Fairfield, and it was during that time that he began recruiting Dunn.
This was also before Dunn began to soar up the recruiting rankings, and, as Telep noted, Cooley attended nearly every one of Dunn's AAU games. “He stuck with Dunn, and now Dunn has returned the favor.”
And Dunn continued to pay it forward by coming back for the 2015-16 season, his fourth with the program (he played only four games in 2013-14 because of injury) despite having the chance to be a high draft pick a year ago.
Henry Ellenson, Marquette
7 of 22
Recruiting class: 2015
High school: Rice Lake (Wisconsin)
Ranking: 9th
In getting taken 18th overall last week by the Detroit Pistons, Henry Ellenson became the first Marquette player to go in the top 20 since Dwyane Wade in 2003. This made sense because he was the highest-rated prospect to join the Golden Eagles in quite some time.
Ellenson pledged to Marquette—choosing it over Kentucky and Michigan State—in October 2014, a month before Steve Wojciechowski coached his first game with the program.
“Instead of waiting and waiting he wanted to make the decision and he's really comfortable with that,” his high school coach, Kevin Orr, told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “He knew Marquette was the place he wanted to be, so why wait?”
It didn't hurt that Marquette had picked up an influential player off the transfer market, giving a scholarship to older brother Wally Ellenson after he came over from Minnesota.
Though Ellenson wasn't able to lead Marquette into the NCAA tourney, it did win 20 games for the first time since 2012-13, and his time there has reestablished the program as a destination for notable recruits.
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
8 of 22
Recruiting class: 2012
High school: Sunrise Christian (Kansas)
Ranking: 178th
Watch any Oklahoma game this past season and it would have been impossible not to hear the broadcast crew wax on about Buddy Hield's childhood in the Bahamas. That's where he first started to garner attention, standing out in an annual showcase of local talent in front of high school and college coaches, which carved his path to the United States.
Kyle Lindsted, an assistant at Wichita State who at the time was a coach at Sunrise Christian, recruited Hield to play for his team in suburban Wichita, Kansas. He spent two years there, going from a relative unknown to a 3-star prospect in that time.
Oklahoma and Wichita State were the first schools to show interest, with Colorado and Kansas coming on later. Hield told Kellis Robinett of KansasCity.com he picked Oklahoma "because of his relationship with (coach Lon) Kruger and the Sooners’ style of play."
Who knows what Hield would have looked like in a Jayhawks uniform. He might not have had the ability to develop over the course of four seasons, going from 7.8 points per game as a freshman to 25 as a senior and ending up as the No. 6 pick in the NBA draft last week.
Brandon Ingram, Duke
9 of 22
Recruiting class: 2015
High school: Kinston (North Carolina)
Ranking: 3rd
A town of just more than 21,000 in east-central North Carolina, Kinston has managed to produce its fair share of college and NBA stars over the years. Almost all of them ended up playing for one of the state's biggest programs, including Reggie Bullock and Jerry Stackhouse starring at UNC before heading to the pros.
Not surprisingly, when Brandon Ingram had to narrow down his list of suitors the final group included three Tobacco Road teams (Duke, North Carolina State and UNC), as well as Kansas and Kentucky. And all five were apparently still in the running until the final moments.
“He hosted each of those five schools for in-home visits in the past two weeks, with Duke making two trips to see Ingram late in the process,” ESPN's Jeff Borzello wrote in April 2015.
UNC seemed to be the favorite because Stackhouse was his AAU coach, but he told Borzello that the Tar Heels' ongoing NCAA investigation into academic misconduct scared him away. Had that not been an issue, Ingram might have picked UNC months earlier, but he ended up picking rival Duke.
Ingram's lone season with the Blue Devils was wildly productive but also personally frustrating. He averaged 17.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks but had to spend much of the year out of position because power forward Amile Jefferson was lost for the season with a foot injury in December. Despite that, Ingram's effort enabled his stock to soar, to the point that many experts put him ahead of eventual No. 1 pick Ben Simmons on their draft boards.
Brice Johnson, North Carolina
10 of 22
Recruiting class: 2012
High school: Edisto (South Carolina)
Ranking: 45th
While a handful of college programs have chosen to focus on recruiting players they know aren't likely to stick around more than a year, let alone their entire career, North Carolina coach Roy Williams has mostly stayed away from these prospects. It's not that he didn't think Brice Johnson could be an NBA player some day, just not so soon after getting his commitment in October 2011 over Clemson, Florida and North Carolina State.
At only 195 pounds dripping wet, the 6'9” Johnson was a long ways away from having the kind of body that could make it in the pros. Though he didn't say as much in reporting on Johnson's commitment, ESPN's Dave Telep alluded to the strength issue by noting “he'll have plenty of reasons to hit the weight room and grow up quickly.”
In addition to growing an inch, Johnson was up to 230 pounds during his senior year at UNC, when he averaged 17 points and 10.4 rebounds.
Damian Jones, Vanderbilt
11 of 22
Recruiting class: 2014
High school: Scotlandville Magnet (Louisiana)
Ranking: 87th
After going heavy on guards in the previous recruiting class—a group that included fellow first-round pick Wade Baldwin IV—Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings focused on big men ahead of the 2014-15 season. Of the 19 players the Commodores offered scholarships to from that class, 11 were power forwards or centers.
They managed to sign two of the eight power forwards they pursued, with Damian Jones joined by Luke Kornet as the only members of the 2014 class. Jones rated as the second-best of the lot among power forward targets, trailing only former Memphis and current Virginia forward Austin Nichols.
Jones was listed at 6'9” and 220 pounds by 247Sports, much smaller than the 7'0” and 245 pounds he's listed at now on Golden State's website. He was even smaller when he committed to Vandy in September 2012, more than a year before his first college game, but he made the most of the school's weight program and training to bulk up and improve strength.
From Baton Rouge, Louisiana, LSU was on his list, along with Florida, Georgia, Kansas State, Oklahoma, St. John's and Stanford. He benefited, exposure-wise, from being on the same club team as current Duke senior guard Matt Jones and former Kentucky forward Julius Randle.
Jones ended up averaging 13.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in three seasons with Vandy.
Skal Labissiere, Kentucky
12 of 22
Recruiting class: 2015
High school: Lausanne Collegiate School (Tennessee)
Ranking: 2nd
Skal Labissiere spent much of his senior year of high school—during which he didn't play—projected as one of the first picks of the 2016 NBA draft. It didn't matter where he went to college or what he did; it was a lock.
Instead, he ended up being the third-to-last selection in the first round, plummeting after a freshman year at Kentucky in which he fell far short of his way-too-lofty expectations.
Think we're exaggerating? In April 2015, Draft Express moved Labissiere to No. 1 in its 2016 mock draft based on how he looked in an informal practice at Kentucky (h/t Fansided.com). That was despite Labissiere not having much in terms of real competition for more than a year, the result of eligibility issues stemming from him switching schools between his junior and senior year.
Despite that, Labissiere was one of the most highly coveted recruits of 2015 even though he was among the first of the big names to commit and sign. Before picking Kentucky his list also included Baylor, Georgetown, Memphis, North Carolina and Tennessee.
He might have produced more at one of those schools than the 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds he managed with Kentucky, though it's hard to imagine numbers that would have aligned with what he was expected to do.
Caris LeVert, Michigan
13 of 22
Recruiting class: 2012
High school: Pickerington Central (Ohio)
Ranking: 241st
If not for a rash of injuries that impacted the second half of his college career, Caris LeVert's time at Michigan might have been much more productive. It still resulted in a mid-first-round selection despite only playing 33 games in his final two college seasons.
Then again, LeVert wasn't that well-regarded of a prospect when he got to Ann Arbor, basically an afterthought in the Wolverines' seventh-ranked recruiting class in 2012. Forwards Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary and guard Nik Stauskas were the featured attractions, and even shooter Spike Albrecht was rated higher than LeVert, who didn't even warrant a picture on his 247Sports profile.
And Michigan only got LeVert because of a move made by another Big Ten team. When Illinois hired John Groce from Ohio, that prompted LeVert to ask for a release from his letter of intent with the Bobcats.
And as fate would have it, LeVert would go 6-0 against Groce in his career, averaging 12.8 points per game (compared to 10.4 overall). His final game against Illinois, in December, saw him score 22 with 10 assists in the second-to-last game of his career.
Dejounte Murray, Washington
14 of 22
Recruiting class: 2015
High school: Rainier Beach (Washington)
Ranking: 48th
The highest-rated member of Washington's eight-player recruiting class, Dejounte Murray was one of a quartet of Seattle-area prospects who joined the Huskies together. Coach Lorenzo Romar began his run with the program more than a decade ago by managing to keep some of the region's best players from leaving, and getting Murray to commit despite several consecutive underachieving seasons on the court was a sign he still had the recruiting touch.
It was the first time since 2011 that Washington had landed the state's top prospect, missing out on Shaqquan Aaron in 2014 and Zach LaVine the year before that.
“Dejounte Murray upgrades the Class of 2015 recruiting class from a solid group ... to a class that is one with the capabilities to put UW back on the map,” Ben Knibbe of SB Nation wrote after Murray committed in June 2014.
Murray mostly lived up to his expectations as a freshman, averaging 16.1 points while leading Washington in rebounding (6.0) and steals (1.8) in 2015-16. The 6'5” guard will need to work on his three-point shot, having made just 28.8 percent of his attempts, if he wants to hang on with the San Antonio Spurs.
Jamal Murray, Kentucky
15 of 22
Recruiting class: 2015
High school: Athlete Institute Basketball Academy (Canada)
Ranking: 10th
While teammate Skal Labissiere's draft stock seemed to drop by the minute this past season, Jamal Murray's was on a perpetual rise. This actually began before he got to Kentucky, an upward arc that got even more pronounced when he starred for Canada's team at the Pan American Games in 2015.
After watching him excel against players in their twenties without showing any fear, ESPN's Fran Fraschilla told the Louisville Courier-Journal that Murray would thrive with the Wildcats.
"Jamal's going to go back to college this year and he's going to go against guys who are 18, 19, 20, 21," Fraschilla said. "He's going to have a natural transition."
Kentucky and Oregon were neck-and-neck trying to land Murray, the two schools that held out hoping Murray would reclassify from the class of 2016 and fill their available slot. Though Oregon was considered the front-runner, based on 81 percent of Crystal Ball predictions on 247Sports, he picked the Wildcats and ended up being John Calipari's highest-scoring player ever at the school.
Jakob Poeltl, Utah
16 of 22
Recruiting class: 2014
High school: Arkadia Traiskirchen (Austria)
Ranking: N/A
In this age of social media and all-encompassing recruiting sites, it's hard to imagine that players just suddenly pop up on a college roster without some news about them beforehand. Yet that's pretty much the route Jakob Poeltl took from Austria to Utah, with no one really knowing what he'd become.
The first real news on his sighting came from the Utes themselves, who in April 2014 issued a release announcing his addition. They also indicated he also drew interest from Arizona and California, but according to Kyle Goon of the Salt Lake Tribune, it was Utah that had the edge because coach Larry Krystkowiak flew to Austria twice to convince Poeltl's parents he could make "an immediate impact" in the Pac-12.
Because he came from overseas and didn't play in a standard high school, most of Poeltl's info was based on his club team and participation with Austrian national teams.
"He has been burning the candle at both ends in order to get here and experience the college atmosphere," Krystkowiak said in the release. "We can't wait to have him here in this environment because he has a terrific future ahead of him. It's a great day for our program."
Little did we know that would result in 13.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game over two seasons.
Taurean Prince, Baylor
17 of 22
Recruiting class: 2012
High school: Warren (Texas)
Ranking: 194th
Baylor signed five players in 2012, none less regarded than Taurean Prince. He's one of three who ended up having his name announced during a professional sports draft, but he's the only one that will have a shot to play in the NBA this fall.
Isaiah Austin—the No. 4 prospect in that class—had any chance of a pro career wiped out after being diagnosed with a rare heart condition, but the NBA drafted him in 2014 as a "ceremonial" pick. Rico Gathers, 34th overall in 2012, was taken by the Dallas Cowboys in April's NFL draft. And guard L.J. Rose and forward Chad Rykhoek, both of whom rated higher than Prince, are both out of basketball.
Being overlooked as a recruit is nothing compared to what Prince dealt with growing up, though. According to John Werner of the Waco Tribune, Prince was briefly homeless while living with his father, and academics nearly derailed his playing career early in high school.
He overcame all that to average 15.9 points and 6.1 rebounds as a senior after playing just over six minutes per game as a freshman.
Malachi Richardson, Syracuse
18 of 22
Recruiting class: 2015
High school: Trenton Catholic (New Jersey)
Ranking: 32nd
There were 16 schools that offered Malachi Richardson a scholarship, and several of those teams stayed interested right up until he signed with Syracuse in November 2014. He took visits to Connecticut, Indiana and Villanova before committing, while Arizona and Rutgers were also on his final list.
But a quick look at Richardson, and you could see he was meant to be an Orange.
"Richardson is a physically powerful wing and elite long-range shooter who will be able to function at either small forward or, more likely, shooting guard and has the sort of length that fits nicely into Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone," Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy wrote in December 2013.
Fitting the long-and-lean mold that coach Boeheim looks for in his guards and wings, it was hard to believe any other team had a real shot at him.
Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga
19 of 22
Recruiting class: 2014
High school: Unicaja Malaga (Spain)
Ranking: 193rd
Unlike fellow Eastern European/West Coast college standout Jakob Poeltl, who was a relative unknown before he showed up at Utah, Domantas Sabonis had quite a reputation. Being the son of former NBA center Arvydas Sabonis will do that for you, but it wasn't enough to rate him very high.
Sabonis was considered the 47th-best power forward in the 2014 class, a few spots behind guys like Dave Bell (Ohio State), Jake Hammond (Nebraska) and Tory Miller (Colorado). That trio has combined to score 363 points in college, while Sabonis had more than that as a freshman and then averaged 17.6 points and 11.8 rebounds in his sophomore year.
"Though there had been talk about the Oregon Ducks and Arizona Wildcats as well, the Bulldogs were the most aggressive in their pursuit of the forward and were met with a mutual interest," Fansided.com's David MacKay wrote in 2014.
Gonzaga has made a cottage industry out of picking up strong foreign players, with the 2016 class including signees from Denmark, France and Japan. The Bulldogs can only hope one of those pans out as well as Sabonis.
Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State
20 of 22
Recruiting class: 2013
High school: God's Academy (Texas)
Ranking: N/A
As a mid-major school that's had to shuffle through multiple conferences due to recent realignment, New Mexico State often has to search far and wide for players just to fill its roster. That means looking outside the country, patrolling the junior colleges and finding guys who get overlooked.
Pascal Siakam fits the first and third of those descriptions, a native of Cameroon who moved to the Dallas area during high school in order to pursue his basketball dreams. Before that, though, he thought soccer was his path.
"I absolutely love soccer and it's one of my passions," he said in October 2014, according to the school's website. "I follow the sport religiously and love everything about it."
NMSU was the only school that showed major interest in Siakam, and it had a plan for him. He was redshirted as a freshman in order to bulk up then was the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2014-15. With an even bigger sophomore year, he became the Aggies' first first-round NBA pick in 46 years and their first selection of any kind since 1991.
Ben Simmons, LSU
21 of 22
Recruiting class: 2015
High school: Montverde Academy (Florida)
Ranking: 1st
For a player who has drawn so much attention for so long, Ben Simmons' recruitment was relatively free of drama. He committed to LSU in October 2013, more than a year before he could sign, and never wavered from that pledge despite many wondering why someone of his status wasn't going to a more high-profile program.
But no other school had David Patrick, Simmons' godfather and a member of Johnny Jones' staff at LSU.
"I know a lot of people will be struck by me deciding to go to LSU, but that's where I felt most comfortable," Simmons told ESPN when he committed. "I feel I can progress a lot there, and I feel blessed to have offers from all those schools."
Patrick played pro basketball in Australia with Simmons' father, Dave Simmons, and that relationship made Ben Simmons a lock for the Tigers.
Simmons wasn't able to be a one-man team and get LSU into the NCAA tournament, despite leading it in almost every statistical category, but he did end up going first overall in the NBA draft as many projected before he ever entered college.
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
22 of 22
Recruiting class: 2012
High school: Sexton (Michigan)
Ranking: 129th
The winner of multiple national player of the year awards this spring was the lowest-ranked member of his recruiting class. The only player in Division I to average at least 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 2015-16 was basically an afterthought whose most notable attribute was that his father, Carlton Valentine, played for the Spartans in the 1980s.
Valentine committed to Michigan State in August 2010, before his junior year of high school, and then became more noticed by other schools, but it was too late. Georgetown, Michigan and Wisconsin all showed interest, but none were going to pull Valentine away from the Spartans, not with his family connections and the fact that he grew up in nearby Lansing.
Had one of them been able to do so, maybe they would have ended up with a four-year standout who got better each year and who was drafted 14th overall by the Chicago Bulls.
All statistics courtesy of Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information from 247Sports, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.





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