Postgame Quotes
Jan. 20, 2010
Postgame Quotes
Kansas 81 , Baylor 75
January 20, 2010
Kansas head coach Bill Self
On the game overall:
“That was a great game. Both teams played really well. Baylor, so much of their offense is predicated on guys making hard shots. They are a shot-making team. We guarded them really well and they shot 52 percent. That’s the first time any team has busted 52 percent on us in 91-straight games. We can’t be happy about that, but we guarded them. We did a good job on the boards even though we got out rebounded by five. They are the leading rebounding team in the country. We really got after them defensively. They shot a good percentage, but they turned the ball over a lot. We made our free throws and everybody played well and contributed. Marcus Morris was unbelievable. That’s probably the best game he has played since he’s been at KU. Of course our little point guard (Sherron Collins), all he did was get 28 points and have no turnovers. He made every play down the stretch, he and Marcus. I’m really proud of our guys. We fought hard and we beat a really good team tonight; a team that played really well on our floor.”
On Baylor breaking Kansas’ streak of 91 games holding an opponent under 50 percent shooting:
“It’s a good or a bad shot when it leaves his hand, not if it goes in or not. It’s fools gold when guys miss open looks. They didn’t get open looks tonight. We guarded them. Quincy Acy is throwing in a right hand jump hook on the baseline from eight feet with a guy all over him. LaceDarius (Dunn) made some hard shots. Tweety (Carter) made some hard shots. LaceDarius is probably about as good an offensive player as there is in the country as far as just being able to score. We played well. I wish we would have held them to a lower percentage. That would have helped us quite a bit. They shot a good percentage, but we also got 15 steals.”
On Baylor’s zone defense:
“They are so long. They don’t let the ball go flat. The key to running a zone offense is getting the ball flat or getting the ball to the middle. We didn’t get it flat enough, but we certainly got if flat at some key moments. We got the ball to the high post quite a bit. We did a good job executing against the zone. Cole (Aldrich) couldn’t get a shot to go down in the first half, but we got the ball where it needed to go.”
On the play of Marcus Morris:
“He’s more mature. He’s too honest when he talks to the media. He says he has to play harder so the perception is that he doesn’t play hard. There’s a difference between playing hard every possession and competing every possession. He’s getting to the point where he’s learning how to compete better. I thought Markieff (Morris) did some good things, too. Marcus is playing at a level that we all thought he could play at and certainly hope he can keep it up.”
Senior Guard Sherron Collins
On if he was a pass-first point guard tonight:
“I’m not always looking to pass. I was just looking to drive on the zone, and it just opened up and I knew I could get it to everyone else. Once I started passing the ball, I was looking for everyone else and they started to score.”
On the key to being better against a zone defense:
“It’s one of those deals where you have to prepare for it and go over how we want to attack. Coach (Self) said we have to get back to our old self, and when the pressure comes, we have to love the pressure. Normally, we are very good against the zone – and I think we got our swagger back today.”
On if it’s disappointing that Baylor shot over 50 percent from the field tonight:
“It is a little disappointing; I’m not going to say it isn’t. Regardless of the outcome, they took some tough shots. Brady (Morningstar) played great defense on LaceDarius (Dunn), and he still had 27 points. Tweety (Carter) was still Tweety. We obviously can be better, but I thought we played a pretty good game.”
On why a zone defense gives Kansas so much trouble:
“It actually is the way the teams play their zone, it was not a regular 2-3 zone tonight; it was very high, they spread the wings out – so we had to attack the gaps. That’s how you beat every zone, just attack the gaps. We go against the zone everyday in practice, so we know what to do when it comes.”
Junior Center Cole Aldrich
On Baylor’s performance:
“They hit some really tough shots. I think they hit 50-something percent from the field. Since I’ve been here, I don’t think anybody has done that; they just made some tough shots.”
On if he thinks the team relies too much on Sherron Collins:
“That is the thing that comes with his territory – when you’re the leader of the team, you have to do that. Sherron is the point guard, the leader, the general of our team – we look to him to make big shots, but he loves it. He enjoys being in that position.”
On if a light has clicked on for Marcus Morris in the past few games:
“I think so. I think Marcus and even (Markieff Morris) have really played well in the last few games. Marcus has rebounded well, and he’s just getting to the basket, and finding ways to get easy baskets.”
Sophomore Forward Marcus Morris
On Sherron Collins’ performance:
“It is amazing what he can do. When we’re down, he can carry us, and that is what a true leader does. I’m not surprised when he steps up on nights like tonight.”
On if Sherron gets a different look when he’s about to take over a game:
“I can tell that something is about to happen. He is very poised in the huddle. Every time we go into the huddle, he will tell us that he has our backs – and we know what that means, he’s about to turn it on and take over.”
Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew
On losing:
“It’s really frustrating. The good thing is we know an area where we can improve. In our two losses, we’ve had turnovers and that’s something we need to work on. Offensively, we executed well shooting 52 percent and holding them to 43 percent and we out-rebounded them, so one area stands out.”
On improving:
“Well, the good thing is first you have to know about it before you work on it. We haven’t had turnover issues all season long, so I credit the Big 12 and the atmosphere maybe played into some of that. Now we know how we can improve and how we can get better.”
On the lack of offensive rebounding in the last couple minutes:
“I wish we could go back and do the last three minutes again, because we didn’t get those offensive boards late in the game. I credit KU for doing what they needed to do.”
Baylor Junior Guard LaceDarius Dunn
On the first half:
“Going into halftime with the game tied up, I think that we did a good job handling the ball and dealing with the crowd. Most of all, we slowed it down, because Kansas likes to run. So we tried our best to slow it down every once in a while and run our offense. We did a good job (in) the first half, and I think that the just came out the second half and played.”
On the defenders that guarded him:
“I just came out and played to have fun. Morningstar did a great job playing defense, I credit him on that. Tyshawn Taylor coming off of the bench did another great job. I think that both of those guys did a great job containing me even though I was making shots.”
On what went wrong at the end of the game:
“Offensive rebounds. I think that they got three offensive rebounds in the last three minutes. That hurt us the most, them getting offensive rebounds and then going up to the basket and getting fouled. We are going to try to go back and do it differently the next game.”
