Bill Self Press Conference Quotes, 1-27
Jan. 27, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
On the team getting back on track against Baylor:
“I think the results of the Villanova game and being beaten like that had a lot to do with the mindset going into the Baylor game. I think that if things had gone differently in Philadelphia, we wouldn’t have had the same mindset as we did at Baylor.”
On the team’s mindset:
“Yesterday was our day off, so our mindset is good. We will practice hard today and hard tomorrow. They will be very excited to play a talented team on Saturday. Kansas has had a lot of great games with Texas over the years and they beat us twice last year. I think that our guys will be very excited to play.”
On Texas playing without P.J. Tucker:
“I don’t think there is a big drop off. One thing that Texas has is bodies. Is it a loss for them? Absolutely. It takes away a toughness guy, he is a stud. You also replace him with an All-American. (Jason) Klotz is about as good of a low post player as anyone in the league. The difference is that they are not going to have as many big guys as they have in the past. But they are still good.”
On Wayne Simien:
“One thing he has made a conscious effort of is passing the ball out of a double-team and making others better. The last two games he has nine assists. That is probably the biggest improvement I have seen, his passing.”
On KU’s weaknesses:
“I think our biggest weakness has been on the offensive glass. We know that that will be a big part of the game on Saturday.”
On ESPN Gameday being in town:
“I have to do something Saturday morning, but that won’t change my schedule. I think that I will just have to walk down there for about 15 minutes. They won’t have access to our players on gameday. I think it is positive. You can’t buy that kind of exposure. We basically get 10 hours of coverage from Allen Fieldhouse. I think that is great exposure for Lawrence, Kan., and our university.”
On C.J. Giles:
“C.J. won’t play this week. He will get it checked again at the first of next week.”
On Texas’s Daniel Gibson:
“He has poise and he is a great shooter. He has the chance to be mentioned in the same breath as T.J. Ford. He is a fabulous shooter against good competition. He has really stepped his game up in the absence of Tucker. He is playing into his role as a top-10 player in America that everyone expected him to be. He is having as good of a freshman year as anyone in America.”
On KU’s freshmen development:
“I would say overall that I am pleased. Everything is magnified at Kansas. Every other place if a guy doesn’t play it is because he is young. Here it is, what’s wrong? There is no doubt that we expected them to go through ups and downs. This is a really solid freshman class that we recruited, but it wasn’t the impact freshman class that a lot of people have around the country. It is hard to come in and make an impact when you have Wayne, Aaron, Keith and J.R. on your team. There are not enough minutes. I am please, I think they are all going to be good players. I think we can get more out of them. They need more opportunities, but they are all going to be very good players at the University of Kansas.”
On the status of Russell Robinson:
“I think his mindset should be fine. Russell and I have talked at length. Here is a freshman that is playing the seventh most minutes on a team that is 15-1. He knew when he came here that this would be the role. He is just inconsistent, like most freshman are.”
Robinson continued:
“When you have a guy like Jeff (Hawkins) that has played very well in practice, and you have had some freshmen that are in slumps, you give a guy a chance to play and it becomes big news. Whereas this would not be news anywhere else. Russell is fine and he understands. He just has to take care of Russell. Just because you are not playing doesn’t mean that the coach is mad at you. I am fine with Russell, Hawkins has just played very well of late.”
On the Villanova loss:
“When I was at Illinois, the year Indiana went to the final game, they made 16-of-21 from threes. It was just like our game at Villanova, we were in striking distance at halftime and then they blew it apart in the second half. That team bounced back to win the league. I don’t think it is ever good to get it handed to you like we did. I am not going to say that I am glad it happened. But since it did happen we will be able to spin something positive out of it. If it helps us play better in conference play, it is certainly a bonus.”
