Bill Self Press Conference Quotes
Feb. 1, 2010
VIDEO: Self Press Conference
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Head Coach Bill Self
Press Conference Quotes
February 1, 2010
On playing at Colorado on Wednesday:
“We’ve had success when we’ve gone out there, but we really haven’t played well. Colorado has the best team that they’ve had in recent memory and I believe that their last four losses have all been under six points. They’ve already shown that they can beat a team at home more easily than what we have with Baylor. This will be a game where we’ll have to get our guys’ attention today and have a couple of good work-outs. You can lose to anyone at any time, but they’re a good team and we need to play better.”
On earning the recent No. 1 ranking:
“I’d rather be ranked number one on February first than on December first, but I’d rather be ranked number one on March first than February first. The longer you’re ranked high, the better season you’ve had. We were ranked number one in the preseason this year in large part because so many teams lost key players and we didn’t, so we hadn’t really earned it. I think we’ve done a lot of things this year even though in a lot of people’s minds we haven’t played great. I just hope we’re playing our best ball when it counts the most.”
On Colorado freshman Alec Burks’ injury:
“That’s a great get by Colorado and a recruiting blunder by a lot of folks. I don’t know what he’s averaging exactly, but it’s something like 16 plus. He’s good. I watched him play in the state finals last year and I thought he was really good then, but he’s a player. He fits Jeff (Bzdelik)’s system well. It would be a loss for their team if he’s not able to play because he’s hard to guard.”
On playing in February:
“I’ve seen Sherron (Collins) and Cole (Aldrich) talk about how hard it is to win at Nebraska and how hard it is to win in Ames. They’ve done that in front of me. I made practice ridiculous for our starting players last week. They were out there getting tackled and that kind of stuff. Hopefully we’ve played guys the right amount of minutes in the season thus far where all the guys’ legs will be fresh moving forward into February. This is the month where all good teams will make their move.”
Senior Center Cole Aldrich
On preparing for Colorado:
“They don’t really have a true center or even a true forward. They love to shoot the ball, they love to drive the ball and get to the paint. It is going to be tough for us. It is obviously tough to guard that offense, but I think our [scout] team really does a heck of a job preparing us.”
On the possibility of an emotional hangover after KSU and MU:
“I don’t think there will be any hangover. We had a great day yesterday with Special Olympics. It was just kind of a day to get away from things and just have fun with the kids. It’s always nice to have one of those days of not being back in the grind of practice and all that. You can just kind of set your feet up and enjoy life.”
On Sherron’s play:
“I remember sitting in the timeout and Sherron [Collins] was cramping. I thought to myself, it doesn’t matter if he’s cramping, he will still be out there. That is just the type of guy he is. He’s just a great competitor and a great leader of our team.”
Junior guard Tyrel Reed
On the team’s composure against KSU:
“I thought we did a good job. I thought we were calm out there and collected. When you are on the road, you have to think of the next play the whole game. I thought our guys did a good job of that in the first half and the second half. We kept our cool and just kept thinking next play.”
On the depth of the team:
“In a lot of games, one or two players have a pretty good game and everyone else is just average. But I thought everyone played pretty well against KSU.”
On whether the team is ready for the stretch of upcoming games:
“I think so. You break up your seasons. You’ve got preseason, nonconference and now we are getting into the brunt of conference. We have got to be ready. We have a game Wednesday, Saturday and Monday. So we have to stay focused and keep getting better.”
Junior forward Marcus Morris
On what has been going right for him lately:
“Well I know what is going wrong. I am missing a lot of layups. I missed a lot last game. I think I’m just playing a little bit harder and being more active on offensive rebounds.”
On the stretch of upcoming games:
“I talked to the young guys a little bit. These games are going to start coming fast and they are going to be tough games. You have to be ready for it.”
On being No. 1:
“Of course I like being number one, who wouldn’t? But that is not our main focus right now. Our main focus is to get better everyday. I feel like we have earned it somewhat. Texas lost. Kentucky lost, both in close games. Our game was close too, and that could have gone either way.”
Senior guard Sherron Collins
On the sportsmanship between KU and KSU:
“There’s a great amount of respect between both teams. Even though it’s a rivalry, we still know each other from previous camps and AAU. [Jacob] Pullen and I are both from Chicago, so there’s a great deal of respect with both teams trying to win.”
On how this KSU team compares with the team that beat them two years ago:
“I think this year’s team is a little more well-rounded. They have about five bigs they can throw at you and they are deep. Back then, they only had about five or six players.”
On Cole getting his game back on track:
“It was a slow start for him at the beginning of the year. Now he’s Cole again. He was just in a slump and he was going through some hard times. We had his back and we were supportive of him and encouraging him and now he’s starting to play again. I’m glad he came around now and not later in the year.”
