Bill Self Press Conference Quotes

Feb. 5, 2010

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Head Coach Bill Self

Press Conference Quotes

February 5, 2010

On practicing free throws:

“No, we didn’t practice shooting free throws yesterday. The guys came in and watched tape, they were shooting them on their own, but it wasn’t required. I am a big believer that if you can’t put yourself into game-type situations it doesn’t do near as much good as a lot of people think to shoot a lot of free throws.”

On playing Nebraska earlier in the season:

“We were ready to play and we got behind 12-1. Everybody made three’s the first half, it was a horse contest, and usually when head coach Doc Sadler’s team and my team get together it is not like that at all. We need to do a better job of getting to their shooters. Hopefully we won’t dig ourselves a hole like we did last time.”

On Xavier Henry’s shooting:

“I think sometimes guys just miss shots, but after a course of playing so many games guys start getting defended a little bit differently. I think in his (Henry’s) case he is just not shooting the ball well and he just hasn’t made the shots. However, he is a good shooter that hasn’t made shots, if he was a bad shooter that hadn’t made shots then you would worry about it. He is a good shooter that hasn’t made shots and when he comes out of it, he will come out of it in a big way. I watched a great player last night that was shooting under 30 percent in a league play go 8-for-10 from the field. He (Henry) is going to have a bust out game.”

On playing at home:

“It is always great to play here. It is especially good to play here when you know you have a quick turn around. The Big 12 has done something well by scheduling the Saturday and Monday games. If you play Monday you are away Saturday and if you play Big Monday then you are home Saturday. Not very times did you play back-to-back games with a one day to prep and that is basically what we are doing by playing Nebraska Saturday and Texas on Monday.”

Freshman guard Xavier Henry

On what advice his older teammates have given him during his slump:

“They tell me to keep shooting and keep playing. I need to keep going to the rim and keep playing hard. Coach [Self] has said the same thing.”

On if his shot is not falling because teams are scouting him better and playing better defense:

“I don’t know. Things happen for a reason. My shot hasn’t been falling, but it will get better. I am just going to keep practicing hard.”

On how it feels that the coaching staff still shows faith in him during his slump by continuing to start him:

“Yes, that is good. It means I am still bringing something else to the table. I am starting to take more pride in defense and hustling and that’s the player I am trying to become.”

Sophomore forward Marcus Morris

On if he shoots a high free throw percentage during practice:

“I shoot a real high percentage because I am real calm and I am by myself. That is how I try to look at it during games. I know I missed a couple free throws at the game [at Colorado on Wednesday], but I feel like I made the ones that really counted.”

On if he is happy to play at home again after two road games:

“Definitely. I couldn’t wait to get back home. I feel like we have been away for so long even though we really haven’t been. It is definitely good to be back home. There is no place like The Fieldhouse.”

On what the team needs to do to defeat Nebraska:

“We need to come out strong and try to come out with a lot of energy to put them away early and not have it come down to the last couple of possessions. That is what really hurt us in the last game. We came out sluggish and they got an early lead. It is better if we just come out real intense and just get after it.”

On if he thought the team would be undefeated in the conference at this point in the season:

“We never really thought about it. We were just going into conference trying to play as hard as we could. It is great that we are undefeated and we are going to try to stay undefeated. We never look forward to losing. We are going to come out and play our best against every team we play, we never look past a team.”

Sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor

On finding his comfort zone:

“I feel good. I’m just trying to go out there and be more aggressive.”

On playing at home:

“I feel like we haven’t been here forever. I’m excited for tomorrow; it’s going to be fun.

On whether or not the team needs to make a statement win:

“I think we’ve got to come out and play, we can’t keep having these nail-biters. That just goes to show you how good our conference is. Any night, if you’re not ready to play you’re going to get beat. We’ve got to come out here and play, Nebraska’s a good team. Even though we’re playing at home, I’m sure we’re going to be excited, but we’ve got to come out and have some intensity and I think we’ll do a good job tomorrow.”

On what he remembers from Nebraska earlier in the season:

“It was a tough game, a fast-paced game. I remember them getting out to a big lead at first and we had to claw back. Their crowd was really intense and really into it, and it should be a good atmosphere here tomorrow too. We’ve just got to come out ready to play.”

On the team’s standing in the Big 12:

“This is where we knew we could be if we played well and we worked hard. I think we’ve been working hard, everybody’s been getting after it at practice. I think we’re having fun too, I guess it’s easier to have fun when you’re winning. We’ve been enjoying playing, so I think when we have tough games and pull through, games like that are always fun to win. I knew we could be at this point if we played like we were capable.”