Postgame Quotes
Feb. 9, 2008
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas 100, Baylor 90<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Feb. 9, 2008
Postgame Quotes
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On Baylor’s guards:
“They are good. Not only are they fast, but they made shots tonight. You don’t anticipate them making as many hard shots as they did. I think in the last three minutes they scored 20 points. They’d make a three, we’d make a two. Obviously we have some concerns defensively with our guards and they certainly have a talented group.”
On Kansas’ rebounding:
“We rebounded miserably to start the game. They had six offensive rebounds in the first six or eight minutes and then they didn’t get any more the rest of the first half. We did a great job from that point foward. In the second half, I don’t think our bigs rebounded the ball at all. Shady (Darrell Arthur) got some, double figures, which is great. I don’t think Sasha (Kaun) or Darnell (Jackson) rebounded like they are capable of. Balls were bouncing around and we have to come up with those possesions.”
On the offense:
“Shady (Darrell Arthur) was great offensively. Russell (Robinson) had a terrific game and he’s tired. He had to chase (Curtis) Jerrells around the whole night. For the first time in a long time, and through no fault of his, just the fact that he was beat up, Sherron (Collins) was Sherron. He changed the game in the second half.”
On creating offense through the fast break:
“We did a good job in that area. When (Sherron) puts his head down he is running down hill. He’s pretty fast and got some easy baskets. We shot 62 percent from the field in the second half and 26 of 32 from the line and only turned it over once or twice, that is pretty efficient offense.”
On Texas:
“On paper, we are going against the best guard around in D.J. Augustine. (A.J.) Abrams is always giving us fits and has the quickest release around. They are a terrific team and had a big win today. They trailed the whole game and came back and won at the end. That was a great win for them. We’ll be a tired team tomorrow but we have to be a fresh team on Monday. I do think they’re guards are as good as anybody, but I don’t think they’re set of guards can play much better than Baylor’s did tonight. I thought Baylor’s guards were just fabulous.”
Kansas Forward Darrell Arthur
On the game:
“It was a good up and down game and it was very fast-paced. Those guards can play. They came ready to play and they made tough shots. We defended them well but they went to the glass pretty strong. We played really well offensively the second half and were pretty much able to do whatever we wanted.”
On playing 33 minutes:
“I felt pretty good, and I was playing pretty good defense in the first half. Darnell had three fouls in the first half so I was able to play a lot of minutes.”
On the pace of the game:
“We were getting out run in the first half. That was the first time we’ve gotten out run in a long time. It was a very fast-paced game and they wanted to play up and down, so we were able to get some things done transition-wise.”
Kansas Guard Russell Robinson
On Baylor’s guards:
“He (Curtis Jerrells) is tough to guard. It is tough to guard anyone with a green light. If you put quickness and strength together it is tough to guard anybody like that. When you have guys on the perimeter who can shoot like they can, it is hard to get help defensively.”
On the offensive game plan:
“We wanted to play our game, but the three-pointer didn’t come to us today. We were able to get any shot we wanted and we got the ball inside. We were also able to get some transition buckets.”
On the pace of the game:
“They pushed it at us. When teams push it at you that hard, you have to get back. But we pushed it right back at them and were able to get some easy buckets. We were able to get the momentum back and control the game after that.”
On the upcoming game against Texas:
“Texas has some really good guards, so this was good preparation for them. It will be at Texas so it will be a little tougher to win. “
Kansas Guard Sherron Collins
On taking care of the ball:
“That is one thing we need to do, take care of the ball. That is something Coach Self has talked to us about all week. I think we did a pretty good job taking care of the ball in the second half.”
On the health of the team:
“We are getting healthy right now. Brandon (Rush) didn’t wear the brace tonight, so that was a little different for him. But Brandon played well and was very aggressive. We just didn’t make shots in the first half.”
Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew
On Kansas’ transition game:
“That was the first key for us, was stopping transition defense. The team knew it and we knew it. Somehow there was a big breakdown, so we’re going to have to find out what it was. Hopefully if we play them again in the Big 12 Tournament we can correct that because that was the difference in the game.”
On giving up fast-break points:
“We haven’t (given up fast-break points) and that’s what is so frustrating. We sent three back to try and stop transition. That’s the beauty of film. You can find out what went wrong, but the bad thing is is that it doesn’t help the situation now, which is that we lost the game because of transition defense.”
On Baylor’s progress in the last two years:
“I think that for the first time they had to step up their game in the second half when it was tied. I thought that we saw them go to another level and credit to KU players and Coach Self for that. We haven’t made them go to that extra gear before. The good thing is we’re getting closer, the bad thing is it wasn’t a win and that’s what we came here to do. “
On Baylor’s defense:
“I think the pick and roll killed us too. There was a situation where we started mixing up defenses. I think that’s a sign of a good team. When you get going and you’re at home, it’s hard to stop them. We got them going by giving up transition buckets. If we wouldn’t have done that, then I think we would’ve been okay. It’s easier said than done though.”
On Baylor’s performance:
“I think our team has been successful all year because we believe in ourselves. We know what work we’ve put in. I think a game like this is just another game for the people throughout nation to see that Baylor has really improved and taken their program to another level.”
Junior guard Curtis Jerrells
On the game:
“You can’t show any fear. You can’t go out there and look at the name on the jersey or that (number) four (ranking) by their name. That’s why you play the game. On any given night anybody can win. They played 40 minutes tonight and we didn’t.”
On Baylor’s defense:
“They did a good job pushing the ball (in the second half) and got a lot of layups. Coach (Scott Drew) said we gave them too many transition points. It’s hard when we give up so many layups; it’s the easiest shot in the game. We just did a poor job of getting back on defense and stopping Kansas’ transition.”
“At the beginning of the second half they spread the game open a little bit. We started playing catch-up but they just continued to push. We put up a good fight, but we expected to win the game. We had it in our hands. We could have won the game if we didn’t give up so many transition points.”
Freshman guard LaceDarius Dunn
On Baylor’s transition defense:
“We came out and took the lead, but there is 40 minutes on the court and you have to play all 40 minutes. We gave them 41 points on transition; that’s what hurt us the most. That was just poor defense on our part. If we would have taken away those 41 points we would have won by 15. That’s something we haven’t done all season (give up transition points on defense). Coming in Coach (Scott Drew) told us they are going to play fast, push the ball and look to score off of transitions.”
