Postgame Quotes
Feb. 13, 2010
Postgame Notes
No. 1 Kansas 73, Iowa State 59
Feb. 13, 2009 – Lawrence, Kan.
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On the game overall:
“We’ve got to play better than we did in the first half. Our first-shot defense was pretty good. That 14-0 run in the second half, that was started by Tyshawn (Taylor), Tyrel (Reed), Xavier (Henry) and the twins. That was our best lineup tonight, in that stretch. That certainly put the game away.”
On defending Craig Brackins:
“The only time we took the double-team off him was when (Marquis) Gilstrap was at the four. We thought he (Brackins) could hurt us from three, which he did because he made a couple of long shots. But I thought our defense on him was pretty good. The one thing he did a good job of was getting some assists and not turning the ball over. They scored out of our traps, I think eight points in the first half. So even though we took him away from scoring, and six of his points were off threes on Cole (Aldrich) to end the game, that wasn’t really a defensive flaw. Cole just has a hard time getting to him sometimes.”
On Tyshawn Taylor:
“He has been a mystery to us. I don’t mean that in a negative way, he’s got so much talent but he played like he was going half-speed out there in the first half. We challenged him at halftime. We told him we’re not going to play him anymore unless he plays like he’s capable of playing. He pushed the ball and put pressure on the defense in the second half and all of a sudden got some confidence and played really well.”
On the upcoming game against Texas A&M:
“(Head Coach) Mark Turgeon has done a nice job with his team. They got a nice road win today against Texas Tech. It will be a great environment because theoretically if they win out, and knock us off, they’ll put themselves in great position to maybe play for the league championship. We’ve got to be really good, just like we were going down to Austin. We didn’t play great last Saturday, but we were focused going away from home and I think our guys will be focused going down to College Station.”
Kansas senior guard Sherron Collins
On what triggered their big run in the second half:
“Just defense, Cole (Aldrich) and I weren’t in the game at that time – it was Tyrel (Reed), Tyshawn (Taylor), (Xavier Henry), and (The Morris twins). We just went on that run, and it all started with our defense.”
On if they need to feel challenged to play their best:
“I don’t think so. I just think we need to learn to not play to the score. Coach Self told us during the timeout to not play to the score. Once we get up big, we kind of lose interest – we make bad mistakes, and we become lackadaisical. I think we need to start putting the killer instinct on people.”
On what clicks with the team to go from a two-point margin, to a 20-point margin:
“It’s Coach (Self) on the sideline, he is a great motivator. When he gets on you, he tells us what we need to know – and what we can’t do to make us better.”
Kansas freshman guard Xavier Henry
On what he has heard about the Texas A&M crowd:
“I haven’t paid too much attention to Texas A&M, but I know they are tied for second in the Big 12 with Kansas State, they have been playing well, so we have to go down there and play hard.”
On if the craziest crowds he has played against have been on Mondays:
“Whatever K-State was, that was the toughest.”
On if it feels good to get back into a rhythm:
“Yeah, it’s my teammates that help me out a lot, the coaches have been encouraging me, and so I just try to do what I’ve always been doing to get the shots to fall. Coach (Joe) Dooley has been working with me – he is the shooting coach for me. There have been little things that I tweak in my shot. But other than that, it’s just my mindset.”
Kansas sophomore forward Marcus Morris
On the big run by Kansas in the second half:
“We went on the run because (Iowa State) was making it a game. It was also frustration because we were not doing something right.”
On if they need to be challenged to play their best:
“Definitely not. I would not say challenged, but I feel that we need to challenge ourselves.”
On what Tyshawn Taylor means to the team:
“He is a big key – he will push the tempo up for us. At most times, he is the fastest player on the court. He will go fast when the team gets tired, and that is big for us. Tyshawn is a catalyst in our big runs recently, bringing him in as a spark off the bench is big for us.”
Iowa State Head Coach Greg McDermott
On the game:
“I am pretty sure not many people gave us a chance to come here and compete and we came in here and competed. It was a two-point game with a little over 13 minutes left to go. All those types of runs that people that come in are worried about and we were a recipient of one of those runs tonight. We turned it over a few times during that stretch, missed some free throws and had a hard time stopping them. I don’t fault our guys effort. Our guys’ didn’t quit and Kansas is very talented. They are good on both ends of the floor. I thought our post double-teams neutralized some of the things their big guys are looking to do. They made us pay for most of our mistakes. These guys don’t quit and they haven’t quit. I am very proud of them and our fan base should be proud of them. They have had every reason to cash it in and they haven’t done that.”
On the Iowa State’s first-half shooting struggles:
“They are a very good defensive team. I thought our patience was better in the second half and we were working for better shots and as a result we shot for a better percentage.”
Iowa State junior forward Craig Brackins
On keeping the game close:
“I thought that we played hard. We did everything that we could, but we are short on men and a lot of us ran a lot of minutes. It was really tough; I thought that we played hard though. With a team like Kansas you cannot just play hard, you have to play excellent. They are just a tough team to beat especially at home.”
On when the game got close in the second half:
“Kansas picked up their intensity a little bit. We didn’t get into our press; we were rushing, and worrying about the pressure. With a team like Kansas and they go on a big run at home it is pretty hard to rally.”
On their upcoming schedule:
“The next few games are at home, so we feel a little bit better about that. I feel like every Big 12 team could be ranked on any given day. They are always beating up on each other. You cannot look at it like those teams are not ranked; you have to look at it like there is someone that is coming for us.”
