Bill Self Press Conference Quotes, 2-16
Feb. 16, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
On Wayne Simien’s perimeter game:
“He is not making a conscious effort to make that his game. We want him to use that as a way to get touches but he doesn’t need to make a living on the perimeter. His hand is becoming more healthy and he is more confident out there. That is evident with his free throw shooting too. I think he has improved his shooting. I have always thought he was a terrefic shooter. Sometimes we run bad offense and get it to him and he hits a 16-footer, we take that stuff for granted sometimes. There are very few big guys that have a touch like he has.”
On using the bench in pressure situations:
“I think Lubbock is a tough place to get a lot of guys minutes. Health has been the biggest issue. If I had known the Texas Tech game was going into two overtimes, I would have played the bench more.”
On C.J. Giles and Alex Galindo’s health:
“I would say (Giles) he is probably at 85 percent. He just really hasn’t had a chance and get out there and work in practice. I don’t think he can go 100 percent. We will probably limit him to an hour a day. Hopefully he will work with us today. Our trainer feels like we can get an hour a day out of him. Alex (Galindo) is a little different. He can go if he can tolerate the pain. I would like for Alex to be able to play because he gives us a threat as a big guy. He needs rest. Just because they are getting back and are suited up, that doesn’t mean they are ready to play.”
On Russell Robinson:
“I think he did okay when he was in there against Tech. Three minutes isn’t really a ton of time, but I want to play Russell. Of course, whoever plays the best between Russell and Jeff Hawkins in practice will play in the game. Right now they are about even.”
On rebounding:
“We are rebounding the ball a lot better. We have really done well on the glass against Tech and Colorado, plus we did well against Kansas State and Nebraska. We have done some good things rebounding the ball. Our goal is to win the league first, so I am not worried about March right now.”
On Iowa State:
“They have been great. They defended K-State beautifully. They held them to what I believe is a season low last night. They play the zone and gaps that led to a lot of steals. The emergence of (Tasheed) Carr and (Rahshon) Clark have been huge keys to their success. They are going to play zone for the most part for the majority of the game. They are playing with a ton of confidence and a free mind. Their best players are playing great and their complimentary guys are stepping up and taking a lot of pressure off of them. To me Iowa State has emerged as the number five team in the league right now. I think you can make a strong case for them going into the NCAA tournament. They could play themselves into the tournament and Saturday is a great opportunity to them.”
On J.R. Giddens:
“Defensively he has had a huge improvement. Blocking, altering shots, being active, he is doing a lot of things. J.R. can help us win games if he is not making shots, but we do need him to make shots.”
On transfer Rodrick Stewart’s role:
“He doesn’t know what we are doing yet on offense. He is an energy guy and he gives us something to guard in practice. If you don’t put a body on him he will tip dunk everything. He is a nice asset and he will be a solid player for us. He played back up point at USC, but his natural position would be the two or three.”
The remaining schedule:
“Our crowd needs to be great. We have a ton to play for. If you told us at the beginning of the year that we would be 10-1 right now with three out of five left to play at home, we would think that was a good position to be in. We had a chance to be 11-0. The biggest thing for me is, I think that our fans should savor the games our seniors have left. They have three more chance to see them.”
On Wayne Simien’s decision to return for his senior year:
“It was a good decision, no doubt about it. I think the way that he has performed this year will be a bonus for him. I’ve talked to some NBA guys and he looks better as we continue to win and he continues to finish strong.
On the students rushing the court at Texas Tech:
“The last eight seconds was a bad rush. They got out there pretty good. I asked our players if anyone got hit. Wayne said that it was no big deal. It was a great college basketball game. I have been on the other end too. When I was at Illinois I think they rushed the court on several occasions. It is dangerous though and I think the security should be better. I would think that you could control that. All it takes is for one person to chicken wing somebody and the player retaliates out of frustration and then you have a law suit on your hands.”
On having a high RPI rating:
“It means a lot to me. I don’t know if the RPI has a huge role in the seeding or in the selection process. I do think that we need to be as high as we can in the polls and the RPI. If you are ranked number one in the RPI, you should get a pretty good seeding in the tournament.”
