Quotes

Feb. 19, 2005

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Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On the game:
“I thought they (Iowa State) played well. Defensively they were terrific and we were pitiful offensively. We didn’t play well offensively because they junk it up and get you to think about mistakes. We didn’t play good enough to handle what they threw at us. You have to give them credit. (Curtis) Stinson played as good as I have seen anyone play. He is really good. He deserves to be named to the all-league first team. There is not a guard in our league that is more effective one-on-one than him. He had a great game. We played terrible, but got the game to overtime. We had a three-point lead in overtime and didn’t take a shot, attack the lane or pass the ball well and that is what happens. I think what happened early was that we got some good shots, but we didn’t make any of them. The three shots that we did make were in tight. As the game went on, the shots that we missed turned into hard shots for us. We started thinking about it too much. We just didn’t handle the pressure very well. We need to have somebody with the guts to step up and make a play. Jeff (Hawkins) had the guts to do that and he made two huge shots for us. But this was as disappointing of a performance as I have had since I have been here. It certainly could be very costly if we don’t right this ship quickly.”

On playing ten players in the first half:
“It wasn’t because of searching (for the right lineup). It happened because Christian (Moody) was out. So I didn’t know what other big guy I was going to play besides Sasha (Kaun). I was trying to get everyone a chance to play early in case I needed them to play late.”

On Sasha Kaun:
“I thought he played well. He did some good things and is stepping up for us. He made some free throws, although three-for-six isn’t that great, he has really improved. I am real pleased with him, I think he is going to be a great player.”

On the Big 12 race:
“I haven’t thought we had a cushion all along. We shouldn’t even be thinking about the league race. We should be thinking about playing better at Oklahoma. We played a lot of guys in a lot of minutes and then we have to turn around and play on Monday. We just have to go play better down there. We played good at Texas Tech, but played miserable today with only one guy in double-figures. That pretty much sums it up. We only shot 34 percent at home and had so many unforced turnovers. We just acted like we had never played before. We have got to do a better job in a lot of areas. We just weren’t on the same page today.”

Senior Guard Keith Langford
On the attitude of the team after today’s game:
“We’ve got to get fired up because we have an even tougher opponent in Oklahoma on Monday. We have practice tomorrow so we will see what the game plan is and go from there. We made it tough on ourselves today because we didn’t make our shots. All-in-all it was just one of those days when things just didn’t seem to go right.”

Senior Guard Aaron Miles
On the game:
“It was tough. We fought to get back and get the game into overtime, but we didn’t finish it today. Defensively we did not do our job.”

On team shooting:
“We took good shots, but they were not falling. I know that I missed a few shots and J.R. (Giddens) missed quite a few, but they were good shots for the most part. A lot of the shots were in-and-out. Most of the time we will make those shots.

On Iowa State’s defense:
“Their (Iowa State’s) defense is difficult because it was a match-up zone and we never knew where they were going to go. We never really knew what sets they were in. I never really knew what play to run to beat the zone. They did a great job.”

Senior Forward Wayne Simien
On the team’s confidence:
“We were confident in this overtime, just as we were against Texas Tech. We just didn’t have what it took today to finish it out.”

On the team’s inside play:
“I think we had some open looks and open opportunities to get the ball inside. When we are not making shots from the outside and not attacking by dribble penetration, it is tough to get the ball inside. I have confidence in my teammates to get the ball inside. I felt like I could get some things going on the inside, but I was never able to get into a rhythm.”

On Iowa State’s Curtis Stinson:
“He was the man for Iowa State today. Even when he wasn’t scoring, he was getting into the lane and causing havoc. Whether it was getting other players involved or causing rotation rebounding, he was definitely the difference in the game for them.”

Iowa State Head Coach Wayne Morgan
On the game:
“Our team played their hearts out the whole game. I thought, obviously, that if we could have made some free throws at the end of regulation we would have had a good chance of winning it (the game) then. But my kids didn’t give up and they kept fighting and made some plays down the stretch to win the game. My hat’s off to them for playing with such courage at Allen Fieldhouse, not a lot of teams come in here and win’ so I am very proud of them in that they came in here and won. Our defense is so good. Our kids just get after it, they have a good understanding of the other team’s offense. So we try to put together a defensive scheme where we kind of know what we are going to do on every play.”

On Curtis Stinson’s play:
“He maybe made the biggest shot of the year. He never had any doubt. When he missed the first shot he said I’ve got the next one and I said, `Do you have it?’ He said, `Don’t take the timeout, just let me take it.”

On the team’s morale going into overtime:
“I had to crank the team up a little bit at the end of regulation. When we walked off the court, our heads were down a little bit and I told them to get their heads up and play. We needed them to play for five more minutes. I knew when we played Texas, they (Texas) walked off the court with their heads down going into overtime and then they didn’t play. We just wanted to avoid that.”

On last year’s overtime game at Allen Fieldhouse:
“Last year’s game here at Allen Fieldhouse, they (the officials) gave them a three-pointer in between two free throws and they gave them three points when the guy’s foot was on the line. So, I am glad that those things didn’t happen.”

On the possibility of post-season play:
“I think that the people who make those decisions need to look at that right now. We have won seven games in a row and we have been playing very well. Each time we play we say that we want to take it one game at a time and get better each time we play. We need to relax and enjoy this and smell the roses just a little bit, but the next game is Texas A&M, so we need to get ready for a good Texas A&M team.”

Sophomore Guard Curtis Stinson
On the game winning shot:
“I thought that the free throws at the end of regulation were good. I just got bad bounces. When we got into overtime, I told (the Iowa State players) `hey, we’ve been here.’ We played against Texas the same way. Coach tells us not to give up and keep playing. We kept playing. When we had the opportunity for the last shot, I told coach `hey, I’ve got this one.’ I came down, and Damion (Staple) set a good screen, and Aaron Miles bit on the cross-over, and I was able to get in the lane and hit the shot. When I shot it, it felt like it was going in. I knew it was either going to go in or hit short on the rim. Rahshon (Clark) was wide open, but I did not want to turn it over, so the best thing for me to do was shoot it. He was open and would have taken it to the basket and put it in.”

On the game:
“Last year (at Kansas) we were close, and this year at home too. It was a relief. We worked hard and we deserved it. One stop, and we had this game. It was a big shot for me, and I was willing to take it. We were exhausted, but we were prepared for that. Coach’s conditioning has us ready for when the game is on the line like this. Beating the number two team in the country, it doesn’t get any better than that. In their home, it gets no better than that.”

On Iowa State’s defense:
“The defense was the best. We get after it. We are everywhere on defense. We know where the shooters are at. The defense is what is keeping us in this winning streak. We are keeping teams to 60 points per game, and in Allen Fieldhouse against the number two team in the country, and to do that, it definately has to be the defense.”

On the statement made by this win:
“It is a statement that we are coming. We are not asking anybody to give us anything. We don’t get a lot of respect as it is. It says here we come. We can play with anybody in the country.

Senior Center Jared Homan
On fouling out:
“I thought we still had a chance. We had great players still on the court. We were playing great, and we were not going to let me fouling out stop that. I told my team to keep fighting and that we needed this one.”

On Curtis Stinson:
“You really don’t have to tell Curtis anything like hey, you will get the next one. He already knows that. He has no problem taking the next shot or shooting the next big free-throw. He was going to stick with it and hit it. He knew he was going to get it right back for us, and that it what he did in overtime.”