Kansas Postgame Quotes vs. Colorado
Feb. 20, 2010
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On the game as a whole:
“We played good offensively, except for that last group that was out there. I thought for the most part, we actually played a pretty good game. They’ve got some good offensive players. That’s the best team they’ve had since I’ve been here as far as offensive guys being able to get the ball in the basket. I think we didn’t finish the game the way we should have. That should have been a 30 to 35 point game. We obviously didn’t finish the game right late. I’m leaving happy that we won, but there are some guys that I’m not real pleased with because of the way we finished the game and how seriously they took the game when they had an opportunity to play. Tyshawn (Taylor) was great. Sherron (Collins) was good. Cole (Aldrich) was great. Markieff (Morris) was pretty good. Marcus (Morris) was OK but, pretty good. Xavier (Henry) was great. So we had six guys who I thought played pretty well.”
On Tyshawn Taylor’s play:
“We wanted him to be aggressive, to just get back to the way he’s capable of playing and having fun. He scored 17 points on seven shots and I guarantee you he wasn’t worried about scoring. He did make some careless plays that will cost you a game in crucial situations. But I thought he played very well, I thought defensively he was pretty good too. He had energy, he gave us an athlete out there.”
On Cole Aldrich:
“The only thing I would say he could do better, without watching the film, is that we knew their big guys could shoot the three. That’s hard for him. They got some shots off three to four times and that’s hard for him. He can still do a better job on that. We gave up 74 points in our building and that should never happen. We also let them shoot 45% and that should never happen. So certainly we’ve got to get better in some areas, but we did do several things very well today.”
On Oklahoma:
“We have a chance on Monday to at least clinch a tie (for the Big 12 championship) so that’d be nice. But we’re not in it to tie; we’re in it to win. So we’ve got to do everything we can to get ready for an Oklahoma team which hasn’t had an unbelievable year, but they’ve got really good players and they’re very offensive minded. Maybe one of the best in the league. So we’re going to have to guard better.”
Kansas senior guard Sherron Collins
On tying the record for most wins by a Kansas player:
“It’s a big deal. I am very appreciative of all the guys that helped me get this, including the coaching staff. Coach (Self) probably won’t say anything about it until tomorrow in practice. He was a little upset after the game about how we finished. I think he is pretty proud of me.”
On how he is feeling:
“I’m great, 100 percent. Do I look alright? When you miss shots, everybody thinks that there is something wrong with you – because they are so used to you making them. I’m fine, nothing is bothering me – I’m not even a little dinged up.”
On what it means to possibly win their sixth straight conference title:
“It is really hard for anyone to do – especially in the tough conference that we have. It means a lot, being here all four years, for me winning three in a row was nice, but to win four would be even more special.”
On what differences he noticed in the team today:
“I think we focused more on guarding, and not giving them easy baskets – we worked the shot clock down a lot.”
Kansas freshman guard Xavier Henry
On the team’s performance at the end of the game:
“With about four minutes to go, we had them down 29 or so – and then they ended up making a little run at the end. Our top guys played very hard tonight, we wanted to close it out. Coach (Self) kept telling us to keep jumping on them.”
On if he looks forward to playing his “hometown” team Monday against Oklahoma:
“I always knew what day that game was on – so I’ll just say that. I won’t say I look forward to this game as opposed to any other team. I’ve always known that it was on Monday.”
Kansas sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor
On if there was a sense of urgency to start putting things together:
“A little bit. Once you are a starter, you don’t want to go back to the bench. Of course in the back of my mind, I’m thinking that I have to play well to stay in the starting lineup. Once I got in the flow of the game, I really wasn’t thinking about that. Coach Self was pleased with me, he said I have to finish out games, and not let the big guy rip me on a trap on the last play before I came out. Coach was on my good side since I’ve been practicing so well”
On what he remembers from the Oklahoma game last year:
“I think I scored 25 or 26 points. I remember feeling the same way that I felt tonight. Not really worrying about anything, just playing and being aggressive. I played pretty well.”
Colorado Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik
On the game
“First of all lets give Kansas a lot of credit. They are an exceptionally good basketball team. They had a real bounce to their step today. They hit us hard and we were reeling after that. Give them a lot of credit. It was hard to stop them because they were making shots. We got the ball to the rim several times, but we needed to finish or make better decisions to find open people. They had us back on our heels and that is a credit to the way Kansas played today.”
On Kansas’ focus on the game:
“I can’t speak for them, but I think we had their attention. The last game we played here was a one-possession game with just a few ticks left on the clock and we played a very competitive game at our place. I think the combination of those two things caused the extra pep in their step today and I think they respect us. We were trying to play catch up and that is very difficult against a great team no matter where you play. It is exceptionally difficult here.”
On Kansas’ rebounding advantage:
“You have to finish defensive possessions and it was hard enough for us to stop them on their first shot let alone give them a second chance. I am not going to be one of those guys who says we didn’t do this or that. Let’s give Kansas a lot of credit because they are obviously number one in the country for a reason.”
Colorado freshman guard Alec Burks
On the game:
“We played alright at first. I feel like we didn’t play with heart today, we lost that. We played with heart when we were at home and I feel like we did not do the same thing here. We let the crowd dictate how we played. We just did not play as hard as we usually do.
On the Kansas effort:
“Yes, they did have a lot to do with it, but we still have to play our game, and if we do that we’ll win.
On playing close to home:
“It was great to be home. You know the atmosphere is crazy they have wild fans and they sell out every game. So you know it is just a great place to play at.
On his effort in the second half:
“I tried to pick my game up so I could help my team out and try to get a win.
On his season:
“I feel like before I started the season, I had the talent to do well. All you do is put the hard work in and it will pay off.”
