Kansas-Boston Postgame Quotes
March 18, 2011
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<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas – 72
Boston University – 53
An interview with:
THE MODERATOR: Like to welcome the victorious Kansas Jayhawks. Coach, an opening statement and then questions for the student-athletes.
COACH SELF: Well, I thought BU played very, very well. I thought they played great in the first half. We tried hard. We played tight the first half. Second half I thought we loosened up a little bit offensively, but we really guarded them the second half and kind of wore them down a little bit.
But it was a good win. It certainly wasn’t one of the typical 1-16 match-ups. I thought they were much better than that. I don’t think it was a reflection of our poor play. Maybe a little bit in the first half, but the second half we played pretty well.
Q. You had a nice hand in it. Talk about the telling run you all started right after the 10 minute mark?
Markieff Morris: I think we finally just went out and started playing. I think the first half we were tight and coach said we’ve just got to loosen up some and have fun out there. When we were able to go on that run, I think that that broke the game open and they couldn’t stop us after that.
Q. Could you comment on the shot that you took at the top of the key that was part of that run?
Markieff Morris: It was open and —
COACH SELF: It wasn’t at the top of the key either. It was a little deeper than that.
Markieff Morris: That’s my shot, and coach let me shoot it. Yeah, it was open, it was the right time to shoot it.
Q. Can you talk about the last few possessions of the first half when you switched on to Holland? Was that coach’s call? Did you ask for that? You looked like you had energy guarding him?
Marcus Morris: No, actually, he came at the four, so I had to guard him. It was my assignment, but I mean he’s a hell of a player. For a team like that to come in and play the way they did, you’ve got to give them a lot of credit. He’s definitely a leader on that team, and I think that they have a great team.
Q. What was the biggest reason for your struggles in the first half? Was it just being tight or anything else?
Marcus Morris: Yeah, it was definitely being tight. We had on our ball screen defense wasn’t that well, and we weren’t really guarding the dribble drive. Their guys were making shots, and I think that their freshman point guard is going to be a great player because he got into the lane and kind of dished it out for those guys and he knocked down shots.
Q. Coach put the Northern Iowa stuff I heard in your lockers this week. What kind of affect did that have on you especially after that first half?
Marcus Morris: I didn’t tell coach this, but I took it down out of my locker, because I really didn’t want to read it because it was just things that we’ve been reminded of that for so long, watching ESPN highlights. It’s on every day. We were just out there watching at the top of the screen and seeing it again. I’m just tired of seeing it.
We know what we need to do. We know what we need to do to stop that from happening, and we’ve just got to move on.
Q. You can take turns. Was there an emphasis at halftime because you had struggled in the first half to go to you guys and kind of ram it down inside and try to get something going easy inside?
Markieff Morris: I think the emphasis of our game plan is to go inside and play inside out. But they were clogging the middle up. They were playing the zone, and we were kicking out to our shooters. In the first half we didn’t make that many. But I think in the second half we made them start guarding our shooters and then opened it up for us down low.
Marcus Morris: Yeah, basically to add on to what he said. We were missing a lot of bunnies early, so we were kind of playing soft, so the emphasis was just to make easy shots. And Markieff got going in the second half, and it really sparked us all.
Q. Can you just talk about the completeness of Brady’s game and all the things that he did in addition to drawing a tough defensive assignment?
COACH SELF: Brady guarded Holland really well. He got two threes when Brady wasn’t in the game or when he wasn’t on him because they went small and played at the four and we didn’t get to him a couple of times. But I thought he did a really nice job on him. Tried to front him in the post and did a pretty good job on him. He made shots. He made a couple of bonehead plays throwing it away, trying to hit a home run.
But Brady’s dependable. You know what you’re getting with him, and certainly he was very, very good on both ends tonight.
Q. Having a game like this it was tied for the first 30 minutes and then you guys pull away. Is this a good way to start, just the fact that it wasn’t like a complete blowout?
COACH SELF: Well, since that’s the way the game went, I’ll say it was the best way to start (smiling). If it had gone differently I would say that’s the best way to start. I don’t know if there’s a formula on the best way to start. But I think this, I think it’s good for your guys to sweat, because there are different pressures in this tournament.
We were loose, loosey-goosey all that stuff. You get in the locker room and run out there and all of a sudden it feels just a tinge different. I really believe it was probably good for us to feel that. And hopefully we’ll relax a little bit more and be ready from jump street Sunday.
But if you look at the Big 12 Tournament, every first round game we play in the Big 12 Tournament seems like we’re stale offensively, and that was the certainly the case today. But it was hard to get the ball inside early because they played zone, and we didn’t attack it real well.
But also, we shot the ball soft. I don’t know how many times we missed lay-ups underneath, particularly shots that we normally make.
Q. It seems when you guys are not comfortable early there are some things you can tolerate, maybe missed shots or something. But are there some things that you just can’t tolerate that you see that maybe that a coach sees?
COACH SELF: Well, from my vantage point it’s hard to tolerate carelessness or mental mistakes regardless of situation. It’s hard to tolerate effort. You know, our effort was good the whole night. We actually defended them not as poorly as what it may appear in the first half, because they made some shots.
They made some — you know, a guy that’s made 6 threes the entire league season pops out and makes two. That was the scouting report more than anything else. You can put that on the coaches.
I think mainly mental mistakes, scouting report mistakes, or them beating us to loose balls and things like that are probably the thing that’s irritate me the most.
Q. I think their third possession of the second half their point guard drove past Tyshawn and you had a fairly pointed message about waking up. Was that just for him or the whole team? Did you feel at that time you still hadn’t gotten into the game?
COACH SELF: No, that wasn’t for the whole team. That was for him. The thing about it is he’s looking around to see where a ball screen’s coming, and there wasn’t one. You can’t do that. It’s hard enough to guard your man. You can’t have your head on a swivel worrying about where everybody else is. I thought that was a very poor play by him.
And their best offense in the second half was him getting in the lane or getting fouled or whatever. So I thought we defended everything else pretty well.
But Tyshawn played well. He’s going to make some mistakes, but I thought he played well. He shot it good, obviously. He had 7 dimes and three turnovers. That’s a pretty good performance, I think because their point guard was good.
Q. I was just going to touch on the Morrises and touch on that a little bit. But their freshman point guard Irving, what can you say about his composure at this stage as a freshman?
COACH SELF: I think he’s good. He’s a good player. You watch tape on him and the thing that you know by watching tape was their perimeter speed was excellent. Holland is as athletic as any two or three that will play. I think Partin is definitely an above average athlete, and Irving is as fast as anybody we go against in our league. I think we have good speed, but our starters aren’t the quickest on the perimeter compared to some. That’s a hard guard to keep guys in front of you.
We didn’t do a good job the first 20 minutes, in the second half, but other than Irving getting in the paint, I thought we did a good job. But he’s a nice player. He’ll be an all-league player, I would think, for sure in the league.
Q. Can you just talk about how the twins impacted the game in the second half?
COACH SELF: Well, Markieff got off to a rough start the first half. Marcus scored, but wasn’t really as effective as what he could have been in the first half. But the second half we do it all the time. You make an emphasis, get it in tight, get it in tight, play through those guys. We did a much better job getting the ball into them and playing behind their touches.
They got some easy baskets and we got on the offensive glass a little bit, but that’s who they are. They’re good players. They can impact the game because they can do a lot of good things. Certainly I think both of them show versatility there in the second half.
Q. With all the hype that surrounded Josh Selby coming into the season, he got a few nice baskets coming in the second half. Would you have expected when he was signed that the depth of your guard play that you would have expected such little contribution and have your guards thrive so much?
COACH SELF: Well, that’s not fair to say that. If a guy’s got a bad wheel and he’s 80% at this level, and you’ve got to wear a brace that doesn’t allow him that much movement, he’s not going to play as well. If you saw us play much up until he got hurt, hey, he’s for sure a starter. He’s impacting our team. He’s averaging 12 a game. So it’s not fair to judge somebody when they’re injured.
Today was a game in which he gave us a boost. It was positive. The ball still didn’t go in the hole for him, and I believe it will and the lid’s going to come off. But he was certainly a boost for us in the second half.
Q. You’ve seen your share of 16 seeds, and who knows if it will ever happen —
COACH SELF: Oh, it’s going to happen.
Q. Do you think it will be a team like Boston when it does happen?
COACH SELF: I’m not sure how the committee does it. But the 16 seeds aren’t exactly true 16s as they were in past years because there are six on the line, so that means two of them have to be 15s the way it used to be done. I did not see them as a 16 seed, and I told our guys that. But it’s going to happen. If the tournament goes on another hundred years, it’s going to happen.
It’s one of those things that when it does happen, whoever it happens to, will be an NCAA highlight for a long time. So you don’t want to play to prevent that, but you certainly don’t want to be a part of that. But that team today, I don’t see them as a 16 seed. I see them just as a really good, solid team, well-coached.
Q. Touching on the Northern Iowa thing again. The way Marcus reacted, is that the kind of response you wanted him to have?
COACH SELF: It doesn’t matter. I didn’t put it in their locker. It was another coach. But that to me doesn’t matter. The thing about it is when you talk about the past, and it’s not positive, you bring in negative thoughts. I don’t want that. I don’t care if they read that stuff. I don’t care. I just want them in the back of their mind, which I know they feel, is why would this happen? A, Northern Iowa’s good. They were an 8 or a 9. I can’t remember which one they were, I believe an 8. Playing a Top 20-type team that we saw play and we knew they were good and well-coached. We didn’t play our best, but they had a big part in that. In basketball, things happen. I mean fans and outside people see it as this is awful. A monumental upset. That wasn’t a monumental upset. That was another good team that beat another good team. We weren’t our best that night.
If we played them five times home at home each, we wouldn’t go 10-0. We’d like to think we would, but that’s not reality. So that was a good team we played. But I do think there were things that led up to that that maybe didn’t allow us to be as good as what we could have been, which may have been the difference or could have been the difference in the game, not guaranteed, but could have been.
So we’ve reminded our guys whatever happened last year that didn’t give us the best opportunity, we’re not going to let that happen this year. That is the biggest reason for it.
Q. Talking to Coach Chambers, he just said you guys wore them out in the second half. Was that the plan to “wear them out” in the second half when you went on that run?
COACH SELF: Well, you hope so. But you don’t wear people out in the first half. They had guys play a lot of minutes. We actually had guys play more minutes than normal in the first half. In the NCAA Tournament, the minutes aren’t as big a factor in my opinion because the timeouts are so long. And there is one more of them. So unless you have foul problems or injuries, to me the depth deal is not as big as it is during the regular season.
But we did continually get the ball inside. Usually size, when you’re able to do that, size does take advantage of the offensive rebounds, the kind of back-breaking type points, and we got several of those. It helps when your big guys can step out and make a shot, too.
Kansas Postgame Quotes
March 18, 2011
Kansas Senior Guard Tyrel Reed
On the first half of the game…
“Yeah, there were some jitters early on. I think it was kind of both ways. They came out and hit some shots. The game got a little tight. We came in here at halftime and regrouped. Then we came out and played our game.”
On halftime and the performance in the second half…
“He was upset, but he wasn’t screaming and yelling. We knew what we had to do. We just had to get going. I thought we played looser. Thomas Robinson and Josh Selby gave us some really good looks. I thought we definitely took control in the second half and played better defense and just got in a groove. It felt good.”
Kansas Junior Guard Tyshawn Taylor
On trying to contain Boston Senior Forward John Holland…
“We just had to keep fresh guys on him and put pressure on him. That’s what coach’s plan was to do. He put different guys on him. Brady Morningstar, Travis Releford, Mario Little, Marcus Morris, and Josh Selby each guarded him some. I’m sure we wore him down a little bit. But he was hot in the first half.”
On Boston and thoughts on the game…
“They’re a good team. They’re missing one of their best players, too. That game could have been a little bit different if they had him. But they’re a good team, and we knew that. I think we learned from last year that we can’t take any team lightly. Once they got off to the hot start and we were missing the easy shots, we just had to keep playing and keep defending. That’s what we tried to do.”
Kansas Senior Guard Brady Morningstar
What kind of impact did Boston Senior Forward John Holland have on the game?
“The first half he played a heck of a half. He was hitting tough shots. In the second half, it was the combination of better defense and he wasn’t hitting those tough shots.”
How much confidence did you guys have in the second half?
“It’s a game of runs. When we make runs like that it gives us a little momentum and we start knocking down shots and start defending better. I think that was the biggest part of the game.”
Did you guys come out a little nervous in the first half?
“We were going back in forth. We weren’t hitting shots and they were. We weren’t defending so if you come out like that that is how it is going to be. Don’t get me wrong, they are a good team. They are very capable and they showed that in the first half.
Kansas Freshman Guard Josh Selby
What kind of impact did you have on the game?
“Second half my team told me that they needed me to bring energy and do what I do: play defense, make easy layups. So I tried to come out and play with a lot of intensity, stop my man from scoring and make buckets I usually make. Actually, that gave us a spark and I’m happy I could do that for the team”
What kind of impact did Junior Markieff Morris have on the second half?
“We need Markieff to win. He is one of our best scorers. When he is scoring everyone feeds off of him and everyone can play well.”
Did you have any nerves playing in your first NCAA game?
“I’m nervous every game. No matter if it is a street-ball game. I am always nervous. It is a natural habit. I get nervous because my mother always told me if you aren’t nervous you aren’t ready to play. That is my way of calming down.”
How do you think the second half was different from the first half?
“We came out there with more energy. We played defense and turn up the intensity. We made shots that we usually make. Everyone was just focused the second half and that helped us out and we got the victory.”
FastScripts by ASAP Sports
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March 18, 2011 |
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Kansas – 72
Boston University – 53
An interview with:
THE MODERATOR: Coach, an opening statement and then questions for the student-athletes.
COACH CHAMBERS: I’m proud of our team. I’m proud of our guys. There’s a lot of distractions that come with being in the NCAA Tournament, and I thought we did a really good job this week of keeping it in our family, keeping it in our locker room, keeping it in our meetings.
We didn’t let the whole 16 versus 1. It wasn’t anything like that. These guys really came out and showed that. They showed that we’re going to go out and play BU basketball for 40 minutes, and if that’s good enough, that’s great. If not, that’s okay too. Kansas is terrific. They’re a well-balanced team, and they can hurt you in many different ways, and that’s what happened on that little run.
They started getting going and started hitting threes and then things started to open up. But I’m proud of these guys. They really battled and played hard.
Q. Can you just talk about the emotions of the whole night from the first half and keeping them on the ropes and even just the last 20 seconds when you came out for your last game?
JOHN HOLLAND: It was a real great experience. What can I say? I mean, I’ll never forget it, just the whole game, just being out there playing. Kansas is a great team. I know we played as hard as we could.
I’m okay. We played as hard as we could. We left it all out on the floor, so I’m okay.
Q. Can you talk about KU’s defense? First half they used a lot of different guys on you, and in the second half it was pretty much Morningstar, the difference between the two halves for you?
JOHN HOLLAND: Really, I mean, I don’t know. I may have gotten a little tired. Maybe forced a couple of shots, but they’re really a great team. What can I say? It was a tough game. It was a tough game.
Q. You guys in the second half started off I think you missed 13 of your first 16, but you were still in the game and just down 6 there. First of all, what was happening? Did you feel like you were getting good shot that’s just didn’t go in? And when they went on that run, how did it get away from you?
D.J. IRVING: We had a lot of good shots in the first couple of minutes of the second half. They just weren’t falling and they just went on a run. That’s what they do. That’s why they’re Kansas. I mean, we tried to fight back and get on our own run, but it didn’t happen the way we wanted it.
Q. When you were struggling to knock down that shot to get yourself going in the second half and you air balled that three, did you just say to yourself maybe it’s not going to happen? Or did you say to yourself just keep fighting, keep shooting?
JOHN HOLLAND: No, you always have to remain confident, stay in the moment. You don’t think about the end result, you just stay in the moment. Of course you’ve got to keep shooting and keep playing.
Q. Can you just describe what the feeling was amongst the team when you went into the half just trailing by 4? Clearly you were in this game and had your shot.
JOHN HOLLAND: It was good, but we knew it was a 40-minute basketball game. It’s not 20 minutes, so we were prepared. We had to try to come out in the second half and do the same things that we’d been doing, and it just didn’t work out.
D.J. IRVING: We knew we could compete with Kansas before the game even started, so we weren’t satisfied when we went into halftime. We were just ready to go back out and play a little harder than we did in the first half so we could come out with a good end result.
Q. You mentioned what this experience meant to you, but what do both of you take away from it getting to experience this?
JOHN HOLLAND: Basically just a lifetime of memories. There is nothing like the NCAA Tournament, and this was one of the best experiences of my life, basketball life anyway. It’s great.
D.J. IRVING: Of course we weren’t satisfied just to make the NCAA Tournament. We wanted to get a win. But it was a nice experience for everybody, and I hope we work hard in the off-season so we can come back to this point next year.
Q. I know it’s kind of tough to do, but can you sum up John and what he’s meant to this program and tonight especially?
COACH CHAMBERS: I just said he left a legacy that he’s going to be remembered forever, what he did for this program over the last four years. It wasn’t just points, it wasn’t all the rebounds, you know. He carried us. He carried us. We had a young group with a lot of newcomers. And when you ask a guy to get 20 points and be a leader in the locker room, and come in with a business-like approach in film and walk through, he did that. He did that. I’m really proud of him. It’s going to be really tough to — a kid like that is going to be really tough to replace because it’s more than just points. It’s more than just basketball. It’s his all-around character.
Q. Can you share with us what you said to him when you pulled him out of the game and hugged him there one last time?
COACH CHAMBERS: Just said thank you. You know, I loved him very much and thank you. Thanks for taking us on this incredible, incredible journey.
Q. You’re out there, ten minutes to go, it’s a 6-point game and you guys hit the three. You hadn’t been making many shots up until then. What was your thought at that point? What was it like? Did you need to get it over the top, or were you worried they were due for their big run?
COACH CHAMBERS: No, I knew it was coming. There was no doubt. I watched a lot of film, and I’d watched Coach Self for many, many years. That’s what they do. They score in bunches. I knew it was coming. I knew we had to knock one down or try to put it inside. They’re so big and strong and very physical. So it was tough for our inside players today.
So we had to try to make some jump shots and we finally hit that one. But we couldn’t sustain it. That’s how good they are. That’s how they hurt you in different ways.
Q. Could you talk a little about D.J., freshman point guard and the way he controlled things and kept you guys under control?
COACH CHAMBERS: He’s a special kid, a special kid. He’s a freshman out there on the biggest stage of his life. He really stepped up. He really managed the game well. When to push it, when not to push it. When to get in the paint, when to kick out. I know he had a couple of turnovers, but his floor game I thought was terrific for a freshman. And his leadership and his future is really bright here at BU.
Q. I noticed when John was responding to the question about how he was, you kind of smiled a little bit when he says I’m okay. Do you truly believe he’s okay?
COACH CHAMBERS: Senior, you know, that was your last game. Human nature might say differently. Human nature might say he’s sad. That was it. That’s the last time he’s going to put that red and white jersey on that says Boston, because he’s played the most minutes in the history of the program. He’s done a lot for this program, so you can only imagine I’m sure he’s feeling pretty down.
Q. When you said you didn’t want the 16 versus 1 to distract your team. Can you amplify a little bit what exactly that means?
COACH CHAMBERS: I just said I didn’t think we were a 16 seed. I thought we were better than that. I thought we had a pretty good RPI. For whatever reason the — the NCAA has a very tough job. I’m not knocking them at all. I’m happy to be in it, but I told our guys I believe we’re a good basketball team. Don’t worry about the seeding.
Kansas is the next game on our schedule. Let’s just try to get better this week, and I thought that’s what we tried to do. I didn’t do any slay the dragon, David and Goliath. I didn’t do any pump videos of Bucknell beating Kansas or Northern Iowa beating Kansas, or MoreheadState beating Louisville. I didn’t do any of that.
I felt like we came in and truly believed in the game plan. We truly believed in one another, and we tried to compete, and I thought we competed for 40 minutes. That’s how good Kansas is. They wear you down.
Q. The reason you guys lost the game, is it only attributed to the run that they got in the second half or fatigue? Explain kind of more of that.
COACH CHAMBERS: That’s what I mean by wear you down. They’re so big and strong and physical, and they can hurt you in so many ways, that I think they wore us down about the 8, 7:00 minute mark, and you noticed our shots were short or long.
They weren’t in-and-outs anymore. And we didn’t have those legs, other than D.J., to get by anybody and get to the basket. That’s what Kansas does to you. They wear you down with their toughness and playing physical.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports
Boston University Postgame Quotes
March 18, 2011
Boston University Freshman Dom Morris
On the his thoughts on the game…
“We’re pretty down. We felt that we could compete and stay in the game with these guys and the outcome should not have been what it was. If we would have just played hard, BU basketball for 40 minutes, the outcome would have been different, so we’re pretty down about this. I know no one probably thought we could be in the game as long as we did before they came up, but we’re pretty down right now.”
On the turning point in the game…
“The turning point was them hitting shots and us not responding. They went up about 10 [at one point] and we cut it down to seven, and then Morningstar hit a three and then one of the twins hit a three. After that, they went up 20 and just stayed up.”
On the team’s outlook for next season…
“We just have to work harder. This experience was bittersweet, I guess. It was a great experience, so next year we know we have to work harder to be as good as we should be.”
Boston University Junior Guard Darryl Partin
On his feelings on the game…
“We’re all competitors, so we all feel pretty down about the loss. [Kansas] is a really good team, so all respect to them.”
On the turning point in the game…
“Games are full of ups and downs, but they had a stretch where they had two or three three’s in a row and we have to respond to that and keep playing BU basketball.”
Boston University Junior Forward Patrick Hazel
How did you feel about your teams’ defense today…
“I think we played pretty well defensively. We played hard; we played well. We kept them out of the paint. We missed a couple opportunities on defense, we gave up some offensive rebounds and some threes. But we stuck to our game plan and our defense was ok for the most part. They just got it going in the second half.”
How do you feel your previous games against ranked opponents prepare you for this game…
“I felt like they prepared us for this game. I felt like we were ready. We played confidently, we gave it everything we had and everyone who came in the game today left it all out on the floor.”
Boston University Junior Guard Matt Griffin
What was your game plan to keep them out of the paint…
“Our game plan was to sag a little bit because the Morris twins are such great players; I mean they can do it all. We wanted to make their guards beat us. Obviously they are very talented as well. That was our game plan, because you have to pick one thing to stop, you can’t stop them all. We just tried to keep them off the boards and defend the hell out of the Morris twins.”
What were your thoughts when you found out you were playing Kansas? Since you and the Morris twins are from Philadelphia…
“They’re great players and that’s what you want as a basketball player. You want to play against the best. You want to play against great players because that’s what brings out the best in you. And I’m happy we got the opportunity.”
