Kansas Vs. UMKC Postgame Quotes
Nov. 11, 2007
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Kansas 85, UMKC 62
November 11, 2007
Postgame Quotes
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On UMKC:
“I thought they played very well. They made shots for the most part and executed their offense. They turned the ball over some, but I thought they executed well, especially early. They did a really nice job. They will have some success. They do have skilled big guys, which is a great offense to run.”
On Kansas’ defense:
“At times we were pretty good defensively. We had 19 points in transition; I didn’t feel we scored off our defense quite as much as we did the other night. They (UMKC) did a good job getting back. We didn’t gamble as much. Our breakdown the other night was gambling, missing and forcing help. I didn’t think that was the case tonight. When they beat us tonight it was because we were not as sound as we what we should be in some areas. They also ran a good offense too and made some tough shots. I thought our defense was better than what it as the other night, but it still has a lot of room to get better.”
On the game:
“It was a good win. It was good for us to sweat and to play under some duress. We did poorly at executing, blocking out and free-throw shooting at times; still, we win by 23. But we have to get better.”
“I thought Russell (Robinson) played well. He’s shot the ball well so far. If Russell can make a couple of threes a game, then that is going to be a big bonus for us. Of course, Mario (Chalmers) shot the lights out and Sherron (Collins) didn’t, so it was just a role reversal from the first game. I thought our bench wasn’t quite as good as it was the other night. But in basketball, just like any other sport, you have to be at that magic level when the game starts. I felt that tonight we weren’t quite there for whatever reason; it wasn’t a matter of `wanting’ to be there, we just weren’t there from a concentration and focus standpoint. There are a lot of things to work on, and I’m not sure that’s all bad.”
On future preparation:
“Without watching the tape the biggest concern from my vantage point is how many mental mistakes we make. If you eliminate whether the ball goes in the hole or not and we evaluate how we really played – time, score and momentum – when you really break it down, we made a lot of mental mistakes tonight. In a Big 12 game that will cause you to go home sad. We certainly have to become a smarter basketball team in terms of paying attention to detail, because we had too many loose things happen. Unlike the other games, tonight when we made mistakes they were magnified. So that is good for us. We just have to tighten things up from a mental approach.”
Kansas Player Quotes
Junior Guard Mario Chalmers
On letting UMKC stay within striking distance:
“I do not think that we let them hang around too long. I just think that they hit a lot of good shots. I think we played okay defenisvely on most of the shots that they hit and the three’s kept them in the game.”
On Coach Self’s halftime message:
“Anytime that you let a team score before halftime, it gives them momentum coming out into the second half, so he was upset about that.”
On if he is making a conscious effort to score more with Brandon Rush out:
“I don’t think so. I think all five of us have to pull the rope until Brandon gets back. Last game it was Sherron (Collins), this game happened to be me and the first couple of games were our Bigs. Anybody can step-up for us.”
Senior Guard Russell Robinson
On the game:
“I would not call it was a frustrating, but it was definitely a tough game especially when you shoot as well as they did. The backcuts and their offense is tough to guard, but we made the adjustments.”
On the rough play:
“Anytime you are playing hard there is going to be some animosity, and there definitely was some today. But it was all in good spirits. Everyone was competing so it is all good.”
On his chemistry with Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins:
“We have been able to find each other for a long time. We know each other’s strengths. It just takes time. When we get on the run, that is when we are at our best and so that is what we try to do as much as we can.”
On Darrell Arthur:
“We all have a long ways to go. He missed a couple bunnies and dunks, but he is going to show up when the time comes. (In practice) He is unstoppable inside, now we just have to get that to carryover into the game. They played a funky defense that was kind of awkward for us. But we will definitely continue to feature him inside.”
UMKC Head Coach Matt Brown
On the game:
“I just told the kids tonight that the staff and I were extremely proud to be their coaches. I thought, truthfully, we outhustled them [Kansas] tonight. They are a terrific basketball team. I think they have a chance to win and go to the Final Four. I think in terms of effort, that we were right there with them. I told the kids that we didn’t come to show up, we came to win the basketball game. I think if you saw the game tonight, we did. We weren’t scared. We cut the lead to seven and had a wide open three and we just missed it. We came in here with the outlook to try to win the game. We weren’t just showing up.”
On what they’re going to work on before their home opener:
“I think tomorrow we’ll be watching the film from tonight’s game and watching some Washburn film. More than anything, we’ll take what we had tonight: ten minutes to go and it was a ten point game, we were right there. I think more than anything else, we have what it takes to be successful. Obviously, hats off to them. They are a terrific basketball team and Coach Self does a terrific job.”
On his first game as a coach:
“It was good. More than anything else tonight I wanted to compete. I think a lot of people that have an interest in the program saw that our kids do compete and they play hard. We actually play until there is (no time) left on the clock.”
On the free throws:
“They’re big and strong inside. Sasha (Kaun) is great inside. He’s a heck of a player. I actually tried to recruit him when I was assistant at West Virginia. He’s a terrific player.”
On his positive attitude:
“There’s tons of positives (to take out of this game). The one thing we found out tonight is that if we can compete with the No. 4 team in the country, then we should be able to compete with a lot of other teams.”
On grading his first game as a coach:
“I think in terms of our effort, I think it was an A. Execution and things like that, I think we still have a ways to go, but I think in terms of poise and things like that, I think they did an excellent job.”
UMKC Players
Junior Guard Dane Brumagin:
On their first game under first season head coach Matt Brown:
“We have a lot of newcomers. For me, this is my first time playing here. I thought we responded really well. Our sense of togetherness is something we emphasize every day and I think that no matter what happened in the game, we bounced back and we were altogether and we were picking each other up. I think we’re going to get better and better. If we play every game like this, I think we have the chance to be very successful this year.”
On Brown’s fiery leadership:
“I like that. He’s like that at the games and at practice. It’s the same intensity level everyday. We try to raise it every single day at practice with a lot of energy and when you practice like that, it carries over into the games. He gets very excited and very ecstatic and that rubs off on us players.”
On keeping the game close with Kansas:
“Our intensity was always high no matter what happened on the other end; we were able to bounce back. We moved the ball pretty well, we got some open shots and a lot of different guys contributed. If a couple things go different, maybe it would have been a little different outcome. I thought we were able to respond when they attacked very well tonight.”
On his expectations on coming in and playing at Allen Fieldhouse:
“Well this is one of the most historic places. First off, we came out here for the shoot around and we were in awe about being here. It’s something you dream about growing up your entire life and the chance to play here was every bit what I imagined and then some. It was a great experience.”
Senior forward Brent Stephens:
On the game against Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse:
“It was a great experience. There’s a lot of history here in Allen Fieldhouse and being able to come in here and play was a great experience. As our first game, I was really proud of our team how we hustled around and got on the floor for loose balls. I think that’s something we can build on for the rest of the season.”
On keeping the game close throughout:
“It’s great. We came in here against a top-ranked team like Kansas and we competed the entire game. It’s going to give us a lot of confidence throughout the year.”
On the free throw discrepancy:
“Well Kansas is going to get that. They’re a big team and they bang inside. We’re a smaller team. We get a lot of backdoors and try to get layups and outside shots. We can see that. They’re used to the physical play. Our first game, we were kind of shying away from the contact inside a little bit instead of just taking it to the rim and getting fouled.”
On only being down 10 points at one point in the game:
“It was a great feeling with this being our first game, especially to come in against a top-ranked team. I think what got us to that point was the hustle. If we can do that in our league, I think we’re going to be successful.”
