Men's Basketball Team Previews Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Game
Nov. 22, 2010
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas head coach Bill Self and players spoke to the media Monday afternoon to preview their upcoming game with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Kansas Quotes
November 22, 2010
Kansas head coach Bill Self
On Texas A&M-Corpus Christi:
“They’re athletic, similar to North Texas. They played Oklahoma State pretty tough. They have a good scorer on the interior and a really good scorer on the perimeter. They’re a solid team.”
On the Kansas’ performance against North Texas:
“I thought we played pretty well. Defensively we were pretty good, especially the first 30 minutes or so. I think we have improved defensively over the last couple of games, considering the number of minutes that key guys played. Marcus (Morris) only played 19 and Markieff (Morris) only played 22. I thought everybody contributed and played pretty well.”
On if he has a favorite game from the homecourt winning streak:
“We’ve had some great wins, but most of our exciting wins came before the streak was even a streak -the Oklahoma game when we were down 17 with about seven left. The one that probably sticks out the most in my mind would be the Texas win a couple years ago when Tyshawn (Taylor) and the Morris twins were freshmen. I thought that was a fabulous win because we were way down early, came back and ended up winning by 10 to clinch the league title.”
On the players’ confidence when playing at home:
“You want your players confident. I’m confident, but certainly anybody can be had at any time. The best home courts are the ones that have the best players playing on it, first and foremost. Then, the other things – the amenities, the crowd, the noise level, the tradition, the intimidation – all become a factor, but they’re not nearly as important if you don’t have really good players. I’m respectful of the fact that anybody can beat us. It’s been proven. Oral Roberts, Richmond and Nevada came in and beat us, but our guys do have a pretty good air of confidence playing at home.”
On how Josh Selby fits into practice:
“There’s probably not much reason for him to get reps with the first group until we get back from New York (Dec. 7). When we get back from New York, we still have Colorado State and then he can play the next game after that. I’m not too anxious to get him in there with the first group. The second group will be doing a lot of the same things the first group does.”
Sophomore forward Thomas Robinson
On the chance to break the school record for consecutive homecourt wins:
“It’s a huge deal. We want to win, especially for all of the players that came before us. To tie it is a big thing, but to be the team that broke it is a big deal for us. We want to be known as the team that broke the streak. That’s a lot of games to win at home, especially with the competition that we have every year.”
On the role of the crowd in the homecourt winning streak:
“Our fans are the reason why I think we have the number one home crowd in the country. They have a lot to do with that, so I’d say they play a big part in it. There’s nothing like it. We’ve been to a lot of other arenas in the country and I still haven’t seen anything close to Allen Fieldhouse.”
On if Elijah Johnson is looking forward to going back to Las Vegas:
“That’s all he’s been talking about for the past month. He’s really excited about it. It’s a good thing for him to get to play in front of his home crowd. It’s always good to go back home, so Elijah’s very excited about it.”
Senior guard Tyrel Reed
On the chance to break the school record for consecutive homecourt wins:
“I think there’s a lot of excitement between the guys. We really didn’t talk about it much until recently. It’s a big deal. We’ve had a lot of former players come back. It’s just cool to be a part of that.”
On the key to winning 62 consecutive home games:
“I feel like every time we play at home we come out with great energy. We have to contribute a lot of that to our fans. When we come to the Fieldhouse, I don’t feel like we can be beat no matter who we are playing.”
On if he has a favorite game from the homecourt winning streak:
“One that kind of sticks out is the Cornell game. I remember it was terrible weather outside. We just grinded it out. Sherron (Collins) played really well at the end and won that game. That’s just one of those grind-out games at home that sticks out.”
Senior guard Brady Morningstar
On the chance to break the school record for consecutive homecourt wins:
“It’s an exciting thing. It’s a pretty impressive streak at home. It will be cool to get a chance to break the record.”
On if he ever addresses the team about what it’s like to experience a loss at Allen Fieldhouse:
“No, I don’t really want to bring up any losses. No one else knows what it feels like. They don’t want to know what it feels like.”
On if he has a favorite game from the homecourt winning streak:
“When Texas came to town with Kevin Durant, that was impressive. Watching him was impressive and then our comeback was pretty sweet. I think every close game is fun because a lot of times our fans see blowouts and games that are over with 10 minutes left, but there’s rarely a time they see a game down to the last possession in the Fieldhouse. I think those games are the most fun.”
