KU Postgame Quotes

Nov. 28, 2006

Recap | Final Stats | Notes

Postgame Quotes
Kansas 83, Dartmouth 32
November 28, 2006

Head Coach Bill Self
On the game:
“It was a good win tonight, but they have three starters back home hurt. They’ve had every bad thing that could possibly happen occur to them. So we knew going into the game that they were really shorthanded but we did okay. I will have to go look back at the tape, but I think our defense played fine even though they did not have a lot of offensive weapons that they could throw at us. We did pretty well. We rebounded the ball particularly great and the only real concern for me is shooting the ball better behind the arc. We have to get better at that and shoot our free throws better. It was good to get everybody in the game. I made a mistake by not getting Brennan Bechard and Brad Witherspoon into the game. I just did not even think about it, so that is just a mistake on my part. Those guys should have got to play some minutes tonight.”

On the halftime message to the team:
“We struggled some by playing to high on the floor. The further the ball is away from you, the further you can jump to the basketball. We played too flat. We also tried to emphasize getting up the floor and then running our zone offense against them. We did some alright things, but there was nothing here tonight to get too excited about.”

On Depaul:
“They are very talented and they have one great, NBA-type player in Wilson Chandler. It will be packed and an emotional arena. They are good. They are one of those teams that can look great or one of those teams that when they have not played well, does not look very good. They have basically all of their players back from the same team that defeated Syracuse last year by 40, and took Kentucky to the last 30 seconds in Hawaii. Obviously, their coach wants to see the team that played against Syracuse and Kentucky to show up, but they are very talented. It will be a good ballgame.”

Kansas Player Quotes

Junior Forward Darnell Jackson
On the cut above his eye:
“I went up for a rebound while the other guy was coming down and I ran right into his elbow. I just got five stitches.”

On the game:
“They were good, but they were missing five key players who where hurt. We just tried to stay focused and keep doing what we have to do. Make the right moves and make sure we screen and execute the transition break, block out, rebound, just a lot of things we had to work on tonight.”

On getting 11 rebounds:
“Before the game I told myself that I need to get to the glass more and be more aggressive, just get every rebound that comes off the rim. I just keep repeating to myself, `go to the glass go to the glass.’ Even on the court (on offense) when anyone shoots the ball, I just think `go to the glass’ instead of running back on defense.”

On concern of a let down after the Florida win:
“No let down. Everybody is excited about the Florida game, but it’s over now. We can’t get it back, but it was a fun game. Now we have to look ahead and play every team like we played Florida.”

Freshman Guard Brady Morningstar
On improvement while at Kansas:
“Shooting, although you couldn’t see it tonight. Shooting, ball-handling, every time you come to college they work on your all-around game.”

On getting nervous:
“Yes, especially the first time you hop out there (on the court). There is a lot of pressure. Everyone’s eyes are on you.”

On his role on the team:
“I thought about red-shirting, but coach told me that he could probably use me this season. If there is a time and a game where he needs to put someone in to hit a shot, I’ll be ready to step in there. I’m not worried about playing time right now. I’m just trying to help out the team any way I can.”

Freshman Forward Darrell Arthur
On the game:
“We just went out there and tried to execute some things.”

On playing after the Florida game:
“I think everybody feels more confident now. We just put the Oral Roberts game behind us. We are trying to get everybody energized and everybody is pumped up now since the big win. We are going to come out every game and play tough and hard.”

Dartmouth Quotes

Head Coach Terry Dunn
On Kansas’ athleticism:
“In the first half it was extremely tough to get good looks. We did have shot opportunities. We rushed it more than we normally do. Definitely the speed and quickness [of Kansas] throws your timing off offensively and your shooting confidence as well.”

On Kansas:
“Last time I checked, they’re the No. 5 ranked team in the country, and deservedly so. They just beat the No. 1 team in the country. From a guy sitting on the other bench, I think they’re very good. It’s scary to imagine how good they’re going to be in February and March.”

On injuries:
“When you schedule games like this, you hope to bring your entire team. Particularly, your leading scorers and your starters. I’m not sure how much closer the game would have been [if there were no injuries], but I do know that we left some guys home that are capable of scoring a few more points. It gives you a few more options and I think Bill (Self) was very gracious tonight with his substitutions and his play distribution. It could have been worse.

Sophomore Guard Alex Barnett

On handling Kansas’ athleticism:
“It didn’t make us get away from our game plan. The pressure was what we expected; we just didn’t count on it like we were supposed to. I think we handled it really well in the second half.”

On his thoughts after Kansas’ win against Florida:
“I knew we had our hands full. They played hard against Florida, and Florida was the No. 1 team at the time, and they (Kansas) worked their way up to No. 5 in the nation.”

On positives from Dartmouth’s loss to Kansas:
“We didn’t quit. In the second half, we saw our freshman Robby Pride down on the floor 20 seconds left in the game. We didn’t quit, no matter what, we didn’t quit.”

On Dartmouth’s injuries:
“On the court now we realize we have younger players that have to step up and fill larger roles than they may have been assigned originally. The freshmen are getting more minutes than they may have gotten if we had more people healthy. Even me, myself, I feel like that I have had to fulfill a role that was larger than I was going to maybe have at the beginning.”

On bouncing back from the loss to Kansas:
“We just have to get back into the gym and push ourselves in practice.”