Kansas Men's Basketball Press Conference and Player Quotes
Press Conference Quotes
Video: Coach Self Press Conference | Aldrich | X. Henry | Taylor
Head Coach Bill Self
About Tyshawn Taylor’s performance against Tennessee Tech:
“He made some shots. Because we’ve only played a few games, his stats have looked worse than they were. He’s back to shooting 44 percent from the three and his assist-to-turnover ratio is much better. He played better. I thought it was good for him to see the lid come off the basket the other day.”
On putting too much pressure on one freshman player:
“You can use a freshman too much to the point where they’re not quite ready to carry the bulk of the program on their shoulders. That is what it feels like in some ways because you don’t want to put a guy in a high-pressure situation if he’s never been through it. Now, if he doesn’t perform well, he is the primary reason in some people’s eyes why the team is not being successful. Of course, there are exceptions. I don’t think that bothered Carmello [Anthony] very much. I think Xavier [Henry] is definitely in that class. He is ready to shoulder it as much as any freshman we’ve had, but it is still better to have other guys that have been through it. When you look at our team, you do not point to one person for the reason we are successful or unsuccessful.”
On what the team needs to improve:
“I would like to see us pressure the ball and not get beaten back down the court. I would also love for us to be able to get long rebounds. We should be better at rebounding than we are, but the best offensive rebounding teams are the ones who block the most shots. A lot of times when you block a shot, it goes out of bounds or back to the offense and those are missed rebounding opportunities. In games where you block a lot of shots and get a lot of steals, there are fewer opportunities to get rebounds. Our rebounding numbers are not great, but they are probably not as awful as I thought they were after watching tape.”
On the team’s No. 1 ranking:
“I had not even noticed the No. 1 ranking until I saw it on the TV yesterday during my Hawk Talk show. That is something that we maybe talked about a couple of times before the season started, but I have not talked about it since. Our guys know it and I’ve told them I hope we eventually play to that ranking, but I really don’t put much stock in that. As a coach, if you are worried about holding on to that No. 1 ranking, then you are trying to hold on to something as opposed to going out and taking it. I think we should try to focus on getting better every day and those things all take care of themselves. It is really not important at all to be ranked that high right now.”
Player Quotes
Sophomore Guard Tyshawn Taylor
On the team chemistry and if he likes where the team is at right now:
“I like where we are at right now, but I think we have a long way to go as well. We are still young. We still have a lot of freshmen who haven’t learned everything yet. I like my teammates, we all like being around each other and we all love the coaching staff. I think we are only going to get better from here.”
On overlooking opponents that are maybe not as talented:
“We can’t come in here thinking that we can’t be beat because we can. College basketball works like that sometimes. We could go out there and miss a bunch of shots and the other team could be on fire, I’ve seen it happen. We have to play them [Alcorn State] like we would play any other opponent.”
On if it’s difficult getting everyone the ball because of all the talent:
“Coach addressed that during film the other day. We’ve been having a lot of blow out games, so when games are so spread out like that, it is hard to get the big guys touches. When the competition starts getting a little bit better and the pace gets a little slower, the big guys are going to get a lot more touches.”
Junior Center Cole Aldrich
On the team’s chemistry compared to last year’s team chemistry:
“I think it is pretty similar. Every year I have been here we have all really enjoyed each other. We spend hours a day together on the court and in each other’s rooms off the court. We really enjoy each other’s presence.”
On the pressure of being ranked No. 1:
“Yes, we take pride in it. I wouldn’t say we have to live up to it, but at the same time we want to play every game to the best of our ability. We try to get better everyday because we know, from past years, that if we get better, we are going to play in some big games later on in the season.”
On if he wishes he could get more touches down low:
“I just really enjoy being out there. Whether the ball is in my hands or I’m taking this many or that many shots, I’m just excited to get out there and get some rebounds, block some shots and just run the floor and have some fun with the guys.”
On how he evaluates his performance in games that don’t have the best competition:
“Small things. Catching ball screens, talking and trying to be a leader for the guys on the team.”
