Quotes
Dec. 4, 2004
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Post-Game Quotes
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On the game:
“We told everyone that (Pacific) was good and they were by far the best team we have played. Our defense wasn’t great today but we played pretty good. It was a game very similar to last year in Kansas City. We scored, then they would score. We would have a spurt, then they would have a spurt. We did some good things and played pretty smart down the stretch. We just didn’t get some stops when we needed to, but we got enough of them and we rebounded the ball much better in the second half. They beat us pretty good on the glass. A lot of that is how active we are on the dead-ball rebounds. They got six of those. If you take those rebounds away, we out-rebounded them 39-31. We played a lot better in the second half from a rebounding standpoint. They didn’t guard us, they wanted to play four-on-five. They didn’t guard our four-man, they just put guys around Wayne (Simien) the whole time. We ran ball screens which opened up shots that the guys made. They were a tall and athletic team. They were a tough team to play against. We play some good teams coming up, but there are few non-conference games that will be tougher than this one.”
On Keith Langford and Aaron Miles:
“I thought this was the best Keith (Langford) has been all year. If you add the statline of Keith and Aaron (Miles) together, that is the best statline of any two-some in America today. Aaron was fabulous, he made only two bad plays the whole game. Other than those plays, that was as good as Aaron Miles has played. He was terrific.”
On playing a small lineup:
“As a coach, I have to get where I can trust the guys. In a close ballgame, I felt we were better playing small, than we were playing big. Certainly the big men should not be discouraged with today’s game.”
Freshman Guard Russell Robinson
On Pacific:
“They got out and played very well defensively against us. They made us take some bad shots that we don’t usually take. They executed well and played solid.”
On Aaron Miles’ influence on him:
“He has coached me along every game. I turn the ball over too much right now and he is helping me get through that. My biggest problem right now is making little freshman mistakes, I am working on it and hopefully it is something that will get better as time goes on.”
Senior Guard Keith Langford
On his performance:
“This was only the fourth game, so I need to build off this. This was a confidence builder. I think my performance, along with Aaron’s (Miles) was completely necessary to beat this team. This was the best team we have played all year. Something had to be done and I wasn’t going to sit back and watch.”
On Pacific’s defense:
“I thought they would play us a little different, since we haven’t been shooting the ball as well as we would have liked to. For the most part they were geared to stop Wayne (Simien) and our inside game. We had to loosen up the defense with penetration. The way they defended us opened up some gaps and Aaron and I were able to get in and dish the ball.”
On how Pacific has changed since the last meeting:
“I think they were better than they were last year. That is saying a lot since their player of the year graduated. Their big guys are tough. (Christian) Maraker could come and be an All-Big 12 performer.”
Pacific Head Coach Bob Thomason
On the game:
“I thought we did a good job in the first half. They made some runs, but we made some nice runs as well. We played really well the first four minutes of the second half and got a lead. In the first half, we had 11 turnovers and knew that if we could cut the turnovers to five or six in the second half, we would have a chance. We could not do that. We had too many turnovers that led to easy baskets. We had some good shots. In the first half, we made those shots, but in the second half, we didn’t shoot quite as well. (Keith) Langford had a sensational game. We knew we had to have him have an off night and that did not happen. I thought we ran pretty well at times. I thought sometimes we ran a little cautiously. There are a lot of things that we can get better at. Cutting down on our turnovers is something that we will do. I think our defense needs to learn how to sustain things in the last 10 minutes of the game. We battled though, in this environment and against this team. I thought we handled ourselves very well. We did a great job of competing, fighting and scraping.”
On the turning point of the game:
“I thought that the turning point in the game was when (Guillaume Yango) made a nice move and did not know whether or not to dunk it or just lay it up. He missed it and then got fouled and missed the one-on-one free throw. Those four points right there would have cut their lead down. Kansas did a great job when they had to.”
On Mike Webb:
“I thought Mike Webb grew up a little today. He made some good baskets and looked more comfortable on the basketball court.”
On upcoming games:
“Next week will be a big week for us. We can’t have a let down against UC Davis, since it is the first time we have gone there in quite a few years. Then we have to go to Reno, which is always a tough place to play. It will be great for our kids to bounce back and learn. Hopefully we can keep getting better.”
Junior Forward Christian Maraker
On playing Kansas:
“It was a good experience. It is a good learning situation for us. It is not often that we play this good of a team away from home. It was a little intimidating to play here. I knew that it was going to be crazy with their fans and it was. It is fun to play in these types of situations.”
On the game:
“I think we are learning how to handle the pressure. (Aaron) Miles and (Keith) Langford really got into our guards today and created some turnovers. We threw the ball away a few times in the second half, and they went on a run. All of the Kansas guards stepped up today. Last year, we had trouble with Kansas’ inside threats. However, this year it was kind of the opposite.”
