KU Postgame Quotes

Dec. 4, 2006

Recap | Final Stats | Notes |

Head Coach Bill Self Postgame Quotes
Kansas 72, Southern California 62
December 4, 2006

Head Coach Bill Self
On the win:
“USC played well and we played hard. I am anxious to see how many points USC got off of our over-hustle. I bet they got 10 to 12 points just off of our over-hustle; just like the last three that Lodrick [Stewart] made. We make unbelievable plays: steal it, come down the sideline and trip and fall down and they end up getting a three. We did a lot of good things tonight. We got the ball where we wanted it offensively and they are very good defensively. The problem was that they made us score over the top of them and we didn’t make shots. When you don’t make shots you have to rebound the ball offensively. We did a great job there, just need take away some really bad turnovers. Russell [Robinson] really had a tough night by turning the ball over. Starting the second half he had three [turnovers]. Other than that, I thought we played pretty well and we got some key stops. It was a good win for us because they are going to be good. They are getting ready to be really good when we go out there next year.”

On KU’s poor shooting:
“If we had guarded like that against DePaul or Oral Roberts we would be 9-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country. This is good for us because there is pressure to perform here at Kansas. You’re coming off a disappointing performance where you had an eight-point lead with four minutes left and don’t finish the game. We need to learn how to perform under pressure because the biggest games have pressure, so I thought tonight was good. We did a lot of good things. We played a lot better than the final score indicated. “

On play down the stretch:
“When they went small there, we kind of just piddled around with the ball. We actually executed pretty well and we did some good things. We’re still making a lot of mental mistakes but there were a lot fewer today than there have been.”

Kansas Player Quotes
Sophomore guard Brandon Rush
On his shooting performance:
“I am trying to get out of my shooting slump. Everyone has been pressing me to be aggressive and if I keep putting up shots I will come out of it. I was shooting and they looked like they were good, but they kept falling short, going long, off the backboard; it wasn’t my night. I don’t think it is still a slump. I hit two shots and I felt pretty good.”

On Kansas getting into foul trouble in the second half:
“We had to start moving our feet on defense. Foul trouble really limited us from taking over this game all the way. They were getting easy points from the free throw line, so we had to do a better job of containing that.”

On Darnell Jackson:
“Darnell (Jackson) came in and played a great game. He rebounded, made key shots, and got to the free-throw line.”

Sophomore guard Mario Chalmers
On Kansas’ defense:
“I think tonight was a big step for us. We have to keep up the defensive energy. Our defense is going to help us win a lot of games. It is easier (to be consistent on defense) because some nights our shots don’t fall and as long as we bring our defensive energy, it makes it hard for our opponent to score.”

On the number of shots he is taking:
“It’s not about the shots for me, it’s about winning the game. Shots will come whether you look for them or not. It depends on whoever is hot that night; we just want to feed the hot hand.”

On the game:
“It was a hard-fought game. We didn’t really have anything going for us on offense. We were just trying to keep fighting on defense. USC is a very good team and they fought back with us. It was kind of like a dog fight. We had a lot of open looks, but we were just not converting them.”

Junior guard Rodrick Stewart
On playing against his brother, Lodrick Stewart:
“I wanted to cry just being able to see my brother. It was good being able to play against him, but is was sad too. We could still be playing together even though I moved on to bigger and better things. It was sad after the game when he told me that he went all out for my grandma that passed. He told me that he was only going to get better from here, and it was going to get better for me too.”

“He got mad when I was walking toward the bench. He said, `They’re taking you out already! That was good D!.” I just kept on walking. I was trying to hold in laughing throughout the whole game. When we were growing up we always played against other people. To play against him was wired. I gave my team a scouting report on him.”

On his playing time:
“We have great players. I’m not disappointed that I didn’t get to play, but tonight was a night when I really wanted to go out there and lock my brother up.”

USC Quotes
Head Coach Tim Floyd
On the game:
“We got pounded on the defensive boards in the first half, and we turned the ball over too much in order to beat a good team on the road. This is a good team, the best offensive rebounding team I’ve seen in the two years I’ve been back in college. I thought that was the big difference in the game. Our inability to pass and catch under pressure on the road was frustrating; but this is our first trip on the road and it’s a building [process] for us. We’ve got a lot of young kids playing, and it’s their first time out there, and it doesn’t get any tougher than playing at this place.”

On being within a few possesions of Kansas at the end:
“Well we entered the game trying to win it. At the same time we know that we’re making strides and getting better. That’s a very good basketball team(Kansas), and I thought that we played with poise at stretches. But we still looked like a young team at times, with twenty-five turnovers.”

On the play of Lodrick Stewart:
“I thought he played well, he made some shots. He’s a veteran who can shoot. We expect him to come out and do that on the road. He played with good effort on the other end gaurding [Mario] Chalmers. I thought also Nick Young spent a lot of energy on the other end [guarding] [Brandon] Rush. I thought our guys were good defensively. I think we’re making great strides.”

Senior Guard Lodrick Stewart
On the game:
“It didn’t play out the way I wanted it to because we lost. We played a good game, but there were some things we could have done differently — like setting better ball screens and rebounding the ball. We played them well, but we have to play 40 minutes. Kansas is a great team. They are one of the best on-the-ball defensive teams that I have seen. I give everyone on my team credit because we all fought until the end.”

On his shooting:
“I went out there and worked hard in warm-ups and I was ready to play. It is not about my shot, but about the team playing together. I will do whatever it takes to help the team win, if that means making shots, than so be it.”

On being poked in the eye:
“My vision was very blurry. I didn’t want to take bad shots so I tried to get everyone else involved. As a team, we gave it all we had from the first player to the 14th player. This was a win we wanted, but we obviously didn’t get it.”

Junior Forward Nick Young
On the game:
“It was a tough environment. This was our first time in front of a big crowd. I felt the officiating wasn’t going our way. We knew they were at home and they were going to get the calls. My shot wasn’t falling tonight, but my teammates picked me up. We just went out there and played hard.”