Postgame Quotes
Dec. 5, 2007
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas 85, Eastern Washington 47
December 5, 2007
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On getting the ball into the paint:
“We passed the ball well tonight. Out of our 11 turnovers, I would say that only three or four were foolish turnovers. For the most part we made good decisions. I do not know if they (the posts) were more open tonight than they were the other night. We just got the ball to them starting out, Russell (Robinson), Mario (Chalmers) and Rod (Stewart) did a great job of doing that tonight.”
On the defensive effort:
“I thought it was good for us to play out of a scramble situation. They wanted to slow it down, but we created some pace defensively. We did not score as much off of our defense as I thought we would, especially when we had 15 steals, but I thought our defense was good. I thought our big guys flew around. They scored off of breakdowns, but for the most part, we defended pretty well. We played a lot better than we did Sunday, that is for sure.”
On DePaul:
“I cannot tell you too much about DePaul yet. That is Coach Dooley’s job right now. He has the book on them, but I will start watching film on them tonight. They lost Wilson Chanlder and Sammy Mejia and those were the two key players last year that led them to a come back against us. Even though we played miserably up there last year, we had total control of the game with four minutes left and let it get away. That can’t happen. It was a positive for us, because our guys rallied around each other after that game, but it was a tough lesson. Hopefully we will perform a lot better on Saturday.”
Sophomore Darrell Arthur<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
On KU’s big men scoring inside:
“He wants us to pound the ball in, that’s what we’ve been working on lately. We had a height advantage so we just used that.”
On getting the ball to the post:
“It’s getting us going. It’s working pretty good, starting inside then going out. When we’re doing well in the post it just leaves the guards with open shots. I think if we do that and keep playing team ball, we’ll be pretty good.”
On going to the post early in the game:
“We were just trying to get it in quick and pound them down low. It just opens everything up for the guards to score on the outside. Coach has been putting the emphasis on us getting the ball in the post and that’s what we have been doing lately.”
Senior Darnell Jackson
On getting the ball to senior Darrell Arthur in the post:
“When we were watching tape of the USC game, Shady (Darrell Arthur) was open a lot down there in the post. Coach Self said we had to get the ball to him more. Darrell he’s a great post player. He can dribble and make a jump shot. We just have to keep giving him the ball and that will make it easier for the other big guys. When we play against teams that double team him he can throw it over the top for an easy lay-up.”
On the upcoming game against DePaul on Saturday:
“We went there and we started off playing well. I played terrible so I’m looking forward to this game and I know everybody is looking forward to this game because we lost. We’re just going to go to practice tomorrow and get ready for it. This is a big game for us. We need to go out here and play.”
On if a loss carries over to the next season:
“Everything carries over to the next year especially when we lost in the tournament. We think about that everyday. The loss to DePaul, we think about that. The loss to Oral Roberts, we still think about that. We just have to go out there and play and when the time comes we know we have to go out there and execute and run plays.
Russell Robinson
On the post players being putting up big numbers:
“They were open and we just pounded it inside, when we do that good things seem to happen.”
On the post players stepping up:
“That’s the main thing, even though we didn’t shoot it as well, we are still able to get a nice win. We did not shoot well, but Mario (Chalmers) had 8 assists and Brandon (Rush) was in there with 10 rebounds. Stuff like that is going to help us tremendously.”
On Brandon Rush grabbing 10 rebounds:
“Brandon is a great rebounder, very athletic and it was great to see him get 10. If he can do that continually, it will be great.”
Eastern Washington Head Coach Kirk Earlywine
On the game:
“I think there are less than 20 teams that can look at San Antonio and the Final Four as a realistic goal. Kansas is one of those teams. We have played Washington State and they are another team that realistically could make it. Kansas is a whole different animal in terms of length, athletic ability, and style of play. They just overwhelm you.”
On Eastern Washington’s lack of depth:
“We have nine guys and six of those hadn’t played in a division-one game a month ago. We have a lack of experience at this level. Having a scholarship taken away for a NCAA infraction makes us even shorter on numbers. We were just overwhlemed to begin the second half and we just got worn down.”
On their tough early schedule:
“It has been really hard. I got the job in June and had to get nine new players. On top of that we had a scholarship taken away from us and I inherited the toughest schedule in the history of our conference. No one else has ever played two top-10 teams. On top of Kansas and Washington State, you have to add Washington, New Mexico, Virginia Tech, and Michigan.”
On the difference in the game:
“I thought our blocking out was solid in the first half. They had five offensive rebounds at halftime. Out of 16 missed shots that is a good percentage. They cranked it up at the beginning of the second half.”
