Post Game Quotes
Dec. 9, 2004
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Post Game Quotes
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On the game:
“(TCU) played really hard tonight. Neil (Dougherty) is doing a great job with that team. The game was very competitive, especially in the first half. I thought both teams really got after it and played well. They made us pay by shooting the ball great in the first ten minutes. I thought that we did some good things also. I told our team that I felt better about how we played tonight than after the games against Saint Joseph’s and Nevada because I felt like it was more of a real game. We haven’t played unbelievably great yet, but we have finished each game. Tonight was very positive for us. We still had too many careless errors, but all together it was a pretty good performance for us and a good team win. There were a lot of good things we can take from the game tonight. I am getting more and more excited about this team as we go. Teams get up to play us. We will get Louisiana-Lafayette’s best shot on Saturday also.”
On Christian Moody:
“He was good. He is a good shooter, but they didn’t guard him. They did the same thing as Pacific, using the same strategy. Even when he shot it, he was hesitant. He just needs to catch it and shoot it because it helps the team by stretching the defense. I thought he played very well tonight.”
On J.R. Giddens:
“J.R. played well. Tonight looked like the J.R. of old. He can shoot the ball better than he did, and he still scored 13 points. He had a solid stat line. He did a lot of good things tonight and played with a lot of energy. He is such a big part of our team and it is great when he plays with that much energy.”
Junior Forward Christian Moody
On his pass:
“As soon as I saw that Wayne (Simien) was going to throw me the ball, I saw J.R.’s man help off on me, so I threw it to him. Coach said it was a great pass, fortunately it didn’t land in his lap. It was also a good pass from Wayne to me.”
On his performance:
“I just want to be consistent every game. I don’t know if you would call it a break out game but I am happy we won. Hopefully on Saturday I can come out and play the same way. I missed my first shot and coach said to step up and take another one because they were doubling down on Wayne. If they are going to leave us open in that spot, we have to take advantage of it.”
Senior Forward Wayne Simien
On Christian Moody making open shots inside the three-point line:
“It is very important for him, C.J. (Giles), Sasha (Kaun) and whoever is in there to knock that shot down. We practice that everyday. Moody made a few of those tonight. It relieved a little of the pressure from me and I was able to get a few easy baskets. Moody is very capable, but sometimes he hesitates a bit. Once he gets comfortable and shoots without hesitating it will be great for us.”
On the game:
“I think it was a great test. The team we faced tonight was probably the hardest playing team we have played in five games. They definitely pushed the ball very well against us. It was good for us because Louisiana-Lafayette likes to push the ball as well. We knew they were very well-coached and would come in and play very hard and they did.”
Senior Guard Aaron Miles
On Moody’s pass:
“It was sensational, but I think the most impressive thing was not just the pass, but the pass before that. Keith’s (Langford) pass came into Wayne and then the double team came and Wayne was aware of that so he passed it out. It was then a quick pass to J.R. from Moody. I was able to watch the whole thing, it was beautiful.”
On the game:
“They (TCU) were real quick. They pushed up the court real well and defended in pressure. I think it was a good test for us to see how we can deal with tough pressure like that. For the most part, we did a pretty good job.”
TCU Quotes
Head Coach Neil Dougherty
On the game:
“From our standpoint, I think we did some pretty nice things tonight and I think that we grew up a little, which is what we are trying to do. I was really proud of how our team got in there and battled and never went away. Even at the end, we weren’t going to go away.”
On Kansas:
“Kansas plays with a great amount of enthusiasm, which I have grown used to. They separated themselves from us like a good team does. Kansas is very talented, very strong and very deep. They have a lot of good pieces and a lot of people have grown up nicely. The last time I was hanging around here, some of those guys were just baby Jayhawks, but they don’t look like that anymore. I think that Coach Self has done a great job. He did something that is very difficult to do in taking a team with already good pieces and a good resume and he is now starting to coach them in a Bill Self form.”
On playing at Allen Fieldhouse:
“It is always fun when I come back because this is my home. When you talk about the game, I had a good time. I told my players that I had a good time coaching them tonight. It was fun watching us compete against a very good basketball team, in a place like Allen Fieldhouse. The fans at Allen Fieldhouse are second to none. You can say what you want about the Fieldhouse, but it is the people that make it special.”
On TCU’s turnovers:
“We had more turnovers than we would like. I think that it is an area that we have gotten better at, but there were a couple of times where the pressure did bother us. There is nothing wrong in saying that, because the pressure in this place is going to bother a lot of people. My concern is that the next time we get in a place like this, that we handle it much better.”
On Nile Murry:
“Nile sat out last season, but everyday I thought he was the best practice player and now he is getting a chance to show that. He made some big jump shots, but more importantly he is just active all over the floor. One or two more players like Nile and we are going to be a good basketball team.”
Junior Guard Nile Murry
On the game:
“Kansas is a big, strong, talented team. Both teams played to the best of their abilities, but Kansas just outplayed us.”
On his performance:
“I had pretty good rhythm starting from the free throw line. It doesn’t take many shots for a good shooter to get hot.”
On Christian Moody:
“I had no idea that he had a double-double, but he played really well. I have to give him credit. He did what he was capable of doing and showed that in front of a national audience.”
