Kansas vs. Cal Quotes
Dec. 10, 2005
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Postgame Quotes
December 10, 2005<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Kansas 69, California 56
Head Coach Bill Self
On the game:
“I thought we did a pretty good job down the stretch. We did good finishing the game. We need to tighten some things up though. That’s a talented team we played today. The best thing we did was run and get their guys tired. Those are the things we have to do.”
On Stephen Vinson:
“How can you not respect someone who feels worse than anyone else in the gym? Also who practices harder than anyone? He should be the standard on how we base our effort. There is nobody close to how Stephen competes. He had five assists in the first half. He’s a ball mover. Stephen pays attention to detail more than anyone.”
On Kansas’ offense:
“It’s not that our offense is bad. We just have to get everyone moving, cutting, sharper and understanding how to play hard.”
On the change in the second half:
“I told our guys to shoot better. I thought we ended the first half fine. There were so many frustrating things that we did in the first that did not benefit us. I thought we did a good job getting the ball to the paint in the second half. We got the ball where we needed it to be.”
On C.J. Giles:
“I thought C.J. did a good job the last 35 minutes of the game. He was probably a little nervous, but he’s a good player. He played great defense today. He was just fabulous.”
Freshman Forward Brandon Rush
On the halftime adjustments:
“I was feeling bad about myself. I really wasn’t helping the team, not rebounding, so I decided I just needed to come out and play harder.”
On increased energy level:
“We knew we didn’t come out as hard as we were supposed to. In the 2nd half (Stephen) Vinson came in and gave us a good spark which really helped us out.”
On what the win does for the teams’ confidence:
“We needed it real bad. We were always confident, but we needed to get our swagger back and this win really helps a lot.”
Freshman Guard Micah Downs:
On win:
“This is a good game to get our confidence back up and it makes us believe we can beat a good team.”
On 2nd Half:
We talked at halftime that we can’t do anything about the losses we have and we just came out and played hard. We just came out and wanted it more than they did.”
Sophomore Forward C.J. Giles
On game:
We just wanted to prove we can get big wins and if we come out and execute like coach says we can win.”
On improved defense:
“I need to go back to focusing on my defense and my offense will come. Last year, I was a defensive player and this year coach wanted me to score more. So I started focusing on my offense and that caused my rough start but if I go to rebounding and blocking shots the offense will come.”
Cal Head Coach Ben Braun
On the game:
“I’d like to think the way we played in the first half is how we are capable of playing. Our team was dominating in a lot of respects. Defensively, we were getting stops and we were getting the ball where we wanted int. They only thing I was disappointed with in the first half was our turnovers and missed opportunities. We should have had a bigger lead at the half.
On the second half:
“I thought we did a poor job of executing in the second half. If you look at the stats, that tells it all. We had ten turnovers in the paint. That hurts, because (Kansas) is a team that is going to come down, as will many of the teams we play this year, and respect our inside game. We have got to find people on the perimeter. We made it a lot tougher on ourselves in the second half by taking bad shots and going one-on-one.
Sophomore Guard Omar Wilkes
On the second-half struggle:
“Kansas played a great game. I don’t think that they (Kansas) made any adjustments we just did not play as well. If you allow talented teams to get back into the game they will make you pay.”
On playing against Kansas:
“Although I said that this was just another game, I really wanted this one. It was circled on my calendar for a year-and-a-half. I was really excited but now it does not feel too good.”
Sophomore Forward Leon Powe:
On the game:
” The lane was clogged up and I started shooting my jump shot too late. Things did not go our way in the second half. Give all the credit to Kansas. We were trying to get on the boards but it seemed like Kansas had everyone down there. We could not get a break.”
On Kansas’ defense:
“I could not tell when they were double-teaming, but when I could I kicked it out. Every time it came back to me they were right there.”
