Bill Self Weekly Press Conference Quotes
Dec. 16, 2010
Videos Coach Self | Selby
Bill Self Weekly Press Conference
On what he expects to see against USC:
“I think they will play through their bigs. They have a kid who is eligible just like we do, Jio Fontan, who is Tyshawn (Taylor)’s high school teammate. And everyone up there has said done very well for them. But obviously, their bigs are good and you play through them. One of them makes, not a lot, but is averaging three makes a game. And (Alex) Stevenson is a very good low post player so I think that will be a big concern with us. We are just a little bit thinner inside so we’ll have to do a real good job playing defense on them now.”
On the status of Mario Little:
“There’s no latest, to my knowledge. I found out about it this morning, probably only about 15 minutes earlier than some of you guys found out. But he has been suspended indefinitely. It will be significant. I’m not going to make any judgments until we see the police report and find out exactly what’s going on. I know he has been charged with misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor criminal trespassing and misdemeanor property damage, or whatever the correct term is. They’re misdemeanors but they’re still very major and serious in our eyes. So we’ll wait and see how it plays out. I feel bad for him. Mario is a nice young man. He’s a good young man and it obviously got away from him last night and I’m very disappointed because it’s something that we stress quite hard and frequently here. He put himself in a bad position and didn’t exercise very good judgment. But that didn’t take away from the fact that he is still on our team. And he will be on our team until unless there is information that comes forward that tells us he should not be otherwise. But he will be disciplined in a pretty severe way.”
On whether or not he will play again this season:
“Well, if he doesn’t see (the court again) this year, he never will. He’s a fifth-year senior and I think it depends on what he did. There may be more to it than what we actually know and what transpired, so we’ll wait and see how the legal system also plays out in this.”
On the involvement of the former student-manager:
“I’m not sure girlfriend is the right term. She’s not a basketball manager. She hasn’t been for a few weeks. It’s nothing to do with this, she has a lot of stuff going on and it’s a busy time of year, but we anticipated her coming back and working with the athletic department at some point in time. I’ll say she has been a basketball manager, but to say she is now would be inaccurate. But, she has worked with us and done a good job and is a nice young lady. Certainly, she needs to take care of some things on her own right now. But we anticipated her, at some point in time, working her way back in the athletic department. But I don’t know if that will be.”
On whether or not Mario Little can practice:
“I’m still debating that. Definitely not today, or in the immediate future, but I’m still debating whether or not he will as we move forward.”
On whether or not freshman guard Josh Selby is ready for the media attention:
“I don’t know if anybody is ready for that. And certainly he deserves the attention, he hasn’t done anything to create it for himself and I think the players understand that. But I believe that if anybody could be prepared for it it’s him. He’s got a lot of Sherron (Collins) in him, and I mean that in a good way. He thinks he’s the baddest boy out here every day regardless of who is out there with him, so I think you need to have confidence like that. But I’m not expecting him to make every shot or never turn it over which I think could be the expectations of other people who are coming to watch him. But I just want him to have a good time and have fun.”
On whether or not Selby will start against USC:
“I doubt he starts. I guess you could always start somebody depending on injuries with practice the next couple of days. But the five guys that have been starting, they’ve done a decent job. They’ve performed at a pretty high level and I haven’t seen anything yet to tell me that Josh deserves to be a starter over any one of those guys. Regardless of talent, regardless of expectations and hype and all of that stuff, the bottom line is that you’ve still got to produce on the court and you’ve still got to be one of five and understand how to make our team better. I don’t care about individuals. I care about the team a lot more than individuals. So I do believe that he will do that.”
Freshman Guard Josh Selby
On how he feels going into his first collegiate game after serving the suspension:
“It was a long process, but all of my teammates, the fans and the coaching staff pushed me through it. (They) just kept me focused on school work and working out and getting in shape, so that when my time came, I would be ready to show up. It was all because of them. I couldn’t do it without them.”
On what his first game at Kansas means to him:
“It’s my first college game, so playing for Kansas means a lot. You have great tradition and a great atmosphere, so this means a lot to my family.”
On developing chemistry with the current rotation:
“I’m playing with the blue team more, which is the first five or the first seven, so I have really good chemistry with my teammates but that’s the biggest difference. Just fitting in, knowing everybody’s strengths and weaknesses — that’s the hardest part for me.”
On the expectations placed on him:
“My teammates don’t expect much because they just want to win, just like I do. I’m going to come out and fit right in and do what the coaches ask me to do. I’m just ready to play Saturday and get this over with.”
On the level of talent surrounding him on the team:
“I haven’t played with that many good players. Just looking at the twins (Marcus Morris and Markeiff Morris) and Tyshawn (Taylor) and Elijah (Johnson) — everybody is pretty good. It’s good to play with them because that just eases me and makes me a better player.”
Junior Guard Tyshawn Taylor
On what freshman Josh Selby is going to bring to the team on game day:
“I think he’s going to bring a lot to the table for us. He adds a couple of dimensions for us. He adds another scorer, another defender- a good defender- so I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be exciting.”
On if he thinks Selby will be playing on the court at the same time as himself:
“I think we’re going to play together. I think we would be really good together on the court. Athletically I think we would play good together. He can score so I think we can both create (plays) and find each other and find our teammates. That’s something he does pretty well.”
On if Selby will live up to the hype in Saturday’s game:
“I think he will. I think people are putting a lot on him right now. He’s still a freshman. This is still his first game and it’s still new. It might take him some time. I think he will be fine though. I think at the end of the day it will work itself out and he will be fine.”
On what he knows about USC:
“I know they’re a good team. They have some good players. My best friend, Jio Fontan, played on my high school team and he’ll be eligible for his first game (on Saturday). They have a couple scorers on their team. I think it’s going to be a good game. It is going to be an exciting first game for Josh.”
On what’s it has been like working Selby into plays during practice:
“It’s a work in progress but like I said, he just brings something extra to the team. He’s another scorer, another defender, another creator. He does a lot of good things for us. He fits into the offense kind of easyily because he can shoot and create, and that’s what coach wants us to do anyway. He fits perfect into our offense so we’ll just have to wait and see (how he performs Saturday).”
Senior guard Brady Morningstar:
On freshman Josh Selby’s debut:
“I’m excited for him, for his family and for him to be on the court with his team. He can make some tough shots and I think he will get to the foul line a bit. He’s an athletic guard that knows how to score. He brings a lot to the table.”
On his first game at KU:
“I don’t really think my first game had much significance. It was probably a blowout and I was probably just in the last few minutes. I just know you get anxious and nervous. You’re just ready to play because once you’re out there, you’re just playing ball.”
On if Mario Little’s incident is causing a distraction:
“There are always a lot of distractions throughout the year, but you just have to take them, learn from them and move on. We need to come together as a team a little bit closer and just know that we have to play well and focus on things on the court.”
On advice he would give Little:
“I know how it is when you get in trouble and your name is on the internet. You just have to take your punishment and move on.”
Junior forward Marcus Morris
On his recent ankle injury:
“I’m feeling about 85 to 90 percent. It’s as bad of an injury as I’ve had in my career. I’ve been in treatment three times a day, but I think it’s getting better. I should be ready by Saturday.”
On Josh Selby joining the team on Saturday versus USC:
“He’s a great a shooter, he can attack and really get past you. He’s really going to help us out at the point guard position, giving Ty (Tyshawn Taylor) some time at the two-man (position) to run the floor and be quicker in transition. He’s going to make us a more explosive team on offense, having him, Tyshawn and maybe Elijah (Johnson) on the floor at the same time. It’s going to be exciting to see how those guys play together.”
On how the week has been hectic and how he’s dealt with it:
“I wouldn’t say it’s tough, I’d say it’s been a learning experience. I think it’s going to bring us closer together as a team. Some things have got to be talked about and handled.”
