Dec. 22, 2004

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Kansas Postgame Quotes<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

December 22, 2004

Head Coach Bill Self

On the game:

“I don’t think it went great, but I don’t think it went terrible either. Alex (Galindo) did a great job and will be more effective when he plays that role. When Darnell (Jackson) and Christian (Moody) picked up some quick fouls early, we wanted to save them for the second half. Since we did that, we had to play small.”

On Alex Galindo:

“Obviously we have to work on some things since he hasn’t had a chance to play very much. Against teams that play small like Wisconsin-Milwaukee did, he will have more of a chance to play.”

On Ed McCants:

“I have seen tape and I knew he was good. He was better tonight than what I saw on tape. He made some tough shots and we let him get his confidence going by not guarding him. He is strong and fast and is a very good player.”

On the freshmen:

“Every rep that those guys get is going to be helpful. If C. J. (Giles) made his free throws tonight, he would have had a pretty good game. They need to get better defensively. Half of the fouls that C. J. (Giles) and Darnell (Jackson) could have been avoided if they would have played their man better defensively. They did do some good things.”

Freshman Forward Alex Galindo

On his performance:

“I was relaxed today, but at times I felt a little bit anxious because I had never played that many minutes before. Hopefully my performance today will give me a chance to play more often.”

On his new role:

“I feel good in my new role. I will need to work on playing against bigger and stronger guys. It is going to be hard work from now on, but I liked it. I feel like I can create a lot of mismatches offensively if I can keep my confidence up. I also need to play good defense because that is what will keep me in the game.

Freshman Guard Russell Robinson

On playing without Wayne Simien:

“It is always going to be in the back of our minds. We still need to play with confidence, even without Wayne. Wisconsin-Milwaukee hung around the whole game, but we played hard when we needed to and won the game. We missed (Simien’s) dominant inside presence, but the guards were able to play well on the perimeter.”

Senior Guard Keith Langford

On the game:

“We were focused enough to win the game tonight. Alex (Galindo) and Russell (Robinson) were ready to play, and were a real help to this team. We could not put (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) away, which is something that we struggled with last year. They came out there and wanted to beat us and we knew that we were going to get their best shot because we are the number two team in the nation.”

On Ed McCants

“We were surprised with how well he played. He had a career night. He found a lot of good looks and made it happen. There is only so much that you can learn from scouting reports.”

On playing with a smaller lineup

“We are going to become a lot more of a perimeter-oriented team. This team has learned to deal with adversity and we need to make this situation a positive thing for our team that makes us stronger. This is only a temporary situation and when know that we are going to get Wayne (Simien) back.”

Wisconsin-Milwaukee Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Bruce Pearl

On the game:

“We shot 36 percent in the second half and didn’t score a field goal in the last eight and a half minutes. I thought our kids battled and played hard. But we missed a bunch of free throws and we didn’t execute like we should have. We have some guys who aren’t doing their job. All you have to do is go out and do your job and do it as a team and good things are going to happen.”

On Kansas:

“Kansas was beatable tonight because it was their first game without (Wayne) Simien. They are a very good basketball team and are extremely well-coached.”

On Ed McCants:

“It was great to see a good effort for him. I don’t think that he feels real good right now because the team lost. He certainly did what he was capable of doing and I am very happy for him. He certainly gave the rest of the guys confidence to step up as well.”

On the last minutes of the game:

“Ed McCants was hot. He had three balls rim in and out so that was my decision to put the ball in his hands. We were out there setting ball screens for him and he was making shots. If those shots went down would have been a whole new ball game.”

Senior Guard Ed McCants

On his performance:

“I didn’t get very many open looks. I was more focused tonight. It has been too long since I have been playing up to my potential. Tonight, I tried to take things in stride and step up. I have always had the confidence — the shots just have not been falling. Hopefully, I can continue where I left off tonight.”

On Kansas’ preparation:

“They probably don’t scout mid-major teams very hard. They saw that I averaged only 12 points, so they probably thought that I was just average.”

On playing Kansas:

“(Playing Kansas) forces you to be focused and to take your opponent seriously. You can’t come out lackadaisical against a team like Kansas. You have to play to the best of your ability and give it all you have.”