Postgame Quotes
Dec. 22, 2009
Postgame Quotes
Kansas 84, California 69
December 22, 2009
Kansas Coach Bill Self
On the game:
“That was great basketball in the second half. We actually guarded them well. We held them to 34 percent from the field and outrebounded them by four. The only thing we didn’t do well in the second half was we pitched the ball over the gym, but we got out and ran. This was by far the best we executed offensively when it mattered and it doesn’t hurt when you shoot the heck out of the ball. We didn’t play great in the first half, but we weren’t awful. California just made plays. Patrick Christopher was awesome. It wasn’t so much their offense, but their individual players were whipping our individual players’ butts. We still go in with a one-point lead, then we puttered around for a while in the second half until the lid came off the basket and we really started to play well. I thought Sherron (Collins) played very well. He was aggressive. It took a while to get Xavier (Henry) going, but he played great in the second half. This was the best Cole (Aldrich) played all year, but he just wasn’t able to play much because of fouls.”
On getting the ball inside in the second half:
“A lot of it was getting the ball inside, but Cole only played seven to eight minutes in the second half because of foul trouble. Marcus Morris made some real good catches in there and so did Thomas (Robinson). We were able to get the ball into the paint off the bounce and when you can do that, it will start to open up perimeter shots and guys made some shots.”
On Brady Morningstar:
“He showed up and his stats were great. He plays 21 minutes and has seven points on four shots. He has seven assists, two steals, and he did the best job on (Patrick) Christopher hands down.”
Senior guard Sherron Collins
On Kansas’ passing game:
“I don’t think we were being selfish in the first half. I just think everybody wanted to be that guy that made the play. Nobody was being selfish, they just wanted to win. The second half, we just came out and executed on offense the way Coach (Self) drew it out. I think execution was the main thing that helped us out.”
On getting the ball down low during the 15-3 run in the second half:
“That’s just what (Brady Morningstar was trying to do). I know he’s a smart player, he knows when it’s time to get the ball inside. Coach (Self) was telling us that we needed to get the big guys some touches.”
Sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor
On if Kansas needed a game like this to show people its talent:
“I definitely think it was a statement game – Cal is a great team, they have good individual players and they’ve got a good coach and a good program. This was definitely a game for us to come out and make a statement. This is why we’re No. 1; we can play with the best and beat them. Our schedule hasn’t been the toughest, but when it’s time to step up, we will.”
On if Patrick Christopher was one of the best players he has played against:
“Definitely, he’s a great player. It was one of the toughest matchups I think I’ve ever had. He has sort of a pro-game where he doesn’t take too many dribbles. He pulls up and gets some space and he has a quick release. He can shoot, too. You can’t give him too much space, or else he’ll beat you. I think he’s a really tough player, and I like him.”
On if this was his best game of his career:
“I think it is, just because of the opponent we played against. I think it was one of my better games – I had seven assists, 13 points and one turnover. I think I played pretty well.”
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris
On if playing 30 minutes means a lot:
“It does mean a lot. It means that the coaches trust me more. I feel like (Coach Self) trusts me a lot more, that he can leave me in there for more minutes. It’s not just this game; he does it all the time. That’s where I have to earn my trust with him. During practice and during the beginning of the year, I think I have earned my trust with him. I got beat a few times, and when I came out the first time, I told him to put me back in there and I’ll handle it.”
On if he feels like he has a longer leash:
“Definitely. When I get pulled, Coach (Self) tells me what I did wrong, and I go back in. Coach (Self) told me to make sure that I understood I can’t let guys drive past me. I told (Coach Self) that I’ll make a better effort, regardless.”
Cal Coach Mike Montgomery
On the game:
“Brady Morningstar being back is huge for them. He comes in and has seven assists, makes some key buckets and moves some people around. They really hurt us in one stretch when we were forced to go small. That has been our best lineup, but they did a very nice job of isolating our small four man and playing four out. They got two or three buckets in one stretch and there wasn’t much that we could do. We took a timeout and made a reasonable adjustment, but there wasn’t a lot that we could do. We were better when they were big because we did a better job of defending the two bigs than we did with the three perimeters guys. It was a very smart play on (Kansas head coach Bill Self’s) part to be able to isolate our three man on their 6-9 guy. It hurt us. You’d be hard-pressed to say any one guy was the star. They have about eight of them; that gives them a lot of flexibility. The second thing that they did was ratcheting up their defense in the second half. They got more aggressive. Theo (Robertson) had 12 in the first half and didn’t score in the second half. They did a good job of taking away people. We got impatient and we tend to do that. We started taking first pass shots and that’s not a good formula here. We had 13 assists and they had 27 assists which was impressive. The fact that almost every score came off a pass and we were trying to do it one-on-one. That’s not a good formula to beat a good team.”
Cal senior forward Jamal Boykin
On playing in Allen Fieldhouse:
“The biggest challenge was to stay poised throughout the game. We reacted well to their first big run. We came out aggressive and with the right frame of mind, but when they made their surge, our reaction that hurt us.”
On Cal playing an up-tempo style:
“Whenever you play any team you want to dictate the game. You want to dictate the flow and the tempo. That’s what we set out to do and we were successful with that in the first half.”
On Kansas only making small scoring runs:
“It’s more encouraging when you come back instead of just getting down 20. Every time they made a run we said, ‘we’re only down seven, we’re only down eight.’ There was still enough time and we have so many shooters, if we could have hit some threes and if guys were executing and playing good defensive we could have gotten back in the game. They did a really good job of maintaining their intensity after they made their run.”
