Kansas Ready for UT Arlington after Holiday Stretch
Quotes from Dec. 28 press session for Kansas men’s basketball
Kansas head coach Bill Self
On holiday practices:
“It’s been OK so far. It will be five practices after tonight. I think we have gotten a little bit better. “
On UT Arlington:
“It’s like watching us. They do a lot of similar things that we do offensively. They do a few things different defensively but they run the same things we run and they are pretty good at it. Their record is 5-5. They played North Texas to four at North Texas. They played La (Louisiana) Tech to one at La Tech. They are athletic. It will be a situation where our bigs are going to have to guard out on the floor.”
On what he’s looking for during holiday practices:
“We say the same things all the time. You can’t be good enough defensively. No matter what, you can’t be good enough. We need to be more consistent. We need to get some things in order before conference play and we have some time to do that. These two-a-day sessions are good for that because we can get a lot of shooting in one session and some drill work in a second session.”
On Marcus Morris getting provoked:
“I guess there is always a possibility. If you really watched the (California) game from the perspective that we did, of course tape is a true indicator, that was a pretty chippy game from the start. Marcus has to be smarter from the very beginning. That was a very, very immature play that he made on his part. He has cost himself a starting position. He’ll play but he certainly has to be more mature than that because he is too valuable.”
On Marcus Morris being a Leader:
“I like that anybody would see himself as a leader. The thing about it with leaders, and I’m not speaking to it about Marcus, is sometimes your so called best leaders are guys that lead negatively. Your leaders have to be positive leaders. Sometimes leaders are energy givers, sometimes they are energy takers. Unfortunately, you want to have consistent energy givers that make others better. I think Marcus has the most potential on our team to be the best leader, without question. But that was not evident in the Cal game. We talk about this all the time. If you can get your teammates to follow you, but would you want them to right now. You said (he was) humbled, I think this is a situation that will be good for him.”
On Josh Selby starting (with Tyrel Reed, Elijah Johnson, Markieff Morris and Thomas Robinson…Tyshawn Taylor missed five practices due to travel issues in getting out of New York.):
“Josh (Selby) is going to start at a guard with Tyrel (Reed) and Elijah (Johnson) will start at the point. We’re going to start small on the perimeter. It’s not his (Tyshawn Taylor) fault but when a guy misses four practices in a row, you wouldn’t even do that (start him) if he turned his ankle. Or at least I wouldn’t. He (Tyshawn) has to come back and get his rhythm. It is still his starting spot but definitely won’t start tomorrow night and he would be the first one to tell you he shouldn’t.”
Selby’s learning curve:
“I think he (Josh Selby) is doing great. What I see him doing great and what you guys see him doing may not be on the same page. I think he is picking up stuff all the time. He’s really trying hard but the trying hard shouldn’t just occur since December 18. It should go back to the first day he was cleared to play. I think he’s done a really nice job and has done a good job fitting in.”
Senior guard Tyrel Reed
On the holiday break:
“We just got back from Christmas break, we’re getting some practices under our belt going twice a day and everything. I’m excited to get playing again.”
On how nice it was to take a break from basketball and get reenergized:
“It was great, I feel bad for (my teammates) on the East Coast, having to travel all that way from California and not really getting a whole lot of time to spend with their families. For people like me, from Kansas, it was really nice to go back and see my family and celebrate with them.”
On his favorite Christmas gift received:
“My parents got me, kind of as a joke, a remote controlled helicopter and I’ve been playing with it every day. It’s pretty cool, actually. I like it a lot.”
On how he feels confidence-wise, individually, following the California game:
“I feel about the same, you know. It’s xxx about my confidence, as usual. (I’m) just looking to come out, be aggressive, do whatever the team needs.”
On how having another penetrator (in Josh Selby) on the roster will help him as a shooter:
“Definitely, I think it will help everybody, including myself. He will get in there, he’s a good passer as well. He’s a lot like Sherron (Collins), who would penetrate and pitch to all the different guards. I think Tyshawn (Taylor) can do that as well, so we’ve got a lot of different weapons now that can do some different things.”
On how the guards work together, knowing where to be and when, on the court:
“We work on a ton of different things every day, (such as) when a guy penetrates, where we need to be. There’s just different things; you know if someone drives to the baseline, you’ve got to get to the corner. It’s just all about angles and staying in their vision, so they can see you, really. Coach (Joe) Dooley is really good at that, he helps out all our guards. It just comes down to our guards having vision and finding you in an open spot. We’ve got guys that can do that.”
On this being a special time of the season for the team:
“Definitely, it’s bonding time now. We get to see Coach (Bill) Self for four or five hours every day at practice. I think it’s good and bad. Bad from the standpoint that guys probably wish they were doing some other things, but good from the standpoint that we’re getting better. I think our guys come in here, have fun and enjoy the process. This is my last year, I know it’s kind of a tough time and a lot of practice, but this is the time when you really get better and can prepare for (playing) down the stretch.”
Freshman guard Josh Selby
On how he feels he has fit into the chemistry of the team so far:
“My teammates have made it a lot easier on me, putting me in the right positions to score, telling me where to be. I give all the credit to my teammates and coaches (for) helping me out.”
On if he feels rusty from not playing competitively for so long:
“I don’t feel like it. I am making shots, but I need to play better defensive. Like I said before, I do give a lot of the credit to my teammates. I couldn’t do it without them.”
On how he feels he’s playing defensively:
“I was struggling in the first game because I didn’t know all of the tendencies, but the coaches and the players have helped me out and I’m getting it down pat.”
On if Coach Self has told him whether or not he will start tomorrow vs. UTA:
“No, it doesn’t really matter to me who starts; it matters how we finish.”
On how he feels he can help Tyrel Reed when they are on the court together:
“I just know that Tyrel likes to shoot from the corners, so if I drive and kick it out to him, it will go down.”
On if Tyrel Reed is a better player than he expected him to be:
“Yes. That dude can play. I didn’t know that before. He’s for real.”
On if it feels like it’s been a long time since the team last played:
“Yes, it feels like a month, to be honest. I can’t wait to play tomorrow. I can’t wait.”
On how he felt when Marcus Morris was ejected vs. Cal and Cal got back into the game:
“I was a little bit nervous because Marcus is a key player, of course. We need him out there with us. But we pulled through, it was tough, but we did it.”
Updated 12-29-2010
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