March 6, 2009
On Kansas’ performance this year: I think when you have two positions covered like they do with Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins, two very important spots on the floor with two all-conference players, that’s a great starting point. I think Bill [Self]’s done a great job of blending in the other players into that group. But with those two players, who have had really great years, if you ask me if I’m surprised, I would say no, I’m not surprised. Those two guys played great for them in the run when they won the national championship.
On A.J. Abrams’ career at Texas: Consistently on both ends of the floor, I’m not so sure if he hasn’t had as good of a year as we’ve had here in a long time from any player. He’s really been good. He’s had a phenomenal run here at Texas. He really has, but I’m not surprised because I watch him every day.
On this time in the season: I think the most important thing with the team right now is they have got to love coming back to the gym. I think this is grind from right now, mentally. I think if you grind them physically to where they just have nothing left, and if they’re not looking forward to this time of year, I think you’ve really made a mistake with them. Maybe the key right now is to let them have more time to themselves and be short and sweet in your practices. Again, you talk about fresh legs this time of year, but I think mentally is where you’ve got to keep them fresh. Games are getting ready to change in terms of longer timeouts and those types of things. I just think, again, the whole mental makeup right now is the most important thing.
On if the team is mentally prepared: The other night [against Baylor], I thought, mentally, we were. They had as much fun the other night as I’ve seen them have in a long time. We had a little talk after the game against Oklahoma State to get a sense of where they were. We just talked about it. I thought we came out [against Baylor] and it was really after I watched the tape that I could just tell they were excited about playing.
On Harrison Smith’s performance: I’ve never questioned Harrison offensively. He’s a guy who can knock down some shots. The biggest reason he hasn’t played is from a defensive standpoint. When people do what they do in terms of how they guard you, you’ve got to bring someone out there to stretch the floor and Harrison has been more than adequate. He’s been really good. He was actually more nervous the other night here than he was at Oklahoma State. Sometimes that happens as a player. When you’re sitting on the bench and you haven’t played any, you get thrust into a situation and sometimes you don’t think about it. You just go out and do what he did against Oklahoma State. He was excellent. I think he obviously knew he was going to get a chance to play. That’s why he’s there, because of people packing it back in there so far and his presence on the court will stretch the defense.
On Dogus Balbay’s performance: He’s trying to work at [his shot], but he obviously does a lot of other good things. Defensively, he’s getting better away from the ball. He as good as a pick-on-the-ball defender when he’s being picked as anyone we’ve had, because he’s grown up having to defend the ball screen defense. I love the fact that he knows he’s got to get better and he’s trying to. He certainly can do it. He’s got a toughness about him.
On how the team is approaching this time of year: I think it goes back to what state of mind they’re in. I think their bodies have to be sharp. Again, I think the worst thing about this time of year is when teams are ready to finish the season. They’re done and they want it to be over with. The biggest single key is finding a way to keep those guys energized to where they want to come in the gym, be a part of it and want to play this time of year. We all know the great thing about March, if you’re fortunate enough to have a chance to play in the postseason tournament, is that anything can happen.
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