Bill Self Good Quotations

I expected it to be tough, and this would have been a great atmosphere no matter what. Usually, when Kansas comes to town it adds spice to the game. When we don't play well on the road, our chances aren't good because usually teams are pumped to play us.

Certainly, from my stand point, this was sweeter than any of the other (victories) that we have had this season because we started (Big 12 play) 1-2. We were 1-2 and not very good, but the guys got confidence and the young guys grew up and we got pretty good late.

He's a good on-the-ball defender, loose-ball guy and forces help offensively. Now that he's not worried about making shots, he's shooting better. He's playing really well.

He's hard to guard because he's unorthodox. He doesn't have a good base yet. Guys can certainly dislodge him from certain positions.

He's been as good an ambassador for this university and the athletic program as anybody ever has -- maybe the best. Stop and think about all the lives he has touched along the way, people in western Kansas, or wherever, that have never seen Max but know his voice the first time they turn on the radio.

He got a good one. If he was a boxer, they would have called the fight. I don't know how many (stitches) he will need, but he's going to need several.

He had a good attitude when he wasn't playing and he came in and made shots. But he does more than just make shots. He is concerned with being well-rounded and he is doing better defensively. He is stepping up and making shots because he is feeling good about how he is playing.

Mario, Brandon and Russell all played very, very well. When they play well, they're about as good as any guards around, in my opinion.

I think that game did a lot for our confidence. It doesn't guarantee we're going to play well in the next game, but we're probably in about as good a frame of mind as we have been in all year.

I think he's just scratching the surface of how good he can be.

I think he did some good things. I don't think I'll do any cartwheels based on how anybody played.

I think he's a good person and good coach.

I think today, we got them pretty good. I think we really did a good job of controlling the game from the get-go.

It gives everybody the impression that we didn't do that well. ... We had a good year last year. I don't think we should apologize for winning the league or finishing second the year before and going to the Elite Eight.

We were 1-2 and not very good, and guys got confidence and guys grew up and got pretty good late. To me, I have more pride with a team not expecting to do it, and do it, than a team that is expected to do it and does it.

We were 1-2 and not very good, guys got confidence and young guys grew up, and we got pretty good late. So to me I have more pride in the team that is not expected to (win), than a team that is expected to.

We put C.J. on the ball to take away the throw to the rim. That is what they tried to do the time before. Russell didn't do a great job on Neal on the play. It wasn't a good look, but he got off a look. We thought they would throw it to the basket. Fortunately for us, they threw outside, and he missed it so I'll say it was good defense.

We probably played as good a defense the first 15 minutes as we've played all year. I thought our defense was great. We had a comfortable lead, but we should have scored eight or 10 more points.

We knew the dad wasn't overly thrilled about everything, but we always thought David was fine. I thought he had a good freshman year.

The other thing our offense wasn't very good last night at all. If the offense isn't very good, I think you are better off playing your best defensive team the majority of time. That also could factor into the equation why those guys didn't get in the second half.

We're in good shape with that. Our grades have been good. We're in good shape in that area.

We've actually played better away from home. Our four road games are the best games we've played all year. Our fourth-best home game hasn't been as good as our worst road game.

The tournament loss was obviously very disappointing. But I think this team can get a lot better. With another piece or two, this team could become great. We could probably use another big guy and a perimeter shooter. The good thing is these guys have a chance to come back next year and try to make amends as much as we can.

We've been on a pretty good roll and certainly played a bad game tonight. Texas didn't become a bad team after Duke (a 31-point setback December 10) and we didn't become a bad team after these 40 minutes. We certainly aren't going to dwell on that.

What are they, 6-9 in the conference? They could easily be 9-6 or 10-5. They are a good basketball team. Jim (Wooldridge) has done a great job with them and it will be a very difficult game for us.

One day we're good at transition. Another day we're good at making shots, another we're a good shot-blocking team. We've found a way to do something differently almost on a given night.

In front of the crowd, I thought they did a pretty good job. Julian was in a hurry. The game was in fast-forward (Friday night) for him. The others all had pretty good composure.

Everybody's shooting two or three or four a game. I think with teams like that, it's why you don't shoot as good a percentage. But 8-for-17 is miserable. It's already cost us a couple of games.

He's probably never played with other good players. And learning how to get those guys involved will be a process for him; one that he will catch onto, but not one he will catch onto overnight.

Gardner was fabulous. It's about as good a performance as I've seen.

It was a good atmosphere. It could have been a great atmosphere if A&M had gotten the lead in the second half. Fortunately, they were not able to make that happen.

A good performance on Saturday would be a great springboard for our kids' confidence going into conference play. You can get confidence from winning games, but you still have to go out and beat someone of national magnitude to really believe that it's going to help you win a hard game.

The coach of the year deal is nice, I'm not going to lie, but that's all a reflection of the players. That's the way it always works. If you have good players, you have a good chance to win those things. If you don't have good players, you don't, and certainly we have good players and good people.

These guys will come in and will play hard. They can shoot the ball. They'll make us make plays which will be good for us. Hopefully, we'll be excited to play. I'm sure the Holmes boys will let their teammates know how much it means to them and how much fun they'll have playing in Allen. We'll do the same.

It's obviously not as decorated a class as they've had come through here, but as far as maximizing their abilities, these guys did it pretty well. One big reason why the freshmen have done better here and done so well in the league is because the seniors have accepted their roles and haven't fought it. If they had fought it, our chemistry wouldn't be near as good as it is.

They great thing about it is that when they missed, we cleaned up. I thought everybody did some good things.

They made us sweat. It's a good thing we still had a foul to give.

We got after them pretty good. We did a good job of controlling the game from the get-go. At 16-2, I thought we were in pretty good shape.

I am most pleased with J.R. and Keith combining for 10 assists and only one turnovers. That's the kind of effort we should get from these guys because people are going to pressure out on these guys, and they are going to have to feed the post. Also, Aaron was as good as he has been all year tonight.