Kansas head coach Bill Self conducted his weekly press conference in Lawrence earlier today to preview the TCU game and more. Here are a few takeaways from Self’s time with the media. I posted a video of Self, Kevin McCullar, Jr., and Johnny Furphy on the front of the site, and Joe Blake and I will have more from today leading up to the game.
-- Self said everybody has practiced and there doesn’t appear to be any injuries or any type of sickness within the team right now. Self admitted that anything can happen tomorrow (Friday), but as of right now, the team is in good shape health-wise.
-- When talking about TCU and its transition offense, Self said they tried to prepare for that last year but ended up getting run out of “their own gym.” In terms of preparing for that type of transition offense that TCU runs, it’s a lot easier said than done, according to Self. On Saturday, Self said a big key to the game will be trying to keep TCU in the halfcourt, offensively. Self added that TCU plays fast and Jamie Dixon has done an unbelievable job of having their mindset to play at a pace that is different than anybody Kansas has played this year.
-- When asked about winning 17-of-20 Big 12 regular season championships, Self said that it's probably something none of us will see in our lifetime again. Self shared something really cool with us when talking about the accomplishment earlier today.
“May dad, you know, he didn’t ever say much, but he thought that was far more impressive than anything else that we’ve done, or that this program has accomplished since we’ve been here, because it is over a two-and-a-half-month period and not over a weekend,” said Self.
Self added that you can get lightning in a bottle for a week, but it's hard to keep it for two—and-a-half-months. Lastly, Self said it will be as hard, or harder, to win this year, just because of the competitive nature of the league.
-- Self, not surprisingly, spent a few minutes talking about former Kansas big man Ernest Udeh, Jr., who transferred after just one season at Kansas. Self said Udeh, Jr., is great at changing directions and getting out of a ball screen as good as anybody in America.
“He’s great at it,” said Self on Thursday afternoon.
Self added that he was great at it when he was with Kansas. Self went on to say that is a skill, and Udeh, Jr., certainly has that skill. And he’s good on the glass, obviously, according to Self.
-- When asked about preparing Elmarko Jackson, Johnny Furphy, and Jamari McDowell for the start of Big 12 play, Self said they (coaching staff) told them today that the first season is obviously over and the basketball season consists of three different seasons.
“The middle season is the league play, and it's obviously not as important as the postseason, but it’s a heckuva lot more important than the preseason, and the intensity level is ratcheted up several notches,” he said. “They’ll get a taste of it, obviously, on Saturday.”
-- Self said the coaching staff showed the current team the tape of last year's blowout loss (80-63) to TCU at home. Self, when looking back to the game last year in Lawrence, said TCU was coming off a loss (at WVU) and they came to AFH and had KU down, 37-15, and that was after the game being tied (13-13 or 12-12).
Self called the game a “beatdown” and added that TCU dominated KU on the glass and dominated the game defensively.
-- Self said everybody has practiced and there doesn’t appear to be any injuries or any type of sickness within the team right now. Self admitted that anything can happen tomorrow (Friday), but as of right now, the team is in good shape health-wise.
-- When talking about TCU and its transition offense, Self said they tried to prepare for that last year but ended up getting run out of “their own gym.” In terms of preparing for that type of transition offense that TCU runs, it’s a lot easier said than done, according to Self. On Saturday, Self said a big key to the game will be trying to keep TCU in the halfcourt, offensively. Self added that TCU plays fast and Jamie Dixon has done an unbelievable job of having their mindset to play at a pace that is different than anybody Kansas has played this year.
-- When asked about winning 17-of-20 Big 12 regular season championships, Self said that it's probably something none of us will see in our lifetime again. Self shared something really cool with us when talking about the accomplishment earlier today.
“May dad, you know, he didn’t ever say much, but he thought that was far more impressive than anything else that we’ve done, or that this program has accomplished since we’ve been here, because it is over a two-and-a-half-month period and not over a weekend,” said Self.
Self added that you can get lightning in a bottle for a week, but it's hard to keep it for two—and-a-half-months. Lastly, Self said it will be as hard, or harder, to win this year, just because of the competitive nature of the league.
-- Self, not surprisingly, spent a few minutes talking about former Kansas big man Ernest Udeh, Jr., who transferred after just one season at Kansas. Self said Udeh, Jr., is great at changing directions and getting out of a ball screen as good as anybody in America.
“He’s great at it,” said Self on Thursday afternoon.
Self added that he was great at it when he was with Kansas. Self went on to say that is a skill, and Udeh, Jr., certainly has that skill. And he’s good on the glass, obviously, according to Self.
-- When asked about preparing Elmarko Jackson, Johnny Furphy, and Jamari McDowell for the start of Big 12 play, Self said they (coaching staff) told them today that the first season is obviously over and the basketball season consists of three different seasons.
“The middle season is the league play, and it's obviously not as important as the postseason, but it’s a heckuva lot more important than the preseason, and the intensity level is ratcheted up several notches,” he said. “They’ll get a taste of it, obviously, on Saturday.”
-- Self said the coaching staff showed the current team the tape of last year's blowout loss (80-63) to TCU at home. Self, when looking back to the game last year in Lawrence, said TCU was coming off a loss (at WVU) and they came to AFH and had KU down, 37-15, and that was after the game being tied (13-13 or 12-12).
Self called the game a “beatdown” and added that TCU dominated KU on the glass and dominated the game defensively.
