Cliff’s Notes: Bill Self press conference, 11/29/10

Here is the Cliff’s Notes version of Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self’s comments at his press conference today.

If you want to get live updates from each week’s press conference, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@kusports).

Full audio has been posted.
• Self thinks KU played better against Arizona than Ohio. KU moved the ball well and made plays when the game got tight. The Jayhawks played pretty smart down the stretch.

Travis Releford made shots in Las Vegas. Is he getting extra possessions? Is he getting on the glass? He’s got to be more than a shooter for KU. Points can be misleading when you determine how a player is playing.

Thomas Robinson was awful against Ohio, but terrific against Arizona. He played the best when KU needed someone to play well. He and Travis and Elijah Johnson gave KU great minutes off the bench.

Robinson’s mid-range jumpers are only good if he makes them. Why settle for that shot when he’s so so good at driving?

• UCLA is a lot better this year. The Bruins have the same players back from last year and have added a few pieces.

The first eight minutes against Arizona, KU played about as well as it could play offensively. That was fabulous. It was fun to watch. You’re not going to play that way over the course of 40 minutes. The negative thing Self would say is that when you make shots, you have tendency to get lazy defensively. This team thinks it can outscore people, which isn’t the mind-set it should have.

What Arizona forward Derrick Williams did so well is he faced up in the post, then drove it to the paint to initiate contact. Marcus and Markieff Morris and Thomas Robinson should be better at that.

Markieff was the best player in last year’s UCLA game. Neither team played great, but it was a good win for KU.

The Morris twins’ fouls are silly fouls. You can’t put your hands on people when they are driving. KU’s guys are going to foul; they just have to avoid the silly fouls.

Marcus Morris deserves Big 12 player of the week. He’s been great. Marcus scored in almost every way against Arizona.

KU’s shot selection has been pretty good. The Jayhawks are shooting 58 percent, and you only do that if you take good shots. This team is capable of being a really good offensive team.

A shot is a good or bad shot when it leaves a player’s hand, regardless of whether it goes in or not.

Self thought KU played really well when it was down four. Tyrel mades some great plays driving the ball. The best part was bench guys played a big role. KU played intelligent, took good shots and defended better.

• Self says he told Reed on Sunday that his shooting is the last thing he is worried about with the senior. He’s going to make shots. He’s been less aggressive shooting the ball lately. He’s always been selective, but he can be more aggressive this year. If he has space, that’s a good shot for KU.