Here is the Cliff’s Notes version of Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self’s comments at his press conference today.
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Full audio has been posted.
• **Self says KU is shooting 57 percent from the floor because it takes really good shots and gets lots of easy baskets.** Against Memphis, if KU had 14 turnovers instead of 22, the game probably would have been a much bigger margin. KU still needs to become a better passing team.
• **One of KU’s advantages is that opposing teams have to guard all five guys on the court.**
• **Tyshawn Taylor frustrates Self in a good way, because the coach sees potential.** It’s kind of like a quarterback. He can play great, but with two mistakes, it can be 12 points in the other direction. Taylor is like that. He loses focus sometimes. When you talk about the most valuable player on KU this year, Taylor has to be the guy. He does what no one else on KU can do. Self sees a really high ceiling for him.
• **Taylor needs to get better, but he’s a kid.** Kids go through “stuff” all the time. His stuff happened to be public in social media. The reason last year was up and down for him was because of things outside of basketball. When Taylor feels good about himself, he performs at a high level. He feels good about himself right now.
• **Thomas Robinson can be a guy that allows KU to bring in a bench player without dropping off.** Self loved what Robinson did in New York City. That might be a good number of minutes for him (15 minutes), because he got an awful lot done in that time. Self thought Robinson was the best player against Memphis.
• **Self says KU’s free throws have been awful lately.** If you take Tyrel Reed off the percentages, KU is about 55 percent. KU has to get better. If you’re an opposing coach, though, you might wonder what happens if the Jayhawks start hitting their free throws. Self is not worried about KU’s free-throw shooting improving.
• **Colorado State has a nice team.** The Rams took Colorado to overtime in Boulder. It will be a good test for KU. Dorian Green is a good player coming home. KU needs to play better. The Jayhawks, honestly, haven’t played as well the last two weeks.
• **KU is proud to be a part of the Champions Classic.** It will have a Final Four-type feel in November. It will be a cool event.
• **KU doesn’t play to its strengths defensively.** It doesn’t play to its quickness or length. The Jayhawks are behind defensively. The guys understand that.
• **Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar are playing really well in spots.** It was nice to see Morningstar hit shots. What he does well, which is moving the ball and getting others open shots, he didn’t do well against Memphis.
• **Self likes traveling away from home for early-season games.** You have a better chance to bond with your players, as the guys spend hours together. Those things are good for any team.
• **If Kansas City received an NBA team, it definitely could affect KU.** NBA season tickets are expensive, and some basketball fans might have to choose between college basketball and pro basketball season tickets. Kansas State, KU and Missouri enjoy being the “professional” franchises in the area. Self loves how “college” K.C. feels in basketball. It would be nice for K.C. to have an NBA team, but the current setup doesn’t stink now.
