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).
• **Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar have been great.** Morningstar lived down the street in Lawrence, and Self didn’t make a home visit. He only saw him play one time in high school. KU knew it was going to take Morningstar before he went to prep school, but Morningstar still decided to keep his commitment to the prep school first. He’s pretty much been a three-year starter for KU.
Reed was highly recruited. KU hesitated, and Self finally decided to offer him because he was a great kid and would be great for the program. He’s been both.
• **Eddie Sutton is deserving of making the College Hall of Fame (He was announced to be in the next class Monday).** Self is happy for him. In Self’s mind, it helps validate what has been a Hall of Fame career.
• **With Mario Little, Self will remember how he came in as a heralded player, and he had to fight through injuries.** He’s a team guy. He’s a Self kind of guy. He’s going to graduate, as he has three hours left. You can almost lump Reed and Morningstar together. Reed didn’t get Self’s personality when he first got here, but he does now. Morningstar is as much a personality as anyone on the team. Self will miss him.
• **Reed is a perfectionist.** He’s too hard on himself. He probably gets that from being a coach’s kid.
• **Senior Night is a celebration of three guys’ career.** One game doesn’t capture what their careers have been. There will be a time that Senior Night does not go as scripted. Self hopes that doesn’t happen soon. But if it does, you have to adjust. You have to adjust in life no matter what. KU looks at it as Senior Night giving the Jayhawks an extra boost.
• **Reed is a remarkable young man.** He’d tell you that KU has high-character guys everywhere in KU’s locker room. In Self’s opinion, during midseason, Reed was the face of the program. He’s been the rock.
• **The way KU plays is pretty balanced.** Reed and Morningstar understand that balance. They don’t care how many shots they get. Self joked that Little is different, as he likes to shoot it. Everybody has a role. Self learned from Sutton that every player is a role player.
• **Little’s role is to give KU a boost off the bench and score if need be.** Self joked that he tries his hardest to oblige. Little also brings toughness.
• **If guys are open, they need to shoot it.** Morningstar and Reed might turn down more looks than they should.
• **Obviously, KU and Texas have two huge games left each.** It’s nice to be in a situation where KU can control its own destiny. This might be the toughest week KU has had all year.
• **Self doesn’t know if KU fans appreciate conference titles as much as other schools’ fans.** When Self was at Illinois, and the Illini won the league title, 3,000 people were waiting at the airport. People here take league titles a little more for granted. They look more to the NCAA Tournament. Self would be disappointed if KU wasn’t in this position in the conference, because this is a good team. It’s a big deal. It’s not as big as the NCAA Tournament, but it’s a bigger deal than a lot of people think it is.
• **Texas A&M is well-coached.** Mark Turgeon is doing a great job. The Aggies don’t beat themselves.
• **Tyshawn Taylor’s status hasn’t been decided.** KU has played pretty well without Tyshawn. Self said we’ll have to wait and see on his status.
• **Self doesn’t think the details of Taylor’s suspension should be made public.** If Self has a problem with his son or daughter, he’s not going to the neighbors with it. Coaches don’t want to embarrass their guys. That’s not something they want to do. Self has heard some of the rumors, and he hasn’t heard one that was well-thought-out. Self wants to please his players much more than he does the fans. He wants the players to know that some things will stay in the locker room.
• **Morningstar is as good as anybody at taking care of the ball.** Taylor has been good. Johnson has been great the last two games as well. He won’t start on Senior Day as the seniors will start, but Johnson will be the first guard off the bench. If the NCAA Tournament started tomorrow, Johnson would be KU’s starting point guard.
• **The twins have done a good job.** They’ve both been vocal. They’ve both been leaders, and they’ve both been playing at high levels.
• **Self hasn’t talked to Sherron Collins since he was released from Charlotte.**