[04-05] vs. Texas A&M

Big XII 컨퍼런스 개막전 경기에서 끈질긴 Texas A&M을 간신히 65-60으로 간신히 따돌렸다. 5점차보다는 훨씬 더 접전이었다. 리캡을 보면 피말리는 경기였다.

경기 종료 42초전 58:58 동점 상황에서 Alex Galindo가 결정적인 3점 한방 터뜨려서 61:58으로 승기를 잡았다. Christian Moody가 자유투 2개를 모두 놓치고 A&M의 Acie Law에게 레이업을 허용하는 바람에 61:60으로 쫓겼다. 그런데 여기서 Moody가 이번에는 자유투 2개를 모두 성공시켰고 4초 남은 상황에서 A&M의 3점 시도가 에어볼이 되면서 승부가 결정됐다. 1.6초 남기고 파울 당한 Aaron Miles가 자유투 2개를 모두 성공시켜 65:60으로 경기를 마무리 지었다.

매 경기 정말 어렵게 이기고 있다. 그래도 경기마다 이길 힘들 짜내는 것이 자랑스럽다. 오늘은 야투율이 나빴지만 평소와 달리 자유투를착실하게 성공시켰고 그것이 승부의 분수령이 된 것 같다. 만약 자유투도 평소 수준이었다면 오늘 경기는 패했을 것이다.

Alex Galindo와 같은 슈터가 한 명 더 있는 게 정말 큰 힘이 되고 있다. Georgia Tech 전에 이어 오늘로 2경기 연속 클러치 3점을 터뜨려줬다. 그리고 오늘 오랜만에 Michael Lee가 좋은 수비와 벤치에서 3점 슈팅으로 승리에 기여했다.

Keith Langford가 오늘 경기처럼 파울 트러블에 걸리니까 득점에 많이 애먹었다. 특히 J.R.Giddens가 생각보다 성장하지 못했다. 여전히 1학년 티를 많이 낸다. Giddens의 성장이 Kansas 우승 열쇠 중에 하나였는데 지금대로라면 계획에 차질이 빚어졌다고 해야겠다.

다음 경기는 올해 최고의 빅게임인 Kentucky와의 원정 경기다. Simien 없이 이 경기도 이길 수 있다면 정말 우승 후보 1순위다.

Highlights | Photos

Kansas Head Coach Bill Self

On Texas A&M:
"They played great. They played so hard and wanted it so bad tonight. They guarded us well the whole night, (Billy Gillispie) does a good job coaching them. They have three really good players. Joseph Jones was the best player in the game tonight, at least from my perspective. They just scrapped against us. They beat us on the glass. Our first-shot defense was fine, but they beat us to the rebounds."

On the game:
"People expected us to blow them out. That wasn't going to happen with our guys still hung over from the Georgia Tech game. That and the weather affected our team tonight. The fans were once again unbelievable, they deserve the assist on the win tonight. I am proud of our guys, we didn't play well, but we were able to piece together a win. We got a lot of good looks in the first half. Whenever J.R. (Giddens) gets five good looks and comes away empty, we have to piece it together."

On other players stepping up their play:
"Our three leading scorers had two points, and somehow we won the game. The young kids stepped up. Christian (Moody) made two huge free throws after missing two. It was great to see him do that."

On Alex Galindo:
"Once again, he doesn't rebound it like he should and I am going to talk to him about that, but he certainly likes to shoot it when it's crunch time."

On Michael Lee:
"Mike would be the first to tell you that he has been pressing. He has been trying too hard. We had to have him tonight. J.R. wasn't effective and Keith (Langford) had two fouls early, but Mike stepped up and played well."

On the play of the young team:
"We play so young, and we are young. But tonight we played to our age. It's getting to the point in the season where we have to step up and play more mature."


Senior Guard Michael Lee

On what coach Self told him before the game:
"He just said to be solid. A lot of times when I get myself in trouble, I try too hard. I might try and get a steal that I know I can't get. He told me to be solid and do what I can do."

On his two late free throws:
"All I was thinking was `I've got to make them.' That's the only thing. I didn't think about missing them or anything else but the shot in front of me."


Senior Guard Aaron Miles

On the play of Texas A&M:
"They're a well-coached team. They play hard and they have some good players on their squad. Coach Gillispie is doing a great job over there. They're playing a lot better than they were last year. They defended well and offensively they made plays."

On the importance of tonight's game:
"Obviously, one of our goals is to win a conference championship. Tonight's game was a conference game so it was a big game. Every game in conference is going to be tough and every conference game is going to be a big game. Every game is going to be a battle."


Senior Guard Keith Langford

On Texas A&M:
"They play very hard and they play to the strengths of their team. They're a different team than they've been in the past. They are going to be really good."

On KU's shooting woes:
"It seems like it's been that way so many times this season. When the ball goes in, it goes in. When it doesn't, it doesn't. I am just glad guys are staying poised down the stretch -- the last five or six minutes of the game."

On his improved free throw shooting:
"I've been listening to my `You-Can-Do-It' tapes. Seriously, everytime I go to the free throw line I think I am zero-for-zero. I act like I haven't shot any in the game, so I don't think of it as a big deal. Even though I wasn't into it as much offensively tonight, I had to do what I could down the stretch."


Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Gillispie

On Kansas:
"Kansas made more foul shots than we did and they executed better. They kept scoring and we couldn't seem to stop them. They got to the foul line late and we couldn't get there enough. They are a very experienced team and they just whipped us. (Aaron) Miles was great like he always is and (Keith) Langford played really well late. (Alex) Galindo made another miraculous shot that he will remember for a long time."

On the game:
"It was a tough loss. We know that we are going to have to play defense like we did tonight in order to survive in the Big 12. We ended up getting beaten and we have to do better than we did tonight. We have great respect for Kansas as we do for every opponent, but we made a lot of mistakes tonight. At the end we didn't force Kansas into a lot of ball screens like we wanted to and they (Kansas) were able to make some easy shots. It wasn't our best game of the year, but we battled hard."

On playing against Coach Self:
"I sat on the bench with him for five years and I know his team was going to play very hard. His teams are always organized and they (Kansas) didn't turn the ball over very much tonight. Coach Self is one of the best coaches in the country. You always have to expect his teams to play great and really hard and that is why they are always good."

On Joseph Jones:
"He is tough and he will be a good player. We need to learn how to get the ball to him better. He is open a lot of times but we are just not throwing it to him enough. He is a tough freshman and he is getting better every single day."


Junior Forward Chris Walker

On playing Kansas:
"Kansas is a great team. They defend really well and they have a lot of great players. Our hat is off to the Kansas Jayhawks tonight. Kansas wanted it bad and in the end they made the big shot to win it."

On the game:
"We have been working very hard in practice all week and that is the story of our team. When we practice well we come out and play well and when practices are less than par we don't play as well. A lot of guys on our team believed that we could get a victory tonight and I think that's why we played so well."