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MAUI JIM MAUI INVITATIONALNovember 25, 2015Kevin StallingsLuke KornetWade BaldwinLahaina, Maui, Hawaii KANSAS - 70 VANDERBILT - 64 THE MODERATOR: We welcome Vanderbilt. Coach Stallings, Luke Connette and Wade Baldwin. Coach, an opening statement, please. COACH STALLINGS: Well, I thought that we played a lot better in the first half than we did in the second. I'm guessing that Bill felt like they probably played a lot better in the second half than they did in the first. But, you know, shots that we are pretty accustomed to making, we didn't make today. One of the things that stands out about Kansas is their speed and quickness and their closing speed to get the shot. So I don't know how much they impacted our shooting. I'll have a better feel of that when I see it on tape again. But they're a hard team to play. They're a very good team, and we congratulate them certainly. We're disappointed in how we played the second half, particularly defensively. And, again, they're fast and quick and shoot the ball awfully well. We felt like we had to take away the three-point line from them today in order to win the game, and we were not able to do that. I thought we were effective taking away transition for the most part. But I did not think we did a good job of taking away the three-point line, and that kind of ended up being the difference in the game, I thought. Q. Luke, what was the difference in each half? LUKE KORNET: The first half I felt like it was pretty even. We just came out and we made a couple shots. Outside of that, both teams played pretty solid defense. In the second half, they just came out and -- we got a little lazy and had some misses defensively. And they just came out made shots and we never really made the shots to counter it. Really in the second half -- in the beginning there were definitely some defensive flaws, but after that they did more stuff to win the game than we did in terms of making shots and the things you have to do to separate yourselves when there are two good teams playing. Q. Luke, overall for the tournament, how would you assess your team's play? LUKE KORNET: I thought we did a pretty good job. I thought defensively, especially, we made a lot of strides. I think that's something that we'll try to carry on throughout the year. I mean, with the exception of this last game, I feel like we've played pretty solid offensively as well. But I think the main thing was playing hard and being committed defensively. What cost us the tournament in the end were the moments that we didn't. So I think that's something we'll learn from, and I just think we need to do it for 40 minutes and that's something we need to do down the road. Q. Wade, can you talk about how tough Selden was to guard tonight? WADE BALDWIN: I didn't do much guarding on him, but from what I saw, he's a very strong player. He can really shoot the ball. You've got to give him props. He had 25 points, 7 rebounds. Kid's a hell of a player. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Stallings. Q. You addressed the shooting and stuff, but what did you think of Selden? Did he surprise you at all? COACH STALLINGS: No, he didn't surprise me. Honestly, he's got the easy job. He's got Mason and Graham in there just penetrating and breaking down your defense, and he's standing out there catching and shooting. Don't get me wrong, he made some really nice plays, made some nice drives too. But there was nothing about him that surprised me. What surprised me was how many times we helped off on penetration when we weren't supposed to. That was the disappointing thing. I didn't think he was making terribly difficult shots, and that is a credit to their offense and a testament to the fact that we didn't guard the way we have to guard to beat a team as good as they are. Q. Can you talk about what this week means to just the rest of the season and what you're going to take away from Maui? COACH STALLINGS: Well, first of all, it was an absolute pleasure to be here. You just, there is a reason why it's the premier, early-season college event in college basketball. We were thrilled to be a part of it. I think we accounted well for ourselves. Our basketball team played very, very well. We didn't have a great sixth half, but other than that, we played five pretty good halves of basketball. I've got a lot to look forward to with my team. I really enjoyed coaching them this week, and I enjoyed watching them play and watching them compete. And I was particularly happy when I got in the locker room and saw how disappointed they were, because this was a game that we thought we could and would win, and we got beat by a team that was better than us. They were better than us tonight, and we give them all the credit, because, you know, we had control of it in the first half and they did some stuff at halftime to make adjustments and come back and do what championship programs do and that's certainly what they are. Q. I guess since the Kentucky game last year, this was the first time playing in this type of game, I suppose. Do you think that this experience can help your team down the road the next time they're in this type of situation? COACH STALLINGS: Well, this is not the first time we've played in a situation like this since the Kentucky game last year. But I certainly think that this experience, this entire experience will help us tremendously. I think that all eight teams that were here will benefit greatly from this and that's why you come. That's why you're honored to be invited because you come out and get to compete and test yourselves against some of the best basketball teams in the country, some of the best basketball programs in the country. Like I said, I'm going to leave here with a lot more positive thoughts and a lot more positive feelings than I am negative. I don't feel very good about that last 20 minutes, but I'm really proud of my basketball team and really looking forward to seeing what the future holds this season for them. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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