NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - TEXAS SOUTHERN VS KANSAS

March 17, 2022

Bill Self

Remy Martin

Dajuan Harris Jr.

Christian Braun

Dickies Arena

Kansas Jayhawks

Media Conference

Kansas - 83, Texas Southern - 56

THE MODERATOR: Start times have been set for Saturday's game. North Carolina and Baylor at 10:00 a.m. Central Time. Creighton and Kansas at 1:40 p.m. Central Time. Both games in CBS exclusive windows.

We welcome Coach Bill Self and the student-athletes from the Kansas Jayhawks. We will begin with an opening statement from Coach Self and that follow up with questions for Coach Self and the student-athletes and Coach.

In the room we have Mr. Braun, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Martin. Coach Self?

BILL SELF: I thought we did a lot of really good things the first half. I thought we shared it, we defended, and we rebounded the ball pretty well. And after we got off to kind of calm our nerves down a little bit, we were very efficient the first half. The second half, we didn't play near as well.

But it was a good team win. And certainly one that I'm glad we got, and especially in this crazy tournament in this crazy day. And certainly looking forward to playing a very, very good Creighton team on Saturday.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in the room? Start in the front row on the left.

Q. Christian, after a day when there were a number of upsets, did it feel good to came out and play the way you guys did and not have to sweat it out?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Yeah, I think the first half was great for us. We played a lot better than we did in the second half. And I think the first four minutes, like Coach said, everyone was a little nervous, playing a little tight. And we loosened up a little bit and started playing really well the last 16 minutes of the first half.

Q. Remy, came in, sparked energy. At this stage, you've talked about enjoying March and being out here. What did that feel like tonight to do it with this team and be the catalyst to pull it away the first half?

REMY MARTIN: It felt the great. These guys have been very good to me. Great teammates. I'm just kind of happy to go out there and, you know, try to give it my all and help them out. That's just my goal, my goal is to go in there and help as much as I can. I think I did that today. I'm just happy that we got the win and it was a collective effort.

Q. We know that's been your focus. Can I ask you to go one deeper? Did you have a favorite moment tonight of yours?

REMY MARTIN: No, I -- well, I guess my dunk. My dunk, right? I mean, I haven't dunked in forever. But, you know, that felt great. But the moment that I wish could have happened was Teahan making the shot off the dribble. This time it was different. But I had a good time out there.

Q. And, Coach, can I follow that up? Same thing for you: Do you have a favorite Remy moment tonight? I mean, I know you've talked about him being --

BILL SELF: Well, I thought -- he played almost -- he and Juan were about perfect the first half. I think they were like, what, nine of 10 combined. But, you know, I didn't know Remy could dunk a basketball until today, so that was a favorite moment. But the pass that he gave David in transition was pretty special.

THE MODERATOR: Next question here in the room. Front row on the right side.

Q. Bill, those early jitters that you mentioned, how much do you think Remy, the way he played on that transition pass being probably the first example kind of allowed you guys just to play basketball the way he play?

BILL SELF: Yeah, Remy was great. He came in and played lights out, terrific. I also thought Juan was good early. Juan made a three early and then he followed it up with a three later.

And, you know, on a night where I thought that from an offensive production standpoint, we had some guys do pretty well, but nobody was really lights out except for those two. So I thought they keyed it more than anybody else.

THE MODERATOR: In the middle about three rows back from the right.

Q. This one's for Bill. You mentioned this being a crazy day, especially in the tournament. Do you feel like a team can feel that if they watch that and maybe that can impact the game?

BILL SELF: You know, I hate to admit this, the last time that I remember playing a late game like this was buck nail in Oklahoma City.

I mean, I remember us getting to the hotel around 12:30 or 1:00 o'clock in the morning and, you know, we played so poorly. And they deservedly won the game. But I didn't think, like, we were going to not win, but I thought it was one of those days.

I think these guys would tell you, playing a 10:00 o'clock at night after you've been amped up all day, I think it's a disadvantage for the two teams that play that late because you can only carry that adrenaline and excitement and be sharp for so long. And I do think that that kind of impacted us early. I don't know what you guys think.

And then when the game goes to overtime and the overtime took 40 minutes to play, I think that we were -- I mean, we tried hard. We were ready to play. But I do think we were pretty careless early on.

THE MODERATOR: I have good news for you, if you haven't heard it yet.

BILL SELF: Yeah, it's great news. We have a pre-game meal at 1:00 o'clock in the morning and then we play at 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon. Isn't that right, 1:40?

THE MODERATOR: 1:40 on Saturday, yes.

BILL SELF: Fantastic news. Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: I thought you'd like the earlier start.

Q. Mitch's status was day-to-day. In the lead up to this one, what went behind the decision to go with him in the first half?

BILL SELF: I thought -- well, to be candid with you, I thought we needed to play him early. But the biggest thing was, it worked out good that we could test it and he could get some confidence from it and have it not bother him and get through the game. So I told him at halftime he wasn't going to probably play the second half. But I thought he did a nice job in a limited time.

You could see he wasn't 100 percent. But you could also see that he wasn't far off. So that was positive.

THE MODERATOR: Back on left.

Q. For Dajuan and CB, can you explain what Remy does for you guys energy-wise? You know, you haven't had him most of the year and he's been good the last few weeks, and we started to see that. But tonight it was really there. Everyone smiling and jumping off the bench during timeouts. Can you explain what that feels like for you guys and this whole time?

DAJUAN HARRIS JR.: Well, Remy -- we forgot Remy was one of the point guards in the country coming into the transfer portal. So, you know, he gives a lot of energy. And then he comes in, takes a lot of pressure off me off the ball too. Me and him can switch off the ball. And then like back cut it today, and then, you know, he was a great passer, too.

So it's just fun playing with Remy. He gives us a lot of excitement on the bench. A lot of energy in the game. So it's really good playing with him.

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Yeah, I would say the same thing. Just his passion. Adds a lot to our team. We all kind of feed off of it. And his dunk was really fun for us. He made a couple really flashy passes like Juan said. So he's the great off the bench. Comes in and scores a lot of points.

And like Juan said, a really good passer, too. You can tell his confidence is coming back more and more. And when he plays like that, we're tough to beat.

REMY MARTIN: Thanks, guys.

Q. Freddie, the guys, I know Remy, you were out there, and Dajuan and CB you came in afterward. But seven minutes left, 8-0 run and Bill pulls you out of the game. I mean, what's going through your mind as they make the line change and guys coming back in? What's that conversation like and what does it mean for you guys trying to close out games now going down the stretch?

REMY MARTIN: I think just holding us accountable for our standard. I think he holds us to a high standard. Which, you know, we love. And it was just make corrections and get right. And it was just as simple as that. We wanted to go out and, you know, change the pace, change the game and he was just holding us accountable, which I love him for.

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Yeah, we just had to come in and worry about closing the game better. We didn't do a good job the second half of taking care of the ball. But just closing the game, how we were in the first half. So we've got to do a better job of that. And like Remy said, just holding us accountable to the standard that we need to play at.

Q. Bill, your point of view, you talked a little bit not too long ago about trying to figure out the rotations as you get into these games, get closer and tighter going on through. What do you need from these guys to show that the second unit can hold themselves out there?

BILL SELF: Well, it wasn't these guys closing the game out, you know, it was our second unit. And Remy just happened to be out there. You know, we got six starters and maybe seven with Mitch when he's playing well. So it's a fly, guys, jeez. (Laughing)

But I do think that the bench did not do a good job of playing the way that you need to play to win the possession. They were playing the game from what the score was. And so, that was the only thing about tonight that I thought we didn't do very well.

THE MODERATOR: Six, nine, and four won't get to you, but a fly might. We're okay.

Q. This is a question for Remy. On that steal and dunk that was brought up earlier. Just talk to -- break down what you saw from Texas Southern on that steal.

REMY MARTIN: Well, I saw him pick up the ball and look for a skip pass. And I was on the weak side. So I had a play, too, and the pass was kind of, like, a lob.

So I kind of, you know, played the passing lane and just saw it, saw the rim, and just went up there and dunked it. It was just, like, a defensive instinct play.

Q. Three straight games with double-digit points. Your efficiency has gone up each of the past three games. What has, you know, helped you shoot a higher percentage?

REMY MARTIN: Just, you know, playing with pace. I don't really -- you know, scoring is not what I came here for. I just came here to change pace and, you know, help my teammates. And, you know, if I have a open look, then I'm there to take it. If not, I'll find these guys.

I just try to simplify the game. And just being able to find myself. And anybody could go, like, every given night. It just happened to be mine.

So that's the great thing about this team. It's not only me. Juan had his night. And if it's not me, then other guys who step up who are so talented and have a lot of depth.

So just playing with pace and finding the open shot or open man and just keeping the game simple.

THE MODERATOR: We have a few more minutes left with Kansas. On the right side.

Q. Coach Self, if you'll indulge me a little bit. Slightly off topic. Robert Hughes was in the audience tonight watching his alma mater, Texas Southern. And I know you were inducted in the Hall of Fame with him in 2017, I believe. Do you have any memories of that moment or any other memories of Coach Hughes through the years?

BILL SELF: You know, I -- of course, he's one of the greatest coaches, you know, our sports known at any level. And therefore with Dunbar. And I got to tell you, I thought Coach Hughes went to Tulsa. Did he go to Tulsa, as well? He started at Tulsa and finished at Texas Southern, is that right?

Q. (No microphone.)

BILLL SELF: Okay. Because we took a lot of pride at TU, knowing he was an alum at TU. But, yeah, fabulous coach. And he coached a ton of terrific kids there at Dunbar.

And, you know, I think it's -- you know, it's really strange, because people equate the best coaches sometimes to guys that play on TV the most and win the most games on TV. And that's not really true.

And he's a guy -- Ralph Tasker is another guy from Hobbs, New Mexico. Those guys were as good as coaches at any level, they just weren't seen near as much. But he's definitely deserving in being in the Hall.

THE MODERATOR: It's great to see Coach Hughes commemorated here in the building. Every player gets to see about him as they take to the floor here at Dickies Arena.

Q. Dajuan, you talked the other day about you kind of missed out your freshman year when the tournament was canceled. What's it like for you today to experience with all the fans and just March Madness in general?

DAJUAN HARRIS JR.: Well, it was really -- it's fun. You know, playing with my teammates. So they make it even more better. And the crowd was great tonight. Even though, like, the game wasn't close and all that, but it was great to be out there in front of everybody. And then playing for my teammates, going and getting the W. So I think it was good.

Q. Coach, same question, just kind of, like, did you guys see something with the players, with the crowd, March Madness coming back, so to speak?

BILL SELF: Yeah, I said this yesterday, I think. I was probably more excited going into this tournament than I have been, at least from my memory, because, you know, the last two that we played in -- I mean, last two, we, obviously, couldn't go in '20, no one could. And last year, it was a bubble, no fans. And we got COVID. So it wasn't a real deal. So this was good for us.

And, you know, we need to play, obviously, well on Saturday to really enjoy, you know, the tournament. Because even though it's great to get in the tournament, you really benefit and get to really enjoy it if you can get to the second weekend.

You know, everything happens so fast up until this first weekend, that you really can't enjoy it. But then you'll kind of get a chance to enjoy it a little bit more and that will certainly be our goal on Saturday.

THE MODERATOR: Last question.

Q. Bill, in the handshake line, did Johnny Jones tell you to go win it all basically when you guys --

BILL SELF: Yeah, I don't remember exactly what Johnny said. I've known Johnny a long time. And so I consider us friends, and I think he would, as well. But there's certainly mutual respect between both of us. And I don't remember exactly what he said, though.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you guys. Appreciate it. Good luck this weekend.