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Roy Williams - "We did a much better job on the backboards than I thought we did last Tuesday night (exhibition victory over Australia). That was one point of emphasis. We've still got to do a better job defensively. But Paul and Raef were both really something inside, and we did a better job of getting it inside. We had one little point there where we went a little crazy from the three-point line for about five shots. But other than that we did a good job offensively, too. "I thought Ryan was better tonight. He improved. He had his hands full with Jamar Johnson and Jerry McCullough coming at him with the speed they had tonight. But I thought he did better. "We have strength inside, and we should try to get it in there. I got disappointed one time when Billy shot a three-pointer, and on the next play Ryan shot a three-pointer when it was a set play designed to have Scot Pollard underneath. And then Billy got it back and he shot a three pointer. So we shot three in a row, and at that time I took a 20-second timeout. But it really didn't have much effect because one or two possessions later Raef shot a three-pointer. So I have to do a better job getting them to understand what we're talking about. But you take away those four shots right there which were not good shots at all, then all of a sudden you're getting a better look at the basket. Other than those four possessions, we did some nice things. "Jerod was seven for nine. He had 16 points, four assists, and zero turnovers. That was a fantastic basketball game, and he was good defensively. I'm very, very pleased with the way Jerod's playing. He will shoot some three-pointers, but he's doing exactly what I want him to do. "Jacque got his cast off today, and he said the first thing he did when he got home from the hospital was jump in the shower and scrub up his hand and everything. I told him he smelled better. They felt like everything looked good. They're going to wait until December 2 before they actually start some serious rehab on it, just trying to let him get used to doing some things with it right now that wouldn't be in a rehab-type mode. Hopefully it will be something that he'll be able to get his full range of motion back, and that's something we won't really know for three or four more weeks. "We played exceptionally well against (next opponent Santa Clara) in the tournament (76-51 victory). Dick Davies is a heck of a coach and a good friend. He made a statement after the tournament that just made me cringe. He said, 'Kansas put on a clinic tonight. They showed us how to play.' And I'm sure he's reminded those guys of that all summer long. Marlon Garnett, their guard, is a heck of a player. We know we're going to have our work cut out for us. I told the team after tonight's game, 'Now we are going to play teams.' And the team we're going to play Friday night is a team I respect a great deal with a coach I respect a lot. And we know it's going to be much more difficult than what we faced in these two exhibition games." Converse coach Mickey Walker - "We've been pretty competitive. I'm not taking anything away from Kansas, believe me, but we were worn down (13 games in 15 days). We've played what amounts to two-thirds of a college season in two weeks. "We were up by 17 at Tulsa and lost, and we were up 12 against Vegas and lost. We get a lead, and then we lose our legs. "We can't get players as good as LaFrentz and Pollard. They'll have jobs making $100,000 a year in pro basketball. Perimeter players are easier to find. "The thing that killed us other than just wearing down was Pierce took the ball out and repeatedly made plays going down court. We haven't played anybody that size who has done that. I'm not saying he's as good, but it kind of reminded me of Magic Johnson. "Hey, they're preseason #1. I believe it. By far they're the best team we've played." Jamar Johnson, former NU guard - "I was looking forward to (the chance to play in Allen Fieldhouse again). I just wanted to come and play in this environment again. It was just so vivid to me."