Elmarko Jackson and KJ Adams of the Kansas Jayhawks answer questions about the unconventional lineups without Kevin McCullar and the chemistry that was displayed by the entire team against Oklahoma State.
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00:00 >> Marco, in case you guys as well as anybody, this league is a grind.
00:04 Every game is tough as it gets.
00:06 A game like tonight, how important is it to not have to battle until the very end
00:10 and kind of win this one going away?
00:11 >> Yeah, of course, especially when we're at home, we always wanna win and
00:15 try to make a statement with the home crowd advantage.
00:17 And just getting out early helps a lot cuz our crowd is amazing.
00:21 So once they lift us up, it helps a lot of things.
00:24 >> And then Marco, can you just talk about your performance?
00:25 You almost matched your career high and just going out there and
00:28 playing without Kev.
00:28 >> Definitely something that I was thinking about a little bit before the game.
00:36 Just staying confident in my work and the work that I put in leading up to this game.
00:43 And trusting my teammates and them trusting me to pass the ball to me in
00:48 open circumstances and just being lucky with small good and bad.
00:53 >> Marco, what did you know when you were starting the game?
00:57 What was your mindset coming into this game?
01:01 >> Kev was kind of shaky.
01:03 We were shaky between his play during shoot around and
01:07 then I found out right before the game.
01:10 So like I said, just staying ready.
01:14 >> There's two ways of looking at it, not having Kevin here.
01:19 Pressure to perform or the opportunity to perform where you might not get that if
01:23 Kevin was healthy.
01:24 Which way did you look at it?
01:26 >> An opportunity, it's always we got to stay in here next day and
01:30 up so just being ready for your opportunity and season.
01:33 >> KJ, you had four dunks off the lobs from DeJuan tonight.
01:40 What was it you guys were seeing that made it a little easier for that to happen?
01:45 >> Since they're not really guarding me on the three point line,
01:47 they're kind of backing up in the paint.
01:48 So they're usually focused on either Hunter or Juan passing the ball.
01:51 So I can make those easy cuts and
01:53 I'm in transition and I'm faster than a lot of people going down low and
01:56 they're guarding me.
01:57 >> And then a lot of different lineups tonight.
02:00 What was it like being able to play with so
02:01 many different players out on the court throughout the entire night?
02:05 >> Yeah, it was really fun.
02:06 It was fun that coach was doing many different lineups,
02:09 play with different people that usually don't get to play with Kevin's out there.
02:13 So it was good, a fresh new lineup every couple of minutes.
02:16 So it was fun and fast paced this game.
02:19 >> On a similar note, just felt like in some of the bench heavy lineups you guys
02:22 have, you held together a little bit better on defense than you might have in some
02:26 previous games.
02:26 Just what do you think was key to that execution?
02:28 >> I think just fresh legs and just our preparation for practice.
02:33 Coach really harped on defense.
02:34 During for this game, they're a really good team.
02:38 So just getting them out of the three point line and
02:42 guarding them when it's only ten or five seconds left in the shot clock.
02:45 [BLANK_AUDIO]