Published Feb 27, 2022
What they said: Christian Braun after the Baylor game
Shay Wildeboor  •  JayhawkSlant
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Q: What was different than the first game you played against Baylor?
Braun: I think in the first half it was physical. We didn't do a good enough job of just taking it to the rim and getting fouled. And you could try to blame refs, but we didn't put as much pressure on them as they did to us. And then we let it slip in the first half for a little bit, but it was a little more physical.

Q: How would you gauge the team’s perimeter defense?
Braun: It was really good to start. And then the last 30 minutes of the game, we didn't play very well defensively at all. And we can be better, we know that. We lost a tough game, but we're going to move forward.


Q: Had a double-digit lead. Do you feel that you guys kind of got comfortable?
Braun: I wouldn't say got comfortable. I think they made some changes that, nothing I wouldn't say that we were ready for, but we just didn't do a very good job executing what we're supposed to do.


Q: How tough was that lineup they went to with the Sochan out at the five and kind of wherever he wanted to be, he got?
Braun: Yeah, it's tough when you're playing guys like them, because they don't normally shoot the ball that much.

So David backed up off him, like he's supposed to, and we did everything we're supposed to, they just hit shots. I think they gave him a little spark. Got them going, got the crowd back into it. And you know an environment like that when the crowd gets into its tough to get back.

Q: Did you feel like they had a little chip on their shoulder after what happened in Lawrence?
Braun: Yeah, everybody would. Its human nature, if you get beat like that. And obviously you're going to fight back, and we knew they weren't going to roll over their good team when they are good players that are tough and competitive. So, we knew they'd fight back.


Q: How much time do you spend with the film on this for one with three games in a week here coming up?
Braun: Oh, there's a lot we can learn from that. There's a lot of things we didn't execute defensively in the last 30 minutes, like I said, that we can do better at, and we will do better at, so we can learn a lot from this game. And like I said, they're a tough team, so we're not going to get down. We've still got three games, and if we win these three games and take care of what we're supposed to do, we're going to be the Big 12 champs.

Q: You mentioned the execution. What comes to mind there?
Braun: I mean, we have certain terms for that, but we have a guy, when the pick and roll, we're supposed to have a guy under the rim that's supposed to steal the ball. When they throw it to the big man, we did a really bad job of that. He got a couple easy lay-ups that weren't on Dave. So if he scores over Dave, we'll live with that.


Q: Coach got the technical foul. And I mean, I know it was kind of insignificant at the time, but it seemed like you guys responded to it. Does that happen? Does the team respond to the coach? Get something like that?
Braun: think we got a couple easy fouls after that. So, I wouldn't say that we'd necessarily respond. I mean, it fired us up a little bit, but we're all competitive. We're all going to do what we're supposed to, especially with our coaches that competitive. We like seeing that out of him, that passion. So, we bounce back a little bit. We've got to do a better job defensively at the end.


Q: What do you need from Remy moving forward?
Braun: He's doing a great job. Just being a leader, being vocal. He's a real positive guy. So if he does that, we know it's going to take him a second off just to get back in the swing of things. He actually did a decent job today. But once he gets back into swing of things defensively, and gets back to being Remy, which like I said, he was fine today. He has a great attitude. He's positive. He's a good teammate. Remy's just a good teammate. And he's Remy, if we let Remy be Remy, he'll be fine.


Q: You've seen him practice, so you've seen that, but does he look healthy? Does he look all the way back? That was the goal of him sitting out.
Braun: Well, it's not my knee, so I couldn't tell you how he feels, but he looked good. He's fast, he looked fast, hit a big shot. Hit another one in the lane that was big. So he looked fine, he's great. He's Remy, and like I said, when Remy's Remy, that's when we'll be the best.


Q:You talk about those defense rotations. It's going to take a little time for him, isn't it, to get some of that stuff back?
Braun: No, I think that he knows it, it's just a step slow, and that was for all of us. They did some things that kind of messed up. So it's not just Remy that was late on those I missed a couple. But yeah, he does a good job and that's one game, and the next game he'll tighten all those things up.