Coach Boeheim Quotes
Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse vs. Cornell
November 29, 2001 – Carrier Dome
"We did a a little better job rebounding in the second half. In the first half we just weren't aggressive enough defensively or on the boards. This was a huge game for Hakim (Warrick). He hasn't been able to make that mid-range jumpshot and he got that going tonight. We shot the ball pretty well. We just weren't aggressive enough. Cornell did a good job. They spaced it, they slow it down and take a lot of time off the clock. I just thought their defense was good. They mixed it up and cheated on Preston (Shumpert) that opened things up for Hakim. We have to rebound a little better than in the first half. That happens. We just weren't quite as aggressive as we needed to be. The press really wasn't effective. It was a step slow all night. They handled the ball pretty well. The only disappointment from this game is that we got blocked out on the offensive boards. We really didn't do a good job on the boards in the first half. We shot the ball well, we moved the ball pretty well. There were some good things on that side."
On Hakim Warrick's play:
"He hasn't made his jump shots. He's been taking it but he really hasn't hit it that much, even in practice. But he's worked hard on it. He works hard everyday. Today he got some pretty good looks and he made them."
"He's getting better. He's finding the spots, the holes. Obviously people are cheating toward Preston. When DeShaun (Williams) is there, there are bigger holes."
On Cornell:
"I thought they played well. I thought they did a better job on the boards than we should allow them to. They block out and they are physical. They did a nice job. They take time off the clock. They run their offense. That's pretty much what we expected."
On play of freshmen, particularly Josh Pace:
"Josh has played very well. I'm very happy with the way he's played. And the other two guys are starting so obviously we feel like they are doing something right. I think Josh can be a very valuable player for us as we go on through the year. He gets things done. He gets a steal or an assist or he gets in the right place. He does a lot of good things out there."
On James Thues:
"He started out a little slow. He tried to do too much but then he calmed down and did a good job. He got the ball to the right people. He can make that open three. He's really been shooting the ball pretty good in practice. His problem is trying to get there too close and forcing his shot up. He's got to look for that opening if they're going to leave him that open."
On play of Preston Shumpert:
"Preston picked it up offensively. He made some hard shots out there tonight. Most of his shots are going to be hard this year because there's always going to be somebody on him. I think in the first half, he wasn't quite as aggressive. Preston made some tough shots tonight, putting it on the floor and making some plays. I think he's playing much better in the bigger games where he feels he has to do more. He's more aggressive, he's rebounding better. In these games he hasn't played as aggressive as he has been. He's been playing a little too much on the perimeter. In the second half he did get by people a little bit more. He's getting a good lesson on people concentrating their defense on him. And that's what anybody should do at this point."
