Syracuse Player Quotes
Valparaiso at Syracuse
Nov. 24, 2002
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Freshman guard Gerry McNamara
On SU's second-half performance:
"We knew it was time to put it away and we couldn't let them hang around anymore. We had to battle back. Carmelo hit some big shots and we went from there."
"We knew we had to make the scrappy plays. Coach got on us about digging out rebounds. We were struggling a little bit on the boards and I know Josh Pace came up with a big play when he ripped the ball out of the guy's hands. Things like that got us going -- getting on the floor."
Freshman forward Carmelo Anthony
On his play:
"In the first half I came out and hit some shots and tried to get my teammates involved. In the second half, I tried to pick my intensity up. I hit a couple more shots -- I just felt hot."
On the Carrier Dome crowd:
"It was great. I knew the crowd was going to be on our side hitting shots or missing shots. I just felt real comfortable out there playing in front of them."
Sophomore guard Josh Pace
On the importance of beating Valparaiso:
"We came back against Memphis but we weren't able to pull it out. This was very important for us. Valparaiso is a good team so it' s good to be able to come back and pull it out. It's good to get that kind of experience in the beginning of the year going into big games in the BIG EAST."
Senior forward Kueth Duany
On the play of Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara:
"They look great. Gerry controlled our offense and he stretches the defense with his shooting. Carmelo's just a great player. You can't say enough about him. He does everything out there: he rebounds, he passes, he hits threes. They're both great players and they're going to help us be a good team."
