.png)
Sherman Douglas Quotes
Rutgers at Syracuse
Sunday, March 9, 2003
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Former Orangeman Sherman Douglas, whose jersey was retired before the game, addressed the media in a halftime press conference.
On Carmelo Anthony:
“Carmelo has a little bit more offensive skills than what Billy Owens had – he was more of a scorer. What’s good about Carmelo is, he can score and he can pass the ball and he can handle the ball. I think that he has a lot of the skills that the pro scouts like. I think he’s going to be a very good pro basketball player."
On whether or not Anthony should leave for the NBA:
“I think he has all the necessary advice that he needs. I think that as a player of this quality, he’s going to make the right decision. No matter if he stays or goes, it’s going to be the right decision. It’s probably going to be a tough decision for him, but I think it’ll be a good decision. If he does stay, it’s going to be very important for him to take care of himself and to try to improve – don’t be settled about having a great year the first year – you’ve got to improve on that. That’s what the pro scouts want to see – they want to see improvement from year to year.”
On comparing this team to the ’86-87 team:
“With some of the young guys on the team at that time, it definitely reminds me of how well the ’87 team played. Hopefully they can be a little bit better than the ’87 team (NCAA runner-up). I think they definitely have a good chance of playing well. A sign of a good team is that they win close games, they win some close games down the stretch, and they win on the road. This is a good accomplishment for them to be undefeated at home and to win games on the road.”
On being back in the Dome in front of the huge crowd:
“It felt great. It’s always nice to come back here and see the crowd and everybody into the game and people welcoming you back. A lot of times, you get on the court and you’re not feeling well or things aren’t going your way, but you come out and you make a nice basket or a nice play or you throw an ally-oop, and the crowd gets into it, and that jacks you up. That always has been something special to me. When you look up and you see that crowd, you think, Wow, that’s a lot of people here. That’d always get me fired up.”
