Syracuse Coach and Player Quotes
Press conference prior to Oklahoma State game
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Fleet Center, Boston, Mass.
Head coach Jim Boeheim
On Oklahoma State:
“Coach Sutton is one of the great coaches in the game and that's ever been in the game. His defense is as good as anybody's - it's a tremendous challenge for us. I like their team - they've got good inside and good perimeter players. They can play with anybody in the country. It's a tremendous challenge for us."Â
On OSU's defense:
“Oklahoma State is a great defensive team. There won't be one guy he'll have to worry about. They'll help and Carmelo's seen some good defensive teams. I believe Pittsburgh led the nation in field goal percentage defense and they're probably a top-five defense in the country, he played against them a couple times. Connecticut's very good defensively - they've got the best shot-blocker in the country. They're another team that's probably in the top-10 or so in the country in defense. He's played against good defensive teams and he's gonna play against one tomorrow."Â
On coaching against another veteran coach, Eddie Sutton:
“He's a great guy, a good friend of mine. We've known each other a long time and been on a lot of trips together. He's an absolutely tremendous guy, a first-class guy. I have a lot of respect for his coaching ability going back to watching his teams play at Creighton and Arkansas. He's just a tremendous coach."Â
On the youth of Syracuse:
“We've lived all year long with these guys and they're gonna make some bad plays and they're gonna make some really good plays. You just have to learn to live with it as a coach. Ten or 15 years ago I'd be dead by now or there would be a couple players dead by now for sure. You just kind of learn to roll with the punches - they're going to make some crazy plays. I don't think we ever had two over-and-back's in the same year, let alone two in the same game like yesterday. I'm sure a few years ago I would've gone out on the court for those guys making those kind of plays. You learn to live with them - these guys make more good plays than they make bad plays. You just try to suffer through the bad ones and wait for the good ones." Â
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Freshman forward Carmelo Anthony
On Oklahoma State:
“We've been watching Oklahoma State on film and going over what they do. They are a hard-nosed, defensive team. Defense is their strength. It made them successful this year, so we have to come out straight from the beginning of the game."Â
On guarding Victor Williams of Oklahoma State:
“I don't think we'll go man, I think we'll stay with the 2-3 zone tomorrow. See what they do and if they hit a couple of outside shots than we'll probably make some adjustments." Â
Comparing Oklahoma State to other teams Syracuse played:
“Pittsburgh, they're a tough-nose defensive team. They play hard and physical on the inside. We can't commit a lot of turnovers because they will turn them into points."Â
Senior guard Kueth Duany
On Sunday's game:
“We're just ready to go play. We just want this day to hurry up and get over. Tomorrow we can go and get on the court and hopefully meet our goals."Â
On how much playing in the Carrier Dome affected his decision to attend SU:
“Yeah, if you go watch a game in the Carrier Dome and you see those 30,000 fans going crazy, there's no other on campus facility like it. It's a great sell - the majority of recruits that come in and actually see a game in there, it hooks them. And it got us too."
