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Syracuse Player Quotes
Connecticut at Syracuse
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
February 7, 2005
Junior Point Guard Billy Edelin
On the game:
“We played well in a lot of areas and we showed a lot of heart but we just did a couple things in the middle part down the stretch that let them take it away from us. We need to learn from this and try to use it to help us later.”
On losing control of the game:
“I think it was an evenly-matched game with two well-coached teams. When Hakim (Warrick) came back in the game, we tried going to him too much and it was a little predictable and that’s something that we need to get away from.”
On his personal performance:
“I think sometimes, like Louis (McCroskey) said, I should have been more aggressive because he didn’t think they could keep me out of the lane but coach said we should get it in to Hak (Hakim Warrick). We were trying to do that. With the way the game went, I’m excited but I just wanted to win. I’m not really thinking about my individual performance.”
On Josh Pace’s performance in this game:
“He’s consistent. People think he just started doing that this year. He’s been doing that, in my eyes, for a couple years. Maybe not with the numbers just because of the players that he’s played with but he always does the little things, as well scoring, and a lot of good things. He was just his normal self, which is another reason why we should’ve come out with a win because I think we played well but we just didn’t get it done.”
On what the team can learn from this loss:
“I think everybody learned. We have to learn that the little plays sometimes can make a difference. When you do every thing well you want to find it and capitalize to get a ‘W’ out of it. We didn’t do that so we have to do the little things and if we do that then we’ll win the ball game.”
On how the crowd influenced the team:
“Every time we went on somewhat of a run, we heard the crowd go crazy, just giving us so much energy. We wanted to come out with a win tonight. We didn’t play our best basketball against Notre Dame, we actually didn’t play well at all but we found a way to win the game. I think if we could have done that tonight, it would’ve been good for the fans, but they definitely did their part, we just didn’t come through.”
Junior Guard Gerry McNamara:
On the game:
“We should have won tonight. There’s no excuse. I missed a few shots toward the end. In the beginning of the game, I got what I wanted and had control of the ball. In the early part of the game, I got in the lane and was making plays. Off the ball, they did a good job of face-guarding me so it was tougher. We let one slip away and it’s obvious. A couple turnovers toward the end and usually we’re more productive down the stretch. We just didn’t do it tonight.”
On Connecticut’s Defense and how it impacted him:
“When I had the ball, I did whatever I wanted and I had that tonight. I was able to get in the lane and make plays for other people right in the beginning. Then when I was at the 2- guard, they did a good job of hedging our screens and face-guarding me, so I didn’t get any good looks off at 2. I think it was a scouting success. I don’t think it was one guy. I think Denham Brown did a pretty good job. They were on my hip the whole time. It wasn’t just Williams. They were on my hip and toward the end, I had to try to force some shots and try to get us back in it. It was tough. It was tough to find a good look but that’s no excuse. Our big guys at looks and I had looks at some points. We played good. We just didn’t win. We let one slip away. We should have won.”
Senior Forward Hakim Warrick
On the support of the fans and being in the dome:
“It was great being a part of that. They really did a good job coming out there. We had more fans these last couple games than people get their whole career so it’s good to go out there and get that fan support. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get that ‘W’ for them tonight but we just have to go out there and bounce back to that winning track.”
On their upcoming game against Villanova:
“We definitely have a tough game on the road, going against a top 25 team, Villanova, coming off some big wins. They’re tough, especially at home, so we definitely want to go out there and if we can go there, if we can get a win against Villanova, on the road, then I think that will put us right back.”
On losing control of the game:
“This one definitely slipped away...we had control of the game and could have put them away, we were up eight. We made some careless plays and gave up some offensive rebounds. We just didn’t finish down the stretch.”
Senior Guard Josh Pace:
On Charlie Villanueva’s defense:
“He had a good game. We kind of got out of position in our zone and he was making plays. Not excluding other guys, they played well too on UConn’s team. It was a total team effort on their part but we could have played better toward the end of the game. We felt like we were winning the game up until the latter part.”
On whether the team was influenced tonight by the long stretch of games:
“I think this is what we come to college for, to play Division I basketball. We were up for the game. We came out and had a good first half and a second half up until the end. I just think that we didn’t play our best basketball at the end of the game.”
