Coach Boeheim Quotes vs. Villanova
Coach Jim Boeheim Press Conference Quotes
Syracuse vs.Villanova
January 13, 2007
Carrier Dome- Syracuse, N.Y.
Opening Statement:
“The difference tonight was our man-to-man. At Rutgers we played man to man a little and it had a significant impact on the game. When the score was 19-13, we went man and I thought that was a huge factor. They were in a good rhythm against our zone, and then we got back in it, and then Demetris (Nichols) got hot, which put us back in it. I thought in the second half we executed the offense as best we have all year. We really moved the ball and found people. We still made some bad turnovers, but when their pressuring and gambling, you’re going to make some turnovers. I thought we took advantage of the double teams and we got the ball to Andy (Rautins) and Demetris. They got some good looks.”
“When Terrence (Roberts) plays like this we are a whole different team. You look at his numbers he’s had seven or eight points and five or six rebounds a game. He plays like this and we are a different team. Mookie (Darryl Watkins) has been good all year. I think we can still find him a little bit more. I think that the key, our three seniors have been the key all year. Today they showed what they have to do. I thought their two seniors (Curtis) Sumpter and (Mike) Nardi were very, very good . It was those guys battling our seniors, but our seniors played the way we need them to play. This was overall by far our best game offensively and defensively.”
On Rony Seikaly’s jersey retirement:
“Rony is obviously a great player. There aren’t many of us in the room that remember that, but he had a ways to go in the game of basketball and how he improved and what he has achieved in basketball was significant. He had a tremendous developmental stage in his time here with us. Bernie (Fine) had a lot to do with it, and Rony’s efforts. Everything is relative, but what he has done with himself in life has been tremendous. He’s a very smart guy and a great business guy and he has gone out and done some great things after basketball. Like a guy I played with, Dave Bing, and some other guys that we’ve had. It’s nice to see this and to see all these guys come back and see how successful they’ve been. It’s great to have a day like this and see all these guys. Everybody was here from my team and that’s unusual to get all of us together. I think it’s the first time that we have all been together since we left here in 1966. It’s a great weekend, but it’s a little better when we play well.”
On the three BIG EAST wins in a row:
“They are all tough. There are no games in this league that are easy every night you go out there you got to be ready. You have got to play well. There really aren’t many easy games in college basketball if you really think about it. It’s going to be tough every night. Next Wednesday we’ll have another tough night.”
On Demetris Nichols’ game:
“When he got it going they were guarding him. He was making tough shots. When he gets it going like that he’s making tough shots, he didn’t make any easy shots. We did a lot of screening and popping with him and he’s going to get a little space, because they are doubling so much. When they are trapping him, you are going to get some turnovers, which is something that you’ll have to live with, but you’re also going to get some open shots from other players. Andy got a couple really wide open shots and Demetris got one to start the second half. When they’re trapping you have to get the ball to the open guy and take advantage of that. They did a lot of trapping; they were all over the court. It took us awhile; early we got a couple bad turnovers, but after awhile we got it. He’s not going to get many looks because teams have played us straight up man-to-man and they are just going to ride him and play him and that’s how it’s going to be. In those situations that opens up driving lanes and it opens up the inside for other guys and that’s important. That’s the advantage of having him and Andy in there in the same time. The defense has to go out and play those guys and that opens up some things for Terrence and Mookie inside.”
On the different play against Villanova:
“It’s a little bit of everything. We got the good sets, kept our heads up, found the open man. We had a stretch of seven or eight great possessions right in a row. Villanova is a great defensive team. They’re not that easy to get good shots against.”
On the team’s three-point shooting:
“Well it’s always important to make shots. We haven’t made them the last two games. I think we are 5-of-19 in the last two games from the three, but we found a way to win anyway, but it’s a little easier when you make shots. If we went 5-of-19 tonight it would have been a tougher game.”
On Matt Gorman’s status:
“I think he’s really practiced the last two games. He probably could have gone today, but I’d rather see him get back a little bit better and be ready.”
On defending Curtis Sumpter:
“I think they did pretty good job on him. I think Curtis is a great player. He had that big start with, I think, about 11 points, but that was mostly against our zone. I thought in the man-to-man we did a pretty good job on him. That was the difference in the game really. When it’s all said and done our man-to-man defense was the difference.”
