Rony Seikaly jersey Retirement Press Conference
Rony Seikaly Press Conference Quotes
Syracuse vs. Villanova
January 7, 2007
Carrier Dome-Syracuse, N.Y.
Opening Statement:
“The fans, twenty years since I came here and they still treat me as a player. I really appreciate what Bernie Fine has done, Coach Boeheim and Syracuse University. I’ll be down there someday, but my jersey is going to be up there.”
On when he found out:
“About three or four months ago.”
On his feelings about the honor:
“It was a great surprise. I am just happy that Derrick Coleman came. It means so much to me that he made it, and I love the fact that he came. It is a great honor. I think that the program is going to have great players over the course of many, many years, but I think that we elevated the program. The Syracuse basketball program is a great program.”
On Coach Boeheim:
“Everybody thinks from the outside that Coach Boeheim and I don’t get along. It’s not true at all. When he comes to Miami we see each other, and at the Final Four in New Orleans. That is his style of coaching, him being the way he was. He made me a great basketball player and prepared me for the NBA. He expects perfection and sometimes when you don’t expect that perfection you start to lack a little.”
On his first impressions of Syracuse:
“A lot of people ask how I got to Syracuse. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know any better. So if you asked me what Miami looked like-I didn’t know. Now that I have gone and traveled to many places, no matter what I would never replace the four years I had a Syracuse for anywhere in the country. There are other more fun places, better weather, but nothing will replace the four years that I had here.”
On his emotions of the day:
“It’s very difficult to express the emotions, but basically I couldn’t sleep last night. It brings you back a lot. It is a very sentimental thing for me. I’m just so proud at this moment. If I wasn’t holding myself together so well I could probably let loose a tear.”
