SU Player Quotes vs. Connecticut
SU Player Quotes
Syracuse vs. Connecticut
February 17, 2007
Carrier Dome – Syracuse, NY
Freshman forward Paul Harris
On the difference from the first meeting:
“We really did a great job on the boards. The last time we lost to Connecticut they really dominated the boards. We kept on fighting and came up big in the clutch.”
On his contribution when Terrence Roberts got into foul trouble:
“I try to provide a lot of energy. We needed this win. A lot of people are counting us out and I don’t know why. We’re still in the race for the BIG EAST Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.”
On the team’s improvement since the last time they played Connecticut:
“We kind of know it’s now or never. We need every win we can get. The seniors know that this is their last year so they have to leave it all out on the court every game.”
On Andy Rautins’ performance:
“The way he shot it yesterday in practice, I knew something was going to go down today. He was really on fire yesterday. He came out and he’s been solid the last three or four games for us.”
On the team’s tenacious rebounding effort:
“Every possession counts. I said before the game, ‘We have to go out and compete.’ Connecticut is a tough team. It felt good to get them back on our home court.”
Senior forward Demetris Nichols
On the team’s performance:
“We did a great job rebounding. Darryl (Watkins) had some great boards and I had nine. It was a great team effort. We outrebounded them today and that was the key to the game. We played a whole 40 minutes, tonight.
On the final three games of the year:
“We have to win these next three games and see what happens. We have to go hard every single game.”
On the week off before Providence:
“Providence is a pretty good team. It’ll be good for us to have a week off to regroup, but we have to try to stay hungry. We will be ready on Saturday.”
On his shots to break SU’s scoring drought:
“I knew that we needed a bucket. I think the whole crowd knew that. I just tried to make something happen. My teammates gave me the ball and I made a play. Those were big plays. The key to the game was rebounding, though. We outrebounded them and that was the first time in a while we did that.”
Sophomore guard Andy Rautins
On the difference between the two games against Connecticut:
“There’s no doubt there was an extreme difference between this game and last game. We knew we needed to crash the boards the way we did; and when we do that, we are a tough team to beat.”
On his ability to make big shots:
“We have so many guys on this team that can score, but I feel like when it comes down to those pressure situations, if it comes into my hands, I can take care of it.”
