Coach Boeheim Quotes
Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse vs. Providence
January 27, 2008
Carrier Dome- Syracuse, NY
Opening Statement:
“I thought tonight we did a really good job on defense. The problem with the game was we let their shooters get open near the end and they were deep. Their defense gave us a lot of trouble, we made a lot of unforced errors that we can’t afford to make. When they came back and took the lead, we countered and when they tied it, Kristof [Ongenaet] set some good screens and we got Donte’ [Greene] open and he knocked down a big shot. We made a couple good defensive plays at the end and Arinze [Onuaku] went to the line and made the two free throws. We made a couple other free throws in that situation, which we missed the other night, so that’s a good learning experience. I thought we did a great job on the boards, we were a little bigger, but we have to get back better.
Obviously, Scoop [Jardine] has been suspended. It's a violation of university policy. It’s an indefinite suspension. There’s nothing more I can say about it. We’re just going to have to play more short-handed.
Kristof did a nice job, he was aggressive on the boards. I thought he did a great job coming around that screen and made the defensive play of the game on that corner jump shot. Arinze did a great job inside. Donte’s going to get a lot of defensive pressure every game and I thought when he got his opportunities, he capitalized on them. He’s not going to get a lot of opportunities, but that’s the way it’s going to be.”
On being down in numbers:
“It’s obvious we’ve never been close to this, we’ve never lost more than a player in a year. We want to still run, it’s dangerous, but we want to try and get some easy baskets. We tried today in the game but instead got three turnovers. We can’t run as well and it will be difficult for us getting down the court. When we did get down the court, we weren’t very good.”
On starting Kristof Ongeanot over Rick Jackson:
“Rick is our backup center, so we have to have him ready when Arinze gets in foul trouble.”
On Rick Jackson’s play:
“He was good on the boards, he made a good block. He was very active, he just needs to get stronger, when he gets stronger, he can finish a little better. I think him and Arinze could have finished a lot better today.”
On Donte’s shooting:
“He had a really good three that he made from the side, but it didn’t go in. He’s been shooting the ball really well in practice and for us when we’re playing against zones, we have two guys who can shoot the ball and they need to take shots. It’s been said he took bad shots at Georgetown, but he did not take one bad three down there. Tonight, he took the same shots and the ball went in. It’s the same shot and he’s going to have to take them when he gets them.”
On the team’s overall play:
“This team has competed as hard as they can all year long and for a young team, that’s pretty good. They haven’t always played well, but they’re competing as hard as they can, and that’s all you can ask for. We’re as short-handed as anyone has ever been and we’re going to have to keep fighting through it.”
On the toughness of the Big East:
“It’s tremendously competitive. People were saying how bad Rutgers was when they were here and how it wasn’t a good win, but it looks pretty good now. Everybody’s good, everybody can play, we just have to go out and battle every night and see what happens.”
