Syracuse Player Quotes
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Canisius
December 17, 2008
Carrier Dome – Syracuse, N.Y.
Paul Harris, Jr. F
On what was the key to the team’s performance late in the first half:
“I think it was Rick Jackson coming off the bench and being a beast. He and Arinze (Onuaku) were unstoppable. The plan was to keep giving them the ball.”
On Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku on the floor at the same time:
“I think Coach (Boeheim) was experimenting. I think it might be a good lineup. It’s up to Coach. We’ll see if he sticks with it.”
On Rick Jackson hitting most of his shots:
“I think that’s because of Arinze. Most teams are so worried about Arinze, and then they leave Rick Jackson open. He gets a lot of easy looks.”
On the team’s slow starts:
“I think Canisius is one of those teams that have nothing to lose. They just come out and hit their first couple of three’s and they kept jacking them up. They kept us on our heels. Slowly we got at them, and our defense picked up.”
On the game at Memphis:
“It’s going to be a big game. In this kind of game, guys like Mookie Jones and Rick Jackson coming off the bench and playing well keeps the team together. We are going to go down there and just do what we did before.”
Rick Jackson, So., C
On his career-high 14 points:
“It just seemed like the ball kept coming to me. I got the ball in good spots where I could score.”
On being in the lineup with Arinze Onuaku:
“When we are both out there we get more rebounds. We got a lot of rebounds today because we were both out there crashing the boards. It makes it easier because no one comes into the paint and we can help each other and help our teammates more.”
On the team’s rebounding:
“That was a key because in the first half they were getting tip dunks – four or five. I guess Coach didn’t like that so he wanted to go with me for the start (of the second half) to see how things were. I think we rebounded a little better.”
On finishing his shots better:
“It’s just concentration. I play against these guys in practice. These are good players. I just figure, if I can score against them, I can score against anybody.”
On playing Memphis:
“We are just going to get ready for this game. We just approach every game like any other game. We are going to practice hard to get ready for the next one.”
Mookie Jones, Fr., F
On his shooting in the second half:
“I’ve been working on it. I got out there and guys penetrated and got me the looks. I was open and able to knock down the shots.”
On how the team responded after its first loss of the season:
“We were more excited to get out there because it was like ‘we have to beat everybody from here on out.’ Canisius is our first opponent after that loss so we just wanted to come out and play hard so that everyone knows we still have a ranked team out there.”
On the slow start:
“That’s one of our problems. But we always pick it up. I’m glad that we did pick it up before it got any worse.”
On keeping the level of his play high despite sporadic playing time off the bench:
“Coach Hopkins is always in my ear saying ‘be ready, stay ready’ because you never know when my name is going to be called. Coach (Boeheim) called my name so I was ready. I was telling myself to stay ready and keep my head in the game.”
On his performance aside from the three-point shooting:
“I have some hidden stuff that people haven’t seen. I can’t wait to let it out. That was just a little bit.”
On playing Memphis:
“That’s going to great. They are a good team, a ranked team. It’s an opportunity for us to go out and show that we are a great team and we can compete with anybody.”
Syracuse vs. Canisius
December 17, 2008
Carrier Dome – Syracuse, N.Y.
Paul Harris, Jr. F
On what was the key to the team’s performance late in the first half:
“I think it was Rick Jackson coming off the bench and being a beast. He and Arinze (Onuaku) were unstoppable. The plan was to keep giving them the ball.”
On Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku on the floor at the same time:
“I think Coach (Boeheim) was experimenting. I think it might be a good lineup. It’s up to Coach. We’ll see if he sticks with it.”
On Rick Jackson hitting most of his shots:
“I think that’s because of Arinze. Most teams are so worried about Arinze, and then they leave Rick Jackson open. He gets a lot of easy looks.”
On the team’s slow starts:
“I think Canisius is one of those teams that have nothing to lose. They just come out and hit their first couple of three’s and they kept jacking them up. They kept us on our heels. Slowly we got at them, and our defense picked up.”
On the game at Memphis:
“It’s going to be a big game. In this kind of game, guys like Mookie Jones and Rick Jackson coming off the bench and playing well keeps the team together. We are going to go down there and just do what we did before.”
Rick Jackson, So., C
On his career-high 14 points:
“It just seemed like the ball kept coming to me. I got the ball in good spots where I could score.”
On being in the lineup with Arinze Onuaku:
“When we are both out there we get more rebounds. We got a lot of rebounds today because we were both out there crashing the boards. It makes it easier because no one comes into the paint and we can help each other and help our teammates more.”
On the team’s rebounding:
“That was a key because in the first half they were getting tip dunks – four or five. I guess Coach didn’t like that so he wanted to go with me for the start (of the second half) to see how things were. I think we rebounded a little better.”
On finishing his shots better:
“It’s just concentration. I play against these guys in practice. These are good players. I just figure, if I can score against them, I can score against anybody.”
On playing Memphis:
“We are just going to get ready for this game. We just approach every game like any other game. We are going to practice hard to get ready for the next one.”
Mookie Jones, Fr., F
On his shooting in the second half:
“I’ve been working on it. I got out there and guys penetrated and got me the looks. I was open and able to knock down the shots.”
On how the team responded after its first loss of the season:
“We were more excited to get out there because it was like ‘we have to beat everybody from here on out.’ Canisius is our first opponent after that loss so we just wanted to come out and play hard so that everyone knows we still have a ranked team out there.”
On the slow start:
“That’s one of our problems. But we always pick it up. I’m glad that we did pick it up before it got any worse.”
On keeping the level of his play high despite sporadic playing time off the bench:
“Coach Hopkins is always in my ear saying ‘be ready, stay ready’ because you never know when my name is going to be called. Coach (Boeheim) called my name so I was ready. I was telling myself to stay ready and keep my head in the game.”
On his performance aside from the three-point shooting:
“I have some hidden stuff that people haven’t seen. I can’t wait to let it out. That was just a little bit.”
On playing Memphis:
“That’s going to great. They are a good team, a ranked team. It’s an opportunity for us to go out and show that we are a great team and we can compete with anybody.”
