Student-Athlete Post-Game Quotes
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Seton Hall
December 30, 2008
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Eric Devendorf, Senior, Guard
On how he was able to get his rhythm back after missing the last two games:
“It’s tough when you miss a couple of weeks and playing in a real game. You really can’t determine what is going to happen in the game. My teammates helped me a lot by getting me the ball early and getting me into the flow of things. I thank Jonny (Flynn) and Andy (Rautins) for that. Once it started rolling, it kept going. It felt good.”
On the barrage of three-pointers:
“When things are going like that, it’s good for everybody. Then we get pumped up on the defensive end. We get stops. Whenever that happens, it gives a lot of momentum to the whole team. I think that’s what happened tonight.”
On the strength of the BIG EAST Conference:
“It’s not going to be like this every night. Seton Hall is a really good team and we still have 17 games left. Every one of them is going to be a battle. So we have to get prepared for them.”
On his first BIG EAST game since missing all of last year’s conference games after his knee injury:
“It feels good just to get out here and play in the BIG EAST again. In my freshman and sophomore years, it was great just to be a part of it. Getting to be a part of it again feels good.”
Rick Jackson, Sophomore, Center
On the first BIG EAST game of the year:
“It was a lot of fun. We were out there having fun. Seton Hall played hard, but we just played harder than them.”
On whether he expected the final score:
“We can’t take anyone lightly. We just have to get ready for the next game and play hard.”
On how it helps the big guys when the guards are hitting three-pointers:
“That’s a lot of fun because then we don’t have to go down and get the rebound. We just get to run back.”
On whether the return of Eric Devendorf gives the team the feeling that it has the rotation set:
“We have shooters now. We can go down low. We can drive. We can pretty much do what we want. We just have to play together. We can win that way.”
On the style of play and scoring 100 points:
“We just have to go out there and keep playing hard. We can’t let up. We can’t take anyone lightly.”
Andy Rautins, Junior, Guard
On shooting the ball well in back-to-back games:
“It feels pretty good. The guys did a great job of getting in the lane and finding me. Transition buckets were pretty easy tonight, too. I give all the credit to my teammates for getting me those looks.”
On whether it’s easier to get the open look on the three-pointer in transition than in the set offense:
“It’s huge because they have to worry about Jonny (Flynn). They have to worry about Paul (Harris). They don’t want to give up a layup so the perimeter is open on that. That’s easy buckets for us. On the half court set, the guys did a good job of setting double screens for me. We just played well.”
On his and Eric Devendorf’s shooting:
“It was great to see Eric get hot in his first game back. We wanted to run some plays for him to get him back in game mode. He came out hot and he kept stroking it. We all played unselfishly tonight. I think that’s what we have to do.”
On whether he was surprised at Eric Devendorf’s performance:
“I wasn’t surprised. I know he probably kept his cardio up during the time off. When he came back to practice, he was going full throttle. I expect nothing less from him. He’s going to continue to do good things for us.”
On the score of the game:
“I think we just played really well offensively. We had a lot of turnovers again, and that can’t happen. Defensively, in the first half, we let them in the lane in the man-to-man defense. We got to their main guy for the most part. Our offense really carried us tonight. I don’t think you can take any game lightly in the BIG EAST. We have to go down to South Florida next. They beat us last year. So we have to avenge that loss.”
On whether the memory of last year’s loss to USF is a reminder to not take any conference opponent lightly:
“Every night is a war. They have a better squad than they did last year. We have to bring our A game.”
Syracuse vs. Seton Hall
December 30, 2008
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Eric Devendorf, Senior, Guard
On how he was able to get his rhythm back after missing the last two games:
“It’s tough when you miss a couple of weeks and playing in a real game. You really can’t determine what is going to happen in the game. My teammates helped me a lot by getting me the ball early and getting me into the flow of things. I thank Jonny (Flynn) and Andy (Rautins) for that. Once it started rolling, it kept going. It felt good.”
On the barrage of three-pointers:
“When things are going like that, it’s good for everybody. Then we get pumped up on the defensive end. We get stops. Whenever that happens, it gives a lot of momentum to the whole team. I think that’s what happened tonight.”
On the strength of the BIG EAST Conference:
“It’s not going to be like this every night. Seton Hall is a really good team and we still have 17 games left. Every one of them is going to be a battle. So we have to get prepared for them.”
On his first BIG EAST game since missing all of last year’s conference games after his knee injury:
“It feels good just to get out here and play in the BIG EAST again. In my freshman and sophomore years, it was great just to be a part of it. Getting to be a part of it again feels good.”
Rick Jackson, Sophomore, Center
On the first BIG EAST game of the year:
“It was a lot of fun. We were out there having fun. Seton Hall played hard, but we just played harder than them.”
On whether he expected the final score:
“We can’t take anyone lightly. We just have to get ready for the next game and play hard.”
On how it helps the big guys when the guards are hitting three-pointers:
“That’s a lot of fun because then we don’t have to go down and get the rebound. We just get to run back.”
On whether the return of Eric Devendorf gives the team the feeling that it has the rotation set:
“We have shooters now. We can go down low. We can drive. We can pretty much do what we want. We just have to play together. We can win that way.”
On the style of play and scoring 100 points:
“We just have to go out there and keep playing hard. We can’t let up. We can’t take anyone lightly.”
Andy Rautins, Junior, Guard
On shooting the ball well in back-to-back games:
“It feels pretty good. The guys did a great job of getting in the lane and finding me. Transition buckets were pretty easy tonight, too. I give all the credit to my teammates for getting me those looks.”
On whether it’s easier to get the open look on the three-pointer in transition than in the set offense:
“It’s huge because they have to worry about Jonny (Flynn). They have to worry about Paul (Harris). They don’t want to give up a layup so the perimeter is open on that. That’s easy buckets for us. On the half court set, the guys did a good job of setting double screens for me. We just played well.”
On his and Eric Devendorf’s shooting:
“It was great to see Eric get hot in his first game back. We wanted to run some plays for him to get him back in game mode. He came out hot and he kept stroking it. We all played unselfishly tonight. I think that’s what we have to do.”
On whether he was surprised at Eric Devendorf’s performance:
“I wasn’t surprised. I know he probably kept his cardio up during the time off. When he came back to practice, he was going full throttle. I expect nothing less from him. He’s going to continue to do good things for us.”
On the score of the game:
“I think we just played really well offensively. We had a lot of turnovers again, and that can’t happen. Defensively, in the first half, we let them in the lane in the man-to-man defense. We got to their main guy for the most part. Our offense really carried us tonight. I don’t think you can take any game lightly in the BIG EAST. We have to go down to South Florida next. They beat us last year. So we have to avenge that loss.”
On whether the memory of last year’s loss to USF is a reminder to not take any conference opponent lightly:
“Every night is a war. They have a better squad than they did last year. We have to bring our A game.”
