Student-Athlete Quotes
Student-Athlete Quotes
Syracuse vs. St. Francis (N.Y.)
December 13, 2009
Carrier Dome- Syracuse, N.Y.
Andy Rautins, Senior, Guard
On the team’s play in the first half
“We definitely had to focus more. We set a goal early to hold them to a low scoring margin and we didn’t accomplish that goal. The second half, we came out more fired up and we realized what we had to do at the half. We knew it was going to be a bit of a let-down from last game but we still wanted to maintain the high energy on defense and we did a better job in the second half.”
On maintaining energy after the Florida game
“It’s tough but with a team like this, it’s not that hard. The first half we let ourselves down a little bit. We did a much better job of coming out fired up in the second half. We were still a little sloppy at the end too but you’re always going to have games like that.”
On Wes Johnson playing center in the second half
“We can go with a small lineup like that too and we’re still really athletic. We can rebound the ball and go on runs. Guys are getting steals and getting it into the lane too. I don’t know if we’ll see that lineup a lot but it’s good to know it will still work.”
Brandon Triche, Freshman, Guard
On the team being 10-0
“It means a lot. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, as long as we keep winning.”
On the team’s unselfish play
“We’ve been very unselfish. We have confidence in each and every player that they can score. It’s really showing on the scoreboard too with so many different guys being our leading scorers.”
On Rick Jackson’s play
“He’s been playing real tough. Definitely getting the offensive boards that we’ve needed. Early in the season, we weren’t getting as many but him being a monster on the boards is definitely helping us out. Just him going hard is helping him get points too.”
Wes Johnson, Junior, Forward
On what he contributes to the team
“I think if I can go out there and help the team out by getting steals and being vocal then that’s what I’m going to do. I want to win and I’m going to do everything I can do to help our team win.”
On beating ranked teams
“It really helps us out knowing that we have those three wins against those teams. With these early games we can work on a lot of stuff and have people come off the bench to help us out. It’s good to work our kinks out before we start playing the BIG EAST.”
On the week-long break coming up for the team
“Coach just talked about the week of practice we have coming up and how we can’t lose our edge going into the game next Saturday. All the work we’ll do in practice will also help us out when we start playing the BIG EAST. We’re going to go into practice focused and work on the things that we need to work on.”
