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Head Coach Quentin Hillsman Quotes
Syracuse vs. Delaware State
December 22, 2009
Carrier Dome – Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Quentin Hillsman
Opening Statement:
"It was a great defensive game. I thought our kids came out in the second half and really competed. The first half was a little frustrating. (Delaware State head coach) Ed (Davis) did a really good job of controlling the tempo. I thought that we had to buckle down and be patient. It's very easy to get impatient when the score is 2-0 with 15 minutes left in the first half and start running around and start chasing and start scrambling. I thought hopefully we will eventually score some points and we could get up and start pressing. We knew that this was a team we could get out and pressure. Obviously it worked really well. I'm pleased with our effort. I thought overall, Coach Mary (Grimes) did a good job of scouting them because they didn't throw anything at us we didn't expect.
Ed (Davis) and I are very good friends. I respect him a lot. He's done a great deal in this game. He's a great coach, a mentor. I grew up watching him coach in the Maryland area. It was a tough game for me. It's one of those things where, after the game, we were joking because a couple of years ago we played them and we were up by 20-some points. After the last media timeout, he came out and pressed us. That's what we were talking about. I said 'Ed, you pressed us again'. He said they were trying to work on things. It's one of the light moments in basketball when you play a friend and have competition. You also understand it's still a game and friendship is important. He's a great friend. These kinds of games are tough and I just wanted our kids to compete. We had some goals – holding them to less than 40 points and we did that, and allowing them 12 or less offensive rebounds and we did that. We just had a solid game."
On the difference in intensity between the first and second half and what he said to the team at halftime:
"I told them we weren't going home for Christmas (laughing). I told them to call their parents and get plan B together because we aren't going to come out with a lack of effort. I thought a lot of it was due to a lack of effort."
On whether the layoff between games was a factor in the slow start:
"No question. We still scrimmaged and got up and down the court pretty well in practice. We had a great shoot around today. Layoffs are tough. We worked on defense and guarding ball screens this whole week, and I thought we did a very good of doing that. We really emphasized rebounding. Twelve (offensive rebounds) is a lot. We went through the top 10 teams in the country and the average of the top 10 teams in the country is allowing 12 offensive rebounds or less. Our goal is to be one of the top teams in the country. So that's our mark in every game. The last two games, we've hit it and we've been very successful."
On what he was pleased with during today's game:
"I thought our young kids came in and played well again. I thought Carmen (Tyson-Thomas) and Kayla (Alexander) played really well. Lynnae Lampkins played great too. It's good to watch that. When you watch the young kids play, you know that two or three years down the road you have a good crop of kids as a foundation for your program. Every game they play better and better. Erica (Morrow) and Slinky (Nicole Michael) will be fine. They will step up and do what they do at conference time. I have no concerns about them at all. Our young kids are playing really well and that is very encouraging."
On the importance of being 10-0 this season:
"I think it's huge because what happens is, you can get in these games and you can be sloppy and you cannot play your best basketball. I try to be realistic. Even though we had 22 turnovers, which are too many, I thought defensively, we were very good. Our turnovers were effort turnovers. We were pushing the ball and trying to push the tempo. When you have Tasha (Harris) double dribbling, she doesn't do that. She's one of the top 10 players in the country in assist/turnover ratio. That's not her. When you have something like that, you live with them and chalk them up to effort. I think the biggest thing is just to continue to compete and hopefully win basketball games."
On whether there is anything else he can ask for for Christmas:
"All you can ask for is to have a healthy team, to win basketball games and come back and watch Coach Boeheim win again tonight. What else can you ask for – it's a great day."
On how the team is improving against its non-conference opponents:
"I think we're playing very well. I think that a month-and-a-half down the road no one will call these teams weaker opponents when they are winning their conferences and they are in their conference championships. I guarantee it because when you look at Delaware State, they are picked at the top of their conference. When you look at the Old Dominions and Butlers, those are great programs. I chalk it up to we are healthy and we are playing very well. I don't chalk it up to our opponents and how they are. Sometimes it's just you are playing really well. I look at more as how we are playing as opposed to how they are playing."
