Coach Boeheim Quotes
Opening remarks:
“Obviously we’re so pleased to be back in the tournament. You don’t realize how much you miss the tournament until you’ve missed it. We’re really pleased with what’s happened in the last two weeks. I think the committee obviously took into account the games that we’ve played and quality wins that we’ve had, particularly Memphis and Kansas, and the way we finished with Marquette West Virginia, and Connecticut. We’ve had five or six wins against the top 25 in the country and that was taken into consideration. We’re thrilled to be in the tournament. We’d be happy to be playing anywhere. It’s nice to be going to Miami, but we’re just happy to be playing and looking forward to the challenge ahead of us. We’ve got until Friday. I think we’d be ready Thursday, but it’s okay to play Friday, too.”
On what is known about Stephen F. Austin:
“We’ll find out. You’re not playing a 16th-seed, you’re playing somebody that can beat you. We’ll get tapes and have tapes by tomorrow. By Tuesday we’ll have a good idea of what we need to know.”
“We’ll find out. You’re not playing a 16th-seed, you’re playing somebody that can beat you. We’ll get tapes and have tapes by tomorrow. By Tuesday we’ll have a good idea of what we need to know.”
On having an extra day:
“I think we’ll be fine. I think we’d be fine by Thursday but Friday is good, too.”
“I think we’ll be fine. I think we’d be fine by Thursday but Friday is good, too.”
On being a 3rd-seed:
“I think the committee took into account who we beat. I don’t think there are many teams who beat five teams in the top 25 down where we are. Memphis was a road game and Kansas really was a road game as well. Then [we beat] Marquette and came back and beat Connecticut and West Virginia again. I think we beat six teams in the top 25, and with our RPI, that’s what was taken into consideration.”
“I think the committee took into account who we beat. I don’t think there are many teams who beat five teams in the top 25 down where we are. Memphis was a road game and Kansas really was a road game as well. Then [we beat] Marquette and came back and beat Connecticut and West Virginia again. I think we beat six teams in the top 25, and with our RPI, that’s what was taken into consideration.”
On the importance of playing games like Memphis and Kansas:
“I think you have to beat them, that’s the danger of playing tough teams -- you really have to beat them. If you don’t beat them, you're not going to get in. You have to beat somebody that’s good."
“I think you have to beat them, that’s the danger of playing tough teams -- you really have to beat them. If you don’t beat them, you're not going to get in. You have to beat somebody that’s good."
On older players who are finally getting the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament:
“I think it’s great for these guys. Obviously, we were tremendously disappointed the last two years and you just have to be happy to get this opportunity again. I think sometimes you get spoiled and you think it’s easy to get in and it’s not easy to get in. It’s getting harder and harder every year.”
“I think it’s great for these guys. Obviously, we were tremendously disappointed the last two years and you just have to be happy to get this opportunity again. I think sometimes you get spoiled and you think it’s easy to get in and it’s not easy to get in. It’s getting harder and harder every year.”
On what he misses about being in the tournament:
“You play to get in the NCAA tournament, really that’s the key. A lot of people have this misconception that you have to this game or win some games. It’s hard to win in the NCAA; it’s hard to win in the BIG EAST. We have two number one seeds who didn’t win the BIG EAST this year -- who didn’t win a game in the BIG EAST Tournament. It’s not that easy; it’s real hard to win in the NCAA no matter who you play. We’re playing well, and we’ve played well before and gone into the tournament and struggled. You just never know what’s going to happen. Ironically we’ve gone to the Final Four three times and we didn’t win the BIG EAST Tournament any one of those three times. The five times we won, we didn’t get to the Final Four. You just never know what’s going to happen when you get into this next tournament. We’ll be rested by Friday, and this is the best we’ve played. We started out playing pretty well this year, but I really believe this is by far the best we’ve played during the end of this year. The St. John’s game and Cincinnati game, we played just tremendously. We played tremendous basketball at Marquette. We had one brief turnover stretch there, but Marquette proved how good they were in New York -- they were one play away from beating Villanova and Villanova’s a three-seed. We played great against Louisville -- really the best first half we’ve played all year. We’re ready to go. We’re looking forward to it.”
“You play to get in the NCAA tournament, really that’s the key. A lot of people have this misconception that you have to this game or win some games. It’s hard to win in the NCAA; it’s hard to win in the BIG EAST. We have two number one seeds who didn’t win the BIG EAST this year -- who didn’t win a game in the BIG EAST Tournament. It’s not that easy; it’s real hard to win in the NCAA no matter who you play. We’re playing well, and we’ve played well before and gone into the tournament and struggled. You just never know what’s going to happen. Ironically we’ve gone to the Final Four three times and we didn’t win the BIG EAST Tournament any one of those three times. The five times we won, we didn’t get to the Final Four. You just never know what’s going to happen when you get into this next tournament. We’ll be rested by Friday, and this is the best we’ve played. We started out playing pretty well this year, but I really believe this is by far the best we’ve played during the end of this year. The St. John’s game and Cincinnati game, we played just tremendously. We played tremendous basketball at Marquette. We had one brief turnover stretch there, but Marquette proved how good they were in New York -- they were one play away from beating Villanova and Villanova’s a three-seed. We played great against Louisville -- really the best first half we’ve played all year. We’re ready to go. We’re looking forward to it.”
On the team’s health:
“We should be fine, by Friday we’ll be good.”
“We should be fine, by Friday we’ll be good.”
On reflecting on the BIG EAST Tournament:
“The Connecticut game is a historic game. I’ve gotten phone calls from all over the country, from all over the basketball world, and it’s a historic game. I think another thing is you can have a game like that and a lot of times those kinds of games aren’t on television. This was a Saturday night game, John Feinstein called me, I usually don’t quote him, and he was at the ACC tournament. By 11:30, everyone in the press room was watching the game cheering. I mean literally the whole way, and when the game was over they were all clapping. That just doesn't happen. It’s a historic game. A lot of times there are historic things, but if no one’s watching they just kind of hear about; it doesn’t have the same impact. You know so many people were watching -- I have no idea how many, but anybody who likes sports and gets home at 11 o'clock usually turns on ESPN to see what’s happening. I imagine there was a huge number or people watching that. Great games don’t have to be defined as a National Championship or for a regional, that’s different; it’s a different category almost. There are great games for winning tournaments, but there is also a category for just great games period. In that category, I don’t think there’s a better game as far as the entire spectrum of a game. It was a very well-played game. The shooting percentage early was a little bit low because both teams were playing great defense. Obviously as you get a little more tired, the defense is going to weaken a little bit. Connecticut is a great defensive team. They probably force 16 or 17 turnovers a game and we had [about] 16 for literally two games that were five or ten minutes short of two games, so it was a well-played game. There is no question in my mind that people will be talking about that game for the next 20 years. People will be talking about that game, so it was great to be part of it -- great to win it, but just great to be part of it, too. “
“The Connecticut game is a historic game. I’ve gotten phone calls from all over the country, from all over the basketball world, and it’s a historic game. I think another thing is you can have a game like that and a lot of times those kinds of games aren’t on television. This was a Saturday night game, John Feinstein called me, I usually don’t quote him, and he was at the ACC tournament. By 11:30, everyone in the press room was watching the game cheering. I mean literally the whole way, and when the game was over they were all clapping. That just doesn't happen. It’s a historic game. A lot of times there are historic things, but if no one’s watching they just kind of hear about; it doesn’t have the same impact. You know so many people were watching -- I have no idea how many, but anybody who likes sports and gets home at 11 o'clock usually turns on ESPN to see what’s happening. I imagine there was a huge number or people watching that. Great games don’t have to be defined as a National Championship or for a regional, that’s different; it’s a different category almost. There are great games for winning tournaments, but there is also a category for just great games period. In that category, I don’t think there’s a better game as far as the entire spectrum of a game. It was a very well-played game. The shooting percentage early was a little bit low because both teams were playing great defense. Obviously as you get a little more tired, the defense is going to weaken a little bit. Connecticut is a great defensive team. They probably force 16 or 17 turnovers a game and we had [about] 16 for literally two games that were five or ten minutes short of two games, so it was a well-played game. There is no question in my mind that people will be talking about that game for the next 20 years. People will be talking about that game, so it was great to be part of it -- great to win it, but just great to be part of it, too. “
On the whole team being the story:
“Everybody played well. Jonny [Flynn] played great; he had a great tournament. Eric [Devendorf] was unbelievable; he set the scoring record, I didn’t realize that. Andy [Rautins] hit a couple huge shots to keep the game going. Kristof [Ongenaet] was tremendous in New York. The big guys played well; Paul [Harris] was unbelievable against Connecticut. It was a total team effort, absolutely.”
“Everybody played well. Jonny [Flynn] played great; he had a great tournament. Eric [Devendorf] was unbelievable; he set the scoring record, I didn’t realize that. Andy [Rautins] hit a couple huge shots to keep the game going. Kristof [Ongenaet] was tremendous in New York. The big guys played well; Paul [Harris] was unbelievable against Connecticut. It was a total team effort, absolutely.”
On Kristof Ongenaet hitting the court against Louisville:
“Unless they killed him, he’d get up and play. That’s the bottom line.”
“Unless they killed him, he’d get up and play. That’s the bottom line.”
On whether the lack of NCAA Tournament experience from the players is a factor:
“I think once you get in there and the first game,I don’t think Stephen F. Austin has a player that has played in the tournament either, so after that, we will have played in it. We’ve played in a lot of big games -- a lot of tough games, so I think we’ll be ready for that. I don’t think that’s an issue.”
“I think once you get in there and the first game,I don’t think Stephen F. Austin has a player that has played in the tournament either, so after that, we will have played in it. We’ve played in a lot of big games -- a lot of tough games, so I think we’ll be ready for that. I don’t think that’s an issue.”
On the BIG EAST getting three number one seeds:
“I thought it was hard not to because of the way things shook out at the end. Oklahoma lost two or three down the stretch. Louisville was kind of like us. They weren’t a number one until they went to New York. I think Pittsburgh and Connecticut were already number one seeds. I don’t think you could get them out of there. Louisville just played its way to where you couldn’t argue, and the only teams that could have changed that were Michigan State and they got beat. Oklahoma got beat, Kansas got beat. I think eight of the top 10 teams got beat in the last week or so in conference tournament play, so it opened it up. I don’t think it’s a surprise. We knew we’d have two number one seeds for a long time, and the way Louisville finished, they certainly deserved the number one seed -- they’re the number one seed overall. Villanova got a three-seed and Marquette still got a good seed. West Virginia still got a good seed. If Georgetown or Notre Dame had done anything at the end of the year, they would have gotten into the tournament just based on conference play and the wins they had.”
“I thought it was hard not to because of the way things shook out at the end. Oklahoma lost two or three down the stretch. Louisville was kind of like us. They weren’t a number one until they went to New York. I think Pittsburgh and Connecticut were already number one seeds. I don’t think you could get them out of there. Louisville just played its way to where you couldn’t argue, and the only teams that could have changed that were Michigan State and they got beat. Oklahoma got beat, Kansas got beat. I think eight of the top 10 teams got beat in the last week or so in conference tournament play, so it opened it up. I don’t think it’s a surprise. We knew we’d have two number one seeds for a long time, and the way Louisville finished, they certainly deserved the number one seed -- they’re the number one seed overall. Villanova got a three-seed and Marquette still got a good seed. West Virginia still got a good seed. If Georgetown or Notre Dame had done anything at the end of the year, they would have gotten into the tournament just based on conference play and the wins they had.”
On relevance of post season tournaments:
“I think they can help you. In some cases, I think they can hurt you a little bit. I think they give you an opportunity to help yourself whether you’re on the bubble. Obviously a team like Mississippi State got in the tournament because they won it.”
“I think they can help you. In some cases, I think they can hurt you a little bit. I think they give you an opportunity to help yourself whether you’re on the bubble. Obviously a team like Mississippi State got in the tournament because they won it.”
