Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse vs. Rutgers
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Carrier Dome/Syracuse, N.Y.
Opening Statement:
“I thought they got the ball out on the high post and got it to the shooters and we just didn’t adjust to it right away. But after they got 16 right away and then they got four for the rest of the half because we adjusted defensively. So that the set they were in, we took away the wing pass and then it was a matter of us getting to our offense. I don’t think we had as bad a shooting night in a long time, maybe years since I’ve seen a night where we couldn’t get a basket. We made 10 turnovers in the first half. Part of that is getting off two easy games where everything kind of goes right. And when things don’t go right you start thinking about it. But our defense was good enough to hold us in there until Andy [Rautins] got a few good looks. The first look he got was off the set play, it was a hard shot, but he made it. Then he got two good looks and made them and that kind of broke the game open.
“I thought they got the ball out on the high post and got it to the shooters and we just didn’t adjust to it right away. But after they got 16 right away and then they got four for the rest of the half because we adjusted defensively. So that the set they were in, we took away the wing pass and then it was a matter of us getting to our offense. I don’t think we had as bad a shooting night in a long time, maybe years since I’ve seen a night where we couldn’t get a basket. We made 10 turnovers in the first half. Part of that is getting off two easy games where everything kind of goes right. And when things don’t go right you start thinking about it. But our defense was good enough to hold us in there until Andy [Rautins] got a few good looks. The first look he got was off the set play, it was a hard shot, but he made it. Then he got two good looks and made them and that kind of broke the game open.
“The significant thing for me is that Jonny [Flynn] and Eric [Devendorf] have been averaging 35 a game and they have probably been over 40 between the two of them, and we lost a lot of games. We won some of them too, but tonight, those two guys getting 10 points and for us to win by 30 is a tremendous accomplishment. This was Paul’s [Harris] best game in a long time and I thought that Arinze [Onuaku] was really good in the second half defensively and on the boards. I thought that Kristof [Ongenaet] has been really good rebounding all year and tonight he looked for his offense a little bit, made it to the basket and made a couple really good plays. This was a tremendous defensive effort.”
On playing Marquette Saturday:
“We have to take a day off and then we got a couple days to get ready for Marquette. I don’t think that they’ve lost at home this year. They are a very difficult team for us to play. Their pressure is good and it will be a tough test for us, but we are ready for it.”
“We have to take a day off and then we got a couple days to get ready for Marquette. I don’t think that they’ve lost at home this year. They are a very difficult team for us to play. Their pressure is good and it will be a tough test for us, but we are ready for it.”
On why the team was so joyful at the end of the game:
“I think our players love the guys coming off the bench, JT [Justin Thomas] and Jake [Presutti]. They weren’t celebrating the win, they were celebrating those guys getting in there and playing.”
“I think our players love the guys coming off the bench, JT [Justin Thomas] and Jake [Presutti]. They weren’t celebrating the win, they were celebrating those guys getting in there and playing.”
On the BIG EAST season:
“It is a long grind this season and in this league it is a heck of a grind. Three or four of us had really, really hard stretches with the imbalanced schedule. They weren’t able to survive it. They weren’t able to beat St. John’s or teams like Cincinnati, teams they had to beat to keep it going. If they just turned a couple of those games around, they’d be where we are. We were able to regain our balance. You are going to lose to Connecticut, lose to Pittsburgh, those are difficult places [to play]. Louisville can beat you. Villanova to me is a top 10 team. Our five loses in the league are to five of the best teams in the country.“
“It is a long grind this season and in this league it is a heck of a grind. Three or four of us had really, really hard stretches with the imbalanced schedule. They weren’t able to survive it. They weren’t able to beat St. John’s or teams like Cincinnati, teams they had to beat to keep it going. If they just turned a couple of those games around, they’d be where we are. We were able to regain our balance. You are going to lose to Connecticut, lose to Pittsburgh, those are difficult places [to play]. Louisville can beat you. Villanova to me is a top 10 team. Our five loses in the league are to five of the best teams in the country.“
