Men’s Basketball Media Day 2010
“Syracuse lost a lot of players last year, starters. We need to help. We are going to be good this year.”
Brandon Triche:
How excited are you for another season?
I am really excited. I have one year under my belt, but I am definitely anxious and I am very excited to start playing again. I am more prepared for this season. Last year I came into the unknown, but now that I have been through the ropes I have a better understanding for what this season will be like.
What did u learn specifically from the NCAA tournament last year?
Don’t take anyone lightly. I think our first week we definitely played to our abilities even with AO down and then we got to the second round and Butler didn’t really stick out to us, but they had that amazing play and we didn’t take them lightly, but we didn’t focus as much on them as we should have.
What do you think of the BIG EAST?
It’s the best conference in the nation and it is going to be tough again this year. We play against the best teams. Villanova, West Virginia and Syracuse is coming we back strong. We are all going to be ranked within the top 10 this year and there are going to be battles every game, but this is what America wants to see -- great basketball .
Scoop Jardine
What is about the system at Syracuse that makes it so great?
Coach, hands down. He is a Hall of Fame Coach. He gives u a lot of freedom and lets us do a lot of different things. He thinks about and does what is best for the team and he is going to find out what is best for the team. At the end of the day coach knows best.
Do you guys have too many guards?
You can never have too many guards. I think we have a nice dynamic. We have guys that can do different things. Dion brings a lot of strong ability to the team we didn’t have last year and we have a lot of leaders. I’m confident we have a great group of players that are going to come together as a team.
How hard is going to be to replace leaders like Andy Rautins and AO?
It is going to be a big challenge. We had guys that were here for five years. They have been around for a long time and have been through college. They are grown men and it was easy for us to follow them. Their resumes speak for themselves. We have guys like Dion and Fab who are young and haven’t experienced this yet, but I remember how that was. I remember being in their shoes. We also have guys like Kris, Brandon Triche and I who have been through this before. Brandon was only a freshman last year, but he started 35 games so he has a lot of experience under his belt. I think we will do just fine and we are ready for these guys to follow us.
Kris Joseph:
What do you think it takes to be a great leader?
You just have to be doing the right thing all the time. You have to get the troops together and make sure they are doing the right things for us to stay eligible. We can’t have anyone getting in trouble on the court and we need to make sure they are doing the right things and are working hard in practice. Everyone has to be on the same page with no egos. We worked together so well last year because everyone stayed on the same page for the whole season and I think that is what it takes to be a good team.
Do you expect to be more vocal this year or to lead by example?
I definitely will do some talking, but I am not a vocal guy. I lead by example more than anything. I might send a text message out to the team that people don’t really hear, but everyone listens to what I say because I have been here for a while and they take what I say seriously.
Do you think you will be the focus of this year’s team?
Basketball is basketball. I am ready for whatever coach wants me to do. Whatever role he wants me to take on I will take on. We have a very supportive cast so I am sure we will help each other.
What have u worked on the most to get ready for that bigger role?
Well, I am probably going to have to take on a little more scoring so this summer I worked on my jump shot a lot just to make sure I can knock that down more consistently.
How is that coming along?
Pretty well. I focused on it a lot. I was out for three weeks because of my knee, but other than that I have been working on it consistently.
Are you comfortable in your new role?
Yes definitely. It is going to be different the first couple games, but I think by the time we get through preseason I will be ready to excel in that role.
