William & Mary Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Sunday, November 21, 2010
SU vs. William & Mary
Carrier Dome
Coach Boeheim’s press conference
Opening Statement:
"The last three games that we played, teams are obviously playing zone against us and they’re taking the whole shot clock. What’s happened the last two games is the team took the shot clock in their hands, so what turned out was in reality that we missed open shots and sooner or later teams are going to make shots.
William & Mary is a very good shooting team. I thought our defense was better in some ways tonight than it has been, but sooner or later teams are going to make some shots against us. The disappointing part for me is that in the first half we got pretty good movement, we really weren’t making many shots. We were getting the ball inside, we were making some plays and we had a 10- or 12-point lead. We made a couple defensive mistakes and then we stopped offensively. We just didn’t do anything and sooner or later that’s going to catch up with you. Even in this game, we forced 20 turnovers and we only turned it over eight times. We had 18 assists, but we really have to make some shots.
These teams are difficult to play against; they’re holding the ball, they’re playing zone and the more games we play like this, the more teams are going to be playing zone against us. I think we are quite a bit better offensively against man-to-man than we are against zones, but right now we are going to see zones against a lot of teams whether they usually play zone or not. We’re going to have to find a way to put the ball in the basket either way. You have to be able to score. I thought William & Mary played smart, they played a good game, they hit some shots when they needed to and at the end of the game we made a good play. They missed the front end and we made the front end. We made a big free throw and then we made another good defensive play at the other end. We made a couple free throws, but missed three and you can’t miss those. Offensively we have to get better."
Can you talk about the offense and what they need to do to get better?
"Yes, the ball needs to get in the basket. Five out of 22 (3-Pointers) -- all 22 were good shots. We weren’t going to get it inside much because every time we did there were five guys back in there. Scoop (Jardine) is feeling that he has to score, which is probably true because we aren’t really scoring in our positions. Guys are getting opportunities.
Dion (Waiters) had some good first half minutes. He’s not quite as good defensively yet as we need him to be, but he made a couple of good plays in the first half and he is getting better. Fab (Melo) has to be able to stop that post guy in a man-to-man situation and right now he’s just not quite ready to do that. We’ve played four games and there’s a lot of basketball left to be played. Obviously we have to get a lot better. We have a whole new look and we’re not anywhere near the team that we need to be. No matter how many times I say it, I don’t think anybody is listening; we had six veteran guys last year out of seven and this year we don’t. We had two great 3-point shooters last year and this year we don’t."
Is the reality setting in that this is where the team is at?
"Right now the reality is that we are not a very good basketball team. That is what I said three games ago and I don’t think we changed my mind today. I said that the other day and we won by 20; it is not what you win by, it’s how you play. We’re not playing good basketball, we haven’t played good basketball, and we’re obviously not shooting the ball well. The only thing we’re doing is we’re not making a lot of turnovers and our defense has been okay. But we should be doing a better job on the boards. Most people don’t make a judgment on your team until you lose. Coaches have to make that judgment long before you lose.
Is Fab (Melo) overwhelmed? Are there a lot of things coming at him right now?
"He hasn’t played that much basketball. The center spot is difficult for us to play. He is struggling with his defense and it is definitely going to take some time. These teams are different from a lot of really, really good teams that we’re going to play. Sometimes you can have a harder time with a team like this than a team that’s in the top 10 in the country because of the style of playing. Their style of play was very difficult for us because we are a zone team."
What were you saying to Fab (Melo) when you pulled him aside on the bench when he came out of the game?
"I was trying to tell him that he has to get his feet in position a little better and other simple little things that he’s not doing right that he has to do. Baye (Moussa Keita) is quick and he moves; he came out and made a play and then went back in and blocked a shot on the same play. But there are going to be games when we need the physical strength of Fab (Melo) to get some of the post players that we play against on a regular basis in the BIG EAST. The 6'9", 250-60 pound guys—those are different games and it is really hard to even judge your team based on what you’re doing in this game because it is totally different. The thing I’m upset about right now is that we’ve got to shoot the ball better."
Do you think the team would play up to bigger, tougher opponents?
"No, it has nothing to do with who we’re playing; it’s how we’re playing. The last few games we were up two, down three. If we would have come out and made two or three three-pointers in the second half—game over. Well we couldn’t do that tonight. Kris Joseph had three wide-open threes. Brandon (Triche) had a wide-open three, Dion (Waiters) had two wide-open threes. They’re giving you that shot and then there are five guys there to recover it, so you really have to make those shots. We have three days to practice and then we see Michigan. They play great zone and man-to-man, so I’m sure we’ll see zone there. We have to move the ball better and knock down some shots. We’re playing hard, we’re trying and we’re not making any bad shots. We have to keep doing what we’re doing and keep working on what we’re working on. I think at this stage of the year, if you don’t have a veteran team there are going to be some struggles. I watched North Carolina the other night and they have the number one freshman in the country, but he was 0-13, and they lost. That’s what happens when a young player doesn’t get going and it happens when you don’t have a lot of veteran players. The veteran guys have to step up and play better and then I think the other guys will go in and play okay, but we have to get those four guys playing a little bit better."
