Coach Boeheim Postgame Quotes
vs. UConn
Syracuse vs. Connecticut
February 10, 2010
Carrier Dome - Syracuse, N.Y.
Opening Statement:
"There is no doubt in my mind on how important Andy (Rautins) is to our basketball team. When he was out of the game we lost complete focus of what to do on offense. We had to gamble and get it back in there. He came right back in and made a couple of huge plays right away and got us established. Connecticut is not going to give up. They have a tremendously talented group. Dyson (Jerome) and Walker (Kemba) and Stanley Robinson are tremendous players. Their big guys are good. Edwards (Gavin) is a senior. They did what I was afraid of in the second half. They got on the boards and just killed us on the boards, 12 rebounds. That was the game, we couldn't defensive rebound. First half we didn't get back well. The second half was all defensive rebounding. Our defense was great except for the transitioning. In the first half we had 13 turnovers at half-time, which is crazy. We were very fortunate to win because they made a great comeback. We haven't been in a close game at the end. DePaul we were up four. We haven't been in a game where it has been tied this late in the game. Wes (Johnson) making those two free throws is big. We finally got one defensive rebound in the second half on Dyson's miss and then Kris (Joseph) made his two free throws. You have to make those kinds of plays to win games like this. I thought those four free throws were huge. It was one of those games. In the second half we played really well getting the ball inside, but didn't capitalize inside. Two or three times we missed some shots around the basket. Part of that is because they are the best shot blocking team in the country. Today we had a good night blocking shots.
I thought Walker (Kemba) was tremendous. He made two or three really hard shots in the lane. Dyson (Jerome) made a couple big threes. They are a very good team. George (Blaney) has done a great job with their team. George Blaney is a tremendous coach, but without Jim (Calhoun) being there. Jim Calhoun is one of the best coaches ever coached in college basketball. I don't mean now, I mean period. For him not being here, it was a tremendous lost. I thought their kids played great, missing a coach the caliber of Jim Calhoun. People don't mention him that much when they talk about great coaches. Taking a program from the yankee conference to the top of college basket than anybody else has ever done at any school. If you look at the other great programs they were great before the coaches got there. This guy has done an unbelievable job at Connecticut and for them to play this well with him not being there is a great tribute to George and the kids themselves.
We had them fourteen down and they hung in there and kept doing what they were doing. They got tougher on the boards and that is a weakness of ours that I think we definitely have. We have to be tougher around the basket rebounding. It was really important during that comeback. They really only hit one three that Dyson hit in the second half and the rest was all inside. We did not do a good job protecting the basket. This late in the season to not be in this tie game is unusual. I thought we responded down the stretch well."
Are Dyson and Walker the two fastest guards you have faced?
"They are great guards. They are tremendous players. Kemba (Walker) made some tough shots. He made some really tough shots in the lane. He made three in a row. We didn't do as good a job defensively as we need to. Dyson (Jerome) was going to hit one sooner or later. We did a good job on him the whole game. He got free for one off their offense. A four point lead, a lose ball and we didn't get it. He got a wide open three. We have to get those balls. We didn't get those balls. Very discouraging.
Why did you call timeout after Rick Jackson's offensive rebound?
"I saw Scoop with the ball. I didn't look at the rest of it, but I don't think I had to. I wondered where he was going, but he didn't know where he was going. That's why I called timeout. He is a young guard. He wants to try to win the game. You don't try to win the game with 35 seconds left when you can hold the ball until the last seconds. It could have been a good foul for them if Wes (Johnson) missed the free throws. It turned out it wasn't."
Was the long pass the game plan on the final play?
"Once and awhile we have a play, not often."
Was Wes Johnson's hand hurting him on the free throws?
"His hand was hurting. He toughed it out. He made them. Kris (Joseph) made them. That is what you have to do to win these games. You have to make a play and make free throws. It is not easy. Wes misses, they get the ball and they get the last shot."
What is your opinion of Connecticut's ten losses?
"I watched them early when they were right there and lost some games they could have won. The only game they were probably out of was Georgetown; they were up 19 down there. The Providence game they were right there and Providence hit a couple of shots and they had the game. Looking at there team, they have three guys, but they haven't been able to get somebody else in there. Edwards (Gavin) is playing good, but they haven't got that other guy. They haven't gotten that other guy to appear. I didn't think they were as tough as they have been until tonight. The second half, they worked it out. They pounded out on the boards. If we had a defensive rebound, the game would have been a 12, 14 point game. That is what Connecticut does. That is how they play when Jim's there. Walker (Kemba) got a rebound. Dyson (Jerome) got a rebound. They out toughed us down there. That is not good. I didn't think the whole game we were ever good on offense. Part of it is because Connecticut is a good defensive team. They did a great job on Andy. We felt that we needed to score inside. Rick (Jackson) did a good job. We had a spell where we didn't get things done inside, offensively. We missed some shots. Connecticut is a good basketball team. They are in this league. If you lose a game some place you shouldn’t. You can lose two, three, four games just like that. Pittsburgh played the best of anybody. They were 5-0 and then they lost three or four games out of five. They are really a good team. At the end of the year there are going to be a lot of teams that are good teams that are going to have nine or 10 losses. We have been fortunate that we got away a couple of times. That is what it takes. I feel this starts our toughest stretch. Louisville is a very good team. We have a lot of tough games left. Hopefully, it will help us continue to get better. We have a very difficult stretch of games ahead of us. Probably the toughest of all this year."
How did you mange to secure the win down the stretch?
"When we got tied we gave up the lead and we went to the foul line and made four straight free throws. If you miss them it is a different game. A different ending. You have to make those plays down the stretch and we made them."
Were you surprised that the team lost focus when Andy Rautins was out?
"No, not really. We tried to get it inside, but we didn't do a good job of it. We did get it in there. We got a couple of shots around the basket. We got it to Wes (Johnson) and he had a couple opportunities. We were not good on offense. With Andy out you have a freshman and a sophomore guard that have a lot to learn about the game. Given the scenario, it was very good to get out of here with a win. These are the kind of games that can easily get away from you when you lose that kind of lead and Connecticut has that kind of momentum. We made a couple good defensive plays when it was real close. A couple times we didn't get the rebound. We have to rebound the ball. That is something that concerns me coming out of this game. Although, Connecticut is a very good rebounding team. Given the focus and given what happened to make those shots coming down the stretch is a real good sign.
