Student-Athlete Quotes
Student Athlete Quotes
Syracuse vs. Cincinnati
Carrier Dome--Syracuse, NY
January 15, 2011
Fab Melo, Freshman, Center
You received a standing ovation from the crowd today, how did that feel?
“It feels very good, I’ve been struggling lately. But today I felt confident. I was playing defense and making plays. I felt really confident today.”
Do you think this is a tribute to the work you have been putting in during practice lately?
“I have been working really hard lately. I’ve been going out before and after practice to work. I’ve been working really hard and today everything felt different.”
You started the second half with a sequence that included a block and a dunk. Do you remember what you were thinking during all that?
“The thing I do the best is block shots. They tried to dunk on me, like a lot of people do. But when people try to dunk on me I say ‘No.’ I had a lot of fun in there blocking shots.”
You haven’t really been able to smile all season, you finally did today, how did it feel?
“I felt really good today. I’m sure the next game it’s going to get even better.”
Scoop Jardine, Junior, Guard
Did you expect this undefeated start from the team at the beginning of the year?
“Not really. Only thing I can really say is that we all knew we had a good basketball team. We were young though. I knew if we followed our leader, which is Coach Boehiem. If we follow him and do what he wants us to do, we’ll become a great basketball team.”
Can you talk about the contributions of the secondary guys, like C.J. Fair, Dion Waiters, and James Southerland?
“It’s great. We have a deep bench. We haven’t really had that in previous years. We play nine or ten guys every game now. That can only help us. Southerland can come in and make shots. Fair can off at any time. Waiters can definitely go off at any time. We got a different look than we’ve ever really had before. It takes pressure of Rick Jackson, Kris Joseph, and myself. We have a team that can compete down the stretch in March.”
What was the difference between the first half and the second half when you guys went on that big run?
“Defending Dion Dixon. He was making some Jimmer Fredette threes today. He was absolutely knocking them down. We had to defend him. Once we did a great job of running him off his spot, we opened the game up. Even in the first half, they couldn’t defend us. We just had to stop them. Once we did that, it opened right up.”
Brandon Triche, Sophmore, Guard
Can you talk about playing in the environment that Pittsburgh will present Monday night?
“It is definitely a true away game. I don’t expect to see too much orange in the stands. Blue and gold will be in full effect Monday night. I’ve heard Pittsburgh is one of the toughest places to play in the country. I haven’t experienced anything like that yet. Definitely going to be a great test for us.”
Fab Melo was having some fun today, is that what the team needs?
“Exactly what we needed. I love to see him play well. Once he started playing well, it even made me smile. It’s a thing we all thought that he would be doing every game. This is just a sample of what he can do. He had four blocks. Coming into the year, I really expected him to average that every game. He can play.”
They kept hitting those threes in spurts; it seemed to really test your defense today. What did it take to stop them?
“We are a much better team in the second half because we tend to adjust to what they’re doing. If they’re making a lot of threes we have to make sure to get out on the shooters. Once we stop their game plan that is when we go on our runs. I think we went on a 16-0 run to start the half. If we can do that, we’re going to win a lot of games. We need to focus on stopping their game plan a little bit earlier though.”
