Syracuse vs. Albany Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse vs. Albany
November 15, 2011 – Carrier Dome
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Opening Statement:
“I thought we hit on the scouting report -- two guys we want to be careful of and be aware of and we held them to 51 so that was good. I thought last night we were active, we were ready to play and I thought we were moving the ball and getting it out on the court --just doing things in a very active way. Tonight from the beginning we weren’t really ready to go. James Southerland really saved the first half -- he made a bunch of shots or it probably would have been a real close game--that’s not the way you want to play, that’s not a good way to play. Hopefully we learned something from this game tonight.
We get a day off, we get a couple days of work, we go back into the gym and try to work on some things, and hopefully try to get better. These non-conference games are games we need to play to get better, not to win. Winning is not a thought, winning is just something you know you have to do -- but the reason you play these games is to get better and tonight we didn’t get better. We’ll try to get better.”
We get a day off, we get a couple days of work, we go back into the gym and try to work on some things, and hopefully try to get better. These non-conference games are games we need to play to get better, not to win. Winning is not a thought, winning is just something you know you have to do -- but the reason you play these games is to get better and tonight we didn’t get better. We’ll try to get better.”
What did you think of Albany’s Gerardo Suero?
“He’s a good little player, I know that. I walked by him and he’s small too. He’s a tough kid, he’s strong. I don’t know how tall he is, he’s not as tall as I am. He’s a tough kid—tough kid. He puts the ball on the floor and he gets to the basket and he gets the shot up there -- and he can shoot it. He made a couple threes and he made his free throws. I think he’s an aggressive player. I think he gets to the basket. I think Logan Aronhalt is a really good shooter. I think he missed a couple. He did us a favor tonight with missing a couple.
“We didn’t foul at all. We’ve been really good not fouling. Tonight there were some really unbelievably strange calls. For them to shoot 33 free throws is really shocking. We have really good defense, we haven’t fouled anybody and that’s a lot of foul shots. We need to do better than that. We can’t keep putting people on the foul line that many times. Other than that we defended fairly well. We made two threes at the shot clock buzzer and we pushed them pretty good, but we didn’t get quite far enough up. That happens sometimes. Sometimes people make those shots. I didn’t think we were as active defensively, that’s probably why we fouled a little bit more than we should have. You don’t want to put men on the line that many times.”
You talked about James Southerland making some shots -- can you talk about his effort on the defensive end?
“He’s working at it. He’s learning. He’s still got to rebound better on the defensive board. He got run over a couple times down there -- the guy was 6-4 and he’s going to be playing in the BIG EAST against guys that are 6’8 so he can’t let 6-4 guys go get it. But he’s working on it. He’s getting better--we just have to keep working on it. Our big guys were active tonight. Baye Keita and Fab Melo were real good inside. Baye was really good, he was on them -- just active and moving, and he’s playing with good guards that can get him the ball. Our guards, Dion Waiters, Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche had 15 assists and two turnovers, and that’s pretty good.”
How do you think Kris (Joseph) did tonight?
“He’s healthy. I think there are few things I need to see him do better -- he’s got to help us rebound better. There are some things I think he can help us with -- be better play makers. But I think as long as he’s not having pain he’s going to progressively get better and that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Outside of health evaluations, what can you learn about your team, after just a couple of games, that you didn’t know already?
“I think the biggest thing about these games is to get 10 guys in there and to figure out how they can play well and still limit the minutes. The minutes are limited for some guys, other guys—it’s a lot of minutes for some guys.
They haven’t played that much -- you have four sophomores and two freshman. I think I am getting everybody used to the rotations and getting them comfortable and I think that’s what these games do. That’s an important part of these games. Getting them rotated, getting everybody comfortable with what they’re going to do and how much they are going to be in there. That can change a little bit game-to-game but I think we’ve accomplished that part so far.
They haven’t played that much -- you have four sophomores and two freshman. I think I am getting everybody used to the rotations and getting them comfortable and I think that’s what these games do. That’s an important part of these games. Getting them rotated, getting everybody comfortable with what they’re going to do and how much they are going to be in there. That can change a little bit game-to-game but I think we’ve accomplished that part so far.
What do you make of Mike Krzyzewski breaking the all-time Division I wins record?
“Well it’s an unbelievable accomplishment what he’s done. He’s done an incredible job. I think we’ll be seeing him get 1,000 in a couple of years. I think he’ll coach another 5-10 years, at least five, but maybe more -- so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get 1,000.It’s an incredible accomplishment, the way he’s played and what he’s done -- it speaks for itself.”
