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Syracuse vs. Florida Player Quotes
Syracuse vs. Florida
December 2, 2011
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Junior guard Brandon Triche
Can you comment on Scoop Jardine’s play tonight?
“He did what he was supposed to do. As an experienced guard he came down the stretch and knocked down shots. The biggest thing was his three steals in a row and we were able to get them in foul trouble or convert on most of them. He played a great game and I’m happy for him on getting his 1,000 (career) points.”
Coach said Scoop won the game for the team…
“Yeah I think so. It was pretty close the whole game, but in the last eight minutes I feel like he probably scored a dozen points and a few assists. I believe he won the game for us just with his composure."
Coach said you don’t know how good you can be…
“I agree with him, but I am just trying to get better each and every game. I have to go back and work on my mid-range because I missed a bunch of those jump shots that I practice on. I think it was overall a great game for all of us. I think Scoop played well. Overall we were able to play defense and stop them. We knew the main thing was to hit a lot of threes.”
Senior forward Kris Joseph
Can you talk about playing the zone against a team like Florida?
“When we are defending guys like Kenny Boynton or Erving Walker that we know they shoot long bombs, we are going to have to go out there and stay up close to the three-point line as opposed to staying down there at the block area.”
Can you talk about Fab’s improvement on defense?
”It’s great. Baye Keita, Fab, Rock (Rakeem Christmas), you know, everybody’s a doing a great job for us as far as when we, the forwards, can’t get to that shooter in the corner, Fab is sprinting to the corner and making plays. Baye was doing the same thing and that’s what we are going to need from them the whole year.”
On beating Florida
“It was great. They are a great team. They competed well. I’d just like to put out there that I’m 3-0 against the Gators in my career, so I was feeling pretty confident going into this one, but on a serious note they played a great game in the low post and they hit a lot of tough shots on us that we are going to have to adjust to in future games.”
Senior Guard Scoop Jardine
Can you talk about your last couple of weeks…
“That’s what it’s all about when you are trying to win a championship. You are going to need guys like that. There are going to be games where I am not playing good and Coach needs to sit me and it wasn’t that I was playing bad in New York but he sat me and I would never go against his decision.
"People outside don’t know what goes on in this locker room so for me I just know we wanted to win and we got two huge wins in New York. My teammates played really great and I was happy for that because everybody is going to get opportunities to play good throughout the season.
"We have a lot of games and I have been here for five years and I just want to be there for my teammates not only mentally but physically, and also be there in spirit so we can get wins like we did in New York and like we did tonight.
"Coming off the bench taught me a lot. When you are trying to win championships, like we are doing here, we are going to need guys that make sacrifices and leave egos at the door. If I can do it, I’ve been here five years, anyone can do it and that is one of the things I have done as a leader. Coach said it and congratulated me on it but it’s going to be for everybody and that’s how it is.”
On the second half when Florida started to heat up
“They made shots. We knew they were great players that can make shots. Myself and Triche made shots to keep us in it, but like I said it was the 50-50 plays that Syracuse got and that’s why we won."
What does the offense need to do better?
“Help each other. Help each other move and set screens. On certain points in the game, we looked really good on offense but we definitely have to help each other and set great screens so we can get open looks. If we don’t have a look we can kick it to an open guy so he can get an open look and that’s all going to come with time. Right now we are a young team and we are still getting better every day. We will come out and practice and continue to do what we have to do on offense.”
On his free throw for his 1,000th career point
“I didn’t know it would be my 1,000th point. I was just worried about making it. I missed one before so I was really down on myself, so I went up there, and I didn’t even know where I was at. I didn’t even count. I didn’t know coming into the game that I would get my 1,000th point, but I know I made two huge free throws for us to put away the game.”
December 2, 2011
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Junior guard Brandon Triche
Can you comment on Scoop Jardine’s play tonight?
“He did what he was supposed to do. As an experienced guard he came down the stretch and knocked down shots. The biggest thing was his three steals in a row and we were able to get them in foul trouble or convert on most of them. He played a great game and I’m happy for him on getting his 1,000 (career) points.”
Coach said Scoop won the game for the team…
“Yeah I think so. It was pretty close the whole game, but in the last eight minutes I feel like he probably scored a dozen points and a few assists. I believe he won the game for us just with his composure."
Coach said you don’t know how good you can be…
“I agree with him, but I am just trying to get better each and every game. I have to go back and work on my mid-range because I missed a bunch of those jump shots that I practice on. I think it was overall a great game for all of us. I think Scoop played well. Overall we were able to play defense and stop them. We knew the main thing was to hit a lot of threes.”
Senior forward Kris Joseph
Can you talk about playing the zone against a team like Florida?
“When we are defending guys like Kenny Boynton or Erving Walker that we know they shoot long bombs, we are going to have to go out there and stay up close to the three-point line as opposed to staying down there at the block area.”
Can you talk about Fab’s improvement on defense?
”It’s great. Baye Keita, Fab, Rock (Rakeem Christmas), you know, everybody’s a doing a great job for us as far as when we, the forwards, can’t get to that shooter in the corner, Fab is sprinting to the corner and making plays. Baye was doing the same thing and that’s what we are going to need from them the whole year.”
On beating Florida
“It was great. They are a great team. They competed well. I’d just like to put out there that I’m 3-0 against the Gators in my career, so I was feeling pretty confident going into this one, but on a serious note they played a great game in the low post and they hit a lot of tough shots on us that we are going to have to adjust to in future games.”
Senior Guard Scoop Jardine
Can you talk about your last couple of weeks…
“That’s what it’s all about when you are trying to win a championship. You are going to need guys like that. There are going to be games where I am not playing good and Coach needs to sit me and it wasn’t that I was playing bad in New York but he sat me and I would never go against his decision.
"People outside don’t know what goes on in this locker room so for me I just know we wanted to win and we got two huge wins in New York. My teammates played really great and I was happy for that because everybody is going to get opportunities to play good throughout the season.
"We have a lot of games and I have been here for five years and I just want to be there for my teammates not only mentally but physically, and also be there in spirit so we can get wins like we did in New York and like we did tonight.
"Coming off the bench taught me a lot. When you are trying to win championships, like we are doing here, we are going to need guys that make sacrifices and leave egos at the door. If I can do it, I’ve been here five years, anyone can do it and that is one of the things I have done as a leader. Coach said it and congratulated me on it but it’s going to be for everybody and that’s how it is.”
On the second half when Florida started to heat up
“They made shots. We knew they were great players that can make shots. Myself and Triche made shots to keep us in it, but like I said it was the 50-50 plays that Syracuse got and that’s why we won."
What does the offense need to do better?
“Help each other. Help each other move and set screens. On certain points in the game, we looked really good on offense but we definitely have to help each other and set great screens so we can get open looks. If we don’t have a look we can kick it to an open guy so he can get an open look and that’s all going to come with time. Right now we are a young team and we are still getting better every day. We will come out and practice and continue to do what we have to do on offense.”
On his free throw for his 1,000th career point
“I didn’t know it would be my 1,000th point. I was just worried about making it. I missed one before so I was really down on myself, so I went up there, and I didn’t even know where I was at. I didn’t even count. I didn’t know coming into the game that I would get my 1,000th point, but I know I made two huge free throws for us to put away the game.”
