Syracuse vs, Tulane Player Quotes
Syracuse vs. Tulane
December 22, 2011
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Michael Carter-Williams, Freshman, Guard
How did you feel about your performance tonight?
“I went with the flow. Coach gave me more minutes tonight and I wanted to get my teammates involved. I was able to get some easy points.”
How do you feel about the team's depth?
“That’s what is able to make us so good, is that we have a lot of guys that can come off the bench and score points and make plays, which gives the starters time to rest so that they come out strong. Not too many teams have that so we are lucky to have the players that we do.”
What's your impression of Seton Hall?
“They are playing great right now. We just have to go in and work hard in practice these next few days and go out and play Syracuse Basketball.”
Michael it seemed like you were really aggressive. Did you kind of come in thinking that way?
“Yeah that’s what Gerry (Coach McNamara) and I have been talking about -- playing more aggressive not necessarily scoring but when I attack just being more aggressive. If I can’t score the ball then look to pass. You can never be too aggressive.”
How much have you and Rakeem (Christmas) learned through these first 13 games?
“I think we’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned so much. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is just being patient out there, being patient on the bench and always cheering for my teammates.”
How excited are you guys for BIG EAST play now?
“We’re real excited now. I mean it’s going to be great. We’re going to have a fun time and we’re going in on top so we want to stay there."
Dion Waiters, Sophomore, Guard
What allowed you to play so well tonight?
“We played pretty well the first half. Scoop (Jardine), James (Southerland), (Brandon) Triche and (Kris) Joseph allowed for us to build a big lead by 18 at the half. I was really happy to see the team come in and pick it up like that. It was awesome."
Talk about the jump in competition level for the BIG EAST games coming up.
“We have to be ready. The Big East is physical, that’s first and foremost. We know that every team is out for us because we are number one. We just have to be ready."
Seton Hall beat you in the last game at home -- talk about the anticipation for next week’s game against them.
“We definitely owe them a better game than last year. I just can’t wait to get back out there.”
Kris Joseph, Senior, Forward
What did you think of the overall performance tonight?
“I think we played well. At the end of the day it is going to come down to our defensive effort and we forced them into a lot of tough situations. That set the tone for us for the rest of the night. If we continue doing that throughout the season, then we will be really successful.
Talk about the benefit of having a deep bench and not having to play a significant amount of minutes every single night.
“Well for one your body won’t be as beat up towards the end of the season and it gives us another look. When we have guys like Dion, James and Mike coming off the bench, it gives us an extra look and is definitely going to help us.”
Is there any added pressure being number one heading into the BIG EAST opener?
“No added pressure at all. We haven’t thought about it at all since gaining that ranking. As a team we don’t think about it. We just go out as a team and play basketball.”
What do you think of Matt Tomaszewski's three-point shooting?
“I think that if ever there is a situation where we’re down two with like three seconds left, he’s the guy. Seven for seven in his career -- can’t beat that.”
What do you expect from the upcoming BIG EAST Conference portion of the schedule?
“This is what we’ve been prepping for. For the younger guys they don’t really know what the BIG EAST is like, but they’ll learn soon enough. As far as us, as leaders, we just have to prepare to win because we know what it’s going to be like. It’s going to be a dog fight for the whole 40 minutes. There are no easy games in the BIG EAST. We need to be mentally prepared for that.”
Scoop Jardine – Senior Guard
Do you have a checklist of things you want to accomplish as a team before conference play?
“For us it’s just about staying level headed. We want to just stay motivated and continue to try to win every game. We know we have a good Seton Hall team coming in here, we just have to stay level headed keep grinding and try to get a win.”
It seems like Michael was extremely aggressive -- more aggressive than he’s been pretty much all year.
“That’s how he has to play. For the most part, you just have to be aggressive out there. He missed the dunk but for the most part he played really really well and I’m happy for him.”
C.J. Fair – Sophemore Forward
Talk about you guys being able to produce long runs in recent games.
“I remember just watching -- it seems unreal like a video game. )ne minute you’re up five, and you look two minutes later and you’re up 17. Same thing with N.C. State. We have players who can get points in spurts like Dion and James. We just need to continue playing good basketball and we’ll be fine.”
You guys have those long runs, but in the past three games you’ve come out slow in the second half. Do you think you guys expend too much energy on those runs in the first half?
“I can’t really put my finger on what it is. We do sometimes have a habit of starting the game off slow and the beginning of the second half. So that’s something we have to work on.”
What can you guys work on to make sure those starts in the second half are a little better?
“It’s hard because when its halftime, all of our momentum is gone. We just have to be aggressive, not settling for jumpers. That will get us going and that will get our defense going.”
December 22, 2011
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Michael Carter-Williams, Freshman, Guard
How did you feel about your performance tonight?
“I went with the flow. Coach gave me more minutes tonight and I wanted to get my teammates involved. I was able to get some easy points.”
How do you feel about the team's depth?
“That’s what is able to make us so good, is that we have a lot of guys that can come off the bench and score points and make plays, which gives the starters time to rest so that they come out strong. Not too many teams have that so we are lucky to have the players that we do.”
What's your impression of Seton Hall?
“They are playing great right now. We just have to go in and work hard in practice these next few days and go out and play Syracuse Basketball.”
Michael it seemed like you were really aggressive. Did you kind of come in thinking that way?
“Yeah that’s what Gerry (Coach McNamara) and I have been talking about -- playing more aggressive not necessarily scoring but when I attack just being more aggressive. If I can’t score the ball then look to pass. You can never be too aggressive.”
How much have you and Rakeem (Christmas) learned through these first 13 games?
“I think we’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned so much. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is just being patient out there, being patient on the bench and always cheering for my teammates.”
How excited are you guys for BIG EAST play now?
“We’re real excited now. I mean it’s going to be great. We’re going to have a fun time and we’re going in on top so we want to stay there."
Dion Waiters, Sophomore, Guard
What allowed you to play so well tonight?
“We played pretty well the first half. Scoop (Jardine), James (Southerland), (Brandon) Triche and (Kris) Joseph allowed for us to build a big lead by 18 at the half. I was really happy to see the team come in and pick it up like that. It was awesome."
Talk about the jump in competition level for the BIG EAST games coming up.
“We have to be ready. The Big East is physical, that’s first and foremost. We know that every team is out for us because we are number one. We just have to be ready."
Seton Hall beat you in the last game at home -- talk about the anticipation for next week’s game against them.
“We definitely owe them a better game than last year. I just can’t wait to get back out there.”
Kris Joseph, Senior, Forward
What did you think of the overall performance tonight?
“I think we played well. At the end of the day it is going to come down to our defensive effort and we forced them into a lot of tough situations. That set the tone for us for the rest of the night. If we continue doing that throughout the season, then we will be really successful.
Talk about the benefit of having a deep bench and not having to play a significant amount of minutes every single night.
“Well for one your body won’t be as beat up towards the end of the season and it gives us another look. When we have guys like Dion, James and Mike coming off the bench, it gives us an extra look and is definitely going to help us.”
Is there any added pressure being number one heading into the BIG EAST opener?
“No added pressure at all. We haven’t thought about it at all since gaining that ranking. As a team we don’t think about it. We just go out as a team and play basketball.”
What do you think of Matt Tomaszewski's three-point shooting?
“I think that if ever there is a situation where we’re down two with like three seconds left, he’s the guy. Seven for seven in his career -- can’t beat that.”
What do you expect from the upcoming BIG EAST Conference portion of the schedule?
“This is what we’ve been prepping for. For the younger guys they don’t really know what the BIG EAST is like, but they’ll learn soon enough. As far as us, as leaders, we just have to prepare to win because we know what it’s going to be like. It’s going to be a dog fight for the whole 40 minutes. There are no easy games in the BIG EAST. We need to be mentally prepared for that.”
Scoop Jardine – Senior Guard
Do you have a checklist of things you want to accomplish as a team before conference play?
“For us it’s just about staying level headed. We want to just stay motivated and continue to try to win every game. We know we have a good Seton Hall team coming in here, we just have to stay level headed keep grinding and try to get a win.”
It seems like Michael was extremely aggressive -- more aggressive than he’s been pretty much all year.
“That’s how he has to play. For the most part, you just have to be aggressive out there. He missed the dunk but for the most part he played really really well and I’m happy for him.”
C.J. Fair – Sophemore Forward
Talk about you guys being able to produce long runs in recent games.
“I remember just watching -- it seems unreal like a video game. )ne minute you’re up five, and you look two minutes later and you’re up 17. Same thing with N.C. State. We have players who can get points in spurts like Dion and James. We just need to continue playing good basketball and we’ll be fine.”
You guys have those long runs, but in the past three games you’ve come out slow in the second half. Do you think you guys expend too much energy on those runs in the first half?
“I can’t really put my finger on what it is. We do sometimes have a habit of starting the game off slow and the beginning of the second half. So that’s something we have to work on.”
What can you guys work on to make sure those starts in the second half are a little better?
“It’s hard because when its halftime, all of our momentum is gone. We just have to be aggressive, not settling for jumpers. That will get us going and that will get our defense going.”
