Boeheim Quotes West Virginia
Syracuse vs. West Virginia
February 14, 2011
Syracuse, N.Y. – Carrier Dome
Head Coach Jim Boeheim Postgame Quotes
Opening Statement:
“On defense, we did a much better job tonight. The second half offensively we moved the ball better and we got better shot opportunities. Brandon (Triche) has been very aggressive for our team and that is important for our team - he is a scorer. This was a situation where we needed to win. I think that one thing that happened when we lose a couple or we are not playing well is that people think the season is over. The season is over when we play 18 games in the league. We still have four more games. We have four games left.
These kids lose a couple and they lose some confidence. We went down and beat a good Connecticut team on their home court. They beat Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky and this team is going to keep fighting. The other day we played the best second half we have played all year long. Brandon (Triche) really showed some things. He really started to take charge and it carried over to tonight. We have to just concentrate on playing Rutgers next that’s all we need to think about.
We lost four games to teams in the top-15 in the country and at Marquette we had one game I think we did not play well. The four games and the one against Marquette were pretty tough to beat, but if you keep things in perspective we are probably a little bit ahead of where we might have been or people might have thought we would have been at this stage of the season. We still have a lot of work to do this week. It’s going to be very difficult. You can lose every game in this league, but I don’t think you can win every game in this league.”
Down the stretch you outscored them 12-3. You guys had some defensive stops and some tipped basketballs. Can you talk about that?
“We found Casey Mitchell and once we took him away we tried to go inside and we made some plays. Sometimes you cannot stop that open shot, whether you are playing zone or man. People are going to get three-point shots. When we got to Mitchell we did a good job defensively inside. Rick (Jackson) did a great job in there.
We said the last game we had just two rebounds out of our three guards and tonight we got eight. I told them we need at least 10 from the guards to help us. There was a play where Scoop (Jardine) was back and he stripped it away. We weren’t making those plays we were watching and those are plays we have to make every game. Rutgers can play with anyone. I saw them beat Villanova. They play great basketball. Even if you play well you can have a problem. That is just the nature of the league and you have to be ready for that.”
How did the defensive effort and your rebounding on the defensive end lead to the transition game starting tonight?
“Baye (Moussa Keita) did a great job tonight, the problem we were having with him on offense is that he is having trouble catching the ball when he is guarded. When he is in the game on offense we are playing five against four. He really helps our defense but now we have double teams on Rick (Jackson) and no one to throw the ball to. We are small but we are better on offense, we are better on defense in the perimeter, but we are not as good inside. In a game like this that was not an issue so we want to keep the smaller team on the defensive end. C.J. (Fair) had a nice night but I thought he could have had a better night.”
Is there anything specific that Dion (Waiters) has been struggling with the last few games?
“Since the BIG EAST start, Dion (Waiters) is shooting 29 percent and 20 percent from three. If he is not scoring he is not an offensive factor. We have played 14 games in the league and the numbers are what they are. He has turned the ball over more and he is shooting less. Obviously, Brandon (Triche) is playing the way he is playing and Scoop (Jardine) is our only point guard right now. Dion had nine minutes tonight. He was zero for three but I cannot give him more time than nine minutes until he is more productive. This is not a league for freshman. Not too freshmen are successful in this league. It is very difficult.”
Can you tell us the overall importance of 36 points from Brandon (Triche) and Kris (Joseph) combined?
“The last game Brandon (Triche) found himself and that continued tonight. Kris (Joseph) is our key offensive guys for us but I do not think he is playing to his potential yet. He is close but he needs to play better for us. Rick (Jackson) was much more active for us tonight then he has been. If C.J. (Fair) or Baye (Moussa Keita) play well, that is great, but those four guys have to be there for us, bottom line.”
