Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh Player Quotes
Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh
January 16, 2012
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Kris Joseph, Senior Forward
One being a part of history starting 20-0:
“I’ve been a part of history a couple times here. The 34,000 crowd, this right here. It’s a great feeling. All those things right there, you get remembered, you’ll never be forgotten and that‘s a great feeling. Tonight was for coach and we’re glad we got this win.”
On being the first team to start 20-0:
“We’re not worried about our record. We’ve been playing good basketball so far. We’ve come this far doing the things that we’ve been doing and we’re focusing on.”
On Scoop Jardine’s game:
“He’s a point guard and he can score the basketball. He makes good decisions for us and with him generating our offense, being the floor general, it’s a great thing.”
On the first four minutes:
“We got points in transition and we were attacking the basket. Our defense was getting stops and we were pushing the ball down and getting easy baskets on the other end. That’s the main thing for us. We’re a running team. We have enough athletes to do that. Enough bodies in case someone gets tired, we can get a fresh body in and do the same thing. That’s what makes this team kind of special.”
On the big three’s at the end of the game:
“It was a play set up with a lot of options. I was just one of them and I got the ball. I was ready and it was a rough night for me from beyond the arc, but I stuck with it and made that shot.”
Scoop Jardine, Senior Guard
On attacking the basket:
“For me I play off of instinct. You see things over and over, and there are times when we run the pick and roll, I know where the defense helps so much because I’ve watched a lot of film. I really only have last year’s game to see how they really run up, and McGee was so great at pick and roll. Tonight they don’t really have bigs that can stay with me off the pick so I know I told Fab that if he rotates to the basket hard, I’ll lob it at the rim and it’ll be there.”
On the speed of the game:
“The game is slowing down for me and that’s when you become better. When the game slows down, you’re able to see things and you’re still going faster, but you’re able to see things slowly, I’m getting better.”
On hitting the road after the two home games:
“This is fun. We have two games in a row, I call this the NBA schedule. We come home, and then go right from one city to the next. And all we have is ourselves. We’re going to go into two hostile environments, where two teams are really going to be on us, so for the most part we really have to stay focused and try to get two wins.”
On coming back for a fifth season:
“I came back for one thing and one thing only and that is to win a national championship and having whatever attitude it takes to win a national championship. They need me to play 25, 30 minutes, I’m there for them. If I only have to play 15 a night, I’m here for them. I’ll play the best possible 15 minutes I can play and if I do that, then it’s easy for the younger guys to see that and try to do that. That’s really leading, leading by example. That’s the thing why I came back for this team and I’ve been here all year long. There are times where I play less minutes than the younger guys, but for the most part I was still there cheering and at the end of the day we got wins and that is all that matters.”
Dion Waiters, Sophomore Guard
On beating Pittsburgh:
“Scoop has never beat them since he has been here. That’s what we talked about, so I told him we’re definitely going to get this win for him.”
On Scoop Jardine’s game:
“That’s what we expect from him. I expect him to come out and do that every game. I think he is finding his niche and he’s getting a lot of guys the ball. He’s going to find you. No matter where you are, you have to be ready to knock down the shot. He’s been playing tremendously. Getting the ball to everybody and you can’t ask for anything else out of a point guard.”
On the defense intensity throughout the game:
“We know that all we have to do is tell each other let’s buckle down and get stops, which leads to offense at the end of the day. That’s what we try to do. You’re not always going to play a perfect game on defense, but we have to make the right stops at the right time.”
On having the students back:
“It was great. It was crazy. It was awesome. I miss those guys. It was fun to be out there and playing again in front of them, in front of everybody. I like to tell them to get up and let’s get loud because this is the loud house. It’s always fun just to go out there with the crowd involved and you’re winning. Everybody is just happy at the end of the day to be a part of history, so I can’t ask for much more.”
C.J. Fair, Sophomore Forward
On his and one dunk in the first half:
“I don’t remember who passed me the ball. I remember I circled around from the high post and I took one dribble and I just rose on the guy. It was good play because throughout the whole season, Scoop and the other guys have been giving me a hard time, saying I lost my leaping ability. So it was a good play to show them I still got it.”
January 16, 2012
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Kris Joseph, Senior Forward
One being a part of history starting 20-0:
“I’ve been a part of history a couple times here. The 34,000 crowd, this right here. It’s a great feeling. All those things right there, you get remembered, you’ll never be forgotten and that‘s a great feeling. Tonight was for coach and we’re glad we got this win.”
On being the first team to start 20-0:
“We’re not worried about our record. We’ve been playing good basketball so far. We’ve come this far doing the things that we’ve been doing and we’re focusing on.”
On Scoop Jardine’s game:
“He’s a point guard and he can score the basketball. He makes good decisions for us and with him generating our offense, being the floor general, it’s a great thing.”
On the first four minutes:
“We got points in transition and we were attacking the basket. Our defense was getting stops and we were pushing the ball down and getting easy baskets on the other end. That’s the main thing for us. We’re a running team. We have enough athletes to do that. Enough bodies in case someone gets tired, we can get a fresh body in and do the same thing. That’s what makes this team kind of special.”
On the big three’s at the end of the game:
“It was a play set up with a lot of options. I was just one of them and I got the ball. I was ready and it was a rough night for me from beyond the arc, but I stuck with it and made that shot.”
Scoop Jardine, Senior Guard
On attacking the basket:
“For me I play off of instinct. You see things over and over, and there are times when we run the pick and roll, I know where the defense helps so much because I’ve watched a lot of film. I really only have last year’s game to see how they really run up, and McGee was so great at pick and roll. Tonight they don’t really have bigs that can stay with me off the pick so I know I told Fab that if he rotates to the basket hard, I’ll lob it at the rim and it’ll be there.”
On the speed of the game:
“The game is slowing down for me and that’s when you become better. When the game slows down, you’re able to see things and you’re still going faster, but you’re able to see things slowly, I’m getting better.”
On hitting the road after the two home games:
“This is fun. We have two games in a row, I call this the NBA schedule. We come home, and then go right from one city to the next. And all we have is ourselves. We’re going to go into two hostile environments, where two teams are really going to be on us, so for the most part we really have to stay focused and try to get two wins.”
On coming back for a fifth season:
“I came back for one thing and one thing only and that is to win a national championship and having whatever attitude it takes to win a national championship. They need me to play 25, 30 minutes, I’m there for them. If I only have to play 15 a night, I’m here for them. I’ll play the best possible 15 minutes I can play and if I do that, then it’s easy for the younger guys to see that and try to do that. That’s really leading, leading by example. That’s the thing why I came back for this team and I’ve been here all year long. There are times where I play less minutes than the younger guys, but for the most part I was still there cheering and at the end of the day we got wins and that is all that matters.”
Dion Waiters, Sophomore Guard
On beating Pittsburgh:
“Scoop has never beat them since he has been here. That’s what we talked about, so I told him we’re definitely going to get this win for him.”
On Scoop Jardine’s game:
“That’s what we expect from him. I expect him to come out and do that every game. I think he is finding his niche and he’s getting a lot of guys the ball. He’s going to find you. No matter where you are, you have to be ready to knock down the shot. He’s been playing tremendously. Getting the ball to everybody and you can’t ask for anything else out of a point guard.”
On the defense intensity throughout the game:
“We know that all we have to do is tell each other let’s buckle down and get stops, which leads to offense at the end of the day. That’s what we try to do. You’re not always going to play a perfect game on defense, but we have to make the right stops at the right time.”
On having the students back:
“It was great. It was crazy. It was awesome. I miss those guys. It was fun to be out there and playing again in front of them, in front of everybody. I like to tell them to get up and let’s get loud because this is the loud house. It’s always fun just to go out there with the crowd involved and you’re winning. Everybody is just happy at the end of the day to be a part of history, so I can’t ask for much more.”
C.J. Fair, Sophomore Forward
On his and one dunk in the first half:
“I don’t remember who passed me the ball. I remember I circled around from the high post and I took one dribble and I just rose on the guy. It was good play because throughout the whole season, Scoop and the other guys have been giving me a hard time, saying I lost my leaping ability. So it was a good play to show them I still got it.”
