Syracuse vs. Marquette Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse vs. Marquette
January 7, 2012
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Coach Boeheim's Opening Statement:
“I thought our defense in the first half was the best that it has been all year. It really was a tremendous job on the defensive end. Our offense really wasn’t that good and it was about the same in the second half. Not good either half.
With our defense we just relaxed for a few minutes and Marquette is going to come back at us and they did. They started driving at us and they did a great job. When the game was on the line we made a couple of big plays and I think that’s a great thing. When you lose a lead, especially at home, it’s easy to start worrying about what’s happening and instead, I thought that Dion Waiters made a huge block and finished it at the other end on Darius Johnson-Odom. But then we made some great defensive plays at the end and made a couple more good offensive plays to win the game.
That’s the object is to win the game. It’s not whether you win the first half or the second half, you have to win the game. We did the things tonight that we had to do to win the game.”
Coach, can you talk about Fab Melo’s ability to draw those charges in the first half?
“Well he was ready tonight. They are constantly blocking him out, pushing him and Baye (Keita) around and he has to get off his guy and he did it. The second half he didn’t get away from the guy that well, but he has done it all year. It’s a huge play, a huge play -- those kinds of plays. He has to draw charges. it’s as simple as that because he’s less likely to get into foul trouble. Baye did a nice job. Baye practiced yesterday and he did a really nice job in the first half, a couple of good blocks and I thought he did a good job for us.”
With basketball being a game of runs, can you talk about how that impacts the game?
“I think runs are apart of basketball. I think they always are. Always have been.”
Can you talk about C.J. Fair’s game, key rebounds, etc…
“I thought he was really good. He missed the shots that he normally doesn’t miss. I think he was 3-for-8 at halftime and he missed two or three. In the second half he got inside and missed two or three that he normally makes.”
Can you explain him being in the right place at the right time?
“He knows how to play. He’s a good player.”
What is Brandon (Triche) doing differently the last few games besides making shots?
“Yeah, he is making shots. That’s what he is doing. He’s aggressive offensively. He’s looking to score. I thought with him and Dion (Waiters) in there for awhile, we didn’t have much stability out there. I thought Scoop (Jardine) went back in and got us back into our offense. He’s not going to score as much as Brandon and Dion, but when Brandon and Dion are in there they don’t move the ball as much. They don’t get it to the inside guys very much. It’s more like they are going to go ahead and go, but it’s a good change. I like to have them together some of the time, but it’s good to be able to make that change too.”
Can you talk about the rebounding tonight?
“Well, I thought in the first half we were really good and in the second half, not so good. But that’s something we have to keep working on.”
That block by Dion. Was that just good instinct?
“He got up on the guy. We wanted to get on Odom. We knew that they have two guys that made three’s that usually don’t make three’s, but we didn’t want him to shoot the three. He made one really good one near the end and this was a tough one, but we didn’t want him shooting the three near the end and Dion made a great play.”
Can you talk about how Dion has bought in to the defensive end this year?
“Wel, I think he’s just a better player this year. I think his passing is starting to come on now. I think he’s starting to make plays, which is good. He had seven assists tonight. I think he is looking for other people, I think he is improving. He’s a sophomore and I think he is improving.”
In the second half, do you think it was something you guys did defensively or Marquette driving?
“They drove and we didn’t get in front of them. Part of it’s what they did well and part of it’s what we didn’t do well.”
People say that Syracuse has no go-to scorer. Every time Marquette got close, Kris Joseph made the big shot.
“Wel,l I can’t really address that. We have a lot of guys that can score. Whether it’s Kris or whether it’s Dion or Scoop or Brandon, we have four or five guys that are our go-to guys. I’d rather have four or five than one. The only valid point with all that talk is that we don’t have Carmelo Anthony. I’ll agree with that. And nobody else does either.”
So Villanova is coming off a big loss at home, can you talk about the upcoming game?
“I need to get through this one first. I’ll start thinking about that one tomorrow.”
Coach, how did you see Darius Johnson-Odom really take over the game for Marquette in the second half?
“Well I thought Junior Cadougan really hurt us. Cadougan was the guy that got in the lane and kept making plays. I think all of his points were in the second half and most of his assists, if not all, were him getting in the lane and making plays.
Odom is a tremendous player. I think we forced him into some tougher shots tonight, but he is tremendous player. Both him and (Jae) Crowder. I saw Crowder had one at halftime and I knew he was going to get 12 or 14 in the second half and he did. They are both tremendous players. For their size, they are as good as anybody in the league. They play big. They play tough. They are tough guys. They rebound. They defend. They are both just tremendous players.”
January 7, 2012
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Coach Boeheim's Opening Statement:
“I thought our defense in the first half was the best that it has been all year. It really was a tremendous job on the defensive end. Our offense really wasn’t that good and it was about the same in the second half. Not good either half.
With our defense we just relaxed for a few minutes and Marquette is going to come back at us and they did. They started driving at us and they did a great job. When the game was on the line we made a couple of big plays and I think that’s a great thing. When you lose a lead, especially at home, it’s easy to start worrying about what’s happening and instead, I thought that Dion Waiters made a huge block and finished it at the other end on Darius Johnson-Odom. But then we made some great defensive plays at the end and made a couple more good offensive plays to win the game.
That’s the object is to win the game. It’s not whether you win the first half or the second half, you have to win the game. We did the things tonight that we had to do to win the game.”
Coach, can you talk about Fab Melo’s ability to draw those charges in the first half?
“Well he was ready tonight. They are constantly blocking him out, pushing him and Baye (Keita) around and he has to get off his guy and he did it. The second half he didn’t get away from the guy that well, but he has done it all year. It’s a huge play, a huge play -- those kinds of plays. He has to draw charges. it’s as simple as that because he’s less likely to get into foul trouble. Baye did a nice job. Baye practiced yesterday and he did a really nice job in the first half, a couple of good blocks and I thought he did a good job for us.”
With basketball being a game of runs, can you talk about how that impacts the game?
“I think runs are apart of basketball. I think they always are. Always have been.”
Can you talk about C.J. Fair’s game, key rebounds, etc…
“I thought he was really good. He missed the shots that he normally doesn’t miss. I think he was 3-for-8 at halftime and he missed two or three. In the second half he got inside and missed two or three that he normally makes.”
Can you explain him being in the right place at the right time?
“He knows how to play. He’s a good player.”
What is Brandon (Triche) doing differently the last few games besides making shots?
“Yeah, he is making shots. That’s what he is doing. He’s aggressive offensively. He’s looking to score. I thought with him and Dion (Waiters) in there for awhile, we didn’t have much stability out there. I thought Scoop (Jardine) went back in and got us back into our offense. He’s not going to score as much as Brandon and Dion, but when Brandon and Dion are in there they don’t move the ball as much. They don’t get it to the inside guys very much. It’s more like they are going to go ahead and go, but it’s a good change. I like to have them together some of the time, but it’s good to be able to make that change too.”
Can you talk about the rebounding tonight?
“Well, I thought in the first half we were really good and in the second half, not so good. But that’s something we have to keep working on.”
That block by Dion. Was that just good instinct?
“He got up on the guy. We wanted to get on Odom. We knew that they have two guys that made three’s that usually don’t make three’s, but we didn’t want him to shoot the three. He made one really good one near the end and this was a tough one, but we didn’t want him shooting the three near the end and Dion made a great play.”
Can you talk about how Dion has bought in to the defensive end this year?
“Wel, I think he’s just a better player this year. I think his passing is starting to come on now. I think he’s starting to make plays, which is good. He had seven assists tonight. I think he is looking for other people, I think he is improving. He’s a sophomore and I think he is improving.”
In the second half, do you think it was something you guys did defensively or Marquette driving?
“They drove and we didn’t get in front of them. Part of it’s what they did well and part of it’s what we didn’t do well.”
People say that Syracuse has no go-to scorer. Every time Marquette got close, Kris Joseph made the big shot.
“Wel,l I can’t really address that. We have a lot of guys that can score. Whether it’s Kris or whether it’s Dion or Scoop or Brandon, we have four or five guys that are our go-to guys. I’d rather have four or five than one. The only valid point with all that talk is that we don’t have Carmelo Anthony. I’ll agree with that. And nobody else does either.”
So Villanova is coming off a big loss at home, can you talk about the upcoming game?
“I need to get through this one first. I’ll start thinking about that one tomorrow.”
Coach, how did you see Darius Johnson-Odom really take over the game for Marquette in the second half?
“Well I thought Junior Cadougan really hurt us. Cadougan was the guy that got in the lane and kept making plays. I think all of his points were in the second half and most of his assists, if not all, were him getting in the lane and making plays.
Odom is a tremendous player. I think we forced him into some tougher shots tonight, but he is tremendous player. Both him and (Jae) Crowder. I saw Crowder had one at halftime and I knew he was going to get 12 or 14 in the second half and he did. They are both tremendous players. For their size, they are as good as anybody in the league. They play big. They play tough. They are tough guys. They rebound. They defend. They are both just tremendous players.”
