Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse vs. Eastern Michigan
December 3, 2012
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse, N.Y. – Carrier Dome
Opening Statement:
“We got off to a slow start – it’s not unusual. When you play an emotional game on the weekend it’s going to be a little bit tougher when you come back and have to get back going. We did a good job with the press against them. Turnovers got us back into it quick. Their defense is good. It’s a tough defense to play against.”
“We didn’t move the ball really well and we didn’t shoot the ball well. If you don’t shoot the ball well against zone defenses it’s going to be difficult. I think we were 0 for 10 and they were 1 for 6 in the first half from the three. But our pressure was good and our defense stabilized well.”
“I thought it was a good opportunity and Jerami (Grant) played a good first half. It was anybody’s game and he made some really good plays. I think that was good for him.”
“Trevor (Cooney) got going – he’s a good shooter, he’ll make some shots. He just has to keep getting his shots and he’ll get up there. Those two foul shots loosened him up a bit.”
“It’s tough coming back and getting into the next game but we’ll get some practice in the next couple of days and be better on Thursday. And sometimes that’s what it takes. His defense has been strong and we’ll get him some shots.”
How do you think the full-court press worked out?
“We have used it lately to try and get turnovers. We haven’t used the press that often but I think we can use the press effectively sometimes. They had a couple of young guys and they made a couple of mistakes early and they got a little shell-shocked with the pressure and we got some big turnovers.”
Can you talk about DaJaun Coleman’s play?
“I think when he gets the ball in the right area he’s perfectly capable of finishing around the basket. He’s got a lot of work to do. I think with Rakeem (Christmas) and DaJaun, they just have to keep working everyday and keep getting better. They aren’t there. We need them to keep getting better. Their progress is going to determine where we go this year. They have to really keep working and they work hard everyday in practice. Mike (Hopkins) has been pushing them. I think they’re getting better. We need those two guys to get better.”
“C.J. (Fair) is missing that mid-range jumper. That’s his shot and I think he’s focused a little too much on his three pointers in practice. I think he has to make that mid-range shot. He has to get that going. I think our guards made some uncharacteristic mistakes.”
“Michael (Carter-Williams) played unbelievable those first five games and today, I would say they made a lot of useful mistakes that we should be expecting and he hasn’t made those and tonight he made some of those plays and some of those mistakes and that’s normal. He bypassed those in the first five games. He’s a quick learner and sees his mistakes. Most of his mistakes come when he is trying to make a real good pass to someone. We made some bad turnovers in the game. When three veteran guys make 13 turnovers that isn’t good.”
How do you think James Southerland played tonight coming off his 35 point performance at Arkansas?
“I think he used up all his shots in Arkansas. I think he likes it better there. He was more wide-open there. They did a good job finding him and doubling him which should have opened up more opportunities for us than we took advantage of, but he rushed a little bit. I think he thought the other night if he just threw it up it would go in. I told him we needed him more the other night so he’ll get some passes.”
How did Eastern Michigan look a year later?
“I think they’re better. They have a good shot-blocker in Da’Shonte and if he had played more this summer he’d be more of a factor. But he is a factor on defense. He blocked four shots in the first half. Their defense is well and they are difficult to attack. They play the zone very well. They have improved from last year.”
Jeremy hasn’t played much this year, how did it feel to get him in?
“I think it’s good to get him in as much as we can in certain game situations. He was in there when it was close and he responded well. He was probably the best player in the first half. He did a great job defensively. He finished around the basket in the first half. He was very solid. He’s playing behind C.J. (Fair) and James (Southerland), so he has to find his minutes when he can.”
“Most teams play six or seven guys, we have nine. Sometimes seven or eight, but about 99 percent of college basketball teams play seven guys. Some teams really play five. The teams that usually play everybody, they lose, and I don’t want to be that team. I wan to play the guys that we need to win.”
What are your thoughts on Long Beach?
“I haven’t seen much. We will watch the tape tomorrow. They were really good last year. I think they have been pretty good. They had UNC in a very tough game for most of the game. These games are learning experiences for us to get better.”
“We went to San Diego State on purpose because they’re good. I think Arkansas has gotten better and these wins give us a good indication for the future. The thing that we are getting ready for conference play and these games will be more than enough to get you ready. If you can’t get ready for the NCAA Tournament playing the BIG EAST then you have no chance to be good.
“Playing really good teams in November will help your team for the next couple of weeks but it won’t help in March. It’ll help right away. This game helps us because we can point out the mistakes and turnovers that will cost us in a big game. These are learning experiences. The score doesn’t matter. You learn each game and in each practice.”
“This team is going to get more than well tested. Anybody we play can come in here and beat us. If you come in here and aren’t ready to play, you can have a difficult game anytime. You have to be ready and I hope we can win every game but we will have to work on things and get better. If we do that, then we can get ready for the conference and that’s a different world. The conference teams that I’ve seen have been better than anybody has expected and we want to be ready when we get there so we are ready to compete with them.
“This team has a lot to learn. We have a lot of work to do to be good. We want to be good. Last years team was good at this time and we aren’t there yet now. We don’t have as many veterans and this team is a work in progress and we can get there but we are a long way from that.”
December 3, 2012
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse, N.Y. – Carrier Dome
Opening Statement:
“We got off to a slow start – it’s not unusual. When you play an emotional game on the weekend it’s going to be a little bit tougher when you come back and have to get back going. We did a good job with the press against them. Turnovers got us back into it quick. Their defense is good. It’s a tough defense to play against.”
“We didn’t move the ball really well and we didn’t shoot the ball well. If you don’t shoot the ball well against zone defenses it’s going to be difficult. I think we were 0 for 10 and they were 1 for 6 in the first half from the three. But our pressure was good and our defense stabilized well.”
“I thought it was a good opportunity and Jerami (Grant) played a good first half. It was anybody’s game and he made some really good plays. I think that was good for him.”
“Trevor (Cooney) got going – he’s a good shooter, he’ll make some shots. He just has to keep getting his shots and he’ll get up there. Those two foul shots loosened him up a bit.”
“It’s tough coming back and getting into the next game but we’ll get some practice in the next couple of days and be better on Thursday. And sometimes that’s what it takes. His defense has been strong and we’ll get him some shots.”
How do you think the full-court press worked out?
“We have used it lately to try and get turnovers. We haven’t used the press that often but I think we can use the press effectively sometimes. They had a couple of young guys and they made a couple of mistakes early and they got a little shell-shocked with the pressure and we got some big turnovers.”
Can you talk about DaJaun Coleman’s play?
“I think when he gets the ball in the right area he’s perfectly capable of finishing around the basket. He’s got a lot of work to do. I think with Rakeem (Christmas) and DaJaun, they just have to keep working everyday and keep getting better. They aren’t there. We need them to keep getting better. Their progress is going to determine where we go this year. They have to really keep working and they work hard everyday in practice. Mike (Hopkins) has been pushing them. I think they’re getting better. We need those two guys to get better.”
“C.J. (Fair) is missing that mid-range jumper. That’s his shot and I think he’s focused a little too much on his three pointers in practice. I think he has to make that mid-range shot. He has to get that going. I think our guards made some uncharacteristic mistakes.”
“Michael (Carter-Williams) played unbelievable those first five games and today, I would say they made a lot of useful mistakes that we should be expecting and he hasn’t made those and tonight he made some of those plays and some of those mistakes and that’s normal. He bypassed those in the first five games. He’s a quick learner and sees his mistakes. Most of his mistakes come when he is trying to make a real good pass to someone. We made some bad turnovers in the game. When three veteran guys make 13 turnovers that isn’t good.”
How do you think James Southerland played tonight coming off his 35 point performance at Arkansas?
“I think he used up all his shots in Arkansas. I think he likes it better there. He was more wide-open there. They did a good job finding him and doubling him which should have opened up more opportunities for us than we took advantage of, but he rushed a little bit. I think he thought the other night if he just threw it up it would go in. I told him we needed him more the other night so he’ll get some passes.”
How did Eastern Michigan look a year later?
“I think they’re better. They have a good shot-blocker in Da’Shonte and if he had played more this summer he’d be more of a factor. But he is a factor on defense. He blocked four shots in the first half. Their defense is well and they are difficult to attack. They play the zone very well. They have improved from last year.”
Jeremy hasn’t played much this year, how did it feel to get him in?
“I think it’s good to get him in as much as we can in certain game situations. He was in there when it was close and he responded well. He was probably the best player in the first half. He did a great job defensively. He finished around the basket in the first half. He was very solid. He’s playing behind C.J. (Fair) and James (Southerland), so he has to find his minutes when he can.”
“Most teams play six or seven guys, we have nine. Sometimes seven or eight, but about 99 percent of college basketball teams play seven guys. Some teams really play five. The teams that usually play everybody, they lose, and I don’t want to be that team. I wan to play the guys that we need to win.”
What are your thoughts on Long Beach?
“I haven’t seen much. We will watch the tape tomorrow. They were really good last year. I think they have been pretty good. They had UNC in a very tough game for most of the game. These games are learning experiences for us to get better.”
“We went to San Diego State on purpose because they’re good. I think Arkansas has gotten better and these wins give us a good indication for the future. The thing that we are getting ready for conference play and these games will be more than enough to get you ready. If you can’t get ready for the NCAA Tournament playing the BIG EAST then you have no chance to be good.
“Playing really good teams in November will help your team for the next couple of weeks but it won’t help in March. It’ll help right away. This game helps us because we can point out the mistakes and turnovers that will cost us in a big game. These are learning experiences. The score doesn’t matter. You learn each game and in each practice.”
“This team is going to get more than well tested. Anybody we play can come in here and beat us. If you come in here and aren’t ready to play, you can have a difficult game anytime. You have to be ready and I hope we can win every game but we will have to work on things and get better. If we do that, then we can get ready for the conference and that’s a different world. The conference teams that I’ve seen have been better than anybody has expected and we want to be ready when we get there so we are ready to compete with them.
“This team has a lot to learn. We have a lot of work to do to be good. We want to be good. Last years team was good at this time and we aren’t there yet now. We don’t have as many veterans and this team is a work in progress and we can get there but we are a long way from that.”
