Head coach Jim Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse vs. Connecticut
February 11, 2012
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim
“Offensively, this is the best we’ve played the whole year. We made a lot of shots. When you make a lot of shots the game gets a lot easier. If we shot a lower percentage, we would have gotten beat. We got good looks and we made them. C.J. (Fair) made a big bucket to cut it to two. Scoop (Jardine) made a good dish to Kris (Joseph) for a three and everything clicked after that. We can’t play much better offensively. Their guards haven’t shot the ball well all year and were 6-for-8 from three. We were able to overcome that.
“Baye (Keita) did a good job coming in for Fab defensively. C.J. Fair was tremendous tonight. He has been working hard on his shooting. When he has a bad game he takes it to heart. He really went to work the last few days shooting the basketball. It paid off big time tonight. He was tremendous.
“It was as good of an offensive game as we could have. Connecticut is a very good basketball team. We were playing great and were only up two with about five minutes left in the game. Then we just played better, which is hard to do sometimes when you’re playing really well. It was a very tight, close game and we finished the game offensively as well as we can.
“Louisville won their seventh game. They are playing great. I think they are playing the best in the league right now. It will be a tremendous challenge to go down there on Monday night. This is an extremely tough 10-game period. We had to go down to New York, and then play Georgetown and Connecticut. Now, we have to go play Louisville. It will be a great game Monday night.”
Were you happy with the rebounding?
“I didn’t look at it. We didn’t get killed. Let’s put it that way.”
Can you comment on the difference in the offense?
“We just executed a little better. We got shots we have been getting, but haven’t been making. We have been getting good shots from the three-point line and haven’t made them. Today we got them. I think Fab (Melo) goal-tended one in the first half that would have gone in. We shot the ball very well.”
How does shooting the ball well from the perimeter open things up?
“Some days you shoot better. There is no question about that. I haven’t seen Connecticut shoot that well this year either. Their guards were 6-for-8 and they have not been shooting the ball well from the three-point line. (Jeremy) Lamb has not been shooting the ball well. We did push up on him. He missed all of his three’s and made his other shots. Drummond did a good job.
“Overall, our offense made a lot of plays. If you shoot like that you’re going to be tough to beat.”
What was the turning point in the game?
“I thought the turning point in the game was when C.J. (Fair) hit the shot in the corner when our lead was down to two. Then Scoop (Jardine) made the feed to Kris (Joseph), who hit that three. That gave us the separation. We needed it.”
How well did C.J. Fair rebound today?
“He is a pretty good rebounder overall. Sometimes it’s where you position yourself in the zone and where the ball comes. He was more aggressive. It seemed like more of the shots came his way. Kris Joseph played the whole game and only got one rebound. I did not see that many rebounds he didn’t get. Sometimes when you play zone the ball just rolls a certain way. I think more went towards C.J. (Fair) tonight.”
How did Baye Keita play after Fab Melo got in foul trouble?
“I thought he did a good job defensively. He made it difficult. Connecticut is a very good team. I would not count them out. There is still lots of time to go. When we go down there, it will be a difficult game. This was a difficult game.”
How important is it for Kris Joseph to make his outside shots?
“It is important for him to set up his drive. He needs to make that deep ball. Today, his long game was good, but he missed two or three lay-ups that rolled out. He missed seven shots inside. He is shooting the ball very well.”
How important is it that C.J. Fair plays well?
“C.J. (Fair) is a huge factor for us. He was tremendous today.”
Did Dion Waiters do anything different in practice to break out of his slump?
“No. I saw C.J. (Fair) work a little bit more on his shooting. We had normal practices. Some games you shoot 4-for-16 and other games you shoot 10-for-16. It happens. That is how basketball works. We did it earlier in the year at Providence and North Carolina State and we’ve had some 4-for-16 and 4-for-18 games. Connecticut was 2-for-20 recently from the three-point line. Today, they were 8-for-19. It’s a hard game. It is not that easy to make those shots.”
Were you happy with Fab Melo taking jump shots?
“He is a decent shooter. I let him shoot a shot or two, and if he misses a couple, that’s it. I wasn’t going to stop him after a made three. After the last miss, I said that’s enough."
Have you talked to Jim Calhoun about his back issues?
“I talked to George Blaney (Connecticut Associate Head Coach) about it. He says his back is bad. When you can’t get out of bed, you can’t coach. It’s just something that if a solution can be found, he can be back. It is obvious that he is one of the greatest coaches of all time. When he’s not there, it makes a difference.
I thought Connecticut played very well. It came down to when they cut it to two, we made four or five in a row. They were not an easy team. We took good shots and the ball went in the basket for us.”
February 11, 2012
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim
“Offensively, this is the best we’ve played the whole year. We made a lot of shots. When you make a lot of shots the game gets a lot easier. If we shot a lower percentage, we would have gotten beat. We got good looks and we made them. C.J. (Fair) made a big bucket to cut it to two. Scoop (Jardine) made a good dish to Kris (Joseph) for a three and everything clicked after that. We can’t play much better offensively. Their guards haven’t shot the ball well all year and were 6-for-8 from three. We were able to overcome that.
“Baye (Keita) did a good job coming in for Fab defensively. C.J. Fair was tremendous tonight. He has been working hard on his shooting. When he has a bad game he takes it to heart. He really went to work the last few days shooting the basketball. It paid off big time tonight. He was tremendous.
“It was as good of an offensive game as we could have. Connecticut is a very good basketball team. We were playing great and were only up two with about five minutes left in the game. Then we just played better, which is hard to do sometimes when you’re playing really well. It was a very tight, close game and we finished the game offensively as well as we can.
“Louisville won their seventh game. They are playing great. I think they are playing the best in the league right now. It will be a tremendous challenge to go down there on Monday night. This is an extremely tough 10-game period. We had to go down to New York, and then play Georgetown and Connecticut. Now, we have to go play Louisville. It will be a great game Monday night.”
Were you happy with the rebounding?
“I didn’t look at it. We didn’t get killed. Let’s put it that way.”
Can you comment on the difference in the offense?
“We just executed a little better. We got shots we have been getting, but haven’t been making. We have been getting good shots from the three-point line and haven’t made them. Today we got them. I think Fab (Melo) goal-tended one in the first half that would have gone in. We shot the ball very well.”
How does shooting the ball well from the perimeter open things up?
“Some days you shoot better. There is no question about that. I haven’t seen Connecticut shoot that well this year either. Their guards were 6-for-8 and they have not been shooting the ball well from the three-point line. (Jeremy) Lamb has not been shooting the ball well. We did push up on him. He missed all of his three’s and made his other shots. Drummond did a good job.
“Overall, our offense made a lot of plays. If you shoot like that you’re going to be tough to beat.”
What was the turning point in the game?
“I thought the turning point in the game was when C.J. (Fair) hit the shot in the corner when our lead was down to two. Then Scoop (Jardine) made the feed to Kris (Joseph), who hit that three. That gave us the separation. We needed it.”
How well did C.J. Fair rebound today?
“He is a pretty good rebounder overall. Sometimes it’s where you position yourself in the zone and where the ball comes. He was more aggressive. It seemed like more of the shots came his way. Kris Joseph played the whole game and only got one rebound. I did not see that many rebounds he didn’t get. Sometimes when you play zone the ball just rolls a certain way. I think more went towards C.J. (Fair) tonight.”
How did Baye Keita play after Fab Melo got in foul trouble?
“I thought he did a good job defensively. He made it difficult. Connecticut is a very good team. I would not count them out. There is still lots of time to go. When we go down there, it will be a difficult game. This was a difficult game.”
How important is it for Kris Joseph to make his outside shots?
“It is important for him to set up his drive. He needs to make that deep ball. Today, his long game was good, but he missed two or three lay-ups that rolled out. He missed seven shots inside. He is shooting the ball very well.”
How important is it that C.J. Fair plays well?
“C.J. (Fair) is a huge factor for us. He was tremendous today.”
Did Dion Waiters do anything different in practice to break out of his slump?
“No. I saw C.J. (Fair) work a little bit more on his shooting. We had normal practices. Some games you shoot 4-for-16 and other games you shoot 10-for-16. It happens. That is how basketball works. We did it earlier in the year at Providence and North Carolina State and we’ve had some 4-for-16 and 4-for-18 games. Connecticut was 2-for-20 recently from the three-point line. Today, they were 8-for-19. It’s a hard game. It is not that easy to make those shots.”
Were you happy with Fab Melo taking jump shots?
“He is a decent shooter. I let him shoot a shot or two, and if he misses a couple, that’s it. I wasn’t going to stop him after a made three. After the last miss, I said that’s enough."
Have you talked to Jim Calhoun about his back issues?
“I talked to George Blaney (Connecticut Associate Head Coach) about it. He says his back is bad. When you can’t get out of bed, you can’t coach. It’s just something that if a solution can be found, he can be back. It is obvious that he is one of the greatest coaches of all time. When he’s not there, it makes a difference.
I thought Connecticut played very well. It came down to when they cut it to two, we made four or five in a row. They were not an easy team. We took good shots and the ball went in the basket for us.”
