Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse vs. Villanova
January 12, 2013
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse, N.Y. – Carrier Dome
Opening statement:
“Of all our wins in the last couple years, this was the grittiest, toughest performance I think we’ve had. Everybody just dug in there defensively. We couldn’t get anything going offensively, which we haven’t been able to the last couple games. We just kept battling away. When Brandon (Triche) went out, obviously it was up to Trevor (Cooney) and Jerami (Grant). Jerami (Grant) had an unbelievable first half. He kept us in there.
The second half started and we wanted to go to C.J. (Fair) and he took charge, got us in front, and they were so concerned with C.J. (Fair) that we got two lob passes, because he was hurting them so much. Then Trevor (Cooney) got his best look in the corner, and made it. Then we ran a little screen for him, and he can make those shots. This was a big day for him to be able to make that shot.
I think overall it was the defensive toughness that we had the whole game.
I think Jay (Wright) has turned them (Villanova) around and they’re going in the right direction. Our defense was really good the whole game.
We made a couple shots, but to overcome Brandon (Triche) not being able to play was big. Trevor (Cooney) has been good on defense, so that’s a big factor and sooner or later he’s going to get a look. This was a tremendous effort. I’m proud of the way everyone competed on the defensive end.”
You mentioned Brandon (Triche) being out and James (Southerland) is out too. Can you just talk about in general all the guys that had to step up?
“Well that’s what I said earlier. The key guy was Jerami (Grant) in the first half. He kept us in the game and made three field goals. He played well defensively. He made a big basket in the second half and it was right in there. I thought his defense was good the whole game. I thought DaJuan (Coleman) made a couple good plays. We got him the ball in a good position. He made a couple good plays for us, which I think was good. Defensively, he knocked a couple away. I thought he was much more engaged. Obviously, Trevor (Cooney) was key. It was really the three freshmen that won this game.”
“Obviously C.J. (Fair) was huge and Michael (Carter-Williams) played the way he can play, but the three freshmen were really the difference in the game. Baye (Moussa-Keita) was hurt and Rakeem (Christmas) was just okay. The three freshmen were the difference in the game, I think they had 27 points between them and they were probably averaging about six. I think that was a big key.
Villanova is a good rebounding team. We battled them pretty well. Since they’ve been playing their bigger guys, they’re a really good rebounding team. Again, those freshmen, they had to step up. I told them before the game ‘I think you’re
good players. You know you’re good players. You haven’t played, because the guys ahead of you are better players, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play.’ They stepped up big. Defense was really good today.”
How much more important do Jeremy (Grant) and Trevor (Cooney) become the rest of the way?
“Well Trevor (Cooney) has always been important. We only have two guards, so he’s been important from the beginning. We’ve been squeezing by playing our guards for 38 minutes. Just to correct something, if Brandon (Triche) and Michael (Carter-Williams) had to play 38 minutes every game – they’re not 38 years old, they could play 38 minutes every single game, and they’d be just as good at the end of the year as they were at the beginning. I don’t know if I could play every game, but they could play every game. If they had to play 40 minutes every game, they could play 40 minutes. We’ve had guys do it many times. They could do it, but we like to get Trevor (Cooney) out there. He gives us our weapon.”
“Hopefully we’ll get better as we go along. He can make shots. Obviously, today with James (Southerland) not being there DaJuan (Coleman) got more minutes, and did fine. I thought Jerami (Grant) was great. He made big plays, defensive plays and drew a charge. He was tremendous. He’s a good player. We try not to recruit bad players.”
Sometimes you talk about hesitating to put even one or two freshmen in, but now with changing roles you’re probably going to have to rely on three?
“I don’t hesitate to put them in, in the sense that I don’t think they’re good. I hesitate to put them in because the other guy is better. That’s the only thing.”
What are the dynamics like? With Providence, you said the three guys, you wouldn’t have won today if they had played. And today, you won because they did play. What about the dynamics of the team has changed?
“To clarify what I said at Providence, I think we have a better chance to win playing the other guys. It’s not that we couldn’t win, but that we have a much better chance. If I wasn’t clear on that I’ll try to clarify. I just think we have a better chance with the veteran guys. That’s all. When we have to play these guys – as I said today, I think they’re good players. They had to play. In other words, the way I coach I don’t play everybody, I play the best players.
“We’ve got these freshmen, and they’ve had a lot of game experience. They’re all playing double figure minutes, and they’ve all been in in key situations, not just blowouts. They’ve been in in key situations this year, all three of them.
“Trevor (Cooney) played at Arkansas this year. Jerami (Grant) has played in big games, and DaJuan (Coleman) has been in. They’ve all been in, but I feel more comfortable in certain situations. DaJuan played so much today his defense was better. Trevor (Cooney) had to play. I would have played him a little bit tonight, but it’s tough for a shooter. He goes in, gets two shots and misses them both. He needs 17 minutes. I’m not giving him 17 minutes unless there’s a situation. He didn’t make any shots for the first 15 minutes he was in. He made his two shots in the last two minutes. He wouldn’t be in there in that stage, probably, because Brandon Triche is a great player.
Jerami (Grant) has played and obviously I’d rather have James (Southerland) out there than Jerami (Grant) because we need shooting. It’s pretty obvious that the way we’ve shot the ball that we’re not setting any records shooting the ball. I don’t want you to have to correct me on this so I’ll say we are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league rather than pick a number. We’re one of the worst. We’re also one of the worst free-throw shooting teams, and we just had two games where we made our free-throws, which is good.
It’s a good change. I’d rather go with experienced players if I have them. That’s what we try to do here. We try to develop players and have experienced players here. That’s why we’ve been consistent. We don’t have to play young guys. They had to play a couple freshmen. One was one-for- seven from the three-point line and the other was one-for-six from the field. They’re probably not quite ready to play. They could be the next game, but maybe they’re not. Again. all of our guys are good players. I believe that, but I’d rather go with the veteran guys if we can.”
Is it more of a game- by-game situation with the freshmen as opposed to a veteran player?
“It’s game-by-game with everybody. Brandon (Triche) was one-for-eight. Everybody’s up and down. Nobody is going to be good every night. Maybe C.J (Fair) will be good every night, but most guys are a little up and down. We need Brandon (Triche) to be more consistent. I thought he was aggressive tonight. I thought he had good shots. He took good shots. There were just a couple touch fouls out there. It was such a physical game and we got a couple touch fouls out there. It happens sometimes. It was a great experience day for Trevor (Cooney). We know he can shoot. We’ve seen him do it day in and day out. He broke the game open. This game would have gone down to the wire, but he broke the game open.”
You said you wanted to go to C.J (Fair) at the half. He was so assertive in those first few minutes. Did you say something to him?
“We called his play. He had to shoot. Michael (Carter-Williams) was looking for him. We were screening for him. They corrected so much we got the two lobs. He was good. C.J (Fair) was great tonight. We needed him to have a big game especially with Brandon (Triche) being out. If Brandon (Triche) had been in we would’ve gone back and forth between Brandon (Triche) and C.J (Fair) if Brandon (Triche) hadn’t gotten into foul trouble.
Michael Carter-Williams had two turnovers. Did you have to settle him down a little?
“He makes big plays. He’s going to turn it over once in a while. He tried that long pass. He shouldn’t have thrown that one pass. He should just keep the ball. The other one he got up in the air a little bit. The guys didn’t move well. It was a combination of things. Whenever you’re holding the ball late, we just want the clock to run and take our time. We did a fairly good job.”
January 12, 2013
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse, N.Y. – Carrier Dome
Opening statement:
“Of all our wins in the last couple years, this was the grittiest, toughest performance I think we’ve had. Everybody just dug in there defensively. We couldn’t get anything going offensively, which we haven’t been able to the last couple games. We just kept battling away. When Brandon (Triche) went out, obviously it was up to Trevor (Cooney) and Jerami (Grant). Jerami (Grant) had an unbelievable first half. He kept us in there.
The second half started and we wanted to go to C.J. (Fair) and he took charge, got us in front, and they were so concerned with C.J. (Fair) that we got two lob passes, because he was hurting them so much. Then Trevor (Cooney) got his best look in the corner, and made it. Then we ran a little screen for him, and he can make those shots. This was a big day for him to be able to make that shot.
I think overall it was the defensive toughness that we had the whole game.
I think Jay (Wright) has turned them (Villanova) around and they’re going in the right direction. Our defense was really good the whole game.
We made a couple shots, but to overcome Brandon (Triche) not being able to play was big. Trevor (Cooney) has been good on defense, so that’s a big factor and sooner or later he’s going to get a look. This was a tremendous effort. I’m proud of the way everyone competed on the defensive end.”
You mentioned Brandon (Triche) being out and James (Southerland) is out too. Can you just talk about in general all the guys that had to step up?
“Well that’s what I said earlier. The key guy was Jerami (Grant) in the first half. He kept us in the game and made three field goals. He played well defensively. He made a big basket in the second half and it was right in there. I thought his defense was good the whole game. I thought DaJuan (Coleman) made a couple good plays. We got him the ball in a good position. He made a couple good plays for us, which I think was good. Defensively, he knocked a couple away. I thought he was much more engaged. Obviously, Trevor (Cooney) was key. It was really the three freshmen that won this game.”
“Obviously C.J. (Fair) was huge and Michael (Carter-Williams) played the way he can play, but the three freshmen were really the difference in the game. Baye (Moussa-Keita) was hurt and Rakeem (Christmas) was just okay. The three freshmen were the difference in the game, I think they had 27 points between them and they were probably averaging about six. I think that was a big key.
Villanova is a good rebounding team. We battled them pretty well. Since they’ve been playing their bigger guys, they’re a really good rebounding team. Again, those freshmen, they had to step up. I told them before the game ‘I think you’re
good players. You know you’re good players. You haven’t played, because the guys ahead of you are better players, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play.’ They stepped up big. Defense was really good today.”
How much more important do Jeremy (Grant) and Trevor (Cooney) become the rest of the way?
“Well Trevor (Cooney) has always been important. We only have two guards, so he’s been important from the beginning. We’ve been squeezing by playing our guards for 38 minutes. Just to correct something, if Brandon (Triche) and Michael (Carter-Williams) had to play 38 minutes every game – they’re not 38 years old, they could play 38 minutes every single game, and they’d be just as good at the end of the year as they were at the beginning. I don’t know if I could play every game, but they could play every game. If they had to play 40 minutes every game, they could play 40 minutes. We’ve had guys do it many times. They could do it, but we like to get Trevor (Cooney) out there. He gives us our weapon.”
“Hopefully we’ll get better as we go along. He can make shots. Obviously, today with James (Southerland) not being there DaJuan (Coleman) got more minutes, and did fine. I thought Jerami (Grant) was great. He made big plays, defensive plays and drew a charge. He was tremendous. He’s a good player. We try not to recruit bad players.”
Sometimes you talk about hesitating to put even one or two freshmen in, but now with changing roles you’re probably going to have to rely on three?
“I don’t hesitate to put them in, in the sense that I don’t think they’re good. I hesitate to put them in because the other guy is better. That’s the only thing.”
What are the dynamics like? With Providence, you said the three guys, you wouldn’t have won today if they had played. And today, you won because they did play. What about the dynamics of the team has changed?
“To clarify what I said at Providence, I think we have a better chance to win playing the other guys. It’s not that we couldn’t win, but that we have a much better chance. If I wasn’t clear on that I’ll try to clarify. I just think we have a better chance with the veteran guys. That’s all. When we have to play these guys – as I said today, I think they’re good players. They had to play. In other words, the way I coach I don’t play everybody, I play the best players.
“We’ve got these freshmen, and they’ve had a lot of game experience. They’re all playing double figure minutes, and they’ve all been in in key situations, not just blowouts. They’ve been in in key situations this year, all three of them.
“Trevor (Cooney) played at Arkansas this year. Jerami (Grant) has played in big games, and DaJuan (Coleman) has been in. They’ve all been in, but I feel more comfortable in certain situations. DaJuan played so much today his defense was better. Trevor (Cooney) had to play. I would have played him a little bit tonight, but it’s tough for a shooter. He goes in, gets two shots and misses them both. He needs 17 minutes. I’m not giving him 17 minutes unless there’s a situation. He didn’t make any shots for the first 15 minutes he was in. He made his two shots in the last two minutes. He wouldn’t be in there in that stage, probably, because Brandon Triche is a great player.
Jerami (Grant) has played and obviously I’d rather have James (Southerland) out there than Jerami (Grant) because we need shooting. It’s pretty obvious that the way we’ve shot the ball that we’re not setting any records shooting the ball. I don’t want you to have to correct me on this so I’ll say we are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league rather than pick a number. We’re one of the worst. We’re also one of the worst free-throw shooting teams, and we just had two games where we made our free-throws, which is good.
It’s a good change. I’d rather go with experienced players if I have them. That’s what we try to do here. We try to develop players and have experienced players here. That’s why we’ve been consistent. We don’t have to play young guys. They had to play a couple freshmen. One was one-for- seven from the three-point line and the other was one-for-six from the field. They’re probably not quite ready to play. They could be the next game, but maybe they’re not. Again. all of our guys are good players. I believe that, but I’d rather go with the veteran guys if we can.”
Is it more of a game- by-game situation with the freshmen as opposed to a veteran player?
“It’s game-by-game with everybody. Brandon (Triche) was one-for-eight. Everybody’s up and down. Nobody is going to be good every night. Maybe C.J (Fair) will be good every night, but most guys are a little up and down. We need Brandon (Triche) to be more consistent. I thought he was aggressive tonight. I thought he had good shots. He took good shots. There were just a couple touch fouls out there. It was such a physical game and we got a couple touch fouls out there. It happens sometimes. It was a great experience day for Trevor (Cooney). We know he can shoot. We’ve seen him do it day in and day out. He broke the game open. This game would have gone down to the wire, but he broke the game open.”
You said you wanted to go to C.J (Fair) at the half. He was so assertive in those first few minutes. Did you say something to him?
“We called his play. He had to shoot. Michael (Carter-Williams) was looking for him. We were screening for him. They corrected so much we got the two lobs. He was good. C.J (Fair) was great tonight. We needed him to have a big game especially with Brandon (Triche) being out. If Brandon (Triche) had been in we would’ve gone back and forth between Brandon (Triche) and C.J (Fair) if Brandon (Triche) hadn’t gotten into foul trouble.
Michael Carter-Williams had two turnovers. Did you have to settle him down a little?
“He makes big plays. He’s going to turn it over once in a while. He tried that long pass. He shouldn’t have thrown that one pass. He should just keep the ball. The other one he got up in the air a little bit. The guys didn’t move well. It was a combination of things. Whenever you’re holding the ball late, we just want the clock to run and take our time. We did a fairly good job.”
