Coach Boeheim Quotes
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Men’s Basketball Media Day
Carmelo K. Anthony Center – Syracuse, N.Y.
October 18, 2013
What are your thoughts on Tyler Roberson?
“We don’t really have any plan as of right now in terms of playing time. That works itself out usually. We’ll see how things progress, but it’s important to have depth and we have good depth at the forward and center positions. I think that’s a good thing. It’s relatively early in seeing what he does. He has excellent quickness to the basket extremely well. He’s a really good rebounder defensively and offensively. He was a pretty highly recruited player so he has some really good skills.”
What has the earlier practice start date done for your team?
“We’re way ahead of where we would be. That doesn’t necessarily mean we are going to get further than we would want to get. It just means for that right now -- which really doesn’t mean anything because we aren’t playing right now – we are better prepared than where we would be to play a game right now, but we’re not playing a game right now. I think the key is to use what we’ve done and what we’ve been able to do with these early practices and to keep building on those as we go forward so we don’t plateau and we don’t stay here. We are way ahead of where we would normally be at this stage because of the summer and the extra practices that we’ve had. Normally we would just be starting practice. I think we’re going to have an extra 15 practices during the September-October period than we normally would and we have the ten from the summer – six practices and four games. There’s a big edge up there and right now we are way ahead of where we would be at this stage. We just have to keep building on it and keep working on it to extend the benefits out that we have.
With the extra practice sessions, have you figured out playing time for some of the new guys?
That usually works out. That usually works its way out. Everybody has a skill set. I think that the offensive end of the court, particularly with the extra practices works its way out. Defensively, we are way ahead of where we would be. We’ve been able to do a lot of stuff with the new players, getting them familiar with the defense and to also play more than one position on defense, which takes some time to do. That’s been a real positive of the early practices. Roles work themselves out as we go along. What guys do well, we’ll try to take advantage of.
With the influx of new players, how important is the senior leadership of CJ Fair and Baye Moussa Keita?
The great thing we’ve been able to do over the years is have senior leadership. We had two seniors last year, we have had seniors, we’ve been able to brings guys along and have those seniors. I think it’s important. They’ve played in the tournament, big games for their whole careers. That’s something the younger players can look to what those guys have done. It’s crucial. We have a good mix of veteran guys and young players.
How do the new foul rule changes impact your team?
I don’t think so. We aren’t on the court that much, that physical on the court. We’re physical in the lane. I don’t think that’ll change that much. I don’t think the new rules will have much of an impact on our defense. I think it’ll help the offensive movement for everybody.
Will CJ Fair have a different role on the team for his senior season?
C.J. finds a way to get his points. He knows how to play the game and he plays off of different players very well. He has improved every year that he has been here. He’ll get more opportunities this year than he has had in the past offensively. Last year, he was the second or third option most of the time. This year, he’ll be the first option.
How improved is Michael Gbinije?
I think he had a really good redshirt year. I think he really worked hard. I think the coaches pushed him, so I think he really improved that year. The summer was really good for him. He played on a trip and he played with us. He’s had a lot of work. He’s played both one and the two in practice. He plays a little more of the one in practice because it’s a more difficult position. He’s comfortable with the two and the three. I think he has improved as a player and really used this year well. I think in most cases guys who we have redshirted have benefited from it. It’s really helped their game. I think it’s helped Mike and he has had really good practices so far.
How do you think this team has used the extra practice time to prepare for the ACC and the significantly tougher competition from last season?
Well, first of all, we’re going from a very tough conference to another very tough conference, so there’s no difference for us as far as league play is concerned. The non-conference games, you always use to get ready for conference play, that’s basically what the non-conference games are there for. We have some very good tests for us this year in our non-conference schedule, a lot of different schemes and different styles, and I think that’s going to really help our team get ready for ACC play.
With James (Southerland) gone, how much more important is it that Trevor (Cooney) be a factor as a 3-point threat?
I think Trevor is really coming along nicely. He showed some good signs last season. I think he’s much more consistent this year, every day in practice you see a difference in his game. He’s a hard working kid. With some players it takes them a year or two to really get ready, and I think Trevor has used these past two years extremely well. He’s much more confident, and I think he’s going to have a great season this year for us.
At this point, where are the three veteran centers at in their preparation?
One thing that I can say for everybody on the team is that I think everybody has improved and put in the work this offseason. There has been improvement from every position, even some of the freshman just since they’ve been here. I think our big guys are better. Obviously we’re going to play two big guys together at a time like we did last season in some situations. We have a solid core in terms of experience with a senior, junior and a sophomore upfront. They’re all doing a very good job and I think they’re going to be well prepared.
What are some of the things you’ve seen out of Tyler Ennis thus far?
Tyler is a very steady player, he knows what he is doing all the time. He plays a lot like a veteran point guard, which is very impressive coming in as a freshman. He has an excellent skill set. He has the ability to be explosive and make plays, but he also can run the team efficiently and make good decisions in the half court. I think he’s as well prepared as any freshman point guard we’ve had here.
How do you make up for the loss of length defensively now that Michael (Carter-Williams) is gone?
Michael was a great defensive player, he’s underrated as probably one of the best defensive guards that we’ve ever had here. He made a ton of plays, deflecting passes and what not, really disrupting offenses. It’s really hard to replace something like that. This year, I think our defense at the top is good, Michael Gbinije gives us a guy with really good size, but obviously a talent like Michael (Carter-Williams) is going to be very hard to replace, especially on the defensive end.
What can we expect from B.J. Johnson this season?
B.J. has had really good practices thus far, he played very well this summer. He’s one of the better shooters on our team. He’s very long and has a ton of athleticism. At the same time, he’s continuing to learn and progress as we go.
What sort of growth have you seen out of Jerami Grant?
Jerami has been frustrated a little bit by this summer. He couldn’t play at the Under-19 World Championships, got hurt right in the beginning of practices once we started too and just came back around a week ago. He did play at the summer trip though, and played very well. I have seen him improve very much in his game. I think he has a lot of things he can still do to improve even more, and he will. At the same time, he’s really a tremendous player. He had an excellent season for us last year, he seemed to shine most in big games which is incredibly valuable for us.
Men’s Basketball Media Day
Carmelo K. Anthony Center – Syracuse, N.Y.
October 18, 2013
What are your thoughts on Tyler Roberson?
“We don’t really have any plan as of right now in terms of playing time. That works itself out usually. We’ll see how things progress, but it’s important to have depth and we have good depth at the forward and center positions. I think that’s a good thing. It’s relatively early in seeing what he does. He has excellent quickness to the basket extremely well. He’s a really good rebounder defensively and offensively. He was a pretty highly recruited player so he has some really good skills.”
What has the earlier practice start date done for your team?
“We’re way ahead of where we would be. That doesn’t necessarily mean we are going to get further than we would want to get. It just means for that right now -- which really doesn’t mean anything because we aren’t playing right now – we are better prepared than where we would be to play a game right now, but we’re not playing a game right now. I think the key is to use what we’ve done and what we’ve been able to do with these early practices and to keep building on those as we go forward so we don’t plateau and we don’t stay here. We are way ahead of where we would normally be at this stage because of the summer and the extra practices that we’ve had. Normally we would just be starting practice. I think we’re going to have an extra 15 practices during the September-October period than we normally would and we have the ten from the summer – six practices and four games. There’s a big edge up there and right now we are way ahead of where we would be at this stage. We just have to keep building on it and keep working on it to extend the benefits out that we have.
With the extra practice sessions, have you figured out playing time for some of the new guys?
That usually works out. That usually works its way out. Everybody has a skill set. I think that the offensive end of the court, particularly with the extra practices works its way out. Defensively, we are way ahead of where we would be. We’ve been able to do a lot of stuff with the new players, getting them familiar with the defense and to also play more than one position on defense, which takes some time to do. That’s been a real positive of the early practices. Roles work themselves out as we go along. What guys do well, we’ll try to take advantage of.
With the influx of new players, how important is the senior leadership of CJ Fair and Baye Moussa Keita?
The great thing we’ve been able to do over the years is have senior leadership. We had two seniors last year, we have had seniors, we’ve been able to brings guys along and have those seniors. I think it’s important. They’ve played in the tournament, big games for their whole careers. That’s something the younger players can look to what those guys have done. It’s crucial. We have a good mix of veteran guys and young players.
How do the new foul rule changes impact your team?
I don’t think so. We aren’t on the court that much, that physical on the court. We’re physical in the lane. I don’t think that’ll change that much. I don’t think the new rules will have much of an impact on our defense. I think it’ll help the offensive movement for everybody.
Will CJ Fair have a different role on the team for his senior season?
C.J. finds a way to get his points. He knows how to play the game and he plays off of different players very well. He has improved every year that he has been here. He’ll get more opportunities this year than he has had in the past offensively. Last year, he was the second or third option most of the time. This year, he’ll be the first option.
How improved is Michael Gbinije?
I think he had a really good redshirt year. I think he really worked hard. I think the coaches pushed him, so I think he really improved that year. The summer was really good for him. He played on a trip and he played with us. He’s had a lot of work. He’s played both one and the two in practice. He plays a little more of the one in practice because it’s a more difficult position. He’s comfortable with the two and the three. I think he has improved as a player and really used this year well. I think in most cases guys who we have redshirted have benefited from it. It’s really helped their game. I think it’s helped Mike and he has had really good practices so far.
How do you think this team has used the extra practice time to prepare for the ACC and the significantly tougher competition from last season?
Well, first of all, we’re going from a very tough conference to another very tough conference, so there’s no difference for us as far as league play is concerned. The non-conference games, you always use to get ready for conference play, that’s basically what the non-conference games are there for. We have some very good tests for us this year in our non-conference schedule, a lot of different schemes and different styles, and I think that’s going to really help our team get ready for ACC play.
With James (Southerland) gone, how much more important is it that Trevor (Cooney) be a factor as a 3-point threat?
I think Trevor is really coming along nicely. He showed some good signs last season. I think he’s much more consistent this year, every day in practice you see a difference in his game. He’s a hard working kid. With some players it takes them a year or two to really get ready, and I think Trevor has used these past two years extremely well. He’s much more confident, and I think he’s going to have a great season this year for us.
At this point, where are the three veteran centers at in their preparation?
One thing that I can say for everybody on the team is that I think everybody has improved and put in the work this offseason. There has been improvement from every position, even some of the freshman just since they’ve been here. I think our big guys are better. Obviously we’re going to play two big guys together at a time like we did last season in some situations. We have a solid core in terms of experience with a senior, junior and a sophomore upfront. They’re all doing a very good job and I think they’re going to be well prepared.
What are some of the things you’ve seen out of Tyler Ennis thus far?
Tyler is a very steady player, he knows what he is doing all the time. He plays a lot like a veteran point guard, which is very impressive coming in as a freshman. He has an excellent skill set. He has the ability to be explosive and make plays, but he also can run the team efficiently and make good decisions in the half court. I think he’s as well prepared as any freshman point guard we’ve had here.
How do you make up for the loss of length defensively now that Michael (Carter-Williams) is gone?
Michael was a great defensive player, he’s underrated as probably one of the best defensive guards that we’ve ever had here. He made a ton of plays, deflecting passes and what not, really disrupting offenses. It’s really hard to replace something like that. This year, I think our defense at the top is good, Michael Gbinije gives us a guy with really good size, but obviously a talent like Michael (Carter-Williams) is going to be very hard to replace, especially on the defensive end.
What can we expect from B.J. Johnson this season?
B.J. has had really good practices thus far, he played very well this summer. He’s one of the better shooters on our team. He’s very long and has a ton of athleticism. At the same time, he’s continuing to learn and progress as we go.
What sort of growth have you seen out of Jerami Grant?
Jerami has been frustrated a little bit by this summer. He couldn’t play at the Under-19 World Championships, got hurt right in the beginning of practices once we started too and just came back around a week ago. He did play at the summer trip though, and played very well. I have seen him improve very much in his game. I think he has a lot of things he can still do to improve even more, and he will. At the same time, he’s really a tremendous player. He had an excellent season for us last year, he seemed to shine most in big games which is incredibly valuable for us.
