Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Baylor
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Baylor
November 27, 2013
Lahaina Civic Center, Maui, Hawaii
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement
"I thought the difference is we finally got our defense going after they made those first four threes, we got our defense going. We were much better with the shooters. They really shoot the ball well from the perimeter, and we did a much better job against that. But, you know, the key was offense. Our offense has been really good here. C.J. (Fair) got us off to a great start, and then Jerami (Grant) had a great stretch, and then the last four plays, and the new play we put in for this tournament, I guess we'll keep it in there. It worked pretty good.
"C.J. got some good looks, and we had to keep scoring. They were making a run, and they're really a good rebounding team. We were spread out to watch their three-point shooters, and they were getting in the lane. We forced them to miss, but they tipped them in. So they're a good team. A really good team. I think this was a great tournament for us, particularly our young guards. I think it was very helpful for them, and figuring out, you know, how to make plays three nights in a row. So this was a really good tournament for us."
Is there a secret to doing well here (Maui Invitational)?
"Yeah, we just played well here. We beat Indiana in the finals first two times, really good Indiana teams, and we beat a really good Baylor team. This was a struggle for us. Against Minnesota we were two points up with, I think, less than two or three minutes to go and the game was in the balance. C.J. made a runner in the lane that really got us the win. Then Cal was really difficult and we made crazy shots, really difficult shots and got the lead. And our defense was better tonight. But normally it's our defense, but it's hard in this gym. People are going to score here. You're not going to score here. We did as good a job as we can reasonably expect to do against their offense."
Would you like to bring another of your teams out here again in the future?
"I've retired from Maui -- that's what I will tell you. I'm very happy to go into the sunset. The next time I come to Maui, I'll have my golf clubs. I did not have them this time. But I'm going to go outside tomorrow morning on the beach for the first time."
Make a few closing comments about the trip to Maui?
"Well, it's a great trip, obviously. Unfortunately, right now I'm thinking about Indiana. I'm not thinking about this anymore. So I really can't -- I never enjoy these things for very long."
"But we wanted to get into a tournament this year, and we do every year. We want to play in a tournament that's going to test us. And usually you get an easy game in a tournament -- we had four ridiculously difficult games, and the most difficult one was the first one before we even got to Maui. We barely escaped with that first game. Every game here has been difficult. I think, again, that's good for our team. I think we've grown a lot, we've learned a lot, and we've seen a lot of things that we can improve on.
It's been a great trip and certainly it's a beautiful place. I'll try to enjoy it tomorrow morning before we go home."
Syracuse vs. Baylor
November 27, 2013
Lahaina Civic Center, Maui, Hawaii
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement
"I thought the difference is we finally got our defense going after they made those first four threes, we got our defense going. We were much better with the shooters. They really shoot the ball well from the perimeter, and we did a much better job against that. But, you know, the key was offense. Our offense has been really good here. C.J. (Fair) got us off to a great start, and then Jerami (Grant) had a great stretch, and then the last four plays, and the new play we put in for this tournament, I guess we'll keep it in there. It worked pretty good.
"C.J. got some good looks, and we had to keep scoring. They were making a run, and they're really a good rebounding team. We were spread out to watch their three-point shooters, and they were getting in the lane. We forced them to miss, but they tipped them in. So they're a good team. A really good team. I think this was a great tournament for us, particularly our young guards. I think it was very helpful for them, and figuring out, you know, how to make plays three nights in a row. So this was a really good tournament for us."
Is there a secret to doing well here (Maui Invitational)?
"Yeah, we just played well here. We beat Indiana in the finals first two times, really good Indiana teams, and we beat a really good Baylor team. This was a struggle for us. Against Minnesota we were two points up with, I think, less than two or three minutes to go and the game was in the balance. C.J. made a runner in the lane that really got us the win. Then Cal was really difficult and we made crazy shots, really difficult shots and got the lead. And our defense was better tonight. But normally it's our defense, but it's hard in this gym. People are going to score here. You're not going to score here. We did as good a job as we can reasonably expect to do against their offense."
Would you like to bring another of your teams out here again in the future?
"I've retired from Maui -- that's what I will tell you. I'm very happy to go into the sunset. The next time I come to Maui, I'll have my golf clubs. I did not have them this time. But I'm going to go outside tomorrow morning on the beach for the first time."
Make a few closing comments about the trip to Maui?
"Well, it's a great trip, obviously. Unfortunately, right now I'm thinking about Indiana. I'm not thinking about this anymore. So I really can't -- I never enjoy these things for very long."
"But we wanted to get into a tournament this year, and we do every year. We want to play in a tournament that's going to test us. And usually you get an easy game in a tournament -- we had four ridiculously difficult games, and the most difficult one was the first one before we even got to Maui. We barely escaped with that first game. Every game here has been difficult. I think, again, that's good for our team. I think we've grown a lot, we've learned a lot, and we've seen a lot of things that we can improve on.
It's been a great trip and certainly it's a beautiful place. I'll try to enjoy it tomorrow morning before we go home."
