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Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Cornell
Syracuse vs. Cornell
November 8, 2013
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Opening Statement
“I thought Cornell did a tremendous job in the first half—not only ball movement, but defensively they played us very hard. C.J. (Fair) was trying to do a little too much. He had to play his game, which is not what it was tonight. He has to find his spots and play the way he plays and not the way someone else plays. I thought his play was not characteristic of him. I thought in the second half we made a couple of adjustments defensively—we took away the high-post pass, we got to the shooters better and I thought our movement was a little better. When you don’t move on defense, it does not matter what defense you play. I think they had 18 or 20 points after 16 minutes of the second half, so it’s just a defensive effort.
“I thought we did a good job of finding Trevor (Cooney). He bailed us out when we really needed him in the first half, when we really had nothing. He hit those two threes to get us close at halftime. Those were two monster shots and when he gets going, he is going to make those shots.
“I thought Rak (Rakeem Christmas) and Baye (Moussa Keita) played really well for that stretch in the second half on defense and offense. I thought Mike (Michael Gbinije) did a really good job coming off the bench.
“I give Cornell a lot of credit – I thought they played really well. We just had to get more physical defensively, get more movement and play better defense in the second half. The first half we got out rebounded three rebounds and the second half we forced some turnovers. We made adjustments defensively that made a big difference.”
Can you talk about Trevor’s (Cooney) all-around game?
“He has always been good on defense. His defense has always been good from the beginning. He is a good shooter. When you come off the bench and only play a few minutes it is difficult to make shots sometimes. I have no worries about him on defense.”
Why didn’t Jermai Grant play in tonight’s game:
“He had to miss one game, but he will be back.”
How did you think Michael Gbinije played?
“I thought Mike (Gbinije) was really good. He was good defensively. It is going to take him a while—he didn’t play as a freshman and didn’t play last year. I thought he was steady out there. He had five to six points. I was really happy with what he did. He had a big three. That three was a back-breaker right there.”
Tyler Ennis had eight rebounds and seven assists but only one point. How did you think he played?
“He had good shots. He hasn’t really been taking any shots in practice and in games. I think they (Cornell) left him those shots and he had to take them. I don’t think he has taken enough shots in practice and games. I think he had five shots where he can make three minimum. To his credit he got rebounds and made passes. He is a freshman. I think people get confused when I don’t have to talk to him because he doesn’t make many mistakes. He had a solid game.”
Can you talk about Cornell’s Nolan Cressler’s game?
“He was really good. He made a shot over Baye (Moussa Kieta), he made a shot over Rak (Rakeem Christmas). He picked up a transition three. He is a good player. Sometimes the other team is pretty good, they have good players and they do good things.”
November 8, 2013
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Opening Statement
“I thought Cornell did a tremendous job in the first half—not only ball movement, but defensively they played us very hard. C.J. (Fair) was trying to do a little too much. He had to play his game, which is not what it was tonight. He has to find his spots and play the way he plays and not the way someone else plays. I thought his play was not characteristic of him. I thought in the second half we made a couple of adjustments defensively—we took away the high-post pass, we got to the shooters better and I thought our movement was a little better. When you don’t move on defense, it does not matter what defense you play. I think they had 18 or 20 points after 16 minutes of the second half, so it’s just a defensive effort.
“I thought we did a good job of finding Trevor (Cooney). He bailed us out when we really needed him in the first half, when we really had nothing. He hit those two threes to get us close at halftime. Those were two monster shots and when he gets going, he is going to make those shots.
“I thought Rak (Rakeem Christmas) and Baye (Moussa Keita) played really well for that stretch in the second half on defense and offense. I thought Mike (Michael Gbinije) did a really good job coming off the bench.
“I give Cornell a lot of credit – I thought they played really well. We just had to get more physical defensively, get more movement and play better defense in the second half. The first half we got out rebounded three rebounds and the second half we forced some turnovers. We made adjustments defensively that made a big difference.”
Can you talk about Trevor’s (Cooney) all-around game?
“He has always been good on defense. His defense has always been good from the beginning. He is a good shooter. When you come off the bench and only play a few minutes it is difficult to make shots sometimes. I have no worries about him on defense.”
Why didn’t Jermai Grant play in tonight’s game:
“He had to miss one game, but he will be back.”
How did you think Michael Gbinije played?
“I thought Mike (Gbinije) was really good. He was good defensively. It is going to take him a while—he didn’t play as a freshman and didn’t play last year. I thought he was steady out there. He had five to six points. I was really happy with what he did. He had a big three. That three was a back-breaker right there.”
Tyler Ennis had eight rebounds and seven assists but only one point. How did you think he played?
“He had good shots. He hasn’t really been taking any shots in practice and in games. I think they (Cornell) left him those shots and he had to take them. I don’t think he has taken enough shots in practice and games. I think he had five shots where he can make three minimum. To his credit he got rebounds and made passes. He is a freshman. I think people get confused when I don’t have to talk to him because he doesn’t make many mistakes. He had a solid game.”
Can you talk about Cornell’s Nolan Cressler’s game?
“He was really good. He made a shot over Baye (Moussa Kieta), he made a shot over Rak (Rakeem Christmas). He picked up a transition three. He is a good player. Sometimes the other team is pretty good, they have good players and they do good things.”
