Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Indiana
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Indiana
December 3, 2013
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement
“The one thing I was worried about all week, in fact I started worrying about it after the buzzer in Maui, is traditionally we’ve come back and it’s very hard to get our legs back going. I thought we looked a little tired at the end of the half tonight. They played 10 guys, they were pushing it on us, that’s what my main concern was and our defense was not good the whole trip in Hawaii. It was an offensive trip, but I thought really after (Kevin) Ferrell hit a couple we got him and we really did the best job defensively we’ve done in a long time this year, probably the whole year, and just didn’t let them get anything. We finally got our offense going a little bit and made a couple of baskets but our defense was the difference for the first time this year. Coming back from Hawaii I thought everybody held their legs pretty good, the energy level was pretty good. I think Indiana is a young team. It’s going to take them a little while to adjust. Watching them on tape, they’ve got some athletes, they’ve got some guys that can play, and they’ll get better and better as the year goes along.”
Tyler (Ennis) and Trevor (Cooney) had a lot of steals tonight, was their play the difference?
“They played well, both guards, the whole Hawaii trip. Those two kids, they’ve really played well. One’s a first-year player; the other guy really didn’t play a lot last year so I don’t think you could ask for them to play at a higher level than what they have played. It’s really been amazing the level of play that they’ve had. They’ve really picked up the whole team. I don’t think you could say enough about how they’ve played this year.”
What adjustments did you make after the half on offense and defense?
“We knew they were trying to get inside. We got back and took it away a couple times on the interior passes and when (Noah) Vonleh put it on the floor I think Tyler got it once and we made some steals down there. They were not shooting the ball well. They made an effort to go inside and not shoot the ball. We were just able to get back in there and get some help which we usually don’t help that much down inside. Our centers were a little too physical, you know, it was both ways. Both guys were battling for position – so, I don’t know, I’d have to look at it - but they need to make that adjustment better. But our defense was just good during that stretch. We hit a couple shots when they went zone. When they went to the 1-3-1 we really did a good job of moving the ball. We got it to Trevor and he made a three. I think he made the second three and I think before that we scored both times against the zone and I think that’s what broke the game wide open.”
Has Trevor Cooney been doing anything differently on offense?
“No, he’s always shot the ball well. It’s just hard to shoot from the bench. It’s really hard. I never found a guy that could make threes from the bench. He played well in spots last year, but he was playing behind a guy that’s averaging about 20 points a game in the NBA and a senior who was really, really good and he waited his turn, he worked hard. It’s a good lesson. I think it should be said that here’s a guy his redshirt year, he worked his tail off every day. The last year, he really didn’t get to play a lot and he worked even harder to prepare himself and then this year his opportunity came. He was ready and there’s a great lesson there. He’s earned his spot, he’s really worked hard and he’s playing as well as anybody. You can ask anybody to play that position, both on offense and defense, he’s playing really good on the defensive end – four steals tonight, him and Tyler – both those guys are playing beyond any hopes or expectations and that’s why we’re in a good position. If they were playing like you would expect, we’d probably have at least a couple of losses at this stage of the season.”
How tough has Trevor been?
“He’s a tough kid, he’s very tough. That was an accident. The kid didn’t try to do that, it was just a physical play and that’s just the way it is.”
Of all the talk of the freshmen across the country, do you think Tyler gets overlooked? Especially with his value to this team?”
“I think it’s pretty obvious. I don’t know what people are looking at, but they’re not watching performance, obviously.”
Can you talk a little bit about C.J. Fair’s career arch and his evolution to this point?
“He’s been a great, steady player from day one. From day one he’s been good and he got better a little bit each year. He’s better this year. He’s putting the ball on the floor better, making better plays. He’s still not quite there because he’s not used to having the ball that much and really what’s helped him and why he got better and better is the guards have played better. The better the guards play, the more they have to be concerned about them, the more opportunities there are for C.J. and you can’t leave Trevor. You just can’t leave him or Tyler, the way he’s playing. The better those two guys play, the better C.J. plays. If they don’t play well like early in the year - they were probably struggling to score - C.J. struggles because they have more guys helping on him. He needs those guys to play. I think our big guys are getting better. The one thing that’s overlooked is they set great screens. They get Tyler and Trevor open for those jump shots, they get C.J. open on the baseline and that’s a big part of the way we play and they’ve been solid on defense. I think they’re getting better and I think it’s a process. It will get better, but we’re doing all right the way we’re doing it right now so we’ll try to keep it going this way and we’ll try to get better. I think it’s still early. I think all teams have to get better. I wouldn’t read anything into this game. Indiana is a very young team. I think we caught a break in Maui a little bit - Baylor is a really good team, but we played them really well. Our defense has to get better and that’s really a big key for us. We have to get better on the defensive end and that was there a little bit tonight.”
What did you see your centers do well tonight?
“Well they made a lot of free-throws I know that. I thought our centers were good. They played good position, they kept people out of there. Their contributions aren’t necessarily on who they’re playing, it’s on the whole set of the defense and how they play it. Our traps were good, we got some steals out of it and that’s a big part to what they do, how they play. They don’t necessarily have to score for us to be successful, but I think they’ll get better.”
Syracuse vs. Indiana
December 3, 2013
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement
“The one thing I was worried about all week, in fact I started worrying about it after the buzzer in Maui, is traditionally we’ve come back and it’s very hard to get our legs back going. I thought we looked a little tired at the end of the half tonight. They played 10 guys, they were pushing it on us, that’s what my main concern was and our defense was not good the whole trip in Hawaii. It was an offensive trip, but I thought really after (Kevin) Ferrell hit a couple we got him and we really did the best job defensively we’ve done in a long time this year, probably the whole year, and just didn’t let them get anything. We finally got our offense going a little bit and made a couple of baskets but our defense was the difference for the first time this year. Coming back from Hawaii I thought everybody held their legs pretty good, the energy level was pretty good. I think Indiana is a young team. It’s going to take them a little while to adjust. Watching them on tape, they’ve got some athletes, they’ve got some guys that can play, and they’ll get better and better as the year goes along.”
Tyler (Ennis) and Trevor (Cooney) had a lot of steals tonight, was their play the difference?
“They played well, both guards, the whole Hawaii trip. Those two kids, they’ve really played well. One’s a first-year player; the other guy really didn’t play a lot last year so I don’t think you could ask for them to play at a higher level than what they have played. It’s really been amazing the level of play that they’ve had. They’ve really picked up the whole team. I don’t think you could say enough about how they’ve played this year.”
What adjustments did you make after the half on offense and defense?
“We knew they were trying to get inside. We got back and took it away a couple times on the interior passes and when (Noah) Vonleh put it on the floor I think Tyler got it once and we made some steals down there. They were not shooting the ball well. They made an effort to go inside and not shoot the ball. We were just able to get back in there and get some help which we usually don’t help that much down inside. Our centers were a little too physical, you know, it was both ways. Both guys were battling for position – so, I don’t know, I’d have to look at it - but they need to make that adjustment better. But our defense was just good during that stretch. We hit a couple shots when they went zone. When they went to the 1-3-1 we really did a good job of moving the ball. We got it to Trevor and he made a three. I think he made the second three and I think before that we scored both times against the zone and I think that’s what broke the game wide open.”
Has Trevor Cooney been doing anything differently on offense?
“No, he’s always shot the ball well. It’s just hard to shoot from the bench. It’s really hard. I never found a guy that could make threes from the bench. He played well in spots last year, but he was playing behind a guy that’s averaging about 20 points a game in the NBA and a senior who was really, really good and he waited his turn, he worked hard. It’s a good lesson. I think it should be said that here’s a guy his redshirt year, he worked his tail off every day. The last year, he really didn’t get to play a lot and he worked even harder to prepare himself and then this year his opportunity came. He was ready and there’s a great lesson there. He’s earned his spot, he’s really worked hard and he’s playing as well as anybody. You can ask anybody to play that position, both on offense and defense, he’s playing really good on the defensive end – four steals tonight, him and Tyler – both those guys are playing beyond any hopes or expectations and that’s why we’re in a good position. If they were playing like you would expect, we’d probably have at least a couple of losses at this stage of the season.”
How tough has Trevor been?
“He’s a tough kid, he’s very tough. That was an accident. The kid didn’t try to do that, it was just a physical play and that’s just the way it is.”
Of all the talk of the freshmen across the country, do you think Tyler gets overlooked? Especially with his value to this team?”
“I think it’s pretty obvious. I don’t know what people are looking at, but they’re not watching performance, obviously.”
Can you talk a little bit about C.J. Fair’s career arch and his evolution to this point?
“He’s been a great, steady player from day one. From day one he’s been good and he got better a little bit each year. He’s better this year. He’s putting the ball on the floor better, making better plays. He’s still not quite there because he’s not used to having the ball that much and really what’s helped him and why he got better and better is the guards have played better. The better the guards play, the more they have to be concerned about them, the more opportunities there are for C.J. and you can’t leave Trevor. You just can’t leave him or Tyler, the way he’s playing. The better those two guys play, the better C.J. plays. If they don’t play well like early in the year - they were probably struggling to score - C.J. struggles because they have more guys helping on him. He needs those guys to play. I think our big guys are getting better. The one thing that’s overlooked is they set great screens. They get Tyler and Trevor open for those jump shots, they get C.J. open on the baseline and that’s a big part of the way we play and they’ve been solid on defense. I think they’re getting better and I think it’s a process. It will get better, but we’re doing all right the way we’re doing it right now so we’ll try to keep it going this way and we’ll try to get better. I think it’s still early. I think all teams have to get better. I wouldn’t read anything into this game. Indiana is a very young team. I think we caught a break in Maui a little bit - Baylor is a really good team, but we played them really well. Our defense has to get better and that’s really a big key for us. We have to get better on the defensive end and that was there a little bit tonight.”
What did you see your centers do well tonight?
“Well they made a lot of free-throws I know that. I thought our centers were good. They played good position, they kept people out of there. Their contributions aren’t necessarily on who they’re playing, it’s on the whole set of the defense and how they play it. Our traps were good, we got some steals out of it and that’s a big part to what they do, how they play. They don’t necessarily have to score for us to be successful, but I think they’ll get better.”
