Student-Athlete Quotes - Indiana
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Indiana
December 3, 2013
Student-Athlete Quotes
Trevor Cooney, Redshirt Sophomore, Guard
Talk about your night. You came out with 21 points on the night. Talk about the start of the season to you becoming a shooting threat and how you adjusted to that with Indiana and the scrappy defense.
“I came out regular today, feeling good and my teammates just said for me to get open. Guys found me for me to get my shot off.”
What was going on in the locker room and the adjustment to get the 25-5 run in the second half?
“It was all defense for us. Our 2-3 has been the best it has ever been this year. It was about being active, getting into passing lanes and standing big and we did a great job of that tonight.”
How about the chemistry of you and Tyler (Ennis) in the backcourt?
“He is a great point guard his eyes are always up, his head is always up and he is looking to make the right play no matter what. He makes our job a lot easier. All we have to do is find the open spots and he will find us.”
Coach Boeheim was talking about how you hung in there for the last couple of years, you worked hard in your redshirt year, you worked hard during last year. What was the motivation for those years and how did you hang in there for those years and continue to work as hard as you did?
“It was a process and that’s how I treated it – with maturity. (It was) just learning from the guys in front of me and working with G-Mac (Gerry McNamara) everyday, to having a good coach like Coach Boeheim and having a great support system. Just keep working and knowing one day your turn is going to come and it is going to start rolling.”
Would you have imagined Tyler you would have as well as a start to the season as you have? You have not had any bad games, this is the first year both of you have started, can you address that?
“Coming in he (Tyler Ennis) took a class for a few weeks and I was up on campus and worked out with him. I got to know him. You realize he is a great kid. He comes out and works hard every day and he wants to win. When you have a kid like that, playing with him and having a point guard like that makes everything easier.”
Tyler Ennis, Freshman, Guard
Can you talk about the atmosphere here tonight?
“It was crazy tonight, but that’s what I expected. We knew people would show up for a big game like this. They helped us continue our runs on offensive and on defense.”
Did you ever imagine the season starting this well for you and Trevor?
“For Trevor it is not surprising because we see how hard he works day in and day out. The season he had last year was not reflective of the work he put in. Me and Trevor have bonded since day one and we have a relationship on and off the court. Playing with him and knowing him, I am starting to know when and where he likes the ball.”
What does playing a team like Indiana do for your energy level and competition level?
“We know it’s a big game coming in. They are a good team year in and year out. We were excited to play them and practiced for them a few days earlier. We wanted to show people that we are one of the top teams in the country by beating them.”
A lot of freshmen in the country are getting a lot of hype, do you feel like you have been overlooked?
“I started off a bit slower than the other guys but that’s expected being a freshman point guard of a top-10 team. If we continue to win and play well, the personal accolades will come to everybody. But I’m not worried. I try and stay away from the articles about the other freshmen, but I watch ESPN and see the freshmen focus and it is motivating for me because I know I can play at their level.”
CJ Fair, Senior, Forward
It was the best defensive game of the whole year, what was the difference tonight?
“They couldn’t get their offense going. They are a running team and they couldn’t get out on the fastbreak. Second half they were slow and that is not their type of basketball.”
How does it help you once Tyler and Trevor are making plays?
“It helps a lot because it makes the defense stay honest. Whenever my teammates score it makes my job easier. But when I score, it makes my teammates jobs easier. It goes hand in hand.”
Tyler dominated in Maui and he had a great game tonight, what can you say about his performance?
“He’s playing like the point guard we need him to be and he is making big plays when it counts. You can’t have high expectations for a freshman, especially in the point guard position and hopefully he can keep on progressing.”
We don’t see you get in foul trouble that much, but how did your teammates help step up for you?
“Michael Gbinje stepped up and played the forward position very well. He didn’t let up any offense, but I have to do a better job of monitoring my fouls.”
What was the adjustment you guys made to dominate the second half?
“We started the game hot and with a lot of energy, but we slowed them down and we didn’t let them get anything going.”
How do you progress from Indiana and get ready for the ACC schedule?
“We just have to know that each team from here on out will try and upset us, but we know that we can’t slip up to any team and be consistent.”
Syracuse vs. Indiana
December 3, 2013
Student-Athlete Quotes
Trevor Cooney, Redshirt Sophomore, Guard
Talk about your night. You came out with 21 points on the night. Talk about the start of the season to you becoming a shooting threat and how you adjusted to that with Indiana and the scrappy defense.
“I came out regular today, feeling good and my teammates just said for me to get open. Guys found me for me to get my shot off.”
What was going on in the locker room and the adjustment to get the 25-5 run in the second half?
“It was all defense for us. Our 2-3 has been the best it has ever been this year. It was about being active, getting into passing lanes and standing big and we did a great job of that tonight.”
How about the chemistry of you and Tyler (Ennis) in the backcourt?
“He is a great point guard his eyes are always up, his head is always up and he is looking to make the right play no matter what. He makes our job a lot easier. All we have to do is find the open spots and he will find us.”
Coach Boeheim was talking about how you hung in there for the last couple of years, you worked hard in your redshirt year, you worked hard during last year. What was the motivation for those years and how did you hang in there for those years and continue to work as hard as you did?
“It was a process and that’s how I treated it – with maturity. (It was) just learning from the guys in front of me and working with G-Mac (Gerry McNamara) everyday, to having a good coach like Coach Boeheim and having a great support system. Just keep working and knowing one day your turn is going to come and it is going to start rolling.”
Would you have imagined Tyler you would have as well as a start to the season as you have? You have not had any bad games, this is the first year both of you have started, can you address that?
“Coming in he (Tyler Ennis) took a class for a few weeks and I was up on campus and worked out with him. I got to know him. You realize he is a great kid. He comes out and works hard every day and he wants to win. When you have a kid like that, playing with him and having a point guard like that makes everything easier.”
Tyler Ennis, Freshman, Guard
Can you talk about the atmosphere here tonight?
“It was crazy tonight, but that’s what I expected. We knew people would show up for a big game like this. They helped us continue our runs on offensive and on defense.”
Did you ever imagine the season starting this well for you and Trevor?
“For Trevor it is not surprising because we see how hard he works day in and day out. The season he had last year was not reflective of the work he put in. Me and Trevor have bonded since day one and we have a relationship on and off the court. Playing with him and knowing him, I am starting to know when and where he likes the ball.”
What does playing a team like Indiana do for your energy level and competition level?
“We know it’s a big game coming in. They are a good team year in and year out. We were excited to play them and practiced for them a few days earlier. We wanted to show people that we are one of the top teams in the country by beating them.”
A lot of freshmen in the country are getting a lot of hype, do you feel like you have been overlooked?
“I started off a bit slower than the other guys but that’s expected being a freshman point guard of a top-10 team. If we continue to win and play well, the personal accolades will come to everybody. But I’m not worried. I try and stay away from the articles about the other freshmen, but I watch ESPN and see the freshmen focus and it is motivating for me because I know I can play at their level.”
CJ Fair, Senior, Forward
It was the best defensive game of the whole year, what was the difference tonight?
“They couldn’t get their offense going. They are a running team and they couldn’t get out on the fastbreak. Second half they were slow and that is not their type of basketball.”
How does it help you once Tyler and Trevor are making plays?
“It helps a lot because it makes the defense stay honest. Whenever my teammates score it makes my job easier. But when I score, it makes my teammates jobs easier. It goes hand in hand.”
Tyler dominated in Maui and he had a great game tonight, what can you say about his performance?
“He’s playing like the point guard we need him to be and he is making big plays when it counts. You can’t have high expectations for a freshman, especially in the point guard position and hopefully he can keep on progressing.”
We don’t see you get in foul trouble that much, but how did your teammates help step up for you?
“Michael Gbinje stepped up and played the forward position very well. He didn’t let up any offense, but I have to do a better job of monitoring my fouls.”
What was the adjustment you guys made to dominate the second half?
“We started the game hot and with a lot of energy, but we slowed them down and we didn’t let them get anything going.”
How do you progress from Indiana and get ready for the ACC schedule?
“We just have to know that each team from here on out will try and upset us, but we know that we can’t slip up to any team and be consistent.”
