Student-Athlete Quotes - NC State
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. NC State
February 15, 2014
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
C.J. Fair, Senior, Forward
Can you talk about the last play?
“Coach was telling us to trap, and then they will get out and foul. We got a good trap in the corner, and Rakeem (Christmas) jumped the pass. From there I just took off for the fast break and Tyler (Ennis) was able to find me, and I was able to convert. That was a big play.”
Coach said you didn’t have your legs today. Is that true?
“It might have been true. I looked at the way some of my jumpers were going. A couple of them were going long and I think that comes from me just using all upper body in my shots. We have a day off tomorrow, so hopefully I will be able to regroup and get ready for Boston College.”
These last three games have been tough for you guys. Have you been doing anything special in practice to prepare and improve your offense?
“We need to get better in offense. It starts with me, I think that if I can get things going early throughout the whole game, it well make things for my teammates a lot easier. If I can get going I think our offense will be a lot better.”
Rakeem Christmas, Junior, Center
What’s the key to your shot-blocking?
“Timing. When the ball is in the air, I’m going to try to go get it and jump my highest.”
Rakeem on the improvement of his free throw shooting.
“Coach Hopkins has been telling me that’s one thing that I need to improve on and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Coach said he wants you to start shooting jump-shots to get more comfortable at the line, has that helped?
“Yes it has. I took that jump shot in the game, and we take many jump shots during practice.”
Can you take us through the last play? Were you able to see that the player was going to throw the ball at you?
“Yes, we tried to get the trap in the corner and the player I stole the ball from was the only one there. I figured that was where the ball was going, so I tried to jump it really quick.”
Tyler Ennis, Freshman, Guard
Can you take us through the last play. Rak (Rakeem Christmas) gets a play, hits you, you go up to (C.J.) Fair and that’s it?
“We got a trap in the corner and Rac (Rakeem Christmas) came up big, stepped up and got a steal and we just put it right on the floor and C.J. (Fair) got open.”
Did you guys ever think ‘ok we have won so many close games, maybe this is the game maybe we’re not going to win’?
“No, never. The whole end of the second half Trevor (Cooney) was saying we have been here before and we have. We have been in a lot of situations. We just have to find ways to win and we were able to do that today.”
Have you ever been on a team where you get wins like this and where the ball bounces in your favor?
“I don’t think this much. All our games in the past few weeks, especially conference, have been close and I don’t think I have played that many close games back-to-back-to-back.”
Jerami Grant, Sophomore, Forward
Can you talk about the last minute? You guys pulled out another close win.
“That was our defense. Our defense came through in the clutch. We forced two turnovers in the last minute when we were down. Definitely our defense is what won us the game and obviously a great player like C.J. (Fair) being able to finish on the break.”
Jerami, you are a little more confident with your jump shot and it has been going down. Have you been working on that in practice?
“Definitely. I work on that everyday, before and after practice and before games. I feel confident shooting.”
You led the team with 14 rebounds, you had the most offensive rebounds on the team. What was going on today? You were an animal.
“I wanted to get as many extra possessions as possible. I wanted to get more possessions to get my team more baskets.”
Syracuse vs. NC State
February 15, 2014
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
C.J. Fair, Senior, Forward
Can you talk about the last play?
“Coach was telling us to trap, and then they will get out and foul. We got a good trap in the corner, and Rakeem (Christmas) jumped the pass. From there I just took off for the fast break and Tyler (Ennis) was able to find me, and I was able to convert. That was a big play.”
Coach said you didn’t have your legs today. Is that true?
“It might have been true. I looked at the way some of my jumpers were going. A couple of them were going long and I think that comes from me just using all upper body in my shots. We have a day off tomorrow, so hopefully I will be able to regroup and get ready for Boston College.”
These last three games have been tough for you guys. Have you been doing anything special in practice to prepare and improve your offense?
“We need to get better in offense. It starts with me, I think that if I can get things going early throughout the whole game, it well make things for my teammates a lot easier. If I can get going I think our offense will be a lot better.”
Rakeem Christmas, Junior, Center
What’s the key to your shot-blocking?
“Timing. When the ball is in the air, I’m going to try to go get it and jump my highest.”
Rakeem on the improvement of his free throw shooting.
“Coach Hopkins has been telling me that’s one thing that I need to improve on and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Coach said he wants you to start shooting jump-shots to get more comfortable at the line, has that helped?
“Yes it has. I took that jump shot in the game, and we take many jump shots during practice.”
Can you take us through the last play? Were you able to see that the player was going to throw the ball at you?
“Yes, we tried to get the trap in the corner and the player I stole the ball from was the only one there. I figured that was where the ball was going, so I tried to jump it really quick.”
Tyler Ennis, Freshman, Guard
Can you take us through the last play. Rak (Rakeem Christmas) gets a play, hits you, you go up to (C.J.) Fair and that’s it?
“We got a trap in the corner and Rac (Rakeem Christmas) came up big, stepped up and got a steal and we just put it right on the floor and C.J. (Fair) got open.”
Did you guys ever think ‘ok we have won so many close games, maybe this is the game maybe we’re not going to win’?
“No, never. The whole end of the second half Trevor (Cooney) was saying we have been here before and we have. We have been in a lot of situations. We just have to find ways to win and we were able to do that today.”
Have you ever been on a team where you get wins like this and where the ball bounces in your favor?
“I don’t think this much. All our games in the past few weeks, especially conference, have been close and I don’t think I have played that many close games back-to-back-to-back.”
Jerami Grant, Sophomore, Forward
Can you talk about the last minute? You guys pulled out another close win.
“That was our defense. Our defense came through in the clutch. We forced two turnovers in the last minute when we were down. Definitely our defense is what won us the game and obviously a great player like C.J. (Fair) being able to finish on the break.”
Jerami, you are a little more confident with your jump shot and it has been going down. Have you been working on that in practice?
“Definitely. I work on that everyday, before and after practice and before games. I feel confident shooting.”
You led the team with 14 rebounds, you had the most offensive rebounds on the team. What was going on today? You were an animal.
“I wanted to get as many extra possessions as possible. I wanted to get more possessions to get my team more baskets.”
