Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Boston College
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Boston College
February 19, 2014
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes
Opening Statement:
“I thought we did an unbelievable job in the first half defensively. Offensively we were not good. They made a couple plays at the start of the second half and we lost our defense. We just allowed them to shoot three’s and they made seven. We just completely lost our defensive edge in the second half. Offensively we were not shooting the ball particularly well the last few games. But, when you get in to these games, there’s going to be one of them that you’re not going to make a play. We missed a couple of easy shots, we missed a couple of free throws and they made their free throws. That’s what happens when you get into these games. I thought Boston College was a very good offensive team. They made some big shots from different guys. They had four different players make three’s in the second half. I just thought they played well. Offensively we just couldn’t get going and we didn’t do a good job on the boards, which is something we have to do. At the end of games, if you get in to enough of these games, you’re not going to win them all.”
What made Boston College so difficult to guard?
“They have good passers, good ball handlers. They have four guys who can shoot three’s and I think (Ryan) Anderson’s a really good inside player. We have to play better on offensive. They scored against us but we need to be better on offensive. Our offense just wasn’t what it needs to be.”
Baye Moussa Keita didn’t play much. Was that the plan?
“I wanted to see him. He was okay in practice yesterday. He’s fine health wise but he’s not moving quite the way he needs to to be effective. He’s getting better, hopefully by Saturday he’ll be better.”
Do you guys want C.J. Fair to take this many shots?
“Yes. We have to get the ball to him. We can’t get Trevor (Cooney) there, they’re guarding Trevor and not letting him loose so there are openings for him and Jerami (Grant) and they have to take advantage. I thought Rak (Rakeem Christmas) would have a big game tonight. He was nonexistent the whole game.”
Can you talk about the good look you had in the lane at the end of regulation?
“Yeah, (it was) a good look. We should be going to the basket. (Rakeem Christmas) takes a jump hook, it’s not the right play. We knew that in double team we could get him the ball, we got him the ball right there. You have to make that. But, you’re not going to make all those plays. We have to play better during the course of the game.
“We won’t have that Saturday night, we won’t have to worry about that, there will be a lot of possessions Saturday night. It will be a different game. You’re just not going to win all these games. I’m not sure exactly how we have won so many games. We haven’t played that well offensively other than a game or two here and there, our defense has kept us in there. We’ve made good plays down the stretch. We made some good plays down the stretch tonight, but we didn’t stop them. We gave them a layup – we just talked about that play. We didn’t execute defensively the way we normally do, but if you get in these games it’s going to happen. Sometimes you’re going to make a mistake in a situation like that and we did.”
What do you think the major problem is with the offense?
“We’re not putting the ball in the basket. When C.J. (Fair) goes 7-for-23 I’m surprised that we’re in the game. Rakeem (Christmas) makes one shot, one tip in, Trevor (Cooney) makes two shots, and we’re not going to win too many games like that. We have to score more. We’re not going to win games shooting 32 percent, 16 percent from the three. It’s pretty simple, it’s not complicated. We need to be better on offense, it’s that simple.”
Do you like a majority of the shots you’re getting?
“Yes, we can’t shoot jump shots. We have to get to the basket so we have to drive. We did that, we got to the foul line but we have to make some on the offensive end.”
Is this a wakeup call to your team?
“They’re wide awake. We’re just not hitting shots and not playing well on offense, this is not a complicated thing. We should have two or three more loses in the last three games, but we have made unbelievably tough plays at the end of games and the other teams have either missed shots or made mistakes. They have a guy (Lonnie Jackson) who is 56-percent from the foul line, but he made four in a row.
Have your players felt any pressure?
“No, there is no pressure. There is only pressure if you don’t have enough wins.”
Can you reflect on winning 25 wins in a row and what it means to you?
“Nothing. We just have to play better and we will have a good time Saturday night. In the ACC you have to look at the facts. We have only had two easy games, one of them being North Carolina when they were just playing badly and the other was Virginia Tech and they had a bad game. Other than that we have had 11 games where we were in trouble, so we have had 11 close games. I don’t think our defense can be a lot better, but offensively we have to play a lot better. We can’t shoot like that and win games.
With the end of the streak how do you think this will affect your team?
“You can’t think about the past. If you want to look back on the season, look back after the season is over, but what we have to be concerned with is how we are playing during the season right now and how we go forward and play from there. Now that we have lost a game we have to see how we react to that. We have one of the best teams (Duke) in the country on Saturday night and I think Virginia is one of the best teams. And Maryland lost to Duke by one basket. It’s how we react. We have tough games and we had tough games at the end of the schedule last year. It’s just the way it worked out two years in a row and we have to adjust to it.
Closing Statement
“I’m happy we have won 25 games, that’s a great thing, but we can’t be thinking about that. We have to think about what to do in order to get better - maybe execute a bit better on offense, but at the end of the day you have to get the ball in the paint. We’re not getting to the basket. In the second half they made all those threes when they needed to and that happens. Offensively we have to get better and we have a few games left to improve. This team works hard and they will bounce back. It’s been an unbelievable run where we have made unbelievable plays in the last six minutes of games. And it is something I have never seen before. We’ve had great teams, but we have never had any teams that would have won all these games at the end - the way this team has - its remarkable what they’ve done."
"But the time to think about that is when the season is done. Right now we need to think about having two good days of preparation and Duke is one of the toughest places to play in the last five years and I’m sure they have one of the best home records of any team in the last five years. And they’re playing really well and they attacked us really well here. It’ll be a great challenge for us and that’s something we need for us to regroup. We have plenty of time to reflect back on the season when the season is over.”
Syracuse vs. Boston College
February 19, 2014
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes
Opening Statement:
“I thought we did an unbelievable job in the first half defensively. Offensively we were not good. They made a couple plays at the start of the second half and we lost our defense. We just allowed them to shoot three’s and they made seven. We just completely lost our defensive edge in the second half. Offensively we were not shooting the ball particularly well the last few games. But, when you get in to these games, there’s going to be one of them that you’re not going to make a play. We missed a couple of easy shots, we missed a couple of free throws and they made their free throws. That’s what happens when you get into these games. I thought Boston College was a very good offensive team. They made some big shots from different guys. They had four different players make three’s in the second half. I just thought they played well. Offensively we just couldn’t get going and we didn’t do a good job on the boards, which is something we have to do. At the end of games, if you get in to enough of these games, you’re not going to win them all.”
What made Boston College so difficult to guard?
“They have good passers, good ball handlers. They have four guys who can shoot three’s and I think (Ryan) Anderson’s a really good inside player. We have to play better on offensive. They scored against us but we need to be better on offensive. Our offense just wasn’t what it needs to be.”
Baye Moussa Keita didn’t play much. Was that the plan?
“I wanted to see him. He was okay in practice yesterday. He’s fine health wise but he’s not moving quite the way he needs to to be effective. He’s getting better, hopefully by Saturday he’ll be better.”
Do you guys want C.J. Fair to take this many shots?
“Yes. We have to get the ball to him. We can’t get Trevor (Cooney) there, they’re guarding Trevor and not letting him loose so there are openings for him and Jerami (Grant) and they have to take advantage. I thought Rak (Rakeem Christmas) would have a big game tonight. He was nonexistent the whole game.”
Can you talk about the good look you had in the lane at the end of regulation?
“Yeah, (it was) a good look. We should be going to the basket. (Rakeem Christmas) takes a jump hook, it’s not the right play. We knew that in double team we could get him the ball, we got him the ball right there. You have to make that. But, you’re not going to make all those plays. We have to play better during the course of the game.
“We won’t have that Saturday night, we won’t have to worry about that, there will be a lot of possessions Saturday night. It will be a different game. You’re just not going to win all these games. I’m not sure exactly how we have won so many games. We haven’t played that well offensively other than a game or two here and there, our defense has kept us in there. We’ve made good plays down the stretch. We made some good plays down the stretch tonight, but we didn’t stop them. We gave them a layup – we just talked about that play. We didn’t execute defensively the way we normally do, but if you get in these games it’s going to happen. Sometimes you’re going to make a mistake in a situation like that and we did.”
What do you think the major problem is with the offense?
“We’re not putting the ball in the basket. When C.J. (Fair) goes 7-for-23 I’m surprised that we’re in the game. Rakeem (Christmas) makes one shot, one tip in, Trevor (Cooney) makes two shots, and we’re not going to win too many games like that. We have to score more. We’re not going to win games shooting 32 percent, 16 percent from the three. It’s pretty simple, it’s not complicated. We need to be better on offense, it’s that simple.”
Do you like a majority of the shots you’re getting?
“Yes, we can’t shoot jump shots. We have to get to the basket so we have to drive. We did that, we got to the foul line but we have to make some on the offensive end.”
Is this a wakeup call to your team?
“They’re wide awake. We’re just not hitting shots and not playing well on offense, this is not a complicated thing. We should have two or three more loses in the last three games, but we have made unbelievably tough plays at the end of games and the other teams have either missed shots or made mistakes. They have a guy (Lonnie Jackson) who is 56-percent from the foul line, but he made four in a row.
Have your players felt any pressure?
“No, there is no pressure. There is only pressure if you don’t have enough wins.”
Can you reflect on winning 25 wins in a row and what it means to you?
“Nothing. We just have to play better and we will have a good time Saturday night. In the ACC you have to look at the facts. We have only had two easy games, one of them being North Carolina when they were just playing badly and the other was Virginia Tech and they had a bad game. Other than that we have had 11 games where we were in trouble, so we have had 11 close games. I don’t think our defense can be a lot better, but offensively we have to play a lot better. We can’t shoot like that and win games.
With the end of the streak how do you think this will affect your team?
“You can’t think about the past. If you want to look back on the season, look back after the season is over, but what we have to be concerned with is how we are playing during the season right now and how we go forward and play from there. Now that we have lost a game we have to see how we react to that. We have one of the best teams (Duke) in the country on Saturday night and I think Virginia is one of the best teams. And Maryland lost to Duke by one basket. It’s how we react. We have tough games and we had tough games at the end of the schedule last year. It’s just the way it worked out two years in a row and we have to adjust to it.
Closing Statement
“I’m happy we have won 25 games, that’s a great thing, but we can’t be thinking about that. We have to think about what to do in order to get better - maybe execute a bit better on offense, but at the end of the day you have to get the ball in the paint. We’re not getting to the basket. In the second half they made all those threes when they needed to and that happens. Offensively we have to get better and we have a few games left to improve. This team works hard and they will bounce back. It’s been an unbelievable run where we have made unbelievable plays in the last six minutes of games. And it is something I have never seen before. We’ve had great teams, but we have never had any teams that would have won all these games at the end - the way this team has - its remarkable what they’ve done."
"But the time to think about that is when the season is done. Right now we need to think about having two good days of preparation and Duke is one of the toughest places to play in the last five years and I’m sure they have one of the best home records of any team in the last five years. And they’re playing really well and they attacked us really well here. It’ll be a great challenge for us and that’s something we need for us to regroup. We have plenty of time to reflect back on the season when the season is over.”
