Student-AthleteQuotes1.20.15
Syracuse Men's Basketball
Syracuse vs. Boston College
January 20, 2015
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
Michael Gbinije, Junior, Forward
How did you view your role today especially when Rakeem fouled out of the game? Did you feel like you had to compensate for his absence?
“Yeah at times, definitely. I tried to get in the paint and tried to pretend I’m Rak, but we came out with a win. I was aggressive tonight, and hopefully we can just continue things.”
How do you manifest your playing because sometimes you are aggressive and other times you are not as aggressive? How do you decide going into the game which player is going to show up?
“ It started right after the Clemson game, and I just have to keep that mind set, really. Pregame I was active, getting a sweat in, getting loose, and I was ready to play about 30 minutes before the game. “
This is the most minutes we’ve seen out of Chino (Chinoso Obokoh). How do you think the game changes when he is in? How do you step up and help him?
“I talk to him, if he gets yelled at, if he does something good. I just talk to him. I just make sure he’s alright, and he knows what he’s doing. I think he had some good minutes for the rest of the night. I am a Chino fan myself, so I hope Chino plays great for us whenever he gets an opportunity.”
Kaleb Joseph, Freshman, Guard
When you put a shot up do you ever second-guess yourself?
"No, definitely not. I think that’s the biggest thing you want to eliminate from any basketball player’s mind. You never want to second-guess yourself. You want to be assertive, and you want to be confident. I believe that is the biggest step I have taken this year."
Whose voice do you hear in your head during games? Is it Coach McNamara? Coach Boeheim?
“I hear myself. I am talking to myself. When I have any questions I go to Coach McNamara because he knows my game the best. I work with him every single day. The biggest thing is for me to just be confident and take the shots when they are there.”
You made 9-of-11 free throws, which is really good. Your team was really good at shooting free throws the whole game until the last three or four minutes of the game. What is it about the those last few minutes that you guys have come into trouble at the end of the games?
“I’m not really sure. I’m not in the minds of all my teammates, but I think the biggest thing is to just go to the free-throw line with confidence. It’s just you, the ball and the hoop at that point. You just have to be confident and just shoot the ball. “
You wanted the ball at the end of the game to take those free throws?
“Yeah, I definitely did. I missed the first one, so I definitely wanted to assert myself, and show the coaches I’m not afraid to make big free throws so I definitely wanted to go get the ball. “
Obviously you don’t want to be in a position when you don’t have Rak for that long at the end of the game. What do you think it did to this team?
“I think we had to grow up a little bit. Guys got assertive. They didn’t put their heads down. They stepped up, and everyone rallied behind that. I think we grew up a little bit as a team tonight. “
Syracuse vs. Boston College
January 20, 2015
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
Michael Gbinije, Junior, Forward
How did you view your role today especially when Rakeem fouled out of the game? Did you feel like you had to compensate for his absence?
“Yeah at times, definitely. I tried to get in the paint and tried to pretend I’m Rak, but we came out with a win. I was aggressive tonight, and hopefully we can just continue things.”
How do you manifest your playing because sometimes you are aggressive and other times you are not as aggressive? How do you decide going into the game which player is going to show up?
“ It started right after the Clemson game, and I just have to keep that mind set, really. Pregame I was active, getting a sweat in, getting loose, and I was ready to play about 30 minutes before the game. “
This is the most minutes we’ve seen out of Chino (Chinoso Obokoh). How do you think the game changes when he is in? How do you step up and help him?
“I talk to him, if he gets yelled at, if he does something good. I just talk to him. I just make sure he’s alright, and he knows what he’s doing. I think he had some good minutes for the rest of the night. I am a Chino fan myself, so I hope Chino plays great for us whenever he gets an opportunity.”
Kaleb Joseph, Freshman, Guard
When you put a shot up do you ever second-guess yourself?
"No, definitely not. I think that’s the biggest thing you want to eliminate from any basketball player’s mind. You never want to second-guess yourself. You want to be assertive, and you want to be confident. I believe that is the biggest step I have taken this year."
Whose voice do you hear in your head during games? Is it Coach McNamara? Coach Boeheim?
“I hear myself. I am talking to myself. When I have any questions I go to Coach McNamara because he knows my game the best. I work with him every single day. The biggest thing is for me to just be confident and take the shots when they are there.”
You made 9-of-11 free throws, which is really good. Your team was really good at shooting free throws the whole game until the last three or four minutes of the game. What is it about the those last few minutes that you guys have come into trouble at the end of the games?
“I’m not really sure. I’m not in the minds of all my teammates, but I think the biggest thing is to just go to the free-throw line with confidence. It’s just you, the ball and the hoop at that point. You just have to be confident and just shoot the ball. “
You wanted the ball at the end of the game to take those free throws?
“Yeah, I definitely did. I missed the first one, so I definitely wanted to assert myself, and show the coaches I’m not afraid to make big free throws so I definitely wanted to go get the ball. “
Obviously you don’t want to be in a position when you don’t have Rak for that long at the end of the game. What do you think it did to this team?
“I think we had to grow up a little bit. Guys got assertive. They didn’t put their heads down. They stepped up, and everyone rallied behind that. I think we grew up a little bit as a team tonight. “
