Jim BoeheimQuotes1.20.15
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Boston College
January 20, 2015
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement
“This is the first game in a long time that Rak (Rakeem Christmas) was in big foul trouble, and I thought Mike (Gbinije) and Trevor (Cooney), at the end of the first half, really took over. I thought they played great. The first three shots Boston College got – we’ve gone over that in practice every single day and Tyler (Roberson) just never got it. You give them three threes to start the game, that’s not the way to start them game. That’s inexcusable because that’s all we talked about for two days. Once we made that adjustment, they didn’t get anything until finally Hanlan made some tough threes at the end. But there’s no way we can start out doing that and not understand what we’re trying to do.
“That’s a huge part with two or three of the older players and what they’re supposed to do, and we can’t quite get there. With Rak being out, again we played great, established the lead, got right back in it. He was having a great game, and he got right back and had his fourth. We wanted to use the clock, take as much time off as we could, and then the last five minutes, we had control of the game. And you know, you’ve got to make your foul shots. You’ve got to make better plays in that situation, and we didn’t do that. But the idea is to protect the lead knowing Rak could be out at any time, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that. We just missed some free throws, which you need to make.”
How did Kaleb Joseph play tonight?
“He makes a really good play then he makes a horrendous play. That’s just what it is. We have to live with it. I thought he made some big plays in the second half, which is why he stayed in the game. He has just got to develop a little more consistency. He got that rebound, he was under the basket, we got another 35 seconds on the shot clock and he throws off some unbalanced shot against 6-10 guys. All he had to do was get it under control, bring it out, use the clock again. But he made some really good plays. That's a good thing.”
This was the most Chinonso Obokoh played. How did you think he played?
“We were a little bit fortunate. He gets some rebounds and he plays defense. They didn't go there. They never went there. When Rak (Rakeem Christmas) is out against most teams they’re going to go right there. They are so perimeter oriented that in some way making those first threes in the long run might have helped us. I’m not sure because that's all they did the whole game. It would have hurt us if they had an inside presence right there when Chino (Obokoh) was in there. He’s inexperienced at best in there. They did drive and get us in there a little bit. Overall, we played well enough with Rak (Christmas) out for 17 minutes. That's the longest we’ve had to play without him this year and we survived it. That was good”
They shot free throws really well until the last moments or so. What do you think happened at the end of the game? What are the issues with the free throws?
“Players miss free throws. It happens. It shouldn't when you have a 10- or 12-point lead. It shouldn't be that much pressure. It’s not like it’s a two-point game. When we were down one Rak (Rakeem Christmas) made them both so I guess we have to be in those situations and then we will make them both. It was B.J.’s (Johnson) first time to the line. Trevor (Cooney), I don't know. He has to make those. That's why we try to get him the ball in those situations. Kaleb (Joseph) shot the ball well from the free-throw line."
You guys did a really good job against Olivier Hanlan. He gave you guys a little trouble here and at Boston College last year. What did you do differently?
“Yeah, he gives everybody trouble. He’s a tremendous player. The first half I was surprised when I saw he had seven shots. I didn't notice him. I remember a couple floaters he was in and out on. I think Rak (Rakeem Christmas) might have blocked one. We just did a good job on him I guess. The second half he played really well. Their perimeter guys are good. They’re good players. They’ve been in a lot of games. For a long time tonight we played really well, especially given the fact that Rak (Christmas) was out. That was really a turning point. I don't know exactly what it was when he went out but I don't think it was a lot. It was a big lead. At the half we expanded it to 18. We expanded it from nine to 18.”
Was Kaleb Joseph seem much more aggressive this game?
“He was much better in the second half. He made some really good plays. He’s learned.”
Did Michael Gbinjie really step up tonight?
“When Rak (Rakeem Christmas) went out, he’s the guy that made the plays. The second half we needed a basket. He made a great drive. I think he hit a three. Mike’s just got to be aggressive like that. He’s capable of it. He’s capable of double-doubles. He had four assists as well."
Syracuse vs. Boston College
January 20, 2015
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement
“This is the first game in a long time that Rak (Rakeem Christmas) was in big foul trouble, and I thought Mike (Gbinije) and Trevor (Cooney), at the end of the first half, really took over. I thought they played great. The first three shots Boston College got – we’ve gone over that in practice every single day and Tyler (Roberson) just never got it. You give them three threes to start the game, that’s not the way to start them game. That’s inexcusable because that’s all we talked about for two days. Once we made that adjustment, they didn’t get anything until finally Hanlan made some tough threes at the end. But there’s no way we can start out doing that and not understand what we’re trying to do.
“That’s a huge part with two or three of the older players and what they’re supposed to do, and we can’t quite get there. With Rak being out, again we played great, established the lead, got right back in it. He was having a great game, and he got right back and had his fourth. We wanted to use the clock, take as much time off as we could, and then the last five minutes, we had control of the game. And you know, you’ve got to make your foul shots. You’ve got to make better plays in that situation, and we didn’t do that. But the idea is to protect the lead knowing Rak could be out at any time, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that. We just missed some free throws, which you need to make.”
How did Kaleb Joseph play tonight?
“He makes a really good play then he makes a horrendous play. That’s just what it is. We have to live with it. I thought he made some big plays in the second half, which is why he stayed in the game. He has just got to develop a little more consistency. He got that rebound, he was under the basket, we got another 35 seconds on the shot clock and he throws off some unbalanced shot against 6-10 guys. All he had to do was get it under control, bring it out, use the clock again. But he made some really good plays. That's a good thing.”
This was the most Chinonso Obokoh played. How did you think he played?
“We were a little bit fortunate. He gets some rebounds and he plays defense. They didn't go there. They never went there. When Rak (Rakeem Christmas) is out against most teams they’re going to go right there. They are so perimeter oriented that in some way making those first threes in the long run might have helped us. I’m not sure because that's all they did the whole game. It would have hurt us if they had an inside presence right there when Chino (Obokoh) was in there. He’s inexperienced at best in there. They did drive and get us in there a little bit. Overall, we played well enough with Rak (Christmas) out for 17 minutes. That's the longest we’ve had to play without him this year and we survived it. That was good”
They shot free throws really well until the last moments or so. What do you think happened at the end of the game? What are the issues with the free throws?
“Players miss free throws. It happens. It shouldn't when you have a 10- or 12-point lead. It shouldn't be that much pressure. It’s not like it’s a two-point game. When we were down one Rak (Rakeem Christmas) made them both so I guess we have to be in those situations and then we will make them both. It was B.J.’s (Johnson) first time to the line. Trevor (Cooney), I don't know. He has to make those. That's why we try to get him the ball in those situations. Kaleb (Joseph) shot the ball well from the free-throw line."
You guys did a really good job against Olivier Hanlan. He gave you guys a little trouble here and at Boston College last year. What did you do differently?
“Yeah, he gives everybody trouble. He’s a tremendous player. The first half I was surprised when I saw he had seven shots. I didn't notice him. I remember a couple floaters he was in and out on. I think Rak (Rakeem Christmas) might have blocked one. We just did a good job on him I guess. The second half he played really well. Their perimeter guys are good. They’re good players. They’ve been in a lot of games. For a long time tonight we played really well, especially given the fact that Rak (Christmas) was out. That was really a turning point. I don't know exactly what it was when he went out but I don't think it was a lot. It was a big lead. At the half we expanded it to 18. We expanded it from nine to 18.”
Was Kaleb Joseph seem much more aggressive this game?
“He was much better in the second half. He made some really good plays. He’s learned.”
Did Michael Gbinjie really step up tonight?
“When Rak (Rakeem Christmas) went out, he’s the guy that made the plays. The second half we needed a basket. He made a great drive. I think he hit a three. Mike’s just got to be aggressive like that. He’s capable of it. He’s capable of double-doubles. He had four assists as well."
