Mike Hopkins Quotes
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Colgate
December 8, 2015
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Designate Mike Hopkins
Opening Statement:
“We have a day off tomorrow, and these guys I think, really need it. Obviously, after the Bahamas and then tough games against Wisconsin and Georgetown, they put a lot of energy out and have fought fight until the end. They came out today and I was proud of them. They had to play a lot of minutes. I thought Colgate did a really good job moving the ball, making us work on every possession and they were unbelievable from the 3-point line. Our guys kept battling, moving the ball, listening in timeouts, executing really well. But, its obviously its not the recipe for the Syracuse zone to give up 10 threes.
“Something we have to really improve on as well is rebounding. I thought a lot of these are energy plays, especially when you’re playing teams that shoot 28 three-pointers – there’s going to be a lot of long rebounds, a lot of hustle rebounds. They beat us to those balls today.
"When we did have opportunities I thought we moved the ball exceptionally well and got really good shots. I have to tip my hat to Colgate, Coach Langel. I have a lot of respect for him. He had his team ready to play. I thought they played exceptionally well and they shot the ball well.”
Can you talk about Malachi Richardson hitting shots early in the game?
“I think it was really good that we were able to get in a flow. Obviously, 30 3-point shots is a lot of three-point shots, and you have to make 14 when you do it. But these guys, they don’t lack confidence. I thought Malachi got the G-Mac (Gerry McNamara) effect. G-Mac, if he missed nine, would feel like he’s making the next nine, and that’s the type of shooter you want. You want the guys that, if they’re open, they’re going to knock it down.
“I thought Mike Gbinije stepped up and made some great plays. With six assists, not only was it his shooting, but he moved the ball and made some plays today. We need tomorrow. We need these days and prep before St. John’s to recover a little bit, to watch a little bit of tape, and as we move forward, to get better.”
How does it feel to get your first career win?
“I just want to get these guys better. This has never been about me. I’m happy for the guys that we won after losing two in a row. I’m happy that I get an opportunity to represent this great university and those kids. As a teacher, educator, coach, all we are trying to do is to get them better.
"I tried to get some of the young guys into the game but it just wasn’t happening. There wasn’t enough energy from them, which I thought that they would bring. We have a lot of work to do. Yeah, we won the game tonight, and I’m happy for that, but we need to get a lot better, especially with what we are going to face. It’s our job in these next seven games to give Coach Boeheim a better team than when he left it.“
Can you talk about Michael Gbinije’s play?
“He has to be a player of the year candidate, not only in the ACC, but in the country. I know this, standing up there as a coach -- I’m learning a lot. But I do know this: when you have a Mike Gbinije on your team playing the way he is and making the shots he’s making -- that kid – he passes, he makes plays, he gets the defense going, he’s high-character, he plays great defense. That kid does not stop. To have a kid like that, it makes you a lot more confident and comfortable as a coach.”
Will the issues on the boards catch up to you when you start facing bigger teams?
“Oh, there’s no question about that. I put DC (DaJuan Coleman) in, he played 20 minutes today and I think he played 21 against Georgetown. That’s what we are going to have to see. I think having a bigger lineup out there at points will be something you’ll see a lot moving forward. Every decision is going to be a decision we make to win that game. Everything changes. Sometimes it’s scoring and you’re sitting there saying, ‘Okay, maybe your three’s will be more than their two’s.’ It’s the decisions that are being made. We have people that we can put in those positions based on the situation of the game at the time.”
How did your defense respond to Colgate’s outside shooting?
“At the end of the day, another thing that I learned is that it’s a long game. There are multiple plays and you never have to panic. You get these guys focused. We strive for perfection with our program and when we coach and teach in practice, there’s going to be mistakes, there’s going to be mental breakdowns. We are just trying to correct them, get them out there, and focus on the next one. When you play teams that have great shooters, and they space you out and have four or five guys that are good passers -- it was a lot like Wisconsin – pump fake, pass, get in the lane, kick. Guys are scrambling all over the place. Those are hard teams for a zone. You have to have energy and you have to know where those top shooters are at all times and that’s a hard thing to do for 40 minutes.”
Can you talk about what you did offensively tonight??
“Obviously, when I look at these numbers and see 14-for-30 (from 3-point range), that’s a lot. But I think that we tried to focus on attacking a little more in the second half. They were small, and switching on everything, so we tried to utilize and made a couple great passes to DaJuan Coleman. The guys switched on Tyler Lydon, DC flashed, we got a high-low. Some really good things, and you have to utilize that. We have to mix it up. We have to be able to take it off the bounce and attack. As we move forward, teams are going to get in front and you have to be able to get to the basket. It’s a big benefit when Mike Gbinije is getting to the basket as well as his six assists.”
Can you talk about DaJuan Coleman’s playing time and his improvement?
“At the end of the day we are trying to get him prepared because there are teams (we will face) where he has to be in there. Coach (Boeheim) was mentioning it before we went to Georgetown that he has to be a guy that can give you great minutes and every game is going to be different. I went up to him and said, ‘D, they’re out-rebounding us.’ Sometimes you can get very perimeter oriented, especially with Tyler Lydon picking and popping instead of picking and diving and getting in those areas. I thought DC did a really good job tonight. He has to rebound better but he did well with his physicality.”
Syracuse vs. Colgate
December 8, 2015
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Designate Mike Hopkins
Opening Statement:
“We have a day off tomorrow, and these guys I think, really need it. Obviously, after the Bahamas and then tough games against Wisconsin and Georgetown, they put a lot of energy out and have fought fight until the end. They came out today and I was proud of them. They had to play a lot of minutes. I thought Colgate did a really good job moving the ball, making us work on every possession and they were unbelievable from the 3-point line. Our guys kept battling, moving the ball, listening in timeouts, executing really well. But, its obviously its not the recipe for the Syracuse zone to give up 10 threes.
“Something we have to really improve on as well is rebounding. I thought a lot of these are energy plays, especially when you’re playing teams that shoot 28 three-pointers – there’s going to be a lot of long rebounds, a lot of hustle rebounds. They beat us to those balls today.
"When we did have opportunities I thought we moved the ball exceptionally well and got really good shots. I have to tip my hat to Colgate, Coach Langel. I have a lot of respect for him. He had his team ready to play. I thought they played exceptionally well and they shot the ball well.”
Can you talk about Malachi Richardson hitting shots early in the game?
“I think it was really good that we were able to get in a flow. Obviously, 30 3-point shots is a lot of three-point shots, and you have to make 14 when you do it. But these guys, they don’t lack confidence. I thought Malachi got the G-Mac (Gerry McNamara) effect. G-Mac, if he missed nine, would feel like he’s making the next nine, and that’s the type of shooter you want. You want the guys that, if they’re open, they’re going to knock it down.
“I thought Mike Gbinije stepped up and made some great plays. With six assists, not only was it his shooting, but he moved the ball and made some plays today. We need tomorrow. We need these days and prep before St. John’s to recover a little bit, to watch a little bit of tape, and as we move forward, to get better.”
How does it feel to get your first career win?
“I just want to get these guys better. This has never been about me. I’m happy for the guys that we won after losing two in a row. I’m happy that I get an opportunity to represent this great university and those kids. As a teacher, educator, coach, all we are trying to do is to get them better.
"I tried to get some of the young guys into the game but it just wasn’t happening. There wasn’t enough energy from them, which I thought that they would bring. We have a lot of work to do. Yeah, we won the game tonight, and I’m happy for that, but we need to get a lot better, especially with what we are going to face. It’s our job in these next seven games to give Coach Boeheim a better team than when he left it.“
Can you talk about Michael Gbinije’s play?
“He has to be a player of the year candidate, not only in the ACC, but in the country. I know this, standing up there as a coach -- I’m learning a lot. But I do know this: when you have a Mike Gbinije on your team playing the way he is and making the shots he’s making -- that kid – he passes, he makes plays, he gets the defense going, he’s high-character, he plays great defense. That kid does not stop. To have a kid like that, it makes you a lot more confident and comfortable as a coach.”
Will the issues on the boards catch up to you when you start facing bigger teams?
“Oh, there’s no question about that. I put DC (DaJuan Coleman) in, he played 20 minutes today and I think he played 21 against Georgetown. That’s what we are going to have to see. I think having a bigger lineup out there at points will be something you’ll see a lot moving forward. Every decision is going to be a decision we make to win that game. Everything changes. Sometimes it’s scoring and you’re sitting there saying, ‘Okay, maybe your three’s will be more than their two’s.’ It’s the decisions that are being made. We have people that we can put in those positions based on the situation of the game at the time.”
How did your defense respond to Colgate’s outside shooting?
“At the end of the day, another thing that I learned is that it’s a long game. There are multiple plays and you never have to panic. You get these guys focused. We strive for perfection with our program and when we coach and teach in practice, there’s going to be mistakes, there’s going to be mental breakdowns. We are just trying to correct them, get them out there, and focus on the next one. When you play teams that have great shooters, and they space you out and have four or five guys that are good passers -- it was a lot like Wisconsin – pump fake, pass, get in the lane, kick. Guys are scrambling all over the place. Those are hard teams for a zone. You have to have energy and you have to know where those top shooters are at all times and that’s a hard thing to do for 40 minutes.”
Can you talk about what you did offensively tonight??
“Obviously, when I look at these numbers and see 14-for-30 (from 3-point range), that’s a lot. But I think that we tried to focus on attacking a little more in the second half. They were small, and switching on everything, so we tried to utilize and made a couple great passes to DaJuan Coleman. The guys switched on Tyler Lydon, DC flashed, we got a high-low. Some really good things, and you have to utilize that. We have to mix it up. We have to be able to take it off the bounce and attack. As we move forward, teams are going to get in front and you have to be able to get to the basket. It’s a big benefit when Mike Gbinije is getting to the basket as well as his six assists.”
Can you talk about DaJuan Coleman’s playing time and his improvement?
“At the end of the day we are trying to get him prepared because there are teams (we will face) where he has to be in there. Coach (Boeheim) was mentioning it before we went to Georgetown that he has to be a guy that can give you great minutes and every game is going to be different. I went up to him and said, ‘D, they’re out-rebounding us.’ Sometimes you can get very perimeter oriented, especially with Tyler Lydon picking and popping instead of picking and diving and getting in those areas. I thought DC did a really good job tonight. He has to rebound better but he did well with his physicality.”
