Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech
February 3, 2015
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Trevor Cooney, Redshirt Junior, Guard
Can you talk about Michael [Gbinije] and the free throws he made at the end of the game?
“It was big. I liked the bank shot. That was a nice one. It’s definitely going to help his confidence down the stretch moving forward. He got going and he made the biggest foul shots he took all night -- of the whole season really. He has the ability to make every single one, and I think he realizes that.”
Do you guys ever have any conversations or say anything to each other before big foul shots at the end of the game?
“I tell him that he’s going to make them. I told him he was going to make them both right before he shot. I guess he listened to me this time.”
You guys started the full court press at about the 5:30 minute mark. Can you tell us what the mindset was making that switch?
“It was just how the game was going at that point. We weren’t really making shots and we needed something to start getting things to go our way. The press is a good way to jumpstart that and it worked well tonight. We forced them into some traps and forced them to make some tough passes and we were able to get some turnovers off of it.”
Ron Patterson, Sophomore, Guard
Did you learn something about the guys in this locker room tonight?
“We never give up. These guys always keep fighting to the end.”
Can you talk about the defense and your ability to cause the turnovers you needed down the stretch?
“We forced turnovers by playing hard. We didn’t play hard enough in the beginning. When we’re down 13 at one point we can’t help but think, ‘if we lose this game, that’s going to hurt real bad.’ We had to pick it up, and that was a good motivator for us to keep pushing and keep grinding.”
Kaleb Joseph, Freshman, Guard
What are you taking from tonight’s game from the defensive side?
“They had two shooters out on the court, and when you stick with one you leave the other and I stuck with the shooter at the top instead of rotating down to the other shooter, which was my mistake. It’s just something I need to learn from.”
What have you been learning as the season progresses?
“Just keep attacking when I get the ball. Especially in transition -- that’s when I get the most opportunities to get to the rim. Coach was telling me during the game when I got out in transition and was able to get to the rim to continue to do that, so that’s something I’m going to try to continue to do.”
Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech
February 3, 2015
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Trevor Cooney, Redshirt Junior, Guard
Can you talk about Michael [Gbinije] and the free throws he made at the end of the game?
“It was big. I liked the bank shot. That was a nice one. It’s definitely going to help his confidence down the stretch moving forward. He got going and he made the biggest foul shots he took all night -- of the whole season really. He has the ability to make every single one, and I think he realizes that.”
Do you guys ever have any conversations or say anything to each other before big foul shots at the end of the game?
“I tell him that he’s going to make them. I told him he was going to make them both right before he shot. I guess he listened to me this time.”
You guys started the full court press at about the 5:30 minute mark. Can you tell us what the mindset was making that switch?
“It was just how the game was going at that point. We weren’t really making shots and we needed something to start getting things to go our way. The press is a good way to jumpstart that and it worked well tonight. We forced them into some traps and forced them to make some tough passes and we were able to get some turnovers off of it.”
Ron Patterson, Sophomore, Guard
Did you learn something about the guys in this locker room tonight?
“We never give up. These guys always keep fighting to the end.”
Can you talk about the defense and your ability to cause the turnovers you needed down the stretch?
“We forced turnovers by playing hard. We didn’t play hard enough in the beginning. When we’re down 13 at one point we can’t help but think, ‘if we lose this game, that’s going to hurt real bad.’ We had to pick it up, and that was a good motivator for us to keep pushing and keep grinding.”
Kaleb Joseph, Freshman, Guard
What are you taking from tonight’s game from the defensive side?
“They had two shooters out on the court, and when you stick with one you leave the other and I stuck with the shooter at the top instead of rotating down to the other shooter, which was my mistake. It’s just something I need to learn from.”
What have you been learning as the season progresses?
“Just keep attacking when I get the ball. Especially in transition -- that’s when I get the most opportunities to get to the rim. Coach was telling me during the game when I got out in transition and was able to get to the rim to continue to do that, so that’s something I’m going to try to continue to do.”
